My 2011 E3 Thoughts

Okay, since Blogger and YouTube aren't cooperating I had to take out all of the embedded videos and replace them with links. Not as pretty, but it works. Enjoy.

Well, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is going on right now, and the three major press conferences are over. What has me excited? Pissed off? Apathetic? Let's see.

Nintendo
This was the biggie for me, as well as many of the E3 attendees and viewers this year. Nintendo unveiled its console successor to the Wii. What's it called? Well, there was a lot of speculation (most of it just pulled straight from the asses on uninformed bloggers). Stream, Cloud, Beem, Wii 2, and even simply "Nintendo" were a few of the names I saw thrown around.

Are you ready for this? It's called the "Wii U."

Seriously. No, really! That's what they're calling it. "Wii U."

I don't know about you, but I'd love to see the list of names they turned down if that's the best they could come up with. I seriously hope between now and launch that the Nintendo marketing department wakes the hell up and makes the smart choice, which is change the name to something that doesn't sound like a damn siren.

So what do we know about it? Honestly? Not a whole hell of a lot. Nintendo seems to be adopting the X-Files: I Want To Believe philosophy of marketing, i.e. don't tell the fans shit. We do know that it's backwards compatible with the Wii and its controllers/accessories, we know it is high definition (1080p), and... well... that's about it. Nintendo's not even giving us a price, which judging by that fancy shmancy controller is probably going to be A LOT.

Here's the demo of the Wii U's controller. (Click to view on YouTube)
See what I mean? That bad boy's gonna cost a pretty penny. However, I think the utilization of existing Wii accessories is a VERY smart move.

The verdict? I'll buy it. I'll just call it my Wii 2 when in the company of others.

Next up is the 3DS. I'm actually a little miffed at Nintendo for giving me a reason to buy this goddamned gimmicky handheld. Before this morning I absolutely refused to buy one, but the revelation that my beloved Megaman Legends 3 will be a 3DS exclusive and the announcement of the following game sealed the deal.

Luigi's Mansion 2 (Click to view on YouTube)
Really, Nintendo? Luigi's Mansion 2 on the 3DS? I really think they dropped the ball on this by not putting it on the Wii or Wii U where it belongs, but I'm a Luigi's Mansion fiend, so well played, Nintendo. This alone will motivate me to buy a 3DS. Well, that and the Game Boy virtual console.

Crafty bastards.

Mario Kart 3D (Click to view on YouTube)
Mario Kart Wii really sold me on the series, and now the improvements they've made to it with this installment really have me chomping at the bit to play. The seamless transition from land to sea to air and back is a great addition to an already fun game.

Sony
Ah, Sony, I never lost faith in you. Yes, the Welcome Back package could be a little better, but I think I was more than sufficiently compensated for the inconvenience of no PSN for over a month. So let's see what goodies are coming for my beloved PS3.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Click to view on YouTube)
Really? A sequel? Already. Yup. Square-Enix is really dragging their feet on that Final Fantasy VII remake, but they already pumped this out. I suppose it's intended to make up for some of XIII's shortcomings, but having Sara as a main playable character is making me a little leery. S-E promises this will be an improvement, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Now, quit fucking around and get to work on Final Fantasy XV, you bastages!

Star Trek (Click to view on YouTube)
The 2009 Star Trek reboot film made a fan out of me. Before that I had a pretty lukewarm attitude towards Star Trek, but this rekindled my love for it. I can't wait for the new movie and this game, which looks like it will be awesome!

Tomb Raider (Click to view on YouTube)
I hate Tomb Raider. Always have. But this reboot is really changing my view on the long-running series. I was shocked and pleased to learn that Square-Enix has taken over the franchise. This game makes Lara Croft something she's never been either in a game or a film... human. THAT I can get behind. (HA HA... Multiple entendre!)

Assassin's Creed Revelations (Click to view on YouTube)
Awww, ye-ah! This is the icing on the cake, kids. I'm a huge Assassin's Creed junkie, and the cliffhanger ending of Brotherhood left me begging for more. The return of Altair as a playable character alone is worth the price of admission. Oh, and since I know you're wondering, here is the music used in the trailer.

Sony also unveiled the next generation handheld "Vita." This seems to be the year of bad product names. It does seem to be a step up from the disaster that was the PSP Go, but I just can't get too excited about it. Maybe once it has more of an established library, but until then... Meh.
Here's a demo vid for the Vita. (Click to view on YouTube)

Microsoft Xbox

Some good things coming to Xbox this year. It seems Microsoft is finally coming through on some of the promises they made for the Kinect as a user interface. Live TV is coming to Xbox Live which really excites me since this apparently opens up the possibility of subscribing to individual cable channels instead of getting a bunch of useless shit. I also like the idea of ditching my antenna since this new digital thing really does not work over the air.

Anyway, here are some of the things Microsoft is doing that make me genki.

Halo 4 (Click to view on YouTube)
Yeah, baby! The Chief is back! And on a related note...

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Click to view on YouTube)
This is something I've been hoping for for a couple years now. Some gamers are crying because of the perceived lack of originality on Microsoft's part, but I think this is something that needed to happen. Halo: Combat Evolved is a masterpiece, but when compared side by side with even Halo 2, its graphics don't hold up. Halo isn't just fun, it's stylistically beautiful, which is why I think the first installment deserved (note: deserved, not needed) a remake.

Kinect Star Wars (Click to view on YouTube)
Ever wonder what happened to that Star Wars game they promised us for Kinect at the LAST E3? I did too. Well, it looks like they improved upon it greatly (as I hoped they would). It's looking better, but can we find a better way to activate the saber than shouting "Lightsaber on!"?

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (Click to view on YouTube)
What?! I have kids. Don't judge me. Seriously though, I think Logan and I (and eventually Scott) could have a lot of fun with this.

Dance Central 2 (Click to view on YouTube)
I won't lie. I love Dance Central. Unfortunately my bad ankle has a differing opinion. It didn't like it when I tried to Superman dat ho and threatened to snap in half. Two awesome points about this game: 1. All of the tracks from the original Dance Central are importable, which is awesome because I've already bought five DLC songs for the game, and 2. Simultaneous dancing so Jess and I can dance onscreen at the same time. This is something we've been hoping for for quite a while.

So that's it. If there's anything I forgot I'll either update this post or post a supplemental one to cover additional topics. With a sick baby demanding my attention, it's hard to keep track of things.

Let me know what you think of these titles/consoles, or your thoughts on anything you saw (or didn't see) at E3 this year in the comments below.