The Gamers Lounge Thoughts and Reactions on Nintendo E3

Nintendo has some big shoes to fill following Microsoft and Sony.  Let’s see what they have up their sleeves this year!

A World Premier of StarFox Zero is shown.  Both air and ground battles are displayed and the game looks great.  The narration in the game is sounds and looks awesome.  The control scheme is discussed.  The Wii U gamepad is used to aim, and as a first person view, and the TV is used as a cinematic view.  The cinematic view on TV is a fresh and unique idea that would be great if incorporated in some other games.  A release of Holiday 2015 is revealed for StarFox Zero.  I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

Skylanders Super Chargers is featured along with Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures along with their vehicles.  These figures are playable in Skylanders Super Chargers.  It is shown that the character’s base can be turned, which changes it from a Skylanders character to an Amiibo.  The game looks very interesting and the concept of Amiibo/Skylander figures is unique.

A first look at Zelda Triforce Heroes is shown. It is a multiplayer puzzle type Zelda game with up to 3 players working together to get through levels by solving puzzles and fighting enemies together.  You also find different outfits for your character throughout the game, which gives you different abilities.  Graphics are similar to A Link Between Worlds and the teamwork element looks fantastic.  It is given a Fall 2015 release.  This game looks like a lot of fun and every Legend of Zelda game gets me hyped.

Hyrule Warriors for 3DS is now in development.  It is a reimagining of the Wii U version and will contain all DLC characters.  Additional characters and levels from The Legend of Zelda Windwaker are being added as well.  First quarter 2016 release is given.

Metroid Prime Federation Force for 3DS is revealed in a short video along with Metroid Prime Battle Ball, a 3 on 3 space ball game. The video was short, but looked pretty good so far.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is shown.  Lots of action is shown and graphics look great.  A game to look forward to on December 4th!

A new Animal Crossing game called Animal Crossing Happy Home Designers is shown.  It appears that you design houses for residents in this version of Animal Crossing.  You can use cards similar to the way you use Amiibos to access additional game content.  I would have liked to see a new Animal Crossing game similar to the others, but it will be interesting to see how this game turns out.

Animal Crossing Amiibos are now shown, along with a Mario Party type board game called Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival where it appears the goal is to collect as many coins as possible.  It didn’t appear that there were mini-games to play as you adventure around the game board.  I have mixed feelings about this game and will have to wait and see how things go as more details are released.

Yoshi’s Wooly World is featured next.  The graphic style of the game, which is everything made out of yarn, looks amazing and the gameplay looks fantastic! Enemies and other things swallowed by Yoshi turn into a ball of yarn instead of eggs.  Amiibos can be placed on the gamepad to change Yoshi into a Yoshi of that character.  Multiplayer looks fun and players can decide how they want to play.  October 16th is the release date for this exciting game.

Super Mario Maker is shown and the Amiibo feature is displayed that allows you to change your Mario character into other characters by tapping the Amiibo on the gamepad.  Looks like a very cool feature.  There will also be an 8-bit Mario Amiibo released that makes your Mario character very big.  Super Mario Maker will be released in September.

Nintendo’s E3 conference wraps up with some Mario footage dating from the original NES game to the newest Mario adventure.  The conference was heavily focused on Super Mario Maker and it being Mario’s 30th Anniversary.  Although there weren’t really any huge announcements from Nintendo, the conference was very entertaining.  Yoshi’s Wolly World and Super Mario Maker were the highlights of the show for me.  

Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamers Lounge for all of your E3 updates and news!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on EA E3 Conference

EA promises more than 12 new experiences to be revealed at their E3 conference.  The Gamer’s Lounge is looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve!

EA starts their conference with a brief teaser trailer of Mass Effect Andromeda.  No real details are given, just a short video.

Need for Speed is shown.  It is a combination of the past Need for Speed titles.  The world is twice the size of the world in Need for Speed Rivals.  It features the richest customization ever in a Need for Speed game and has 5 overlapping stories for players to take part in, which are Speed, Style, Build, Crew and Outlaw.  The graphics look great and I am looking forward to trying it out once it is released on November 3rd.

Unravel is a new puzzle/platform game that is demonstrated for the first time.  In Unravel you control a character made of red yarn that unravels as you make your way through the levels.  The yarn you leave behind can be used to help you through levels or can get in your way, depending on the paths you choose.  The graphics in the game look fantastic and the gameplay seems very unique.  This is definitely a game that I am going to keep my eye on as it further develops.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is shown next.  The Zombies have taken over and the Plants are now on the attack.  It was announced that there will be 6 new character classes and free content updates.  It was also revealed that there will be a single player mode and players of the first game can transfer their characters to the second game for free.  Looks like another great game that I will be looking forward to in the Spring of 2016.

NBA Live 16 is demonstrated.  A cell phone app is shown that is used to scan your face into the game.  The demonstration looked pretty straight forward and the results were great.  It will be interesting to see if that is the case when it is released to the public  New live-motion, physics based movement, revamped passing and a new shot system were also showcased.  I don’t think NBA Live is going to surpass 2K by any means, but it is nice to see some improvement on the recent versions.  I will give the game a shot for sure when it is released on September 29th.

FIFA 16 is shown next.  This is the first time that Women's teams are featured in a FIFA game.  Better defense and physics are boasted, along with the announcement that all FIFA Ultimate Team players will receive Pele and Messi for free today.

One of the most hyped games of E3, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is shown next.  This iteration takes you to the backstory of Faith, the main character.  This game is truly free-roaming as there are no levels or loading screens.  There are also no weapons, Faith relies on her agility and martial arts abilities to take out her enemies.  The gameplay shown was very fluid and the graphics were outstanding.  The combat system seemed to work great.  This will be a huge release when it comes out February 23rd, 2016.

A new kind of NFL Fantasy Draft game was revealed.  Draft Champion is a unique type of fantasy draft in which the player is given the choice between 3 players each round.  There is a lot of strategy involved because you never know what player or positions will come up each round.  Once you draft your team, you can play with that team online or solo.  Once you finish the short season, you draft again.  Seems like a very interesting concept to me and I will be giving it a try for sure.

Madden 16 was featured next.  Some precision control changes were revealed.  The changes are for the Quarterback, Wide Receiver and Defensive Back positions.  For the Quarterback, three different passes can be made, a low pass, a bullet pass and a high pass.  For the Wide Receiver,  you can make three kinds of catches, a yards after catch, a possession catch and an aggressive catch.  Unfortunately, As EA was getting into the Defensive Back’s controls, the Twitch stream had some technical difficulties.  By the time it came back online, the Madden presentation was finished.

Star Wars Battlefront was the final game shown at EA’s conference.  EA used real sets and props from the movies to create the worlds, weapons and characters in the game.  The game features split screen co-op and one-on-one battles.  The PS4 gameplay footage showed the game being played from all sides in both 1st and 3rd person views.  I am not a big Star Wars fan, but I am really looking forward to playing this game.

Overall EA had a pretty good conference.  There was a lot of excitement for Mirror’s Edge and Battlefront.  There are quite a few games from EA that I am looking forward later this year and into 2016.

Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more coverage of E3 2015!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on Sony E3 Conference

Sony’s conference has a lot of hype coming into it, with games such as Uncharted 4 and No Man’s Sky rumored to make appearances.  Can Sony keep up with Microsoft when it comes to big announcements?  It’s time to find out!

A gameplay video of The Last Guardian is shown to the excited crowd.  The gameplay is full of intense action and the graphics look great.  Definitely a game to look forward to in 2016.

Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games introduces their newest franchise Horizon Zero Dawn.  The gameplay video features the main character as she hides in bushes while hunting robotic dinosaur type enemies.  The gameplay looked smooth and the graphics looked very good.  Looks like a game I will be following as development continues.  No release date announced.

It was announced that a new Hitman game will be available on Beta to Playstation 4 first.

Street Fighter 5 gameplay footage is shown along with characters Birdie and Cammie.  The short video looked great.  It was announced that a beta will be available on PS4 on July 23rd.

A gameplay demo of No Man’s Sky is shown.  The player shows a brief space fight.  The battle is intense and looks great.  He then shows how many different places you can visit, which seems to be endless.  He then travels to a random undiscovered solar system.  He flies to a beacon on a planet and the planet is now discovered.  Each planet is destructible but is protected by robotic machines.  The game looks awesome and I am looking forward to it when it comes out.

Alex Evans of Media Molecule presents Dreams, an art creation type game where players can work together to create unique art.  The short demonstration was very interesting.

A trailer for Firewatch is shown.  The graphics in Firewatch look great and the story seems interesting.  Looking forward to seeing more of Firewatch.

Destiny’s next expansion, The Taken King is shown and has a release date of September 15th.  It contains a new map and much more content.  The trailer was amazing.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is shown.  The trailer shows some intense combat along with some new weapons.  You can play some missions exclusively on PS4.

World premier of World of Final Fantasy is shown.  The graphics, story and gameplay look amazing.  It will be released in 2016 exclusively on PS4 and PS Vita.

It was announced that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming out on PS4.  The announcement got a huge reaction from the crowd, as expected.  The trailer looked awesome and is a game many gamers will be looking forward to.

Shenmue 3 is announced and is funded by Kickstarter.  It is a sequel to the first and second Shenmue, not a spin off.  Yu Suzuki counts down to the opening of the Kickstarter campaign and the crowd goes crazy.  This is a game I can’t wait for! It has been a long time coming and there is no doubt it will get funded.  I think it will reach it's 2 million dollar goal within 24 hours.

Batman Arkham Knight is shown.  The story looks to be great and graphics are amazing.  The scene shown is from the Scarecrow Nightmare Missions exclusive to the PS4 and takes place in a restaurant that is attacked by zombie-like creatures.

Project Morpheus is talked about.  Many games that are compatible with Morpheus are shown, including RIGS which is a 3 on 3 battleground.  

Playstation Vue is launching in San Francisco and Los Angeles tonight.  Subscribers will be able to choose what channels they want without purchasing packages.  

Sony and Activision have teamed up to bring Call of Duty Black Ops 3 to E3. The campaign can be played with up to four friends online.  Gameplay video looks great and teamwork seems to be the key to success.  The environmental destruction looks tremendous.  Multiplayer is also demoed and it looks very smooth.  I’m not a huge CoD fan, but I am looking forward to this game on November 6th.  Playstation players will be the first to get all map packs and get beta access.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is shown.  Star Wars Twilight of the Republic and Rise Against the Empire playsets are shown and a limited edition starter pack that is exclusive to PS4 is announced.  A trailer for Rise Against the Empire is shown and looks interesting.  It is also announced that a Boba Fett figure is included in the limited edition starter pack that will be released on PS4 before any other consoles.

Star Wars Battlefront is featured and talks about the multiplayer aspect of the game.  Co-op is playable online or split screen.  I have to say the graphics in Battlefront are some of the best I have ever seen.  I am not a huge Star Wars fan, but this is a game I have to play when it is released in November.  

The final game shown is Uncharted 4.  The gameplay shown starts in a crowded area and the graphics look amazing.  NPCs move around fluidly without any hiccups as the characters move through the crowd.  As bullets start flying, everything remains smooth and the environmental destruction is very realistic.  When the action moves to the streets, the environmental damage is just as impressive.  Another game I cannot wait for!

That wraps up Sony’s E3 conference.  Quite a few good announcements and gameplay demos.  Not quite as exciting as Microsoft’s conference, but still good none-the-less.  Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more updates and news from E3!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on Microsoft E3 Conference

Microsoft had many great announcements and features at their E3 conference this morning.  Many new games were shown, features were announced, and one demonstration that stole the show for a lot of onlookers.  

Gameplay footage of Halo 5 Guardians was shown.  The game was said to be built from the ground up with epic worlds and battles at an epic scale.  The footage shown was a team of 4 spartans hunting for Master Chief.  It appeared that players are able to give commands to team members to help get through battles.  Josh Holmes of 343 Industries also mentioned that Halo 5 features drop in/out multiplayer and the maps are 4 times the size of any other maps from other Halo games.  He also presented a new “Warzone” multiplayer mode.  In this mode it is the player vs. everything; other players and AI enemies.  The graphics in Halo 5 Guardians looked great and I look forward to the game getting closer to launch.

The World Premier of a new Xbox One exclusive franchise called Recore was shown.  The trailer showed a woman and her robotic pet walking through a desert.  Based on the footage, it looks like this could be an interesting game to follow in the coming months.

Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, made the announcement that Xbox One backwards compatibility is coming.  The backwards compatibility will work with Xbox 360 games that developers allow to be made backwards compatible.  This will work with both physical and digital games and will be available this holiday season.

The Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller was announced.  It features swappable components, button and paddle remapping, sensitivity adjustments and more.  The controller will be released this fall.  No specific date or price was given.

Fallout 4 was shown.  It will feature full character customization and can be played in both 1st and 3rd person views.  An announcement was also made that mods made on the PC version of Fallout 4 can be played on the Xbox One version as well.

Peter Moore of EA made a couple of announcements.  He announced that EA Access will be free this week to all Xbox Live Gold members.  He also announced a couple new games that will be added to the Vault, Titanfall, which will be added this week and Dragon Age: Inquisition, which will be added this fall.  Members of EA Access will now be able to begin playing games before their street dates, such as Madden 16 on August 20th.  He also showed a trailer for Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2.  The game features new characters, worlds and modes and will be released in the Spring of 2016.

A Forza 6 trailer and footage was presented.  The game features 26 destinations, 450 cars, 24 player multiplayer and runs at 60 fps at 1080p resolution.  The game will be released on September 15th and looks amazing.

A World Premier trailer for Dark Souls 3 was shown.  Not much was shown, except an early 2016 release date, but it was pretty exciting none-the-less.

Tom Clancy’s The Division was shown with gameplay footage.  It looks like it is going to be a great Action RPG set in New York.  It was announced that Xbox One players will get the first Beta in December.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was also shown.  It was also announced that Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will come free with Rainbow Six Siege on Xbox One.

Many indie titles were shown, including Beyond Eyes, an adventure game where the main character is blind and Cuphead, a 16-bit style platformer that features 1930’s cartoon style graphics.  It looks like a bright future ahead for indie games on Xbox One.

RARE announced RARE Replay which will feature 30 classic RARE games, such as Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, R.C. Pro Am and Battletoads.  RARE Replay will be released on August 4th for $30.

RARE also revealed their newest Adventure game, Sea of Thieves.  The trailer showed lots of explosive battles on ships and some on land adventuring.  It looks like a game I will be keeping my eyes on as it develops further.

Fable Legends was shown and will be free-to-play on Xbox One and Windows 10.  It was announced that players on both platforms will be able to play together.

Xbox Game Preview was announced, which is a program that allows players to buy and play titles while they are still in development, similar to Steam Early-access titles.  Every game in the program will have a free demo for players to try before committing to buying.  The program starts today.

Gameplay of Rise of the Tomb Raider was shown.  The graphics and lighting in the game looked amazing and the gameplay was very intense.  It is set to be released this Holiday season.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition was announced.  It is a remake of the original Gears of War and will be released on August 25th.  A public beta for the game starts today.

A teaser trailer for Gears of War 4 was also shown with a release date of Holiday 2016.

A demonstration of Minecraft being played using the Microsoft Hololens was shown.  They were able to use a special camera that showed everyone what it looked like through the Hololens.  First, the man using the Hololens put a “screen” on the wall of the stage and played your everyday Minecraft using a controller.  Another player joined his game and the game looked and played just as it would on a PC or console.  The player then turned off the screen on the wall and walked over to a table on stage.  Using a voice command, he turned the table into a 3D view of the Minecraft game.  He was able to walk around and look at the world from all angles.  He was also able to “lift” the Minecraft world up and look below ground to help the other player find materials underground.  He was able to use commands to help guide her to the right spot.  There were many voice commands he used to do different things in the game, such as saying “lightning strike” did just that, sent a bolt of lightning to the world.  This demonstration was amazing and makes you wonder just what else you will be able to do when development is complete and what games other than Minecraft will be like.  This demonstration was the moment of the conference for me, as I’m sure it was for many others.

Make sure you stay tuned at The Gamer’s Lounge for more E3 updates and news!