Well… this is a bummer. Irrational Games is shutting down. The ‘Bioshock’ series was given to parent company 2K Games to live on but this is still surprising news. You can read the letter from Ken Levine at the Irrational Games website: http://irrationalgames.com/
‘Bioshock Infinite’ — Rated M
Genre: First-Person Action
Way to end the day with a bang. Not only did Sony excite me the most out of the bunch, but they, in my opinion, completely blew it out of the water. I haven’t given Sony much thought since my PS2. I’ve been an Xbox fan ever since but with all these shenanigans surrounding the Xbox One I was definitely interested in what Sony had to say. Especially after being so disappointed by the lack of answers we got during the Microsoft conference, I was curious as to whether or not Sony would address any of the questions or concerns. Well they definitely did and in a big “take that Microsoft” kind of way!
Sony – http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/06/10/the-entire-sony-press-conference-e3-2013
Start to finish, the Sony Briefing was my favorite of the bunch. They began the show with a super creative and entertaining Playstation video montage. Following the video, out walks President and CEO of Sony Entertainment, Jack Tretton. The biggest thing I liked about him was, firstly, how natural and comfortable he came across on stage and, secondly, his genuine excitement for what he was talking about. He handled much of the conference on his own which was impressive and discussed each device with ease.
Although I’m not super interested in the PS Vita, I thought the presentation was good. He definitely caught my attention when I heard the words “The Walking Dead”. The only disappoint was that I felt like they probably should have announced a price drop or an incentive of some kind. At $250+ for the device and around $40 per game, price is really the biggest reason I haven’t given the Vita much though in the past. Handheld gaming, for me, isn’t priority and with the 3DS at almost $100 less, I thought it could use something extra.
Skipping most of the PS3 talk, as it is simply not a console I will be purchasing, I will say that the only game that has made me wish I had one is ‘The Last of Us’. I know I’m not the only one there. Besides all the phenomenal reviews, it’s so pretty and looks like all-around awesome game. They previewed it again during the PS3 portion of the conference and it will be available for PS3 on Friday (6/14/13). All I can hope is that it will either be released for PS4 as well or that the game will be able to be played on the PS4. Another interesting game that was previewed during the PS3 portion was ‘Beyond: Two Souls’. As a movie fanatic, I find the concept of this game SUPER interesting. The game literally stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. The character’s aren’t just voiced by the actors they actually look like the actors as well. I feel like this gives the game a really unique feel, as if you are watching a regular film and yet controlling it at the same time. While I’m not sure how great the story concept is, it is definitely a really interesting idea and I am intrigued.
Now, FINALLY, the PS4! First off, the look is much better than I expected. I, personally, am not the biggest fan of the glossy/”sleek” look of the PS3 (I know a lot of people would disagree) and I was pleasantly surprised by the new and smaller look of the PS4. They then spent a decent amount of time discussing games and new features. ‘The Order’ and ‘Second Son’ both looked pretty decent but I thought their section on indie games was really fun and impressive. Between ‘Don’t Starve’, ‘Octodad Dadliest Catch’ and ‘Outlast’ there is definitely something for everyone. They also had chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, Michael Lynton come out on stage to not only discuss new features for the PS4 such as Redbox Instant and Flixster but he also mentioned their plan to produce original programming for the PS Entertainment Network.
Overall I was pretty pleased with Sony but I think the roar of applause given, louder than I’ve ever heard before at an E3 press conference, said it all. Sony made it’s presence known in a big way by throwing everything on the table. No skirting around any issues for Jack Tretton and within a few minutes most of my “next gen console” fears had been alleviated. Games and new features aside (although good), it was the major points that they addressed (that Microsoft had not) regarding the PS4 policies that won me over. Price point was another big selling factor, for me. Sony made a few things very clear. They will not be implementing any used game restrictions for the PS4 and there will be no online “check-in” or authentication requirements for the PS4. Plus members will get 1 free game per month and a great price point of $399, $100 less than the Xbox One.
Now… the icing on the cake for me was the Square Enix video/trailer announcing ‘Kingdom Hearts III’. I literally couldn’t contain my excitement. While the game will be released for both Xbox One and PS4, this announcement was purely icing on the cake of a great press conference.
Worth sharing — after the conference ended, Sony released this video on YouTube only pouring salt into the Microsoft wounds
I had a super (un)productive Monday, yesterday. I spent the day (and night) watching the E3 Press Conferences and Live Coverage. I was really happy to find out that Spike was covering E3 for most of the day, but bummed when they switched over to ‘Tattoo Nightmares’ after the Ubisoft Briefing. I would have loved to have watched the Sony Conference on TV. It was fine though. Spike continued to do a really nice job online after their TV coverage ended.
Now, I don’t pretend to be a video game expert or anything like that. I am FAR from it. I just enjoy playing video games and I have my game preferences, just like everyone else. So as a fan, rather then pick apart every moment from yesterday’s conferences (and end up with an even more annoyingly long post) I’m just going to touch upon the things that struck my attention and/or I enjoyed. First up —
Microsoft: http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/06/10/the-entire-microsoft-press-conference-e3-2013
I missed a big chunk of the Microsoft Briefing due to the fact that it started right before my shift ended at work and I had to go home. Although it (unfortunately) sounded like I didn’t miss out on too much, thanks to IGN I was able to watch the briefing this morning. I love my Xbox, I’m definitely an Xbox girl. Sadly, since they released the first information of the Xbox One, I’ve been super disappointed. Between the quirky “daily online check-in” discussions, the inability to play 360 games on it and the bizarre used games restrictions, I was not thrilled. I was hoping that they’d redeem themselves somehow at E3. Specifically in regards to the Xbox One, I don’t think they did. They unveiled the updated Xbox360 which was a nice start. I mean, why fix something that isn’t broken, and with the new games being released for the 360 in the next year I was pleasantly surprised to hear they won’t be completely abandoning the 360 any time soon. The two free games per month for Live Gold members was a nice perk as well.
Now… in regards to the Xbox One, I simply wasn’t thrilled. It seems a bit more trouble then it’s worth and at the $499 price point it better be offering something of decent substance. Games are obviously purely preference and unfortunately, for me, the only game I really cared about with the “exclusively for Xbox One” titles they featured was ‘Dead Rising 3’. The upload studio and twitch partnership were fun little things to include in the new system but overall I was just disappointed. I had hoped that Microsoft would acknowledge the concerns of those, like myself, want to know what the deal is with these questionable policies pertaining to the Xbox One.
Now, I get the point of the new console, I know that next gen games probably wouldn’t work as well on the 360 or PS3 but why have two Xboxes? I don’t want one to play some games and another to play others. Plus would I even be able to use my Live subscription on both consoles? Probably not. Also, if I want a console for these upcoming, next gen games, sure the online multiplayer is probably not going to be as good with Sony, but I still have the PS4 to pick from as well. I wanted Xbox to take this opportunity to get me excited and crush any doubts about the Xbox One, but by only skirting around the big questions, I don’t think they did. I get that because I favor Xbox I had high hopes and I’m being more critical then I wanted to be but I can’t help with my disappointment. I can’t be the only one who feels that way. Microsoft has plenty of time to fix some of these problems and change my current view of the Xbox One but, for now, my heart stays with my 360.
E3 2013 has officially begun and it’s making me miss G4. Their coverage was always fantastic. Anyways, like most people, I’m most excited for Microsoft and Sony’s press conferences today. I’m starting off pretty skeptical to both but fingers crossed for some redemption today. I’m pretty disappointed with what we know thus far about the Xbox One but I’m hoping at least one of them wins me over. You can watch the press conferences live here – http://www.e3expo.com/
So here’s how I’ll be spending my day… below is the press conference schedule for E3 2013 today:
NOW – Microsoft
12:20pmPT/3:20pmET – EA
2:40pmPT/5:40pmET – Ubisoft
5:20pmPT/8:20pmET – Sony
‘Dishonored’ — Rated M
Genre: First-Person Action
OK, so, I play video games quite often, for fun, but mostly do a lot of zombie killing on Xbox live so it will be rare that I actually post a review about a game. I have decided, though, that any single player, story based games that I start and finish, I will attempt to review. I don’t know why I felt like I needed such a disclaimer but there it is. Anyways:
After months of procrastination I finally sat down and played and finished Dishonored for Xbox 360. I LOVED it. I had heard about how cool the game was during E3 so I was excited to play it and yet I can’t come up with a good reason why I started it but didn’t finish it until now. Released last October, I bought Dishonored at the same time as Borderlands 2. This past week I sat down, donated two solid evenings to Dishonored and was blown away.
The game is set in Dunwall, an industrial city being devastated by the rat-plague and political corruption. You are Corvo, former protector of the empress, who is framed and imprisoned for her assassination. You begin the game with the task of escaping prison to prove your innocence, avenge the emperess’ death and find her daughter Emily. The game is very task based but the wonderfully unique part is the freedom you have in how you complete the tasks and, ultimately, the game. The game is visually pretty gorgeous and each level has so much to explore that the way in which you complete each task is completely up to you and exploration is obviously recommended. Could you focus your efforts primarily on completing task after task as quickly as possible; avoiding all optional tasks and world exploration, sure, BUT that would make for a much less fun experience. Ultimately your choices affect how the story ends. Deadlier game play = darker story conclusion. Avenging her death doesn’t necessarily mean you become a crazed assassin killing everyone that gets in your path, but it also doesn’t mean you can’t do that as well. Apparently there is a way (through avoidance and using other non-lethal means of take-down) to complete the game without killing a single person. I’d imagine that most people take a middle-of-the-road approach. Other freedoms and options in the game involve how you customize Corvo (your character). Early on, you are given magic abilities and, by finding “runes” throughout the game, allow you to upgrade these abilities to assist you. Some of these abilities are “darker” and more lethal than others. In addition to upgrading these abilities you also have opportunities to find “blueprints” and coins to help you upgrade your gear. Again, your upgrade choices can determine how you will ultimately play the game.
This first person action game took me a little getting used to but after about 20 minutes I was completely hooked. Personally, I originally tried to take a less lethal approach. My instincts aren’t to go around killing everybody and I saw Corvo as someone who, as a former protector to the empress, would want to take a more stealth and intellectual approach to proving his innocence and rescuing Emily. I didn’t see Corvo as a killing machine. That being said, sometimes, being the assassin was a more fun and easier way to do things. I want to replay the game and see what I would do differently now that I know the different levels and areas of the game. I know that I didn’t take full advantage of all the game had to offer and I want to the second time around.
I am not, nor do I pretend to be, a gaming expert. I mean, lets be honest, I only got an Xbox360 last year and my favorite console is still, probably, N64 so I would not be nit-picking technicalities of the game and I don’t have many complaints. Yes, at times, the climbing and certain movements were a little off or glitchy but as a whole, this game is a solid 9 out of 10 for me. The ONLY thing I would’ve liked more would be some extra insight into the background of Dunwall and Corvo himself and a slightly more detailed storyline but that is hardly anything to be concerned with considering the pretty awesome complexities of the game itself.
Nerdy Girl Rambles 