E3 2016... The Second, Even Better Half

Here we go… My third and final E3 blog for this year. Probably. The live Zelda stream is on the background but I’ll try and contain that excitement…

I’ll cover it first, but I’ll go all negative. Treehouse has been a great feature of E3 the past two years, were developers play the games and talk about them. It’s a lot harder to appreciate though when it’s your only E3 show. Whose fricking idea was it to advertise it as a Zelda showcase, beginning at 5pm and then spend from like 5.10 to 6pm showing blooming Pokemon? This is not a rhetorical question, I want to know who and I want to slap them.

Right, that’s out of the way… Zelda!!! Utterly gorgeous. It’s clearly a Zelda game but it feels like the biggest change in format since they first switched to 3D. The open world, climbing, lack of rupees or hearts in the grass… So much change. I’m hearing that there’s no towns either which I’m not so sure about, but I trust these guys to convince me. I love what I see so far and again I’ll admit my bias here, Zelda’s my number one and I was always going to love it. My most wanted game from E3 2016.

Next up: Sony PlayStation.

Wowsers. That is what an E3 press show should always be like. Game after game, little to no talking about services or sales figures, no awkward ‘would they get off the stage moments.’ Just games. Apart from the intro, a five-ish minute long orchestral performance but I loved that part too. Got the hype juices flowing.

Those games then!! God of War had a neat demo and I know the series has plenty of fans who were eager for its PS4 debut. I got more excited about the next two titles though. The Last Guardian had a lovely trailer that ended with that firm October release date. Finally! Then there was Horizon which was spectacular visually and had the sort of action RPG gameplay stuff I’d be prone too.

Virtual Reality got a segment and I’ll admit to dreading this beforehand, but they aced it. Kept it snappy and just fired a salvo of announcements and teaser trailers at you. Batman, Star Wars and that new Resident Evil all in VR. After the show you learn that a few of these are short experiences, closer to DLC length than full games but during that conference? It didn’t matter. Momentum was key.

Crash Bandicoot is coming back! Not a big new game but instead a Skylanders appearance and a trilogy remaster. Maybe not quite as exciting a reveal as Crash fans wanted but it’s more than they’ve had in a long time. Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear fame took to the stage to unveil Death Stranding which was… I’ve no idea what that was. Didn’t like the name, hadn’t a clue what it was about but it was intriguing none the less. 

Days Gone wasn’t my favourite part and a bit of a weak show closer for me. It did look good, it’s just that it’s yet another zombie game. I feel I’m the only person crying out for a Vampire killing game with ash flying everywhere, but this blog isn’t about my imagination... If zombies are a popular thing then Days Gone looks like a fun enough way to kill them.

SPIDER-MAN!!!! This trailer was amazing. Coming from Insomniac games and exclusive to PS4, this was a real highlight. It helps that I’m a Marvel geek too but the movement of Spidey through the city looks utterly brilliant to play. I am crossing everything that this gives Marvel a match for the Arkham games. 

If you can’t tell already then I freaking loved that Sony conference. Got totally swept up in it and their delivery was great. Even stuff I didn’t care for wasn’t on screen long enough to be an annoyance. Game after game pumped out and plenty of variety among it all. 

Final thoughts!!! My most wanted games from the past two days of shows… In no particular order:

Zelda. Ok that’s in order, number 1

Dishonored 2, The Last Guardian, Horizon, Spider-Man.

Plenty more I’ll play but those gave me the biggest grins and the most excitement for this hobby of mine. And sure isn’t that the point of e3? A reminder that thumbs will have plenty to keep them busy and my wallet will continually be crying at its emptiness. Bliss