Damage Control

Tecmo Koei brought Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate to E3 last week. Did you know? You’d be forgiven if you didn’t, given everything that happened. The show was mostly focused on Microsoft and Sony promoting their next generation consoles, and third-parties showcasing games due for release on said consoles, even though most of them are cross-generation games. That means some games stuck on current generation systems only got the short end of the stick in terms of coverage and exposure, especially if they’re Japanese. It’s why a lot of people didn’t know Team Ninja revealed the final two characters at the show last week. Whoops.

 

But that’s OK. Here’s a post that will inform you of what they provided. And I’m only assuming that these are the final two characters, because there were only two spaces left on this list from the official website.

 

You probably already knew Leon made it into this game, due to him appearing at the end of the same trailer Momiji debuted in. But this is the official confirmation that he’s joined the cast. Leon plays similar to Bayman, as always (he was actually a replacement for him at one point), but has just enough modifications to his move set to make his play style at least somewhat unique. It’s the reason why a lot of fans wanted him in the original game. That makes him similar to Ein, who’s Hayate’s amnesiac version from the older games. They have enough differences to make some fans prefer them to their counterparts. But they’re hardly going to get some fans to spend another $40 on a game whose contents should have, according to them, been available as a lower-priced download.

 

But they might be interested in the brand new character being added to the DoA franchise, though she should be familiar to Ninja Gaiden players. We knew from the bonus swimsuit costume count (and you know what purposes they’re for) on Amazon Japan’s retailer listing that this version would have a total of 14 female characters, though only 13 were announced. And now we know who the final character is: Rachel from the Ninja Gaiden franchise. Sorry, everyone who was hoping it was a different Ninja Gaiden character (basically, Sonya/Irene Lew) or another Virtua Fighter character.

 

It’s tough to tell how she plays from the gameplay videos we’ve seen so far, since there haven’t been many, and few people who really know Dead or Alive 5 in and out have gotten their hands on here. But she might play like Dead or Alive 4 bonus character: Spartan 458, or “Nicole”. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be a surprise. They had to use that move set on someone, and it fits with another female heavy-hitter.

 

If this still isn’t enough to get people to drop another $40 on this (and no one should blame you if it isn’t), Tecmo Koei is also offering a free-to-play version called Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters. Many fighting gamers who saw various ftp models knew this was bound to happen someday soon, but they didn’t expect this game to be the first to attempt it. It’s a smart strategy, aimed towards anyone who usually only sticks to a few characters in a fighting game at most. When you download this version, which will release on the same day as the full retail version, Kasumi, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa, and Hayate will all be initially available, along with every mode outside of the Story Mode. Every other character will cost you $3.99 a pop, and the Story Mode will cost $14.99. It’s a huge rip-off if you want every character and mode, though, which will set you back a total of around $115. But that’s why you have the option of a retail version. It’s only planned for Playstation 3 at the moment, but they’re working with Microsoft to get a 360 version made.

 

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate releases on September 3rd, 5th, and 6th in America, Japan, and Europe, respectively. It’s nice that they’re giving you options, as long as you own a PS3. Feel free to watch the E3 trailer. Look forward to more videos and details about blatant fanservice costumes in the near future!

It's NHL playoff time in the real world. To celebrate, I'm reviewing a hockey video game each week until Lord Stanley's Cup is awarded.

The series yielded to our comprehensive E3 coverage last Tuesday, but there's still a game to go as the banner image suggests. And if the Bruins/Blackhawks go to Game 7 and force another Tuesday? Well, I've got a plan for that... I mean, other than Tuukka Rask.

While the previous game in this series of articles was never released in North America, this entry was never released at all. Based on Williams' 1990 arcade game of the same name, Hit the Ice graced the SNES, Game Boy, Turbo Grafx-16 and the Genesis in staggered releases from late 1991 to early 1993. The game was largely finished, but release was canceled in favor of versions for newer, better-selling devices.

While the larger-than-life graphics of the original Arcade game did not translate at all to the NES version, it's gameplay remains more or less intact. Hit the Ice stands out from the pack in a variety of ways. It features two-on-two gameplay. In latter periods, the crown starts throwing debris onto the ice. And all hits are both legal and encouraged.

Fighting will come early, and often. The technique is not so much button mashing as it takes careful timing to get in the fights rhythm, slipping your own punches in before your opponent strikes. The loser will stay on the ice, but will move very sluggishly for a few seconds — just long enough to give the winning team a decisive advantage on the next play.

Scoring and goaltending is difficult in this game. Except for pulling out a super shot, there's very little control over how the puck flies to the goal once it leaves your stick. The hardest shot to defend one that is roofed, which will require a tricky jumping save. Those usually go in against me.

The computer-controlled goaltender is just a beast. Sometimes you just get lucky, but most of the time you need to work for your goals. Typically, I have to skate the puck in toward the crease to make the goalie move. If I'm fast, I can whip myself around before the goalie finishes lunging on the puck, whip around again while he's out of position and send it home. It's harder than it sound, especially with the two skaters trying to pound me into the ice.

All that being said, the biggest way this unreleased wonder stands out — even from the other versions of itself — is its legendary "Quest Mode."

An idea well ahead of its time and never to grace hockey games since (though several fighting games have picked up the mantle, from Tobal No. 2 to Mortal Kombat: Deception), this RPG-like mode is unique to the NES iteration of Hit the Ice, and is what the game is most known for.

Sadly, the implementation is poor, even for an 8-bit era tacked-on bonus. You pick one of the six teams playable in the normal mode and travel about an island landmass to challenge the other five teams at their arenas. Along the way, you'll encounter shops, the houses of fans who provide tips, some free cash and door repair charges. You'll also encounter deadly (for now) water and random encounters with non-playable colors like Grey and Light Green.

The random encounters are pretty bad. As opposed to the full games you'll play at the arenas, these are only single-period, one-minute affairs. This means if the other team scores, you might as well just wait out the clock; there's probably no time to fight back.

Every time you "die" (by either falling in the water or losing a game) you don't lose any of your hard-earned cash or experience, but you are sent back to your starting arena.

Scattered across the land are stores in which you can buy meat, apples and Power Drinks, the power-up item that occasionally spawns in normal mode. Buying meat will give a random, small EXP boost to the player who eats it. Apples are collected to trade for a flotation device that will save you from the water and let you cross the sea to find... more houses with more fans. It's much easier to just skip that part, as it isn't necessary to reach any of the arenas and greatly increases the time needed to complete the quest.

... Not that I've ever completed it. The unnecessarily long passwords, unfairly short random encounters and irritating skill progression more than override the delightfully ridiculous novelty of random beer-league teams roaming the fields and forests of the world to inflict pick-up games against unsuspecting victims.

Play it for the novelty, but only beat it if you're looking for something to brag about. Just playing the normal game is much more satisfying.

While we’re somewhat on the topic of Microsoft and their grabs after the post about Dead Rising 3 yesterday, a lot of people didn’t realize how big of a deal it was for them to start their conference off with a new Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain trailer. It was important because Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the biggest exclusives for the PS3 early in its life, and now they had the opportunity to announce that its previously-unveiled sequel was also heading to Xbox One. Of course, it was eventually revealed that it’s also PS4-bound, but Microsoft got the opportunity to leave a lasting impression.

 

MGSV is the next installment in Naked Snake/Big Boss’ saga, taking place after non-numbered mainline game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. It was initially revealed as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes in August of last year, and later mysteriously reemerged at the Spike TV VGAs as simply The Phantom Pain. It wasn’t known under its current form until this year’s GDC, where it received its first proper trailer and gameplay demonstration. If you thought that trailer was good, the newest one from E3 actually surpasses that one, showing even more of the game’s story, setting, and gameplay features.

 

And no, I’m not talking specifically about the trailer shown at Microsoft’s Conference. There was a longer, “Red Band” extended cut uploaded to Konami’s Youtube channel. Though we thought the MS conference version was simply cut for time, it wasn’t; there’s a good reason for the “graphic content” warning on the video and in the description. The parts removed from the “Green Band” version are pretty gruesome.

 

The trailer offers us the first chance to hear Kiefer Sutherland as Snake…or should that be “Punished Snake,” the “Fallen Legend” the trailer portrays him as. He rides into Afghanistan with Ocelot, who’s voiced by Troy Baker this time around. Ocelot is in between his Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear Solid 1,2, and 4 self (voiced by Josh Keaton and Patric Zimmerman, respectively) so he should act as a good middle ground. Snake has to sneak into an enemy complex to rescue a badly battered Kazuhira Miller -- who’s thus far the only character we’ve heard that’s kept the same voide (Robin Atkin Downes). The trailer also provides glimpses of other returning characters like Chico, Huey Emmerich, and possibly Paz.

 

New characters are introduced here as well. Quiet’s dress style looks like a fusion of Eva and Sniper Wolf’s, whose name comes from her lack of an ability to speak. That’s clearly her being tortured at the beginning of the video, so that was probably the cause. There’s Eli, a young man who bears a striking resemblance to MGS1 main villain Liquid Snake. The necklace of jackal teeth lends further credence to that theory -- he hinted that he hunted jackals in the first game. If that’s actually him, we also might see the appearance of a younger Solid Snake. There’s an old man named Code Talker, who’s apparently blind. And finally there’s Skull Face, who might be the main villain, unless footage in the trailers is deceptive. The writers have introduced and retconned so many elements that it’s hard to take the world seriously at this point, but it’s nonetheless intriguing.

 

We already knew the gameplay would provide a similar experience presented in the last couple of MGS titles. MGS4 provided a perfect marriage between stealth and action controls, to remove the franchise’s trademark clunky controls for a scheme closer to a third-person shooter’s. The core stealth mechanics remained intact, though it’s a shame you don’t get much of a chance to use them after Act 2. Hopefully this game sticks to them throughout, though there’s nothing wrong with deviating from that for short instances.

 

MGS4’s controls were already great, but MGSV capitalizes on that by adding a better dodging mechanic to quickly leap out of an enemy’s point-of-view in the nick of time. Snake can also leap across rooftops, which looked ripped out of an Assassin’s Creed game. (And that’s probably not a coincidence.) There’s also a feature called “Dynamic CQC,” which induces a slow-mo effect upon taking an enemy’s weapon.

 

What makes the gameplay even more intriguing is that it’s combining all of these features with an open world setting. The previous Metal Gear games were pretty open, but MGSV is planned to usurp all of them in that area. Kojima originally wanted MGS3 (which stars the same main character as this game) to be open world, but was hindered by development time, resources, and the Playstation 2’s limitations. With today’s technology, that’s no longer an issue. And Konami is assumingly giving them plenty of time and money for Kojima Productions to realize this ambition.

 

As the trailer specified, the game is coming to Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. The trailer, like the last ones, showed footage running on a PC with specs supposedly similar to current generation consoles. Kojima claims that the next generation versions will look even better than what we’re seeing in the trailer, which is actually believable. He and the development team are aiming to have the next gen versions to run at 60 frames per second. On the other hand, it’s tough to believe that they can pull off what we’ve seen off on current generation consoles in an open world setting, all while maintaining that level of graphical fidelity. Maybe they can use some form of wizardry to pull that off, but we’ll see.

For those of you who need some clarification: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain both form Metal Gear Solid V. They're both part of the same game, like The Tanker and The Plant sections of MGS2.

 

Konami still refuses to give a release date, but hopefully it releases sometime next year. There’s currently no PC version planned, but they’re not against making one down the line -- similar to what Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is getting now. Look forward to seeing more soon; if it’s not at Gamescom in August, it will definitely be at Tokyo Game Show.

Though it was only announced on Monday, Dead Rising 3 has been in the news cycle for a while. Somehow, Siliconera got ahold of some story details and concept art for the main character way back in December 2011. As time went on, and as Captivate, E3, and Tokyo Game Show passed us by last year, some suspected that the game was either in development hell or cancelled. Developer Capcom Vancouver, who previously handled Dead Rising 2 and its alternate Off the Record take starring Frank West, went through a series of hiring periods and layoffs, which led to more speculation.

 

It turns out the game is OK after all. Though it was heavily rumored beforehand (like a lot of news at this year’s E3), DR3 was officially announced at Microsoft’s press conference. Though the second game went multiplatform, this game is coming only to the Xbox One -- with Microsoft handling publishing duties. This is quite a grab for Microsoft, given how the original Dead Rising was one of the most important Xbox 360 exclusives early in its life, nearly seven years ago. And it’s coming out at the system’s launch, making it an enticing piece of software for anyone who picks up the hardware.

 

But things get less “enticing” once you read through more of the details and previews. And that’s not because of the Xbox One’s high price and draconian DRM policies.

 

Some of us noted during the presentation that it looked a little different than the DR we knew. The gameplay demonstration showed protagonist Nick Ramos running through a city, dodging, shooting, and mowing down zombies, in a world that exists ten years after DR2. Capcom Vancouver’s representatives explained that it will be an open world experience, and that the power of the Xbox One was needed to fully realize this. It combines large, open spaces with hordes of zombies, which would cause performance issues on a current gen system. The game will also have no loading times because of this. That explanation is actually perfectly believable.

 

The bad changes are the newfound serious tone this installment will have. It looked super serious and not at all like the Dead Rising we were familiar with from the E3 demo, but that could have been for demonstration purposes. Capcom’s Brett Elston said the final game will include some of the goofy material, the kind of content that helped define the franchise for some of us. But it’s hard to take him seriously when the press release clearly states that the game “takes the celebrated series in a new direction by introducing a cinematic storyline with darker humor.”

 

It gets worse, too. In their preview, Gamespot mentioned that the developers want this to be a “grown-up” take on the franchise. Capcom intentionally made the game to appeal to a wider audience, in order to attract “the Call of Duty player.” That’s…not a good idea. That it’s coming from a company that already tried this twice and failed makes this even stranger. Resident Evil 6 was made with the same intent, but ended up selling less than its predecessors. DmC: Devil May Cry abandoned the established Devil May Cry fanbase to try and find a new, larger one, and ended up being the worst-selling title in the franchise. Apparently if previous attempts to ignore the old fanbases by appealing to a phantom audience go awry, the answer is to keep digging a bigger hole. You dig too much, and you’re eventually going to hit rock bottom.

 

(To be fair, it’s not just Capcom. Square Enix also said they were influenced by CoD with Final Fantasy XIII. Given its extremely mixed reception, that didn’t go over well either.)

 

But this isn’t to say the game won’t be mechanically solid. No, the developers at Capcom Vancouver are a talented bunch, and have proven they’re capable of making a quality product. It’s possible this game will be the same, but it’s not the new Dead Rising many of us wanted. The changes they’re making are strange, especially considering Capcom already has a dark and more serious franchise involving zombies -- which is far more popular than this one.

 

Hopefully it’s still a good game in the end. But even if it is, it won’t be the Dead Rising we enjoyed, and there won’t be anything to replace it. It will be interesting to see how it’s received this fall.

Nintendo held a presentation during E3 this year that was significantly scaled down compared to the conference they usually hold, but they still showcased some good looking games. While it also highlighted the real pitfall that comes with such a presentation (i.e. severe stream buffering), they were still able to show fans the games they wanted to see. But there was one big problem, aside from many of the games they showcased not releasing until 2014: it was very Wii U focused. They have good reasons for that, though: (1) it’s the system that needs the most help, and (2) most westerns sadly don’t care much for handhelds.

 

The 3DS is Nintendo’s more popular system, yet the only titles that received a proper showcase were Pokemon X & Y and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. But they also had some other games you might have missed.

 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

 

As the name implies, this is the sequel to A Link to the Past announced on a 3DS-focused Direct back in April. The biggest news is that it finally has a subtitle, which pretty much tells you the Light and Dark world concepts from the first game are back. It’s not “Return to the Past” like a lot of fans thought it would be, but it likely makes more sense in the game’s context. Nintendo provided a new trailer (best viewed on the eShop, if you have a 3DS), and a demo was provided for attendees. Those who played it came away impressed, but noted that what it presented was a little too familiar -- down to the game using the same overworld. Hopefully the game distances itself from the shadow of its predecessor to stand alongside it by the end. It has a sizable legacy to live up to.

 

Of course, you’ll have a certain audience that will never put it on the same pedestal as the first one solely due to it not being sprite-based. It’s an understandable change; the public does not respond to sprite-based works for retail titles anymore. Just make sure you avoid arguments with certain Zelda fans about art styles -- which goes for this and Wind Waker HD.

 

A Link Between Worlds releases in November in North America, and sometime by the end of the year in Europe. Japan has to wait until early 2014, but they get so many more 3DS games that we deserve this small victory.

 

Yoshi’s New Island

 

Yoshi’s New Island is similar to the aforementioned ALBW in a few ways. They were both revealed on the same Direct, have now been given titles, and both have highly contested art styles. It may not be the beautiful sprite-based game you knew and loved, but it adopts a nice pastel watercolor style that makes it unique.

 

Honestly, the style is hardly the biggest concern here. Yoshi’s Island 2 on DS had big shoes to fill in trying to live up to its predecessor, and its feet sadly left a lot of empty space. It was a nice attempt, sure, but it faltered in level design, music, and difficulty balance. The second game was developed by Artoon, so fans were hoping this installment would be a return to form, with Nintendo handling it internally. But Nintendo’s E3 page for the game says that won’t be the case. The developer for the game is Arzest, a studio comprised of ex-Artoon staff that left after the company (along with Cavia and feelplus) was subsumed into Marvelous AQI. Hopefully they’ve learned from their experience, and can put together a better game this time around. The music already sounds better, so that’s a start.

 

Yoshi’s New Island doesn’t release until 2014, so the development team will hopefully have plenty of time to polish it.

 

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

 

OK, so you already knew plenty about this game. But I’m featuring it here because it looks that good. Dream Team is the newest title in the Mario & Luigi franchise, and looks to continue the formula established in its predecessors, albeit with a much prettier sheen. By “continue the formula,” I mean it’s actually an RPG, unlike Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Luigi is the focus of this game, since we’re still in the “Year of Luigi™”. The brothers have to go in and out of Luigi’s dreams to rescue you-know-who and Prince Dreambert’s people from Antasma, who’s cursed them. The developers at Alpha Dream can use the dream setting as an excuse for some wacky gameplay and story ideas.

 

Dream Team releases first in Europe on July 12th, then in Japan on July 18th, and last in America on August 11th. We’re likely getting it later because of some other game releasing in mid-July, that’s also the fourth game in the franchise.

 

Other games at E3.

 

There were some smaller, niche 3DS games there too. The English version of the previously-hinted Shin Megami Tensei IV was present at the show in a playable form. The demo gave audiences the chance to preview the English localization and hear the English voices for more characters. It releases in North America next month, and in Europe sometime later this year. You too can hear this in the new trailer.

 

Atlus USA also announced Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl for a fall release. This is a reimagining of the first Etrian Odyssey game, which contains a story with predetermined characters. The game still gives you the option to play it like the original, involving making your own characters in a more subtle quest, so don’t fret. Yes, this also means Atlus USA is releasing two Etrian Odyssey games in America this year, as EOIV released at the beginning of the year.

 

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies was also present at the show, with its own booth. Unfortunately, it didn’t get much coverage, though it’s tough to tell whether that’s the press or Capcom’s fault. Given how other niche games got a good amount, my bet’s on Capcom. They didn’t even release a trailer. Meanwhile, they also keep giving BS excuses pertaining to why it’s an eShop-only title. XSeed Games also had Rune Factory 4 at the show, which releases either this summer or fall. There are two dates being tossed around, which apparently depends on how fast the game gets through QA testing. Unlike AA5, this game did get a trailer.

 

Meanwhile, there were a bunch of games missing at the show. From Nintendo’s lineup, there was Mario Golf: World Tour, which isn’t listed on Nintendo’s E3 site or included on the press site. It was noted during their investor briefing that it’s been pushed back until sometime in 2014. Between this, Bravely Default and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (and Yoshi’s New Island, to a lesser extent), everyone complaining about Nintendo holding everything back until 2014 has somewhat of a point. Third-party studios also didn’t have much to announce at E3, either. Games like Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, Fantasy Life, and Dragon Quest VII are still conspicuous in their absence, and it’s getting really annoying.

 

But hey, maybe they just didn’t plan to announce those at E3. Keep in mind that Nintendo had a 3DS-focused Direct two weeks after E3 last year that blew the pants off their E3 presentation, so don’t be surprised if they’re planning something like that again. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, for instance, wasn’t even at E3 last year, but was announced on said Direct and released by the end of October. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if we have a repeat, though they might consider Pokemon enough for the holiday season.

 

Some of us like more options though, so here’s hoping (possibly against hope) that Nintendo has more titles in store for 3DS this fall. It needs all the support it can get outside Japan.

I think that’s why video games are so enjoyable to me, and why I tend not to look at walkthroughs if I can help it.  I like the thought of beating them under my own power and therefore being the master of my own fate.  If my character in a video game is killed at the end, seemingly at random, and it has nothing to do with the narrative of the story, it lessens my opinion of said game quite a bit.  For example, in the ending I got when I played Shadow of Destiny, a random vehicle came out of nowhere and killed the main character.  There was no rhyme or reason to that and nothing in the story warned me that it was going to happen.  If it was meant to motivate me to play the game again and try for a better ending, then it didn’t work.  Randomly killing me off and saying that I made the wrong decisions when I would otherwise have come out fine if the vehicle hadn’t existed, that’s not the way to entice me into playing again.  How do I know that a random sniper isn’t going to kill me in a different ending, or that I’m not going to suddenly collapse and die of a heart attack or trip and fall into a river and drown?  And so the one true ending is not only the one where I solve all my problems, but I also don’t have control wrested from me at the end?  No thank you.


I’m not against religion in video games, and I’ve seen it included in games in such a way that it isn’t evil and makes sense within the context of the game.  Take Mass Effect for instance.  In one sidequest on the Citadel, a hanar is clashing with a C-Sec officer about the hanar’s preaching.  In the end, I paid for a permit so that the hanar could continue preaching.  This side quest had no effect on the story aside from awarding me either Paragon or Renegade points, nor did the hanar’s religion influence my own in the game.  By including this side quest, it made the universe of Mass Effect richer.

This brings me to West.  West wasn’t perfect to begin with.  At first, it was a mess of poor spelling and horrible grammar.  Then a patch was issued that didn’t address the problem at all.  The script was run through a spell check, but many errors still made it in thanks to taking the extremely lazy way out.  And honestly?  If you’re not going to care enough that your text is error-free, that tells me a lot about the effort put into the rest of the game.

The worst aspects of the game were the outright preachiness of it, and the ending where everybody died.  The game opened in the hometown of the main character, where a pie eating contest was about to happen.  Naturally, the only righteous (read: very devout Christian) man in the entire village tried to warn everyone that pie eating contests are evil.  Sure enough, someone choked and died during the contest, and the Christian man was sad, but not about the loss of life.  He was sad that no one had listened to him.  Way to grieve your son’s best friend.  Father of the year, right there.

Then the game shifted focus to the evils of genetic engineering, because there’s no place in the world for genetic engineering of any kind, apparently.  Science is apparently just as evil as eating pie faster than your neighbours.  After all, everyone knows it’s possible to combine genetically incompatible creatures together into new and exciting combinations, and that this is totally where science is headed!  And since taking God’s creation and modifying it in such a way is like biting your thumb at God, we shouldn’t stand for this kind of blasphemy, right?


Except it turned out that, even when the evil scientist was destroyed, the entire island where the game took place was still destroyed by a nearby active volcano and everyone “good” ended up in Heaven.  What was the purpose of me trying to save the island if it was doomed from the start?  That was one of the biggest cop-outs I’d ever seen in a video game.  Especially considering that God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if even a small number of righteous people were found there.  (Look it up, Genesis 18:16-33.)  Either there weren’t enough righteous people on the island in West, or God didn’t extend the same deal into the modern age.  Then again, He did end up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, so yeah.  But anyway, everyone dying despite all of my best efforts was probably the thing I hated most about the game, along with the strong anti-science and religion-as-the-opposite-of-science aspects that I complained about in my original review.

I don’t always object to this kind of ending when it’s done well, but West was such a hit-over-the-head kind of game that it felt like the ending was one last hammer blow to the skull, as if the game was saying, “Do you get it yet, stupid?  Huh?  Huh?”  Compare that to Final Fantasy VII: the end credits rolled before the battle between the good spell Holy and the evil spell Meteor finished.  If one ignores the sequels that show Midgar and everyone living there does survive, the ending was ambiguous enough that Final Fantasy VII felt like a complete story even without knowing whether or not the Planet survived.  Each gamer could come to their own conclusion afterwards, and it would be just as valid to think that everyone in Midgar died in the end.

I think I can finally put West to rest now.  It’s nothing more than one programmer’s version of a Chick Tract, and is about as well written as one.  It rubbed me the wrong way when I first played it and now I fully understand why.

Square Enix finally gave us Final Fantasy Versus XIII back in the reborn form of Final Fantasy XV, but that didn’t stop them from announcing the development of another game. They came to E3 with another surprise, one that hadn’t been rumored beforehand: they finally, finally announced Kingdom Hearts III. Now people around the internet can stop asking when it’s going to be announced, which especially happened when they announced a new, non-numbered handheld game -- which they called “spin-offs” despite some of them not falling under that category. It’s unlikely that Square Enix will be making any more big handheld KH games in the near future, though. Franchise director (and sometimes co-director) and character designer Tetsuya Nomura said a while back that this would be coming after Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and he wasn’t lying.

 

Unlike FFXV, this game’s trailer didn’t have anywhere near as much content to analyze. It shows protagonist Sora donning the same primary outfit he wore in Kingdom Hearts II and 3D, running away from, surfing on, jumping over, and battling the Heartless in Twilight Town in a very short teaser. While Square Enix’s representatives at E3 didn’t hesitate to admit it was all CG, it gave us an idea of the style they’re going for, at least for one world. The graphics technique is dubbed the “Kingdom Shader,” which will vary between settings to mimic the Disney movies whose worlds will be included in the game. The styles should be easier to realize with the power of next generation consoles, so they should be a sight to behold.

 

As Nomura said previously, this game will feature the final battle against Organization XIII. But don’t take that as him saying this will be the last title in the franchise. The Keyblade wielders also have to contend with Nobodies, and a hint was dropped that this may not be the last game for them. The trailer shows that Sora will once again be the main character, but Nomura dropped a hint that King Mickey might actually be playable for the story this time around. He also explained that the final game will have a varying array of worlds; some will be central to the plot, while others will be experimental. What he means by the latter is anyone’s guess at the moment.

 

Anyone who’s finished KH3D could guess who other main characters integral to the story could be, but different characters are typically featured in these games: Final Fantasy characters. Nomura promised that there will be at least one more inclusion. There’s a hint that characters from the previous games (Squall, Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, etc.) could return, but you have to wonder who the other one could be. Noctis is a good candidate for cross promotional purposes (and they might have the same director), but don’t be surprised if the ever-popular Lightning makes an appearance.

 

It was confirmed at the E3 press meeting that it’s being developed by Square Enix Osaka, who previously handed Birth by Sleep and 3D. The main KH team has been working on FFXV since finishing KHII in 2006, though some of them also helped Jupiter with The World Ends with You. Both teams have handled two mainline KH games, so the Osaka team is definitely ready to handle a numbered installment. If they handle three games, they’re going to become the main KH team -- especially if Nomura’s serious about making sequels to XV.

 

The development team plans for the battle system to be mostly similar to the numbered titles, while incorporating elements from the games they developed. That’s a little disappointing, given how both BbS and 3D have systems that surpass the numbered installments, but we’ll have to see precisely what they mean. They’re also considering implementing some online features, along with other elements that haven’t been in a KH game before.

 

Kingdom Hearts has suffered some brand damage in the last few years, but like your average company, Square Enix would be perfectly willing to continue it after superlative sales. But to capitalize on that, they’ll need to release this particular game in a good timeframe. Nomura said in the interview with Famitsu that even he thought it was too early to announce it, which is a worrying sign. It’ll be 2015 before we see this game at the earliest, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t make it out until 2016…or later. It sounds like they’ve barely started, so hopefully the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 (which they’ve yet to announce) can keep you occupied.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII had become a running joke in the overall gaming industry, because of how long it’s been slaving away in development hell. It was originally announced with Final Fantasy XIII way, way back at E3 2006. Though the main title made its way out at the end of 2009 (and early 2010 in the west), its companion was nowhere to be found. After a small trickle of details, we were able to see the game again in early 2011, but it still looked early. Meanwhile, rumors swirled saying the game was cancelled, a report subsequently denied by Square Enix. The latest rumor said it would be renamed Final Fantasy XV, and moved to Playstation 4.

 

And what do you know: that’s exactly what happened. We knew from their legendary Playstation Meeting appearance in February that a new Final Fantasy game was going to be revealed at E3 2013, and everyone had a feeling they knew what it was. The game was finally revealed at Sony’s Conference this year, to roaring applause.

 

The game looks good in motion, running on hardware with specs similar to the upcoming next generation consoles. Yes, that means though the game was revealed at Sony’s conference, contrary to some rumors that swirled before, the game is coming to both Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Though a pretty good portion of what they showed in the trailer was CG footage from cutscenes, there’s some gameplay for you to analyze there. This is what many Final Fantasy fans wanted to see, especially after Square Enix cruised through this generation on Final Fantasy XIII alone. Anyone disappointed at the cutscene to gameplay ratio in the trailer can digest the subsequently-uploaded lengthy gameplay video comprised of real footage. It looks rough, but it’s good enough to tell what’s going on.

 

You’ll notice that a lot of changes have been made when you compare it to the old 2011 video. Battles looked like carbon copy Kingdom Hearts’ system, albeit in a dark and mysterious Final Fantasy skin, but it’s become a more unique snowflake since then -- though the inspiration remains. It still includes KH’s lock-on function and a slightly similar action flow, but the dodging and movement mechanics look similar to other action games. It remains an action/RPG despite it becoming a numbered game. It’s an interesting decision that shakes up the formula, though it’s upset many who believe mainline numbered games should remain turn-based. The fear comes from them taking the “RPG” out of the phrase “Japanese RPG.” This should be OK for one installment, since each numbered game is  different from what’s come before, but it wouldn’t be good for the franchise -- and genre -- if it continues down this path.

 

Looking closely at the user interface, Noctis has access to multiple weapons at a time. He has a choice of five at one point, and can likely switch between them at will. He can use magic too, but it’s tough to tell whether it’s mapped to a dedicated button, or in a quick menu like some KH games. It also appears that he can call in a partner to help in certain situations, similar to a summoning technique in previous games. They’ll presumably elaborate on the gameplay features themselves sometime in the future, but whether that’s the near future is a mystery. It’s worth noting that they certainly intend to.

 

You also might have noticed the curious trend among the playable characters revealed thus far: they’re all pretty-looking guys. It’s like a boy band game! The one lady revealed thus far is Stella, and we’ve yet to see if she’ll join the playable cast. Director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura previously described the protagonist, whose full name is Noctis Lucis Caelum, as being different from your usual FF main character, but we’re not seeing much of that thus far. He’s the prince of the Lucis Kingdom, and possesses eyes that sense the death of others. The other playable characters we know are Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, and Cor.

 

Some parts almost look like they’re on rails in the trailer. Hopefully those aspects are actively in-development, and don’t rely on offering a cinematic spectacle at the expense of the player’s control. There’s a ray of hope when you gaze upon a section that shows a large map from a big area. Nomura for the game to have many wide open areas to explore, taking inspiration from Final Fantasy XII. That’s also one of the many reasons why it’s taking so long to finish -- it’s incredibly ambitious, especially for a Japanese development team. Hopefully those aspects aren’t being reduced to speed up development. Developers typically don’t scale down games when they move them to more powerful hardware, but Square Enix is different from your “typical” development studio.

 

And hopefully fans enjoy this world, because they plan to keep it around for sequels. Nomura refers to this game as part of an epic poem, so they’d better hope it gets a better reception than the FFXIII saga. It’s been in development for so long that it’s tough to imagine how much money Square Enix has sunk into it, and they’ll have to make that back somehow.

 

As hinted at before, Nomura said they aim to provide more information and media for the game at various large events, including ones later this year. If that happens, it will be a huge change from how they’ve been barely discussing the game for the last seven years -- sometimes to the point of pretending it doesn’t exist. Actively promoting it while Square Enix has another game people keep forgetting about called Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII would be quite a sight, so let’s see if that happens. They predictably didn’t elaborate on a release date, but some optimists among us think it might make the end of 2014, at least in Japan. We should get a better estimate if they keep their promotion promise.

A number of us enjoyed Mirror’s Edge when it released way back in 2008, but sadly, that number was far too small to matter. While it’s partly EA’s fault for giving it a barely adequate marketing campaign while throwing an unproven new IP into the wild in the middle of an incredibly busy November, the game itself also had issues that could use refining. But that was precisely the reason why it deserved a sequel, to build a far more polished sequel upon its foundations, one that could utilize its concepts better. The story only being the first part of a planned trilogy, leaving numerous plot threads unresolved, was just as bad.

 

It was shortly before E3 when some pretty solid rumors about Mirror’s Edge 2 began manifesting. It began with a preorder page appearing for the title on multiple Amazon sites. Retailer listings aren’t always reliable, but Amazon sites are typically more reliable than others. It was enough to get the attention of fans, especially a few weeks before a convention where many announcements are made. Of course, some of these same people began panicking when upon seeing it was only listed for Xbox One and Xbox 360, the former of which is a system with a plethora of inane corporation-friendly policies despite its promising software lineup. The rumor that it was going to be at Microsoft’s conference exacerbated that fear. Speculation swirled that Microsoft had rescued the game after EA cancelled it, similar to Nintendo with Bayonetta 2. Following this, its name was found on EA’s help website, and  domains were found to be updated by EA. The cat was out of the bag.

 

Then Microsoft’s conference came and went without a mention of the title, and we realized some of that speculation was questionable. Mirror’s Edge 2 showed up for Xbox One and 360 on Amazon sites, sure, but so did Dragon Age: Inquisition, despite being previously confirmed to be a multiplatform title. Some of us started losing a little faith (haw haw) after Microsoft’s conference, but EA saved the best for last at theirs. It ended with a trailer previewing a familiar setting: a city draped in a white and red color palette. We saw glimmers of protagonist Faith running down a hallway and receiving some tattoos, then saw her fighting some enemies in a familiar style. It concluded by showing that, yes, Faith has returned in a new Mirror’s Edge game. As expected, it will be using DICE’s own Frostbite 3 graphics engine rather than Unreal Engine 3. The trailer didn’t specify the platforms it was coming to, but the Twitter and Youtube accounts (which popped up incredibly quickly after the unveil) confirmed it’s coming to PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

 

So yes! It’s happening, but there are a few aspects of the trailer you should focus on more than others. Note the part where I mentioned Faith “receiving some tattoos” in the aforementioned paragraph. These are tattoos she already had in the original. Also, note the lack of a “2” in the trailer, Youtube account, Facebook account, official website, and any of the press materials. EA and DICE clarified that it’s not a sequel, but an origin story. An interesting decision when the original game has a story that needs to be resolved.

 

But in a way, why they’re not going for a sequel is understandable. Too many people didn’t play the original, so they want to make a game that everyone can play for a new generation of consoles. That’s the way a lot of “AAA” games are made these days, and they’re definitely not going to change that philosophy for next gen. (And I assume we’ll still be using the term “AAA” next gen.) It makes sense to take this route, but it’s disappointing for those of us who wanted further exposition on the previously established story and subsequent closure. The trailer also has a focus on combat instead of what Mirror’s Edge did best: first-person parkour. That may have been done for the E3 audience. And while enhanced combat would be nice considering the original’s was finicky at best, hopefully the overall game maintains the same balance that made it work as a full experience.

 

And said balance is going to be key, considering this will be an open world game. Traveling from one rooftop to another with no restrictions could be an amazing experience, but crafting good level design -- one of the best parts of the original -- in an open world setting is far more challenging for a developer to implement properly. But it’s not impossible, so hopefully they can pull it off without a hitch.

 

But even if some things have changed, it could have been a lot worse, knowing EA. Some of us wanted a new installment, but others didn’t because they feared how much EA would force DICE adjust its tone, to make it more palatable for the mass audience. (Protip: “Mass audience” is typically code for “Call of Duty audience” these days.) This product would include making Faith more “badass” and buxom, giving her the drive to shoot and stab any enemy that crossed her path. It would be a “darker” and “more mature” take on the franchise, complete with an online multiplayer deathmatch mode. Thankfully those fears didn’t come to pass.

 

But they are making some changes. EA’s Frank Gibeau mentioned that it’s going to be a different experience from the original. Previously, Faith had to run away from enemies, but they’d like to further emphasize her strengths this time around. That probably means there’s going to be more combat -- as in hand-to-hand stuff, not with guns. If it’s been refined this time around, this should be an OK change.

 

DICE noted at the end of the trailer that the game is “coming…when it’s ready,” so expect a steady drip of info and media over the next year at least. It’s sounding good so far, faithful to the original; and hopefully it stays that way.

As mentioned before, Nintendo didn’t have a traditional E3 Conference this year, instead opting for a Nintendo Direct to showcase their upcoming software. They figured they would be overshadowed by two competitors selling their next generation consoles, so why bother spending a pile of money to put on a big show on a grand stage when they can reach the same audience with a smaller scale presentation? A lot of people who think they won’t reach the wider audience like this, but we’ll have to see what happens in the coming days.

 

But it didn’t take long for us to realize the main problem with having a small scale Nintendo Direct: Nintendo had serious problems with their stream via Ustream. The European version fortunately went mostly OK, but having this happen was disastrous.

 

Though many of us were looking forward to seeing how they’d fix the Wii U’s current situation, they started off with a 3DS game: Pokemon X and Y. It makes sense though; it will undoubtedly be their biggest game this fall, and it’s coming to a system that’s actually doing well. While going over the features the game will have, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata introduced the first fairy Pokemon: Sylveon. There will also be a feature called Pokemon-Amie, to help the player further connect with their Pokemon. The friendlier they are with you, the better they’ll perform in battle. I’m sure it’s body will be ready for communication. The game releases worldwide on October 12th.

 

Now it’s time to show Wii U games. Nintendo promised that a new 3D Mario game was on its way, and they weren’t kidding. It’s Super Mario 3D World, and it’s releasing this December. As the name implies, it looks very similar to Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS, but this installment has multiplayer for up to four players. And in a twist, it doesn’t have two toads as playable characters: Princess Peach is finally back as a playable character. Though the trailer was focused on the multiplayer, the game will have a single-player mode as well. It looks like fun, but it disappointed anyone who was looking for the next great generational leap in the 3D Mario universe a la Super Mario Galaxy.

 

Nintendo also promised a new Mario Kart game for Wii U, and here’s that. It’s called, predictably, Mario Kart 8. In addition to welcoming back a bunch of features from previous installments (hang gliders, underwater racing, motorbikes, etc.), this is the first installment that will allow for racing upside down. You’ll also be able to share your replays with friends online. But there’s an unfortunate part for this too; anyone who was hoping Nintendo would clean up this holiday season will be disappointed to hear that it’s not coming until spring 2014. But stay tuned, they had something to make up for this.

 

But not just yet. Then came the “Please Understand” part of the show, as Iwata had to explain the delays for Wii Party U and Wii Fit U. Though they were originally planned to release soon, the games have been delayed to “the end of the year” and “this winter,” respectively. To make up for this, they’re hoping to enhance the features in both titles by adding new gameplay otpions. A new Art Academy is also making its way to Wii U this year, where you can share your artwork with others on MiiVerse. There aren’t many details on it besides that, though.

 

Following this was a montage of third-party games on Wii U, including the likes of Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. If you were hoping for some surprises, well, I’m sorry. The same could almost be said for the eShop montage, outside of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, which was part of Sony’s Conference last night. Nintendo is still having problems with third-party support, and they need to work on that, if it’s not too late.

 

Hey, don’t fret too much, Nintendo still has some good first-party games coming. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD was announced in January, and it’s coming soon. In motion, it doesn’t look like as much of a change from the original Gamecube game as some thought; and it looks much better in HD. It will look even better on your TV, because the game will run in 1080p, though the framerate wasn’t discussed. This version will also have new features, including writing messages and throwing them out to sea in a bottle. The messages will show up for other players to read in their version of the game. It releases in October 2013 worldwide.

 

I sure hope you remembered The Wonderful 101 from Platinum Games, because it’s coming late this summer. It needs all the promotion it can get, which is why it got a spot in this direct while other games (like Pikmin 3) didn’t. It’s directed by Hideki Kamiya, a game where you unite heroes to form powerful weapons to stop a powerful alien invasion. In addition to weapons like giant swords and various guns, they can also become helpful items like bridges and chains to help people in need. You can spend O Parts in the shop for more helpful items. The game releases in August in Japan and Europe, while us Americans have to wait until mid-September.

 

So yeah, Mario Kart 8 isn’t going to make it out this fall, but the title they have to make up for that is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. As the title implies, it’s a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns, which released on Wii in 2010. This time around, Donkey Kong and friends have to contend with a Viking invasion in their homeland of Donkey Kong Island. And yes, that’s “friends.” While Diddy Kong will join him again, he’ll have more help in the form of Dixie Kong. Though it wasn’t announced on the Direct, Nintendo later said in a press conference that David Wise, who composed music for the original SNES Donkey Kong Country games, is back as this game’s composer. The game releases in November.

 

There are plenty of people disappointed that Retro Studios is working on this instead of a Metroid game or a new IP, but you have to understand that Returns sold more than every Metroid Prime game combined. While Nintendo does need some new IPs on Wii U, they also need guaranteed hits right now, and this happens to be one of them. It’s also guaranteed to be a great game for the system.

 

Some of us were hoping to finally see Bayonetta 2 since it was confirmed only for Wii U last September, and we got our wish. The gameplay looks similar to the original, but there are some notable changes. For one, Bayonetta and Jeanne have switched hairstyles, with the former sporting a shorter hairdo and the latter getting a much longer style. I can’t help but wonder what brought that on.  There are small glimpses at some new moves, like the Umbra Climax, and Bayonetta and Jeanne can team up for some attacks. It wasn’t mentioned during the direct, but the game will also have a separate multiplayer mode. The game releases sometime in 2014.

 

And hey, Nintendo had another game that you were waiting to see: Monolith Soft’s X. The first trailer focused primarily on the action, but this one focused on the exploration aspects. It did a good job showing that you’ll be wandering through a living world. And yes, there are mechs. The first trailer hinted at some multiplayer aspects, this one has a small glimpse of that. But the majority of it makes the game look like a full single-player experience. That should make some people happy, though many of us were happy to see the game during E3 at all. It still doesn’t have a final name yet, and like a lot of games in Nintendo’s upcoming lineup, it’s coming sometime in 2014.

 

The final game Nintendo had to present was the one nearly everyone was waiting for: Super Smash Bros. And that’s pretty much the name: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. The footage was primarily from the Wii U version, and showed a bunch of familiar characters, including Mario, Samus, Link, and Donkey Kong. But with a new version comes new characters, including The Villager from Animal Crossing, and…Mega Man. Hey, at least someone cares about him! Though it wasn’t on the Direct, the Wii Fit Trainer is also going to be a character. The game releases on both systems in 2014. All of the currently confirmed characters are on the official website.

 

And that’s it! It was short, and it started out not so great -- especially with the stream issues -- but it wasn’t too bad overall. It was much better than their E3 2011 and 2012 conferences, for instance. Nintendo has some great first-party content coming, but hopefully they can convince some third-party developers to jump on board Wii U. Also, there was barely any 3DS content, though they had some things to show; expect a post on that later. We’ll see if this new format works out for Nintendo in the near future.

If you want to check out everything they showed, be sure to visit Nintendo's E3 2013 website. Or their Youtube Channel.