Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 232

Just two months removed from the events of E3 2012, magazines are still covering all the big news from the huge conference.  While the July issues of each magazine covered most of the games showed off to the press before E3, the August issues are usually when each magazine breaks down everything at E3.  Giving their grades for each of the Big Three, ranking the games at this year's event and giving away their Best of E3 awards.  For those of us that cannot see every single thing at E3 due to publishers and developers keeping certain games and demos behind closed doors, these issues of each video game magazine serves as our one stop shop for everything that we may have missed at E3.

Being the annual E3 issue, every article excluding the reviews and Game Over sections are all about E3 2012.  From Game Informer's annual breakdown of the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo's showings at E3 to the humongous cover story, which includes previews of Game Informer's Top 50 Games at E3 2012, you are in for some of the most comprehensive coverage of E3 found in any magazine.  For collector's Issue 232 of Game Informer has six different covers.  Each cover showcases a game highlighted in the E3 Hot 50 cover story.  They are all pretty cool, but my personal favourites are the Castlevania, Resident Evil 6 and Splinter Cell Blacklist covers.  The bulk of the issue is dedicated to the cover story which is more or less an expanded previews section and that is not a bad thing.  I am baffled at how Game Informer picked some of the games on this Top 50 Games of E3 list such as Gears of War: Judgment and Star Wars 1313 when they had little to nothing to show at E3 this year, but everybody is entitled to their opinion.  Honestly I do not really see the purpose of even making this a Top 50 when each writer is essentially writing a preview and not selling why a certain game is at a certain spot on the list.  For the sheer amount and quality of the content in this cover story, it is a must-read for any gamer.  Just forget about the numbering because it does not mean much of anything.  This issue of Game Informer also includes interviews with some big names in the industry, an in-depth analysis of Square Enix's Agni's Philosophy tech demo, a rundown of the most interesting downloadable games and Action MMOs of E3 2012, an in-depth interview with Jason Rubin on his new role at THQ and his plans for the future of the struggling company, reviews and a retrospective look at the first game Rod Fergusson, the director of production at Epic Games, ever worked on.

If you have been living under a rock for the past two months and completely missed out E3 2012, Issue 232 of Game Informer is your one stop shop on all the big announcements and up-to-date game previews.  The sheer amount of content crammed into these 116 pages is incredible.  Definitely an issue of Game Informer that any gamer should go out of their way to read.

Off the Newsstand: Nintendo Power Issue 280

Absolutely no new retail game releases this week.  Meaning that there will be no Launch Station at all this week.  Now that I got enough time to look at the latest issue of Nintendo Power.  The big Issue 280, only 20 more issues until a landmark 300 issues of Nintendo Power.  Following in suit with all other video game magazines, the July issue revolves around all the big news from this year's E3.

On the cover of Issue 280 is the Wii U, Nintendo's next console.  Considering Nintendo Power has been one of my main sources for Nintendo news, previews, reviews and coverage, I was disappointed that there was not a full article on the Wii U.  It was just a stuck at the beginning of the Power Up section of the magazine.  I remember after Nintendo's big showcase of the Wii at E3 2006, the following Nintendo Power had an amazing article called The Wii Experience that looked at the Wii and some of the big launch titles such as Red Steel, Raving Rabbids, Madden and Tony Hawk.  It was not just a brief look and a list of the Top 10 Wii U Games at E3 2012.  In all honesty, it was a fine look at the Wii U, but I expected much more from Nintendo Power considering this is the official Nintendo magazine for North America and the Wii U report was the cover story of this issue.  If they were not going to have the Wii U as the cover story for this issue, they should have put something else on the cover like New Super Mario Bros. 2.  Speaking of New Super Mario Bros. 2, there was a five page preview of the upcoming 3DS game.  It was a fine preview, but there was nothing too substantial.  Given a few more pages and an interview, this preview could of easily served as the cover story for Issue 280.  Along with that preview was a look back all of Nintendo's releases in 1987, which was pretty cool, but felt more like filler, and a preview of the Adventure Time game for the DS and 3DS.  Even though I have never watched the show, I found the Adventure Time preview easily the best article in this issue.  It gave a substantial amount of information about a game that until now nobody really knew much about and had a very good interview with Adventure Time series creator and animator, Pendleton Ward.  Even though I am being down on this issue of Nintendo Power, there was still some good content in the Download, Preview, Review and Community sections of the magazine.

As a whole, I expected much more from Issue 280 of Nintendo Power.  When you such a big story in the Wii U on the cover, you have to hit the ball out of the park or leave people like yours truly disappointed.  There is still quite a bit of good content in Issue 280 of Nintendo Power, but it is not an issue that you have to go out of your way to read.

Hump Day Video: Deadpool: The Game

In recent years, games have found a bigger home at the San Diego Comic-Con than in the past.  Taking up a lot of floor space, many video game related panels take place and a few announcements are made usually pertaining to comic book related video games.  Comic Con also is the first time the public can play a lot of demos for games showed off at last month's E3.

Out of all the video game announcements, the one that took the cake was the reveal of High Moon Studios' newest project, Deadpool: The Game.  Along with the announcement came an amazing teaser trailer for Deadpool: The Game that I will share you with you all today.  This trailer only shows a little tease of what the gameplay should be like, but from what has been shown so far it looks like a great mix of bloody violence with the humour of The Merc with a Mouth.  I personally believe Deadpool is in the fully capable hands of High Moon Studios, the team that brought us the great Transformers: War for Cybertron and its upcoming sequel Fall of Cybertron, as it looks like they fully respect the source material and want to do their best to translate it to this interactive media for all to enjoy.  So here is the teaser trailer from this past weekend from Comic Con for everybody's viewing pleasure.

Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 231

Been a little busy these last few weeks with summer game releases to get a chance to talk about the magazines that I have plowed through these last few weeks. Actually finished my latest issue of Nintendo Power and I do not have that much to read. Guess I will have to wait until my new issue of Game Informer comes in the mail. Speaking of Game Informer, today I am looking at the last issue of Game Informer I read, which actually was released the week of E3.

Issue 231 of Game Informer had all the inside scoops on some of the biggest games highlighted at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.  I know Game Informer does get a lot of inside looks very early, but this issue was sent to subscribers the week of E3, when some of the games/tech demos in this issue were first revealed to the public.  Therefore causing some leaks and killing some of the possible surprises at this year's event.  Personally, I do not believe it would have been that hard to send the issues out so subscribers and newsstands received the issue after E3 was over. While this gripe may not hurt the quality of the issue, I do think that when this issue was released did steal some of the grandeur away from this year's E3.  The cover story was all about the new Gears of War: Judgment (or what I like to call Gears of War: Reach) being co-developed by Epic and People Can Fly, the team that worked on Bulletstorm.  The cover story has an in-depth look at the story of the game that follows Baird and Cole Train on a mission that takes place 14 years before the original and the new multi-player modes such as OverRun, the combination of Horde and Beast modes.   The cover story was fine and enjoyable; I am not sold on the game at all.  It seems like Epic and Microsoft are trying to milk the series for all it is worth instead of providing possibly a new IP or a sequel to Bulletstorm with more refined mechanics.  Right now, Gears of War: Judgment is in my opinion the Gears sequel that nobody wanted.  Along with the Gears of War: Judgment, Issue 231 contained exclusive previews for the Skyrim DLC, Dawnguard, Tomb Raider, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Dead Space 3 and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.  Each preview had in-depth descriptions of the E3 builds for each game.  I personally enjoyed the Tomb Raider preview that looked at a few scenarios that I did not see while watching the demos from E3.  Honestly the best stuff from this issue came from the Connect section.  An extremely extensive look at Unreal Engine 4, an article on how cross-platform gaming could possibly change the way we play, a very compelling interview with Robert Bowling, former creative strategist for the Call of Duty franchise, on his departure from Activision and his new game Human Element and a great interview with Jason West and Vince Zampella that sheds a different light on their dispute with Activision are all articles that are worth picking up this issue of Game Informer to read.  To round out the issue are the solid previews and reviews for all to enjoy.

While I do not agree with the release schedule of this issue and how it did take away from the lustre of E3, Issue 231 is a great issue of Game Informer that I cannot fault for things possibly out of the editors' control.  This issue has some of the most incredibly thought provoking and informative articles I have found in any magazine and a great set of exclusive previews to accompany another solid cover story.  It is the full package that is well worth the asking price.

Nintendo Direct 6.21.12 Impressions

Nintendo Direct is a mini-conference where Nintendo announces new and exclusive Nintendo announcements and showcases their upcoming games.  Nintendo Direct serves as a way for Nintendo to keep Nintendo fans up-to-date on the newest happenings in the Big N directly from them instead of through video game websites or magazines.  It is a very cool idea and personally these videos have always been fun to watch.  Last night, Nintendo hosted another Nintendo Direct that focused mainly on Nintendo 3DS, but had a little section to showcase a game or two for the Wii.

First and foremost, I really did enjoy this Nintendo Direct as it did wrapped all the information about 3DS and Wii into one concise 20 minute video that flowed perfectly.  My one big grip is that a lot of the big announcements that Nintendo shared with us should have been at E3, not this 20 minute mini-conference.  The major announcements of the Nintendo 3DS XL and Namco Bandai helping develop the new Smash Bros. games along with the reveals of Fire Emblem and Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask should have been showed E3 because it would have definitely improved Nintendo's okay showing at the event and it would gotten out to more people than just this little mini-conference that usually is only viewed by Nintendo fans and video game journalists.  While I can criticize Nintendo's decision to omit a lot of this huge announcements, the Nintendo Direct did what it was suppose to do.  It got Nintendo fans excited for the next wave of 3DS games and the Kirby Dream Collection for Wii.  I would have liked if Nintendo gave a concrete release date for The Last Story, but that is just minor.  We got a price and date for the 3DS XL, a rundown of all the third-party 3DS games, looks at New Super Mario Bros. 2, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Kirby's Dream Collection, Fire Emblem, Pokemon Dream Radar, Pokedex 3D Pro and Pokemon Black 2 and White 2.  One of the other big announcements for me at least was the 8-Bit Summer initiative for the Nintendo eShop.  If any of you have read some of my On the Download posts, I have been crying to the heavens about the lack of Virtual Console games on the eShop.  It seems somebody at Nintendo of America has heard my prayers.  There will be two Virtual Console games released each week in July starting July 5th including Kid Icarus: Of Myths & Monsters, which should of come out alongside Kid Icarus: Uprising in my opinion.

All-in-all, this Nintendo Direct mini-conference was very good.  It was packed to the brim with great content and announcements.  While some of this stuff should have been at E3, I cannot fault this mini-conference for Nintendo's obvious gaff.  If you want to check it out, I have provided the video for you to watch below.  Enjoy and have a nice day.

Off the Newsstand: Nintendo Power Issue 279

Have faced a little drought of magazines this last little while.  It has taken a few weeks to get ahold of my newest issue of EGM and I am still waiting for the newest Game Informer, which I can buy in store yet I have not received my copy the issue as a subscriber.  Finished my latest issue of Nintendo Power, just before the craziness of E3 so I did not get a chance to publish my thoughts on their pre-E3 issue.

As the pre-E3 issue Nintendo Power had one big surprise with the cover story.  There will be a new Castlevania exclusive to the 3DS coming this Fall.  Called Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate (was that ever a mouthful?), this new entry in the Lords of Shadow lore follows four different characters as they venture through Dracula's castle during different time periods.  Nintendo Power's cover story revealed that you will get to play as Trevor and Simon Belmont.  Mirror of Fate looks to merge the great combat of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow with the structure of past handheld iterations in the Castlevania series such as Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.  This cover story is the main reason why I am so excited for this 3DS game as it looks great.  The cover story was followed by a list of the greatest and worst moments in the Castlevania series to celebrate the franchises' 25th anniversary.    Other noteworthy articles found in this issue of Nintendo Power were the Essential Games for the Wii article that listed the games that Wii owners should have in their collection, a fascinating look into how the team at Mistwalker created the cast for The Last Story, interviews with Masahiro Sakurai and Jools Watsham and a review of Pokemon Conquest.

Overall, Issue 279 of Nintendo Power was another great issue.  It had one great cover story, a reveal that no other magazine or gaming site that was exclusive just to Nintendo Power, some excellent articles and a solid selection of previews and reviews.  Also as a pre-E3 issue, it did not take away any thunder from the big show unlike another magazine by the name of Game Informer.  While I have not received my issue yet, I have looked through the newest issue at my local video game store.  Enough of my little tangent.  Issue 279 of Nintendo Power is a great read for any gamer and a must-read for Nintendo fans.

Top 5 Games of E3 2012

Due to work and the fact I have not had to time to watch every single demo of every single game at E3 2012, I have decided on a Top 5 Games of E3 2012.  There are tons of games at E3 each and every year, but few stand above the rest.  While a lot of games looked good, they were very similar to other experiences we have seen and/or played before.  These five games and one honourable mention really impressed me and brought something new and interesting that the numerous run-of-the mill sequels did not come close to bringing.  Yes, I am talking about Halo 4, God of War: Ascension and Crysis 3 just to name a few.  As with past years, I do not include games that did not have demos on the show floor.  So games such as Watch Dogs and Beyond: Two Souls were not considered for this list even though they both had good showings.  Also a quick notice, there will not be a post until late Tuesday evening as I am working two 14 hour days in a row so I will have absolutely no time to write anything tomorrow.  Now let us get down to one man's opinion of the best games of E3 2012.

Honourable Mention

Quantum Conundrum- XB360, PS3, PC
While it is just short of my Top 5 Games of E3 2012, Quantum Conundrum is creative and unique enough to deserve some love in this post.  From the mind of Kim Swift, the lead designer on a little physics-based puzzle game by the name of Portal, and the team at Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum is a first-person physics-based puzzle game in which you manipulate objects and the environment by switching dimensions on the fly.  You are in control of the Interdimensional Shift Device (ISD) that allows you to shift between four dimensions (fluffy, heavy, anti-gravity and slow-mo) to solve puzzles in each room of Professor Quadwrangle's mansion.  Quantum Conundrum looks to test your brain in different ways as you jump between dimensions to solve difficult problems.  After learning to think with portals, it is time to think with dimensions.  Quantum Conundrum looks to be a must download when it releases later this month.

5.  Pikmin 3- Wii U
Miyamoto did confirm that Pikmin 3 would be at E3 this year, but most fans including myself needed to see it to believe it.  We were not disappointed as Pikmin 3 is among the best games announced for Wii U.  Pikmin is a real-time strategy game has you directing a horde of up to 100 Pikmin, little plant-like creatures that can be used to accomplish various tasks such as building a bridge, collecting resources or fighting off a dangerous enemy.  With the announcement of the new Rock Pikmin, the use of four leaders and the Wii MotionPlus enhanced controls, Pikmin 3 has the potential of being the best first-party offering for the Wii U come launch.

4.  Paper Mario: Sticker Star- 3DS
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was not even on my radar until I saw the demo Nintendo showed at their 3DS Showcase.  Every single action you do in Sticker Star from combat to solving puzzles involves using stickers.  For example, in order to use the classic jump and hammer attacks in battle you have to use the corresponding jump and hammer stickers or using a fan sticker to move a blade of a windmill from blocking a door needed to advance in the game.  It is an incredibly unique game mechanic that turns the typical Mario RPG on it's head.  Something I personally find completely reinvigorating and exciting and something that has made Paper Mario: Sticker Star a must-buy for my 3DS this holiday season.

3.  Splinter Cell: Blacklist- XB360, PS3, PC
The fruit of Ubisoft Toronto's labour came to light this past Monday with the official reveal of Splinter Cell: Blacklist at the Microsoft Press Conference.  The seven to eight minute demo was perfectly paced and revealed enough of the highly refined mechanics (both new and old) to get anybody excited.  I personally loved Splinter Cell: Conviction and firmly believe it is one of the reasons to have an Xbox 360.  Blacklist takes everything that made Splinter Cell great and cranked it up to 11.  The new Killing in Motion mechanic lets you put together incredible mark-and-execute chains that will make anybodies' jaw drop.  Along with the resources of Fourth Echelon and some pretty cool Kinect voice controls, Splinter Cell: Blacklist should be an excellent debut for Ubisoft's newest studio when it releases in the Spring of 2013.

2.  Rayman Legends- Wii U
While the sequel to Rayman Origins, one of the best 2D platformers on consoles today, has been known for a while now, it does not detract from the fact how awesome Rayman Legends is.  Exclusive to the Wii U, Rayman Legends looks to take the almost perfect platforming, 2D animation and humour and give it all a shot of adrenaline.  Easily the best demo of Ubisoft's impressive Press Conference, Rayman Legends looks to use the Wii U and it's Game Pad in some creative ways.  With the touch screen of the Wii U Game Pad, you can control Murfy, who can assist Rayman and friends by cutting ropes, moving platforms, stunning enemies and collecting Lums.  The demo was capped off with an incredible level that had Rayman quickly platforming through the level while Murfy was playing a little rhythm game on the Game Pad which would help clear obstacles for Rayman.  Rayman Legends had a truly amazing showing this year at E3 that has catapulted to the very top of games to buy when I pick up the Wii U this holiday season.

1.  Tomb Raider- XB360, PS3, PC
Step aside Nathan Drake as Lara Croft is back to take her crown.  One word sums up Crystal Dynamics re-imagining of the Tomb Raider series.  That word is mature.  No more complete disproportionate assets or one liner spewing stereotype of a character.  Lara Croft is a living breathing human being caught in one horrible situation and it is time for her to step up and become a hero.  It is a coming of age story that dives into the origin of this video game icon.  It is more visceral adventure than Tomb Raider fans are use to, but exactly what this series has needed.  The seamless transition from bow and arrow to shotgun to melee keeps the action moving and the use of the environment to get the jump on enemies is absolutely incredible.  Each time Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix show off this game, it keeps getting better and better.  March 5th, 2013 cannot come soon enough as Tomb Raider is my most anticipated game of 2013.

E3 2012 Wrap-Up

The doors at the LA Convention Center closed for the final time on E3 2012.  Today marked the final day  of the video game industry's biggest show of the year.  Now it is a time for everybody to look back at the events of this week and in my case try and watch all the big demos between work, work and more work.  Right here, right now, I want to share some of my observations over what I have watched and followed these last four days.

At the end of the day, E3 2012 did not live up to all the hype, all the media coverage and all the anticipation.  It will not be a memorable event in the annals of video game history.  It was an event that emphasized a lot of the problems in this generation of consoles and showed that the video game industry needs an injection of creativity and fast.  My friend and coworker, who I chatted with throughout all the press conferences, summed up E3 2012 in one word, safe.  A lot of the big games highlighted at E3 2012 were either sequels and/or reboots of established franchises.  Some sequels such as Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3 and Tomb Raider are fine and reasonable, but sequels to God of War, Gears of War, Forza and Dead Space are all unneeded and cause for over saturation in the industry.  With the huge development costs this generation and the evident fear of failure in this industry, publishers and many developers have lost their edge and it was shown at this year's E3.  At the end of last generation, we got the some of the most original games of that generation such as God of War, Okami and Shadow of Colossus.  At the end of this generation, we are going to get an onslaught of sequels and more of the same.  The other big problem was the lack of focus from the console developers.  Microsoft and Sony were the main offenders, but Nintendo is also at fault, which pushed a stupid Nintendo Video series on their 3DS Showcase.  Gamers tune into E3 to see games, not applications and entertainment options.  The fact that I wasted two minutes of my life listening to a Microsoft exec talk about and demo that the 360's Bing Search can now search by genre is ridiculous and unacceptable.  Also the fact Sony did not mention the 25, yes I said 25, Vita games at their press conference to give more time to Wonderbook is beyond stupid and extremely infuriating.  Save this stuff for other venues or have a whole other conference dedicated to these options like Nintendo did for the 3DS.  Putting this stuff on these hugely important conference just causes things to drag and interest to plummet fast.  If Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo want to be the talk of E3, they need to focus on the games, both retail and downloadable.  My final problem with E3 2012 was the incredible lack of surprises.  Most games were either announced or leaked before the show, so there was rarely anything unexpected.  The only real surprises were Watch Dogs, which was amazing, and Nintendo Land, which was just okay at best.  While did cheer when Splinter Cell: Blacklist was revealed at the Microsoft Conference, we all knew it was coming at some point.  Video game developers and publishers need to learn that they need to guard these games close to their chest as the media today will snatch every rumour, every little slip up like vultures.  We need more than two surprises at E3 for this event to be worth remembering.

Overall, I will have to say E3 2012 was the most disappointing E3 in a while.  I am a little more underwhelmed this year than usual.  It is because other than a select handful of games, which I will be highlight in my Top 5 or 10 (still haven't decided) Games of E3, no other game got me excited to play it.  Nothing changed about a number of games I was already excited for like New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, my opinions fell on a few games that had weak showings this year such as Halo 4 and Resident Evil 6 and some even improved like Assassin's Creed III and The Last of Us.  Did I enjoy most of time following E3 this year?  Most certainly yes.  Did I expect more than we got?  Yes I did.

E3 2012: Nintendo E3 Press Conference Impressions

Monday was a big day filled to the brim of press conferences.  While Tuesday only has one press conference to speak of, it does mark the first day of show floor is open.  To start the day is Nintendo with their big E3 press conference.  As all eyes were on the Big N, it was their time to deliver and give gamers a reason to buy a Wii U over PS3 or Xbox 360.

The last few Nintendo Press Conferences have been pretty strong.  With the first big unveiling, you would think Nintendo would pull all the stops in order to steal all the thunder away from Microsoft and Sony once again.  Sadly this press conference did not live up the incredible expectations fans and the media put on it.  By all means, it was a decent conference on par with Sony's Press Conference and better than EA's and Microsoft's showings.  While the focus, other than one little segment, was on the Wii U, Nintendo did not do much to give a sole reason for gamers to pick up their newest console over the PS3 or Xbox 360, which will most likely seeing price drops to compete with the Wii U.  The show did start off strong with Mr. Miyamoto and the very first look at Pikmin 3.  Pikmin 3 looked great with all the new features like four new playable characters, a new class of Pikmin and the two different control styles.  The Pikmin 3 showcase was easily the best thing about Nintendo's Press Conference.  Reggie Fils-Aime followed Pikmin 3 by quickly summarizing features of the Wii U controller and the Miiverse, which both had in-depth showcases during the Nintendo Direct video from this past Sunday, before showing off New Super Mario Bros. U.  Super Mario Bros. U was very interesting with a few tidbits at the connection with Miiverse and the asynchronous gameplay use of the Wii U Gamepad like creating platforms that other players can use to get to unreachable areas.  Nintendo then introduced their renewed focus on third-party partnerships with two WB Games for Wii U, Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition and Scribblenauts Unlimited.  Batman: Arkham City did have some cool exclusive features for Wii, but the Scribblenauts Unlimited footage really took centre stage.  We got a set of trailers, one for Wii Fit U and another for a new music game called SiNG, which was one of the low points of the show.  Later in the show, we got some more third-party games now from Ubisoft.  The Just Dance 4 demo was horrid while the ZombiU had an interesting trailer to say the least.  That was followed by Lego City: Undercover, which looked like a very cool mix between the Lego franchise and the open world formula of a GTA, but a lot less violent and graphic.  We also got a quick little rundown of three first-party games for 3DS (New Super Mario Bros. 2, Papar Mario: Sticker Star and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon) that could of easily been cut out of the conference to make room for more Wii U demos/reveals since there will be a hour long conference dedicated just to 3DS tomorrow evening.  Nintendo ended off the show with Nintendo Land, a virtual Nintendo theme park that integrates with Miiverse and has 12 mini-games based on Nintendo's biggest franchises.  Nintendo Land looks to do for Wii U what Wii Sports did for Wii.  It is meant to get gamers accustomed to the Wii U's new features and controller and would be a great game to pack-in with the Wii U, Nintendo.  The Nintendo Land demo was just okay, but in no way should it have been the final game Nintendo had to show off.  Nintendo needed to end their conference with a bang.  Be it a teaser of a new first-party game or a demo of whatever Retro Studios was rumoured to be working on.  It was a huge missed opportunity and made this conference come out a little flat when everything was said and done.

Overall, Nintendo's E3 Press Conference was an okay showing.  While it did fall flat with no real surprises, what Nintendo did offer was an enjoyable conference nonetheless.  Just Dance 4, SiNG, Wii Fit U and Zombie Reggie were the only real low points of this conference and they did not drag on longer than a minute or two.

Grade:  C+

E3 2012: Sony Press Conference Impressions

As the first day of E3 comes to a close, we saw Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft show their cards.  Some were more impressive than others, but ultimately today we saw what the future holds in gaming from the biggest publishers in the industry.  To close out day one is Sony to either end it with a bang or a whimper.  Surprisingly the result is somewhere in the middle.

The Sony Press Conference had a good starting and ending, but the middle dragged and bad.  The best thing about this year's press conference was that it was much better than last year's boring affair.  Sony gave a good amount of time to each demo, maybe too long for one in particular, and showcased some pretty solid games.  Much like Microsoft, Sony did jump from topic to topic with no sense of focus or direction and it ultimately hurt them and the conference in the end.  Some important topics such as meaningful additions to PlayStation Plus and pushing the PlayStation Vita as more than a port/sequel machine and game showings like The Last Guardian were no where to be found.  Sony's conference started out with the unveiling of Beyond: Two Souls, Quantic Dream's new IP.  It was a very interesting demo that showed off the game's very realistic graphics and gripping story, but like always I would have liked to see more gameplay.  As a first look of a game that will not come out until 2014, it was a good showing nonetheless.  That was followed by PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sony's Super Smash Bros. clone, now for both PS3 and Vita.  It was a boring demo that really showed nothing new about the game.  They did reveal two new characters for the game in Nathan Drake and the Big Daddy, but who cares unless they make Kevin Butler one of the fighters.  After that Jack Tretton ran through a bunch of stuff no one really cared about before going into more demos of Assassin's Creed III and Far Cry 3.  While they were new demos for each game, they did nothing to outshine the demos Ubisoft already showed off at their press conference.  Maybe manning a ship in Assassin's Creed III is neat, but the demo really did nothing to make it look that entertaining or interactive for a matter of fact and Far Cry 3's online co-op had some obvious problems with lag and loading textures.  Right in the middle of the show, Sony decided to shift gears and target the casual gamers with Wonderbook, a neat concept that Sony will never fully support in the long run.  They demoed the J.K. Rowling's Book of Spells for Wonderbook, which was absolutely terrible and soo long drawn out that I almost fell asleep due to boredom.  Also on top of that the PlayStation Move was so finicky and non-responsive that it made the demo even worse.  That was clearly the lowest this press conference could go as things got much better with a demo of God of War: Ascension, which is really more of the same God of War experience, but still good.  To end the conference, Sony went with The Last of Us.  While the demo was very impressive yet looked like it played a lot like Uncharted, I thought Sony would save at least one surprise for the very end.  After The Last of Us demo, which has got me a little more interested, the conference just seemed to end and it felt odd.

Overall, Sony's E3 2012 Press Conference was a decent event.  It had quite a few good moments, but nothing that surprised me and got me excited.  Beyond: Two Souls would have been a big surprise only if Sony kept their mouth shut and did not reveal that Quantic Dream was going to announce it at their conference.  The big dip in quality right in the middle along with the omissions of some big topics and The Last Guardian, which I now believe sadly will not see the light of day, hurt this conference more than Sony has actually realized.

Grade:  C+

E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

E3 2012 is rolling, but other than a few announcements here and there nothing has truly stood out so far.  It is now Ubisoft's turn to impress the gaming public and put on a E3 Press Conference that does not elicit tons of jokes and disgraces like Mr. Caffeine.

Ubisoft has been notorious to have the most inconsistent press conferences in E3 history.  Going from super serious shooter like Ghost Recon right into the hilariously horrible laser tag ripoff or having James Cameron go on about Avatar for 40 minutes straight without any gameplay footage or screenshots to speak of.  It would usually end up being an incredible disaster or somehow luck out with the good far outweighing the oh so bad.  This year was different for Ubisoft.  Other than a few slip ups, which I will get to later, their conference was the best so far.  Most of the stuff that would weigh down past Ubisoft conferences were put in short montages or little clips on the big screen.  Ubisoft got to what gamers wanted, which was core games.  The first demo was Far Cry 3, which was fairly interesting and enjoyable.  It really showed off how Ubisoft was taking the definition of insanity, which was a huge focus of last year's E3 demo and making it into an entire plot point.  It was very interesting to say the least.  Next up was a trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist as the amazing gameplay demo was shown off at the Microsoft Press Conference.  While not as amazing as the actual gameplay demo, it was very good and kept things rolling at a good pace.  Then Ubisoft showed off a couple of their exclusives for the Wii U.  They showed a full-on gameplay demo of Rayman Legends, which I can proudly say is exclusive to Wii U.  It was the best demo of the conference as it showed off how Ubisoft is using the Wii U's unique controller to interact with the environment in real time.  My only question is how will somebody play Rayman Legends on their own?  During the stage demo had one person using the Wii U Gamepad and another using the Pro Controller.  While I do have some questions, the gameplay in that demo was just phenomenal.  Next up was the Assassin's Creed III demo, which surprisingly did not close out the show.  The demo really showcased how Ubisoft Montreal has really improved on every aspect of Assassin's Creed.  The combat flowed in a way it should have always been like, stealth and action seem to blend perfectly and the game overall looks to be much more fluid and fast-paced, which is a good thing.  To end the show, Ubisoft revealed a brand new game by the name of Watch Dogs.  You are a hacker in an endlessly interconnected city.  Everything is connected to a central computer and you are able to hack it to do whatever you want.  Search up information about anybody in the city, cause electronics to malfunction and eavesdropping on phone conversations is just a few examples of what you can do.  It looks like an incredibly interesting sci-fi world that I personally would love to explore in the near future.  Even with all the good, there was a few bad parts of the conference.  The Just Dance 4 opening concert with Flo Rida was completely unnecessary, the host was annoying beyond all reason and the ShootMania e-sport competition was soo bad that it almost derailed the entire press conference.

Overall, the Ubisoft E3 2012 Press Conference was the best press conference so far.  It had a few bad moments, but they made up for it with their great gameplay demos and reveals.  It was an entertaining one and a half hour conference that Sony and Nintendo have to strive to out do.

Grade:  B+

E3 2012: EA Press Conference Impressions

E3 2012 had a very bumpy start with a disappointing conference from Microsoft.  As the second conference of the big show, it was Electronic Arts turn to show us their next wave of big games releasing this Fall and early 2013.

Each year EA's Press Conference is one of the most focused out of the bunch.  They get straight to the point and they do not deviate.  This year much like the last two years before, EA showcased 10 games from 10 different developers under the EA banner.  They were all concise and to the point.  It made the conference go by fast and barely drag.  The only thing wrong with EA's conference was that nothing stood out.  No game they showcased really made an impact in my opinion.  It all kind of all blended together.  Dead Space 3 seemed to have an identity crisis as it was more third-person shooter than survival horror.  Madden NFL 13 and FIFA 13 were both a boring list of new features.  Star Wars: The Old Republic had some cool news such as going free-to-play up to level 15.  Medal of Honor: Warfighter was a decent demo of another generic FPS.  Battlefield 3's answer to Call of Duty Elite was revealed in Battlefield 3 Premium, which was less than impressive.  The only things I found really interesting was Need for Speed: Most Wanted demo, which proves why Criterion should only be working on the Need for Speed series and EA's new partnership with UFC (funny how Dana White jumps to the company he said he would never work with when THQ hits hard times).  Also Crysis 3 did have a good little demo to give a satisfying end to the conference.  I believe there were a few missed opportunities such as unveiling the first story-based DLC for Mass Effect 3, giving first gameplay of Overstrike or even unveiling whatever Respawn Entertainment is working on (Riccitiello pointed out both Zampella and West in the crowd, why not reveal something?).

Overall, EA's E3 2012 Press Conference was just okay.  All their games had a good showing and the focus, which Microsoft lacked, was definitely there, but not much that was shown stood out of the humongous crowd of shooters and sports games.

Grade:  C-

E3 2012: Microsoft Press Conference Impressions

Well the future of gaming is now.  The E3 press conferences are were all the big news happens.  Surprising new reveals, huge game demos, and a whole lot of hype.  That is what makes up these press conferences.  Following each press conference this year, I will be writing my impressions on each show.  The good, the bad and the absolutely ugly along with a final grade to wrap up each impression.  Let us start with the first conference of E3, the Microsoft Press Conference.

It is easy to sum up Microsoft's 2012 Press Conference in two words, inconsistent and disappointing.  In the last few years, Microsoft has fallen into a formula of sorts.  They would cram all the hardcore games in the first 30 minutes of the show then the rest of the show would be dedicated to either Kinect or other boring topics.  This year, Microsoft tried to mix things up interspersing hardcore games with casual Kinect games and new entertainment iniatives.  Instead of keeping things focused, it made the show feel all over the place and confusing.  Microsoft focused too much on the entertainment side of things rather than highlighting the reasons to own a Xbox over a PS3 or Wii U.  It came off extremely boring, uninteresting and completely unnecessary.  Microsoft could have easily did a video much like Nintendo's Pre E3 video last night and highlighted all this stuff.  Honestly I do not need or want to know that I can now search movies on my Xbox by genres.  Really?!  The SmartGlass presentation was interesting, but too long drawn out.  One of the main selling points for Internet Explorer working on Xbox when browsers have failed on other consoles is that you use your tablet and/or smartphone to control it, but that leaves one big question.  Why would I use Xbox's browser with my tablet and/or smartphone rather than just use the browser on my tablet and/or smartphone?  Answer that one, Microsoft.  The best part of Microsoft's conference were the game demos.  Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Tomb Raider stole the show while Halo 4 and Resident Evil 6 both had good showings.  I also enjoyed the little interlude for downloadable games.  While it was only a two to three minute montage of trailers, it was far more enjoyable than most of the conference.  To hit home how low this conference got was the final two acts.  To reveal Dance Central 3, Microsoft had Usher perform his new single, Scream live yet forgot to show off any real gameplay.  The final act at Microsoft's press conference went to Call of Duty: Black Ops II.  Not the reveal of the new Xbox, not a new Microsoft game, no Black Ops II.  It was disappointing and also showed how weak Microsoft's first-party development studios have become as they have to rely on a third-party developer to finish off their show.

Overall, Microsoft's E3 2012 Press Conference was a inconsistent mess that came off more of a disappointing whimper than a triumphant victory over the competition.  There are a couple of moments that were truly great, but they were crushed by all the crap that permeated this conference.  Microsoft has made it very easy for Nintendo and Sony to one up them this year.

Grade:  D+

E3 2012: Most Anticipated Games

E3 is home to the big reveals, huge surprises and incredible showcases of the biggest games of the 2012, 2013 and possibly 2014 and farther in the future.  Going into the big show, there is a good number of games and products that we know will be showcased.  This list of games contains the ones I am most looking forward to seeing in all the E3 coverage around the net and on TV.  A few are carryovers from my Most Anticipated Games of 2012 list from the beginning of the year along with some newly announced games that I am most looking forward to seeing more about.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate
Just revealed in the newest edition of Nintendo Power, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate is the first Castlevania game for the 3DS and serves as the bridge between Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2.  Mirror of Fate is a 2.5D sidescrolling adventure that is very similar to the other Metroidvania style handheld offerings like Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.  You begin the game as Trevor Belmont and in later stages of the game will be able to play as up to three other descendants of the Belmont clan including the iconic Simon Belmont.  From the screenshots I have seen and the cover story I read, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate has quickly jumped up my list of anticipated games.  Really looking forward to see the game in motion at E3 next week.

Fire Emblem: Awakening
Another 3DS game highly anticipated by yours truly.  The newest Fire Emblem has been doing well in Japan since its release earlier in the year yet nothing has been said about a North American release.  E3 seems like a perfect time for Nintendo to announce the newest installment in this incredible strategy game series is coming to our shores complete with accompanying DLC.

Resident Evil 6
Ever since Capcom announced Resident Evil 6 way back in January, I have been hanging on every little thing Capcom drops on the game.  Apart from the trailers and screenshots, nothing else has been showed on the next game in this classic survival horror franchise.  Resident Evil 6 looks to blend the tension-filled atmosphere of the original Resident Evil games with the high-octane action of later installments in the series.  Being Capcom's biggest game of 2012, there should be no doubt that we should see at least one or two demos of the game being showed off next week along with another excellent trailer to boot.

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider was easily one of my most anticipated games of 2012 until it got delayed until March 2013.  Even though I am a little sad, it means more time for the Crystal Dynamics to make the best Tomb Raider game of all-time.  More visceral, more gritty and more mature than all the other installments in the Tomb Raider franchise, Tomb Raider serves as Lara Croft's origin story.  The E3 2012 trailer was released earlier today and it is just incredible.  If this trailer is a sign of the things to come this year at E3, Tomb Raider should definitely impress.

Wii U
I have stated this fact many times before and I will state it once again.  I am a huge Nintendo fan and the one thing I have been patiently waiting to hear and see more of is the Wii U.  First shown of last year at E3 to some confusion, this year is the full unveiling of Nintendo's next generation console.  The uses of the controller, the final specs of the console, the first-party games, the third-party support and the plan for online are among few of the topics that will definitely be addressed this coming Tuesday.  My anticipation for Wii U has been building for a year now as I have patiently waited for this year's Nintendo Press Conference.  Tuesday honestly could not come any sooner.  It should be incredible.

E3 2012: One Week Away

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 for short, is an annual trade show held by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) as a showcase of the biggest and best of the gaming industry.  E3 is normally held the first week of June at the Los Angeles Convention in Downtown Los Angeles, California.  It is the one week of the year when gamers, game journalists and stockholders all center their attention at one place, one location for the biggest news and most surprising reveals.  It is like Christmas for gamers as their are hundreds of games all being showed off for our attention.  With how E3 has exploded in popularity over the past six years, there is now a lot of ways to find out all the news, watch all the gameplay footage being showed off, even watch all the big press conferences live.  The more I talk about E3, the more excited I get.  It should and will be one incredible week to be a gamer.

Being only one week away, the anticipation for the biggest event of the gaming year is incredibly huge.  I personally booked Monday and Tuesday off work in order to watch all the press conferences.  On top of that, a lot of my free time will be spent constantly checking sites like IGN and Screwattack for the latest news and impressions, watching a lot of gameplay footage and trailers and watching the live streams from the show floor. Which leads into my next topic of what will going on next week here on Silver Bit, which goes into E3 mode.  Monday and Tuesday, I will be sharing my impressions on each and every conference from the Microsoft press conference all the way to the Nintendo press conference.  Wednesday and Thursday will be back to the regular schedule of Hump Day Music and On the Download.  Friday I will post Bit by Bit and on Saturday I will post my annual Top 10 Games of E3 list.  So I got a week packed full of content for everybody to enjoy.  Also stay tuned later this week as I will be posting my anticipated games and consoles of E3 2012.  Let the countdown begin.  We are only one week away.