Five Reasons Why You Should Be Excited for Tales of Xillia.
Whether you began with Tales of Phantasia or got into the series with later entries like Tales of Symphonia you should be pleased to know that the latest to hit western shores, Tales of Xillia, has a lot to offer. Here are five reasons why you should be looking forward to the latest in this series:
Fear not, Saints Row is Still NUTS!
Within 20 minutes of my hands on with Saints Row IV I had stopped a nuclear explosion, become president, punched a guy right below the belt, and laid waste to an army of aliens with a Red, White and Blue machine gun turret. I might add, all in hilarious fashion. As I played, I had this huge grin, which kept getting bigger. One of the things I appreciated with Saints Row 3 is how it redefined itself and set itself apart from the juggernaut Grand Theft Auto by getting creative and going off the wall. Saints Row IV has clearly continued down that path.
Giving a new meaning to Massively Multiplayer Online Shooters.
Ubisoft made good on last year’s surprise of Watch_Dogs with another, this one known as Tom Clancy’s The Division. One of the biggest draws about this title, besides the outstanding visuals, is the way that players engage with one another.
HOLY-FACE ANIMATIONS!
We’ve known about Infamous: Second Son for a while now, but never did I imagine that the game would look this enticing. Sucker Punch had a strong showing during Sony’s Press Conference with this latest entry into the Infamous universe, and all signs are pointing in the right direction for the series.
Who are you, and what have you done with Jack Tretton?
Sony’s E3 press conference Monday night was striking for a lot of reasons, but the greatest contrast of all wasn’t between Sony and Microsoft. It was between Sony and itself.
The power of hope.
E3 is on the horizon, and as usual, we are buzzing. This year in particular should be huge. With two brand new consoles on the way and the promise of rescue titles for the Wii U, there’s a lot to be excited about. That said, history proves that things could easily go awry. Despite this, part of what makes E3 so great is the hope that comes along with speculation leading up to the show. I for one am pretty optimistic for this E3. Here are some of my hopes for E3 2013:
More of a Descension than Ascension.
God of War: Ascension is a game that I had a hard time getting excited for. For me, God of War 3, capped off the saga of Kratos on the right note. It was bittersweet to see the story end, but it did so on an epic (and violent) note. Instead of the series continuing with a new protagonist or mythology, we have a prequel to a story that I felt pretty comfortable with already. Ascension ends up being a sadly mediocre game, and I expected more.
This generation has gone on so long, people have forgotten what to expect from next gen!
Now that Microsoft has revealed the Xbox One, the stage is finally set and all the players have taken their places. I already talked about how excited I am at the prospect of a new knockdown, drag out console war, and it’s already begun thanks to some snarky comments by Sony on the big Xbox day. In just a matter of months, gamers will either be voting for their console champion of choice or taking a Switzerland approach and waiting on the sidelines to see who comes out on top. With all of this in mind, I think it’s important to talk about this next generation, and what it means to you as a gamer.
Yeah, E3 is becoming a dinosaur, but it can become something new and important.
Nintendo made waves in the gaming industry recently when they announced that they wouldn’t be participating in a traditional press conference at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Right off the bat, people started in with the doom and gloom. Oh, Nintendo is fading fast! Nintendo doesn’t have anything to show! Rhetoric like this was prominent --as was talk that the entire E3 conference is a dinosaur -- and perhaps Nintendo is reading the writing on the wall and is beginning to part ways with the trade show. This sentiment has been circulating for years, and even though I believe that E3 is vital to the gaming industry, it’s high time that the show evolved.
