E3 2017

It occurred to me that Nintendo has a huge advantage during every E3, just due to nostalgia. All they really have to do to "win" an E3 is to announce games in franchises we recognize. Sony and Microsoft have a huge uphill battle, simply due to their properties not having been around as long. Announcing a new "Halo" or "Uncharted" will make some people happy, but not to the insane amount that happen when Nintendo goes up on stage and says the words "Zelda" or "Metroid".


Which might be why simply acknowledging the existence of a Metroid Prime 4 is more intriguing to me than something like "Anthem". It's not that it looks bad, it's just... I've never played Anthem. Well, I've played Destiny and Mass Effect, and it looks like it's just those two things combined. But I don't know who any of the characters in that game are. Even the trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2 uses an all-new cast. Whereas a new Mario is like seeing an old buddy again, and I have to admit that does bias me toward the big N.

I'm just surprised it took me this long to realize it. This could explain why I got a big kick out of the Super Mario Odyssey trailer, as opposed to the cautious optimism I employed to just about everything else that was shown.


I'm sure you can deduce from this post which games I'm looking forward to. All things considered, at least I can't point to any one showing as being a laughingstock. That's bad news for memes, but if it means we get better games, then that's a sacrifice I can live with.


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~A.H.

Final Fantasy XV: First Impressions

Final Fantasy XV is a game I've been playing lately, which is something I thought I would be saying 9 or 10 years ago, or never. Back when it was announced as "Final Fantasy Versus XIII". For reference, George W. Bush was still the president of the united states when this game was announced. Then we went  through the ENTIRE Obama administration, in the time it took for this game to be developed and then released.

That's a long fucking time to be working on and funding a video game. Like "The Last Guardian", it was one of those "vaporware" projects that became a running joke about how it would never be released. Both games came out in 2016. Both of those games now exist in a finished state and are in my house, and I still don't quite have the words to describe what that feels like. It's as surreal as if Half-Life 3 got a trailer and was announced for release in october this year. Even if I saw it on store shelves, my brain would still resist it. It can't be real. It's been the Not Real thing for so long. Surely this must be some mistake.


But it's there. It's real. I'm about 40 hours into it. I don't remember a whole lot, most of the characters are pretty unmemorable, and the game is too in love with open-world game concepts, without working to mitigate the more annoying aspects of those games(such as vast, empty spaces of no engaging content, and too-long trips back and forth between areas to cash in on finished quests.)

But I don't hate it. I want to play more. If nothing else, it FEELS like Final Fantasy, even if through a very warped modern lense. If nothing else, I'm glad Final Fantasy games really try to experiment with the brand.


That said, fuck whoever thought there should be a fishing mini-game. Fuck everything about that. Those are the Water Levels of mini-games.


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~A.H.

Logan

I saw "Logan". It was everything I expected it to be. Some days I think that's a bad thing, other days I think it's the best thing.

I imagine it's the kind of movie that's going to be become more relevant to me as I get older and my health fails. Even if it takes longer than I thought it would.

I wish I liked it more. I'm not sure why I don't LOVE it, because I think it deserves it. The problem must be with me. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe it was hyped up too much by those who saw it before me.

Or maybe it just hasn't quite sunk in yet.


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~A.H.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

They're making another Bubsy game. 

No more Castlevania, Silent Hill, Metroid or Mega Man, and definitely no Half-Life 3. But Bubsy gets another shot.

That's the world we live in.


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~A.H.

Fave Things Of 2016: Part II

Part I can be found here. 

Here's the rest of my annual list of things that I thought were good.

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5. Trico

I love Trico, the fluffy cat gryphon thing from "The Last Guardian". I haven't even finished the game. I just like having it in my house, and knowing that it's real. After so many years of doubt, it exists.

And Trico makes my heart hurt, he's so precious.

...She? Whatever, 10/10, would recommend this Trico


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Fave Things Of 2016: Part 1

2016 was the longest year of my life. It's fair to say that worse things have happened in 2017, and yet I still don't feel as bad as I felt last year. I looked back at the other lists I've made, and they all start with: "Ugh, that was the worst year EVER! Nothing could be worse than that!"

...I would give almost anything to go back to days that happy and rewarding. I realize now I had more hope in me than I gave credit for. Because it all came out like blood from a wound.


Well, time to pick up my limbs, dust myself off and try to list the positives to a terminal illness:


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10. Captain America: Civil War

I have problems with Marvel comics. Most recently, they blamed lackluster comic sales on "diversity"(after a disgraceful attempt to turn Captain America into a literal nazi, written by a literal nazi). But for now, Marvel Studios movies are still a higher grade of popcorn entertainment than they need to be.

It's almost like there's an internal schism in that company. If only I had a suitable metaphor for the situation...

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