Battlefield 1: Review/Thoughts on the Game

For those who may not know, I'm an avid history buff. War and politics are what make up most of our history...that and societal/technological achievements, brought about mostly by the former. World War I is perhaps the most crucial of these modern wars. I'm-fact, it shaped the way then world looks today, and for the most of the 20th century, it had been the defining global event that shaped the course of up to this very day. WWI  left a sour taste in the mouth of the world, and in-terms of shaping countries, and political referendum, it could arguably have been more defining than even World War II. The events that followed the war, lead to many of the outcomes of the Second World War. 

     The War to End All Wars, the First World War, it enveloped all continents. From the sinking of submarines I. The American Stlantic by the Kaiser's Germsny, and the shape of Lenin's Aussie, completely secured from the war, allowing  for the rapid growth of communism, the political/societal shaping of the war was dynamic, brutal, and some of the worst massacring than any war beforehand. Chemical weapons such as mustard gas, and chlorine gas filled the trenches,mreadying to the creation of the gas mask. The flamethrower was used to burn the flesh of men laying in rat-infested holes, bringing about the largest death count of any war in history up until that point. Only overshadowed, by World War II. 

  I recommend watching the docuseries Apocaplyse WWI, which explains all the events leading up to the First World War, and defining the major impacts it had on our world. It uses the actual footage, remastered in color for the first time (as of the time of the documentary) to showcase the horrors. Film was as infantile as nerve gas was at the time, and the bloody carnage of which film grew up in, makes any gore fest horror film look lime a G-Rated cartoon.  Still, this authentic, (as authentic as you can get) take on the war with stellar narration is one that will give you a backdrop of one of the deadliest,bloodiest, and terrifying wars that have ever been fought. It's no surprise that even in comics/video games like The Darkness, World War I is used as a theme, and symbolic representation of Hell. 

     Battlefield 1 is an accurate representation of what World War I was like, it entails the different forms of Warfwre thwt devolved on the battlefield. From trench Warfwre,to dogfights,to tank battles. It covers most, if not all of the kinds of battle that have been fought in the barracks, and on No-Man's-Land. The game 

    The graphics are goregeous on PC, and console, consecutively one of the OST beautifully designed FPS titles I've seen in years. It inherently captures the beauty of the settings of Europe post-industrial, and clambering tanks play like....well, tanks. The story is rippling with character,malthough the dialogue is sometimes campy, disillusioned by generic stereotypes, which aren't even thwt well-.executed. However, a small fault for a game that doesn't rival Call of Duty, it blows right by it with jackrabbit propulsion, leaving even the newest title (Infinite Warefare) looking like a snail knocked over on its side. 

    The graphics in the CGI cutscenes don't look current generation,mthey look superior. The game was nestled, and DICE knew one-thing: you can't mess up a WWI, because it is the easiest war to fail at capturing authentically, and the most rewarding risk to take if it was capable of being pulled off. From the most I've seen so-far,mive seen more multiplayer than campaign, but we know multiplayer is no competition when it comes to DICE, but the game itself is rewarding. It has everything: it even has areas of stealth which were pleas etly surprising,mbut Bsttlefield 1 has always been ore versatile than it's closest competition, this, luckily; has not changed. 

    It seems FPS titles are learning from their former mistakes, the campaign seems decent in length, I'd say a bit over ten hours, depending in your speed/skill, I think it could go as long as twelve, but I've not myself yet completed the campaign mode. I've seen/heard others claim to do it fairly quickly, although I've heard, much-like the MGS series, the campaign will have new missions added every-so-often,mor find ways to expand the game for longer than a few weeks of hardcore playing. Still, I'm looking toward to seeing if the DLC of this game is going to be inclusive, and work in-favor of even potential sequels. As I've said, the campaign mode itself is half-and-half, story is great, graphics are prettier than expected, and dialogue is hit-or-miss. Pretty generic in that way, but the hype behind the title is always going to grow stale faster than the hype the game keeps after launch. I call it the SnakeEater effect: I remember when Metal Gear Solid II: SnakeEater was first shown,  the teaser made us all want the game. It was delayed slowly, and back-then, that was extremely rare. I waited so long for the game, as many had, and by the time I was able to actually play it, the hype was played out beyond even the most disciplined of attention spans. The game was great, but as great as it was, I personally was not nearly as excited to play it, simply because the exhaustion from enthusiasm.

     Battlefield 1 wasn't necessarily delayed, and the hype behind the title came with the sort deserving of Battlefield, yet it wasn't one that mucked itself up with tons of marketing ad nauseum, so there wasn't a lack of enthusiasm once it released. The game is a crucial title in the series, and it truly makes me think that it may become one of the most influential titles in the series. I don't say that willy-nilly, because it's perhaps one of the more impressive FPS Titles, and not being a fan of most first-person shooters, I was very impressed, and if you're a COD player mainly; this is a series you might just want to convert to, although Bad Company is also a good start. 

      The controls are superb,mbut no surprise for Battlefield. It handles well, and from what I can tell, the whole game is going to play sleek. The story is enticing, the graphics are superior, and the sound...oh, the sound is better, in many ways, than even the sound Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, perhaps one the best audio mixes in film history. The direction of the game is as equal to the former example as well. This game is a holiday need, or just pick it up right now, there is no hype, just a Great War shooter, with so much detail, so much accuracy, it could give you shell shock. So help cut down the Kaiser in this title. 

     Overall, Battlefield 1 is simply good, and probably better than even that. I don't ever recommend FPS titles, and if you're a WWI buff, it's pretty damn accurate, although the amount of guerrilla warfare is added to give more combat depth, the game itself is awesome, simply awesome. It's worth the money, and worth the time, and multiplayer is exciting, so not only does it have depth, it's well-rounded, and DICE delievers where others murky their gameplay.  So I feel 100% secure in recommending this game. If you're looking for a new game to play, this. Is probably the best you're going to get before the end of the New Year. Also: fuck COD.

    

       Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial, as always I appreciate everyone who swings by this blog, and I'm humbled by my followers on Twitter as well. To all my new streamer followers, thanks for the follow-back, and I will do my best to update twitter and the blog as often as I can. I will be on hiatus very shortly, but I will have one last editorial before I go, and then I'll be a pant ok until late December/early January. For now, I have several more posts, and next week will be a Short Story weekly Post entited: Beyond the Privwte Place, It a Grieves, a take on Beagle's title: A Fine and Private Place. By January I hope to be streaming my docuseries Mastering the Killer Bee, which will be almost daily,perhaps less. It Demond's on if I can begin streaming early enough, and if I'll have the right equipment. I could just stream through You Tube, but I believe you have to have Playstation Plus to do-so. I'll look into it when I get the chance. 

   Twitter.com/mcasteditorial, or @mcastedtioral to send me a twitter message. Thank you again, and have a great weekend! 

E3 2016: The Review Part 1: Xbox Press Conference

   NOTE: All release dates are subject to change. 

  Before we start, I just want to send my condolences to the families and victims of the massacre in Florida. If you're going out to celebrate Pride, please, please, carry some form of protection. If these bastards are going to start targeting the community, start shooting back!  

Now, let us begin with Microsoft's Press Conference:

E3 2016 is finally here. It seems like only yesterday E3 2015 was on, and although it seemed truncated, even with the addition of a Bethdesda press Confereence, it's seemed like the last one just happened, and it's a shock, an absolute shock, that Fallout 4 is nearly a year old.  Now we look towards brand-new games,some of them being huge secrets, others being leaked too early to ever be anything morer than reiterations. Today, we see if there are games that will set the world on fire, or more bad press releases that make the whole world cry. 

   First, we start off with the Microsoft Press Conference. Again, this press conference was the first one I've seen so-far, and I'm very, very disappointed with it, and even I of if don't like Microsoft, I give this one here an E for Effort, but an F for Entertainment. Everything they showed seemed to be a ripoff, blatantly so, of what is going to be coming off exclusively for other consoles. I make the claim thwt in-fact, nothing is truly original anymore, but I will say the only game that looks interesting is one we knew about since mid 2015, and that is We Happy Few. This game looks amazing, has a Bioshock-like atmosphere, an original story that looks to be gripping, compelling, and the idea that choosing to take a drug, or not taking the drug will affect the gameplay around you. I've been interested in this game since it was first shown off, and I remember it hinted at last year as well. What aggravates me though is that it seems an entire year had gone by, and no games have been actually released this year. 

   Microsoft wasn't bad this year, they were terrible....Microsoft being typical Microsoft, pandering to such an extremely minute part of the gaming community, it's enough to make y think they don't know anything about gaming! From Gears ofWar 4, with barely any excitement from the crowd, to Sea of Thieves, Rare Software's newest attempt at a modern "big game", there's seems to be big power plays that go off in different failing directions. It's just a shame to me that everything shown that was an exclusive, and then trying to save faith by announcing that anything bought once will play simultaneously on both PC and Console, makes me think that XBox wants to get away from a console, and just focus on the PC market, which would be wonderful! The a project Scorpio announcment is seen by many gamers who are fans of the company as a bold move, a marketing strategy that breaks the mold, but let's call it what it is: nobody owns an Xbox One, mostly because people felt screwed last generation cycle with the red ring of death, and that was apparent when PS4 wrecked the mark. Now we are finally getting several games that look enticing on all systems, and Microsoft wants to pretend like that last knockout didn't happen. This is called denial. 

  But enough with bashing a company that infuriates me, because this is E3, and even the broken, I articulate seamstress that can't even weave a game that doesn't have a numeral following its title, is allowed to be the Belle of the Ball, even if for just an hour. So let's enjoy this take on Microsoft's Press Conference, but let's make haste! Because when the clock strikes at midnight, Dbox One will be better used as placeholder for a pumpkin. 

     The conference opened up with Gears of War 4, a game franchise that was created by Cliffy B, and I'll just leave thwt for you good readers contemplate, since I'm far from his even most spiteful fan. My adoration for this series is about as buried as a troglodyte fossil run over with molten lava, and casted off into the fiery pits of Hell. I don't like this game, nor do I like the particular gameplay shown. Even the crowd was anything but enthusiastic, the game just looks to be made for five people living in Santa Monica, and the people who made it seem to be distraught about their own work. The game was very boring, unimpressive, and lacking in anything I would expect from a AAA title. It makes me feel bad for the power Project Scorpio is supposed to carry, and the lackluster games that will flood it until it too is seen as another Sega Dreamcast...except the Dreamcast was fun to play!

  Sorry, I know I said I was done bashing Microsoft, I know I wasn't supposed to take sides, but when the only thing good you show off isn't an Xbox Exclusive (We Happy Few) something tells me thwt sea of thieves, and another season of Killer Instincts, which doesn't hold a candle to Mortal Kombat, and never did. Still, this was the  second major announcment, and that with a few other characters, Gears of War's General Raam was announced as a playable, special character in the upcoming new season of Killer instinct. 

    Next was a look at Forza Horizon 3, showcasing multiplayer, and introducing multiplayer co-op. The racer looked okay, the graphics weren't as refined as I was hoping, but racing around the continent of Austraila looked interesting enough. And the fact that the game works in real time, the game is not bad for a racer. It is also available for both Xbox and Windows 10, and like most of these exclusives, if you buy it once, you get Crossplay so it's available September 27th on both console and PC.  I'm personally not a fan of racing games, so I cannot really give much opinion on how this one compares to former titles. Overall, the game looks fine, and the physics seem  more real world than the very first Forza I've played. So it does seem to improve. 

   Next is a game that was also an exclusive title for Xbox, and it seems to be a mixture of Boderlands, with a touch of Horizon,mand a open-world MMORPG although what I've seen seems to be only single player. The game is called Recore, and comes out September 18th. Recore looks okay, and has a very Beyond Good and Evil aspect in design, but if it wasn't a Gearbox game,you could've fooled me. It was just a teaser, so I can't judge,mor begrudge it in any way, but it looks solid, and I believe it's designed for Crossplay as well. 

   The next game shown was Final Fantasy XV, which is not an exclusive, but it will be released first on the Xbox One. I've seen FFXV before with gameplay nearly half a year ago, and it looks good, and has a different fighting engine, almost like Shadow of the Colossus had, but it's nothing short of a beautiful-looking game. Even the story looks to be more a reimagining than a true sequel. Still, the battle against the titan creature, which was like a rock/shard giant looks pretty damn cool, and it was called Trial of Titan, and brought me back to those PS2 days of Shadow of the Colossus. Team Ico would be blushing with flattery over this enriched imitation. 

 Moving on to the next game, is an Ubisoft title: Tom Clancy's The Division Underground, new missions exclusively first on Xbox One, which really doesn't mean anything.  It was just a short little teaser, but doesn't look to add anything to a game that is as controversial as it is polarizing. 

  The next game is far more exciting, Battlefield 1, which takes place during one of the worst wars in human history: World War I. Perhaps my most favorite war to learn about, and just what hell people had to go through. Still, this game looks to be fairly accurate, and a time in history that most people have not seen played out on a game console. It was one of the most devastating wars in history, and took place on almost every continent. There were little rules of engagement, and the amount of horrors that were felt created the first-known type of PTSD: Shellshock. If you want a rousing take on just what happened during the First World War, watch Apocalypse WWI, it's usually on History channel, or you can look it up online, it's about six episodes, all about an hour or so in length. Still, this game looks to be very exciting, and I'm no fan of FPS, in-fact I avoid them like the proverbial plague.  Players can get access first via EA Acess exclusively on Xbox One starting October 13th. The dogfights look pretty damn cool, and the zepplin that was brought down in the end didn't do as much particle damage on the town below as I hoped,mbut the game looks legitimately fun, and precise to the history. Being the history buff that I am, I kinda hope it gives you the jarring feeling of trench warfare, and the European campaigns that we're fought almost bareknuckle. The French fought the majority of the war with English allies, but I feel most of that will be left out, because trench warfare was mostly the beginning, and very, very end of the war, when the Sherman Tanks were introduced with Patton leading the charge. It should be interesting to see just how they play this particular war out in game form, because it was a highly controversial war at it's time, and has still very I'll effects on our cultures today. To put it bluntly, Germany has just barely paid off it's reperation for WWI, and most likely won't pay off for WWII until the mid-to-late 2000s. So just because I doubt another WWI game will be made, this may be a game worth picking up and trying out for the sheer antiquity of the experience. 

  After something so awesome as Battlefield 1, they had to talk about something shitty: Xbox Live, although Backwards Compatibility is what  might be hurting PS4, and the concept of having Cortana on Xbox is not that impressive. Still, Microsoft has then added a bunch of garbage I really don't want to get into, like Xbox Arena, for competitive online gaming,because it's the it thing, and the looking for group, which back in my day was called a chatroom, or a forum. It was the lowest level that the press Confereence sunk, except for Halo Wars 2, that just looked like a sad, sad shame, and I'll speak nothing more of either of these travesties. They claim these are the most requested features, but it seems like pandering, becaue I believe most gamers have a core group they play with, but most just want to get famous for playing video games, and, sadly; we all cannot be famous for this particular trend,mshich is dying as quickly as it built up, and most gamers who stream do it via PC regardless of console choice. 

   Next was a "friendly update" quote the "friendliest update ever" by the creepiest woman I've ever seen for Minecraft Realms. Ugh, I'm not ten years old, so Minecraft isn't that appealing to me, but it respect the concept, and the convention fanaticism. Still, this update that will make you mod the blocks to look more modern, and to turn zombies into aliens....not gonna lie, it's pretty dumb, I take it this was something an intern suggested, and they just decided to go and fix it...Minecraft has really sunk since Mojang let it go, but he's a multi-billionaire now, so I can respect selling out for that amount. I won't delve further, but it's good for that core group of gamers that likes Minecraft...I guess? Of course Crossplay is in effect, and this is an obvious "duh!" On my part. Also the hosting of servers specifically for crating and sharing worlds is a good touch. We will see if these updates work out later this year. Minecraft Realms works on multiple devices, and is available now. The V.R. was a good touch too. 

  Oh Christ! The damn candy remotes are back! Ugh! Why do I need you to customize for me a controller? I understand personalization, but it's a trendy horseshit idea that only goes to amp up the prices on overcharged bullshit controllers already. Watch them go for about two hundred US dollars or something now. I'm kidding, I'm sure it'll be more like a tewnty dollar difference, but I prefer the skins you can buy, and replace whenever you want to customize a controller. 

  Next is a game from the creators of Limbo...not sure if it's only available for Xbox One, but it's Microsoft Exclusive: I side, and it will be out allegedly by June 29th. Also, Limbo is free right now on Xbox One. Inside is pretty much a noir concept that seems to involve industry and corporate infrastructure. Hard to tell but for art, it looked palpable. Seeing it releases in two weeks, answers will be arriving shortly on if it's a good/bad indie title. Seeing as it's coming from the creators of Limbo though, it should be a marvelous experience for the indie game fans. 

   Next up was a multitude of indie titles in a flash-style montage run through of them all. Games like outlast, Deliever Us The Moon, and Flint Hook to name a few.  Far, Slime Rancher, Shadow Tactics, Figment, The Culling, For the King, Beacon, Stardew Valley, Hand of Fate 2, Below, Raiders,  Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Yooka-Laylee, Everspace,  and the first one mentioned: Cuphead, are all games that will be out on Xbox Live, and really all of them are either good or bad from the five seconds of each game I've seen. That's still a lot of games to announce. 

   Next up is a game I've mentioned already called We Happy Few, which was given a good portion of both teaser trailer, gameplay, and love demonstration at the conference. Not sure if this game is going to be for all systems, but it's perhaps the biggest surprise for me, becaue of it's unique gameplay, and almost caricature style. The game also takes place in the sixties, so it has a Bioshock centric timeline as well, even though it's not a 2K game.  This was followed by Gwent the card game,which I didn't really care much for, and little was shown/explained, and also Tekken 7 followed with Aluma of Street Fighter becoming a playable character, and some gameplay followed. 

     Dead Rising 4 was the next exclusive, and it looks to take place during Christmas time, and just as ridiculous as it's precious titles. It'll be a great game for thirteen year old boys, but it's not something that has any serious substance. It releases holiday 2016. Truthfully, I found the little teaser trailer to be okay, but it was lackluster.  Then came in Scalebound, and I saw every cliche imaginable...yes, a giant fucking scorpion, and riding the backs of dragons...no, I'm not describing an 80s metal band album cover. Ugh, please let this be over soon. That battle drew out so long, I could live the rest of my lie and not see it again. Also I hate that the characters kept talking it out, hoping that's not in the final development and was for E3 exclusively, it was very annoying. 

  Sea of Theives was next, and as I mentioned before it's like a pirate MMORPG. Not much more to say after that then, so moving on....it seemed the best was over, then Microsoft went and did something they always do: showed off a teaser for State of Decay, and I knew that this was it: Halo Wars 2 would pretty much end the conference, and I'd have to wait for Sony's rebuttal. Honestly, it looks like Halo ripped off Starcraft! 

   Of course the announcements weren't over, Project Scorpio ended the conference, claiming to become the most powerful system ever built, and that made me laugh because it only has current generation consoles to compare to, not next generation consoles it will have to compete with, this is just a sign that Microsoft wants out of this hellhole they've put themselves in by losing the current console war,it's equivalent to starting a war with a country, losing, then starting a war with another country to help fund the war you're currently losing.  Sega did this in the past with the Saturn, and Sega Cd, and Dreamcast, this will prove to be an unwise decision on Microsoft's part. If I build a system tomorrow, and claim it's the most powerful ever built, it kinda doesn't matter if it's a Barnum statement, or fact, but I have nothing to compare it to! Oh well, at least We Happy Few looked interesting. 

  Overall, Microsoft's Press Conference seemed to make them feel like they were leading the charge in the race, but the irony is that they have been behind this entire cycle. They just want to be rid of this cycle, move on, so they can pray Sony messes up, and take back the top spot. The conference was okay,mi can't deny it had some sweet spots, but it had games, and this worked out in their favor for once. I'm glad Xbox showcased so much, but there was nothing but arbitrary bullshit thrown in-between that really doesn't measure up to other conferences I've seen. Ubisoft was rather shitty too, and Bethesda was lacking. I will review their conferences by the beginning of next week, and there will be no Short Story Weekly post this week.  Part 2 will be Somy's Press Conference, Part 3 will be a combination of Bethesda, EAPlay, and Ubisoft. If I happen to do a fourth, it will cover Nintendo and other smaller venues.

   Thank you so much for reading the Malacast Editorial, as this will be my most extensive coverage of E3, I'll have a ne Short Story Weekly up next week at the earliest, two weeks at the latest. I hope you all enjoy these posts, as they are some of the more extensive posts I do yearly, and the ones I love to do the most, becaue I'm a huge fan of E3, and its crazy history. 

E3 Predictions for 2016

NOTE: All bold words are predictions.  Any updates from now (March 2016) until publication (April or May 2016)  will be noted at the emboldened areas of the posts. 

When June comes around,you can bet I'm like a little kid again, because E3 announcements will be eating up my Twitter feed, and I'll see a boost in how many tweets I send out, while writing live on the Malacast Editorial, and doing full-on reviews. I'm also a fan of making predictions, not because I think I'm on the threshold of the gaming industry, but because I like to make more honest, intelligent predictions than what pipe dreams other reviewers expect are going to happen. Rather than shots In the dark, I'll admit the obvious like new titles in old IPs,  but it's more what a company will do, rather than a game that's named. It is a volatile market, and games supposed to be out last year, or in the case of The Last Guardian, thirty years ago (it's sarcasm, but not by much)  I tend to see trends rise from the people, rather than the sample groups. So here are my predictions for the a mojo emt a and moves made for this year's E3. I'll do a compare/contrast post a week AFTER I put up my review of E3, which will be several days after the last aired day of E3. 

   Firstly, let's discuss the big shows outside of the actual show, and discuss what will happen at the Press conferences. Usually Sony goes first, but with the add-ons of Bethesda, and the first software developer to hold such a large press conference: Ubisoft have ended the fray, it's interesting to see just how the order will fall. 

   So assuming Sony will go second to Nintendo, which is usually the middle between Sony and Microsoft, I'll start with Nintendo first, because it's more shoe-in, rather than speculation. Firstly, Nintendo is one of the few first-party developers that doesn't follow the trends as often as the other marketers. They can decide to release a new Legend of Zelda title tomorrow, (they've recently done an updated HD version of Twilight Princess for Wii U) but it will be a best seller no matter what time it's released, as most parents and children will play the game outside the box. 

   It's a tough company to pin down, but I'm certain their will be a memorial  for Myamoto, who recently passed away. This would not be surprising seeing the unique timing of his death, as it was somewhat mentioned at other shows, but it's not hard to believe they will discuss it to a degree, seeing as Myamoto was a major part of Nintendo Press Conferences. The sad news is still affecting many overseas, and here at home. The man who created Mario, Donkey Kong, and so many other great characters had a major impact on all gamers, despite their "console alliances".

     Getting back to predictions, Nintendo is a front runner in the console wars, so-much-so,mother have their own niche market. Most of the older gamers still play Nintendo-related games, and involve their own children in these games, so it is three, sometimes four generations deep in gameplay. Also, the Wii had expanded the demographic for gaming to include gamers as old as 100, and as young as ten months old. Generations are growing up with gaming being part of their lives, as it was with me, and Nintendo kills in the demographics. 

    I do expect their to be some major titles for the "hardcore" scene, but in discussing games In the Epic Yarn genre, and even a potential Mario Kart installment, I don't necessarily believe that is the hardcore market. Not because the games aren't for the core fans of Nintendo, but it just seems they will do more a Legend of Zelda installment. I think a new IP is plausible. A Splatoon! Sequel/update is another example of shoe-in, but of course the chances are the game is about to release either before, or during E3 is likely, but Nintendo tends to harken the bigger releases towards November and even early December for the holiday season, but seeing as "holiday" season isn't necessarily as vital anymore than say 100-200 years ago, being that religion tends to be less and less of the situation, and spending tends to be far more sporadic, as release dates tend to decide the spending trends rather than months leading up to a major holiday, it's pretty obvious that DLC for these games, and downloadable copies will be the overall trend for Nintendo sales this year. 

  I think that what holds Nintendo back now is DLC, not allowing third-party developers as much freedom as they have at say, Sony, don't allow for reaching that larger market. Nintendo also has made less stride over this year, rehashing older ideas, rather than creating new IPs, which in their market is quite dangerous, but also to not put new installments into tried and tested IPs seems to also be hurting them. I think that since they have sanitized their image as being as close to E-Rated now more than ever,  as T or even M ratings tend to do more harm than good, they will have to put R&D into coming up with new games that take risks, creating new IPs that tie into the world of Nintendo. They've done so with Disney IP rights they've purchased, like Marvel and Star Wars, as games like Disney Infinity(No new game this round, but there will be more support.) have helped, but I truly believe new, original stories and ideas for this upcoming generation will also them some separation from parents and grandparents. Something to call their own. Splatoon! Has helped, but it's not nearly as been impacting as the Mario and Zelda games of the world. I'm sure new Amibos will be out soon, but they're out every several months, but I'm going to predict Pokken Tournament will have rare Amibos that add characters to the game that will be exclusive to E3 several weeks earlier than official release. 

   With the potential Uinversal Studios partnership announcment, there could be a unique film announcement,mand that wouldn't be a stretch, as the film industry has reached out and bounced back with franchises pulling in tons of money. Could we see a Legend of Zelda film be in the making? Quite frankly, I don't doubt it! Seeing Full-Sail University is right down the road from Orlando Florida, and a potential Disney tie-in, a movie could be in the works. Also, this would be historical, as in it's history, no film has been officially announced at a Press Confernce in E3's history. 

  I could list the usual suspects 

  

  Animal Crossing

   Super Smash Bros. NOTE: I don't believe a sequel to Super Smash Bros. Wii U is in the makings yet

    Super Mario Bros. Wii U Sequel etc.

Regardless of what is the actual round of sequels, I think Nintendo will hint at a new console UPDATE: (Nintendo's code name for a new handheld/console system is being called the NX. I believe the actual name will not be Wii related, but be its own platform)and that will be the biggest announcement from them. Although I will end with this: other game publications have stated that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is potentially going to be released as an exclusive to Nintendo, I highly doubt that will happen, and again, it's to an overrated elitist game that few have played, and even fewer want a sequel to, despite outcry from a minority of gamers. 

Moving on to Sony's Press Confernce: this is going to be interesting regardless of what is announced. Sony hasn't really delivered from last year's promises. We are still waiting on Shenmue, and The Last Guardian, two games that really are for the hardcore gamer, but have been hyped beyond belief. These are games that quite frankly don't belong in this market, but seeing as that last year's showcase was about thing up loose ends, this was more to say good-bye, like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's expected release, that it was the end of a Sony era. Naughty Dog is Sony's biggest exclusive. Quantic Dreams was a close second, but they have gone by the wayside lately with the mixed reviews for Beyond: Two Souls. 

   So I think Naughty  Dog will showcase a new IP, and have exclusive footage, even gameplay at the end of the show. I also believe that something will be announced to replace the God of War series, and judging by the themes going on with gaming like Ark, and Far Cry: Primal, I think it will involve either early tribal gameplay, or something more along the lines of Game of Thrones Medieval, pre Medieval era.  Speaking of Medieval, I believe there will be a potential sequel announcment revealed, although it may get tied up in years of development. Still, this is a game series I actually liked, but find it doesn't belong in this current generation of gaming. 

   Sony has to bring something to the table, and give us information on their V.R. Headset, (Orignally called Project: Morpheus) which was originally supposed to be on this genre ariid gaming console,mbut now is being speculated for the next-gen consoles. Remember, it was told to most gamers that the PS4 was capable of supporting 4K resolution, now I think we are being led to believe it doesn't have that capability.    

 Sony has got to make a vast statement his year, because it's the leading system, and it needs to reliever with huge announcements. We were promised vapor ware more than anything relevant last year, and we haven't even seen Final Fantasy VII yet. What's the lastest news? I believe we will see actual gameplay footage this year, because people kind of forgotten about it, and that is no-good for a timely franchise like Final Fantasy.  If I had to make any serious predictions for Sony, it would have to be that they will most likely expand their PSN store, and add more older games, that being said, the csjnces of seeing exclusive titles like Twisted Metal, which I believed would've been last year's big reveal, is still not likely to happen again this year, as games like GTA tend to be more robust and appealing. Although GTA VI is going to be a long, long way away; that doesn't mean Rockstar won't tease something for either Microsoft or Sony, but the latter seems the better place to show-off their works.  I believe that the Indie market will be slowing up come the next two years, and that trend will start up around the time of the show. 

    Sony has been very secretive these past few years, because they've been trying their hardest to keep the market in suspense, rather than coming up with ideas that won't be tangible until 2018. Microsoft has been surprisingly smart about this as well, giwever a lack of major first-party tiles has been hurting both consoles in equal measure. Sony has promised more, but they have also made good on most promises, as support for the PS4 with Playstation Plus, along with fixingnthenailments of the hacks that came several years ago were able to bring the company closer to their consumers. 

With a designated stance on making games for gamers, I would say that there will be several major moves done by Naughty Dog, with the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, it's allowing for the end of an era to taper off with I what made the Sony Playstation 3 a superior console. Although I'm wondering of the bigger announcment will be that the title will be released on the PS3 and PS4 simultaneously, or  a backwards compatibility vefsion of the game released later on in June. My best guess: only if the sales are superior on the Playstation 4 will they even think of making a version on the Playstation 3. However, becaue of such superior sales of PS4s, and HD collections of the first three games, it may not be in Sony's favor to eye-lease the game on the last-generation console. 

  Looking ahead for Naughty Dog, I'm fairly certain either a sequel to The Last of Us will be out, or perhaps new, longer DLC will be on its way. The game sold well on both systems, and has redefined what it means to be playing a video game. So many new concepts for the "hardcore gamers" have been made in the last ten years with PS3, like Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, LittleBigPlanet, and the gaming world's overall concept of chapter gaming like The Walking Dead's Seasons 1 and 2, a Season 3 seems inevitable. Tell-tale could be releasing new ideas, and I believe it will be announced at Sony's Press Conference. Other chapter games like Life is Strange were rather larger, albeit more casual events last year. However, the gaming community, along with it's tastes change so drastically, so rapidly it is barely the mask gamers want to wear when finally brought to fruition in the mainstream. This is why I believe Sony will slow the game down, showcase several new titles, perhaps give more information on that  Dream game which was he aforementioned new title coming from Media Molecule. I believe we will also discover if many Steam games will be heading to console. With the iffy launch of Street Fighter V this year, I'm curious to see if more games will become Sony exclusives in the future. With Destiny, Bungie has made their first foray onto Sony's platform, but will there be a Destiny 2? I certainly don't believe their is a real concern for having a sequel out soon, as the game itself was met with subpar reviews. Although we can acclimate that Activision, (one of the four developers pulling out of E3 altogether) and it makes sense seeing as their bread and butter Call of Duty series hasn't grown nearly as much, nor in strides of competitors in that of Ubisoft, and other FPS developers. 

  Overall, Sony has to bring the games, and not just a limited amount of the rehash and rewind characteristics we've seen over the years. Unless there's a Medieval 2, I refuse to have any excitement for rehashed ideas, because it feel they are not nearly as buzz worthy as new IPs, which Sony needs, whether they agree with me or not. Shenmue wasn't even a promise, but a Kickstarter campaign that could succeed, but still never see the light of day. Also, despite such indie support, the game should look like AAA title, and it looks worse than the Dreamcast versions of the former titles.  Sony needs to bank on the fact they actually stand for what gamers want, or that's how they market themselves. I want to see games that will have me loading up on discs, and having to work double time on reviews, I want more originality, and something to push my PS4 to it's limits....why else did I buy something that's supposed to be Tier 1 in technology and have nothing even close to its full capacity? Time is not on the console world's side, as people already want new tech, which makes me worry that updating a console every tend years will be a gimmick only read about, and that consoles will be out every four years, and updated as often as computers.  Sony needs to impress, and perhaps take a bit more risk, or else they'll lose money in the next console cycle. 

  Microsoft holds a Press Conference either right after Nintnedo, or at the very latest after Sony, but due to Bethesda having held a conference the year prior, and probably hosting the best of the handful showcased at E3 2015, we are slowly being guided towards a less formal introduction as was seen nearly twenty years ago with what is appropriate, and what isn't. I watched last year, and the inter gratin of Virtual Reality headsets, with the Occulus Rift, and the expected Minecraft booze that  would later become Microsoft exclusive, seems to tell us that Microsoft isn't going down without a fight. They are also counting on splitting gamers into fandoms, which usually is a Nintendo tactic, as they are buying up exclusives. Sony did so as well with Street Fighter, but this is doubtful to have the same intense impact as Minecraft. 

   Minecraft 2 could essentially happen at anytime, but it would be aptly seen on next-generation consoles. Current-gen still have versions of Minecraft, even Sony has a console version of the game, which immsure comes with more in-app purchases, but doesn't necessarily play as well as the PC, or Xbox One versions. Microsoft would assumingly make the newest version of Minecraft exclusive to the next Xbox, so unless it's announced that the next generation consoles are coming soon will be at this E3, it's all vapor ware from here on out with all studios, platforms, and DLC regardless of whether or not there are any serious surprises. The gaming journalism community acts almost as semantic in their shock and political standpoints on these issues as would be found in most media these days, but what frustrates me most is making a bad show seem somehow....for sake of the tired pun..."game changing." This is where Microsoft is known to try and fail so often, it's not even playing sides pointing out what they've shown, and what has not ever gone to shelves. Firstly, the Kinect, a classic failure of marketing,mand lack of appropriate software to back it up. Even the gimmick is more for control rather Thani treaction on the other consoles, but a camera is mostly used for love streaming, not playing anymore. 

   Microsoft failed over five years ago when they showed that game of watching a boy grow into a man, and it ereactingmwith him,then it was later revised as more a demonstration,despite it being given the look of a full-fledged game. Sony had done this before as well, and they too have suffered for it, and Eye Toy is nothing more than a need for their other quasi-failure: the Playstation Move. Kinect games looks terrible, the concept of being in a clown body and jumping around, and marketing that as an actual game did not have Microsoft winning any hats in the race of the console war. Still, it's infallible to think that Microsoft doesn't learn from its mistakes....but they don't seem to quite get how marketing works....even throwing Master Chief's beloved helmet up on screen isn't cutting it anymore. Of course you have Cliff Belinzki, who to me is nothing more than an overrated, albeit talented, tool in the market, who I'm sure is a decent guy, is now an old fogey as with other developers that don't appreciate the streak of a few gray hairs. Face it! To the younger generation, anyone over the age of thirty is always going to be foolish and out-of-touch, and really even young developers and producers are having a trouble getting in touch with their demographics....because there's too many of them! 

   Microsoft will flop, not becaue they have an inferior product, but most likely a far superior one, but their marketing is treacherous, their game lineups are old and repeated, and in-comparison to what is being innovated across the street, they are always behind in the count. Unless they do something miraculous, inste of jumping on trends, they are going to be hurting badly. Another Halo or Gears of War announcment will only cement my beliefs, and I will never be a customer to them, period. 

 It may seem like I'm being unfairly harsh in my regards to Microsfot, but it's becaue I want them to be more competitive, Sony had to compete against Xbox with their PS2, and it forced some of the best games in history to be made on all consoles, except the GameCube, which essentially is one of few black marks on Nintendo's resume.  The Virtual Boy and Game Boy Advanced on the two others that should be considered failures. So I'm being critical of Microsoft, but that's because they need to do better, especially when you're so far behind in the game. 

 When discussing Microsoft, and what they will have to do, being behind in the game currently, although that can surely change in the upcoming months. Although Sony has dominated the market for months, Microsoft does have a few opportunities to fix their current predicament. One thing that was suggested, and is supposed to be in the works is a sequel to the sleeper hit Alan Wake, as this was a much larger success than most other games released exclusively for the Xbox 360. Now I know that this particular title wasn't nearly as will received as most others, but the old axiom is that the sequel  will always do better than the original game in a series, and on most occasions, the sequel is seen as the better game: Mortal Kombat II, Twisted Metal II, Silent Hill 2, a point duly made historically, and throughout multiple platforms.  I do believe that an Alan Wake sequel will be coming soon, but not sure if it will be showcased at Microsoft's Press Conference.

     I think we'll like see more information on the latest Gears of War game, and perhaps Halo in some form, but doubtful Halo 6 is going to be hints at, seeing as the release of Halo 5 wasn't that long ago. Microsoft hasn't had much luck with getting gamers interested, they seem to look like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off, running around trying to add peripherals like Nintendo, or trying to compete with Sony in ingenuity, and they don't seem quite sure which route to take. Even when they showcased Rome last year....which I believed flopped as an attempt to take on God of War in-terms of style and gameplay, they tended to miss the point that most GoW fans have already tapped out the third installment. 

   The Xbox One, for all sense and purpose, has been a failure as a machine that cannot deliver even as a Videogame system. Nobody seems to care about the titles that have come out,a dn the same can be said for all the current generation systems, but first-party platform games are what's going to set the stage for the future of this console cycle, and with delays being the most popular game genre out now, even the likes of Doom coming out early next month (May) will not be enough to stoke the fires, and get people pumped for console gaming, regardless of system. Ironically Nintendo stands to gain all the rewards, becaue they are already pushing the limits, making gamers feel as though they are being heard in the development studios, but they have a long, long way to go to gain a following outside the digital kiddie pool. Microsoft needs to gain an identiy, Somy needs to showcase thwt it still has an identity after winning the console war, and Nimtendo needs to expand their identity. 

   With that being said, Microsoft will have to be strong, and snow up to play hard to even stand putting a dent in Somy's armor. Truthfully, they're dead in the water, it's not even a competition,mand that as a gaming fan, saddens me  

Next, I'd like to talk about Bethesda, because I do belie that they will be coming back for another round of press conference announcements this year, although I feel it will be truncated into several group showings with other software publishers/developers. Firstly Bethesda is going to have to tease a new Elder Scrolls, because Elder Scrolls V: has been out now for some time, and I wouldn't be surprised if VI wasn't scheduled for a release date sometime late next year, if not sooner. I would expect some add-ons for Doom, but as it's been announced that Bethesda will have five games in development for some time in the next few years, with an announced fifth insfallment in their Fallout series, I'm certain a Press Conference is inevitable. Also, Bethesda seems to need to showcase their talents,mas they are also publishers, like games such as Dishonored 2 being teased last year. Although it's been several months, nothing has been announced as to the validity of these new titles, or if liscencing and publication will be given to other major franchises.

     Bethesda has done the hard work this time around, and it's paying off. It'll be interesting to see if they continue to turn-out more surprises, but if they don't do a serious demo, I'm certain they'll showcase some software with Microsoft at their Press Conference. As stated above, the chances of being hinted a new Elder Scrolls game is inevitable. I'm not sure they will show-off actual gameplay footage, but I'm certain we are going to see this game out sometime next year. That is my prediction, but Bethesda is a superior company that's hard to pin down. I'm currently still trudging through the Wasteland in Fallout 4, and that has been one of the better videogame experiences in recent history. I'm really looking forward  to Fallout 5 now, but judging by the difficulty it is to get these games out there,,and not being adept to the new software enough to make legitmate "next-generation" console-looking games currently, I expect the fifth installment to be out for Playstation 5(?) and Xbox Two(?) Last year there was an interactive card game made for phones and tablets that was designed after Elder Scrolls mythos.  We may see an update to this, but those are more sporadic changes than expected updates. 

  

I don't normally discuss PC information for E3, simply because PC gaming is not usually the center stage of the E3 convention, and its associate at the press conferences. So I will finish this little teaser with several statements: Sony may hint a new console for two years from now, as Ninetnendo puts an accelerated release date on their NX prototype because that's the best way for them to survive the upcoming (and last, in this humble writer's opinion) console war. I have an idea that due to it's serious success, WB Studios will announce a Superman game, in answer to Rocksteasy's Arkham series. I also believe thee will be a sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us, but it will have an M-Rating, following the trend set by Deadpool.  Mortal Kombat 11 will get teased, maybe not at a press conference, but it will be a distinct special for them. Bethesda will most likely rule the roost, and we may see that Fallout: New Oreleans tease everyone has been talking about that Obsidian will make, but with the huge success of Fallout 4, I'd like to see them at least state they will make Fallout 5

  

NOTE: I'm now being led to believe that EA, and Disney, who have stated they are not making a new Disney infinity game, but supporting the older software, are pulling out of the trade show. There were two more, but as of now I'm not sure if it's speculation, or fact, because there were multiple sources about Ea having a conference across the street called EAPlay, and that Disney will be tied to them. World of  Tanks studio World Battle(?) is also going to be absent. Will this hurt future E3 trade shows? More information after my review of E3 2016. It should be interesting enough to see what exactly will come true, and what will be completely out of left field in terms of what companies are willing to share ath this trade show. Here's to a profitable year for gaming, and an exciting E3. 

Batman:Arkham Knight Preview and E3: Personal Predictions and First Impressions

 I have yet to write the Mortal Kombat X review, and unlike many of my other post, I'm pretty sure that many more reviews will be as thorough as the one I intend to write, but I will also be including all of the DLC costumes and characters along  with the full-on review. If you've read my Mortal Kombat reviews in the past, you will probably have an idea of just what I'll be adding into my full-review. 

     Despite the amazing performance MK X, we cannot forget thwt there is another sequel coming out that will be ending a series: no, not Uncharted 4: A Theif's End, but good guess! No, I'm talking about Bstman: Arkham Knight. Firstly, this game seems packed, and I mean packed. The story is huge, much bigger than both Arkham City, and Arkham Origins. The introduction of Robin and Nightwing, along with a return of Catwoman seems to be pushing the limits of just what this game is going to be,perhaps more like Grand a Theft Auto V, where you can jump to play multiple characters simultaneously. 

      The game does look amazing so far, and promises is Arkham fashion to include a multitude of villains that we have all grown to expect from the series. I asked if they would be finishing the storyline where Azrael  came in,mashing hell was coming to Gotham. I'm still not sure if the game will tie up what happened to Joker, but I'm sincerely excited to see us fighting Scarecrow, who is truly an underrated villain, being a highly intelligent, manical fiend, who could challenge Batman in this chess match over the fate of Gotham. Apparently Riddler and Catwoman have a side story that will be played out, and although not every secret has been leaked just yet, I do hope in the thoroughness of truly ending the series, that the Hush confrontation is also brought to a conclusion, which was introduced in Arkham City as well. If not, I could live with it, but then again, the story may grow too big to be fun to play. 

      The story, and unless I've missed a trailer, seems to be quite under wraps,  not much has been leaked, but from what has been leaked, this game seems so big, I can't imagine the amount of playtime it will take to actually complete 100%. Still, many fans wanted even more out of Arkham City, and I have to agree with them, the game was nearly flawless, and the Riddler trophies added so much value to an already over enthusiastic title, but I never once hated having to scan a poster or building, or figure out a harrowing puzzle to get one of those green question marks. Personally, I  love the Riddler, he's one of the most iconic Batman villains, and he is the most aggravating of them, because it requires brains to defeat him, and because of that, the game is much more difficult than repeatedly stomping on your controller to button mash.  The combat looks and feels like the last generation games, but if it has been spruced up, I'm creating it is only to improve on a system that really wasn't broken to begin with, however a slight polishing is always good for consistency. So a Riddler is define,h a welcome return to the Arkham universe. Plus I have a soft-spot for puzzles. 

        Despite the game looking absolutely beautiful, I'd say nearly flawless, I want to know why the damn Batmobile looks like it still handles like a tank! Even in the more recent gameplay release, it looks like one of those old tanks you had in a Playstation 2 game! But maybe, and I mean maybe, the added potential play value of controlling the Batwing will make up for it, especially if it's as open-world as it seems.  This game is aiming to be a pinnacle title for the current systems, and trying to be a classic, and appeal to a broader audience than Batman fans. Makes sense, and seeing as the Batman mythology has such a large fanbase to begin with, the game, unless something terrible happens prior to launch, will be the instant success it's expected to be. 

       Although I shouldn't play devil's advocate here, but something tells me that the added characters like Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman may play out well for a story such as this, and the reluctant help Batman will have to take in order to restore order, I'm not sure if this will be forced onto the players, or worst: be unwanted DLC that aims to shorten the overall gameplay value, and y bring shame to Rocksteady. Though I had played the Catwoman DLC, and it really didn't take away much from the main experience,which I respected a lot. Same with Harley Quinn's revenge DLC, and that felt like an utter waste to me, personally. 

        Batman: Arkham Knight does look to impress, and I'm certain it will, and I especially hope that Rockstasy sticks to their guns, and ties up all the loose ends, without having to shell out another twenty dollars to get the full story in DLC. Still, I'm happy to say that this going to be one of the best summer games, and with a lot of major titles coming out, and a few being leaked at E3, which I promise to do at least one commentary blogpost about, it looks to be an exciting year to own a current generation console.  Either way, we know now that Batman: Arkham Knight will be out in a little more than a month, unless something goes array, and that will be worth the wait. 

    Now, moving on to E3,  and my personal predictions on what will be coming forward, going into this yewr's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Normally I'm coy when I say I'm good at making industry predictions, because well, I've been playing games since I was able to crawl. People are so fascinated that infants play on tablets before they can walk, I was literally playing with an old NES controller before I could crawl, let-alone talk. I'm being a bit sardonic, but it's not difficult to predict certain aspects of the industry, or at least make a very well-rounded educated guess without being right a good portion of the time. The Electronic Entertainment Expo has become the Shangri-La for those of us who care about what comes next, not what comes next week. We know technology explodes the second it's inception, and two weeks behind once it's released on the market. So we always desire to see just how far a system can be pushed, what hardware and software limits there really are, and seeing even those limits pushed beyond by developers who should be seen as the great architects of our time. 

    E3 has but weeks away from the amassing of all gamer gurus, and tech experts to be unleashed upon California, and it will be interning to watch the chaos unfold from live streams and first person perspectives of the actual attendees themselves from my tablet. I remember the first time I watched E3, they had announced the Nintendo Revolution and the Playstation 3, and I was left in this euphoric state that made me excited to be a gamer. The future looked amazing, and the PS3 looked ridiculously beautiful. Being a boy who was amazed by seeing an 8-bit Mario jumping on goombas, and saving the princess, I was shocked to see what the barriers being pushed by technology were back in 2004-05. Still, even the playstwtion 4 and Xbox One will eventually look archaic to gamers of the future, I think the love of E3 never left me, even as an adult. 

    I've always wanted to attend E3, it's why I've always pushed myself to be in the business, and being thwt my talents weren't ever going to be up to par of those who could make even IOS games, I knew I'd have to relinquish the thoughts of being a developer, and try to make my way in as a gaming journalist. My talents were alway writing, despite how flawed my work may seem on this particular blog. But it's the staple of this blog, ever since the first post.

    Most of what people expect to happen at E3 this year (starting June 5th I believe) is a whole host of new IPs, and a ton of game content to really get the jowls wet over getting the new systems. Despite what some may tell you, thre aren't a lot of well-received titles on the current game consoles since their releases, but this year has been a slight change in the less-than-monumental reception of titles. The newest piece of information that seemed to be not much of a shocker, but a welcome commencement is in the form of a PC press conference. Bethesda will have not only their own booth, but a private press conference to, what most assume, and what has been unofficially leaked, show off the first actual look at Fallout 4, and I too believe it will be actual gameplay, not just a teaser trailer, lie, the so-called teaser leaked earlier in the year. I'm also certain we will see plenty of the obvious: Mirror's Edge 2 gameplay, but I think EA is going to mainly focus on their sports juggernaut, which is quite frankly boring, even for sports fans, as they never show you anything legitimately new until you she'll out $60 for a rehash of last year's game. I'd like to see EA give us a bit of background on the actual story of Miirror's Edge 3, as I liked the subtle style of the first game,mid hate to see it be turned into some big, over-the-top story, which happens to so many avant-garde games' sequels. The gameplay from last year's E3 does look quality, so I would love to see if any improvement have been made for the potential Q4 release. 

      Next, I'd like to see some new IPs to replace a lot of the old ones going out. I still think a Green Arrow game is possible to replace the Bstman series, given the obvious fanfare to the television show, and the upcoming ing franchise movie. I know Green Lantern is going to be rebooted, and we are going to try our best to forget Ryan Reynolds even exists.  So I think WB is going to take the opportunity to make a Green Arrow game, and I know this is overreaching, but it makes sense to have a character thwt is similar to batman in many ways, but more fierce in tactics, and who can have a villain list of the same caliber as the Caped Crusader. This game may be teased, or it may even be given a free light,mbut I can see it happening if not this E3,  perhaps next. 

     Another thing I'd like to see, and I know it's not the popular position to have, but I'd like to see less of this focus on casual games, and even smaller titles that are DLC, and a focus on AAA titles. I'm sorry, but I didn't spend over four hundred dollars to play 2D platformers on my Playstation 4. I know graphics don't always matter, and I know games are for fun, and substance should be key, especially gameplay, which has been literally cut to nudging a controller forward, but I'd like to see less mobile games, and more focus on titles that fit the core gaming systems. Granted, I actually like some mobiles, and if they could evolve off the likes of MK X, and even grow to rival consoles, then I'd be for more coverage of them. I love that two people in a garage can now have their game shared on the biggest platforms, I find that idea a very amazing symbiosis between major companies, and little guys trying to grow, but really, I want fully-developed, deep-seeded games! 

     Next, I predict that Microsoft will tease the Oculus Rift's capabilities, as V.R. And A.R. are expected to be the future, even though it's been the futur since I was still in diapers. Still, this may be the opportunity to get some legitmate IPs, but something tells me that this (and Project Morpheus) may not be seen until CES, in the sense of testing via an audience.  Virtual reality seems fun, and many games will most likely have it as a choice, but it is a fad, and unless it fully immerses, while keeping the story from faltering because of the medium, I only see it being something to show off for five minutes, until you're back to that big television screen you blew last month's rent on for that lovely 4K. 

     So the games,what exactly do I want to see? I'm an older gamer, up there pushing that minor demographics in their late twenties-early thirties, but I do love to see new IP if it works out, and is written well.  I was excited about the rumors circling about a possible Medieval revamp, but finding out it was fan made kinda let my hopes down. One game I would love to see remade is Ecco the Dolphin, because I really miss puzzlers that have a strong story behind them. Sega isn't even going to be having booth at E3, so this is obviously a longer shot than seeing a new Dreamcast in 2017. I'd also like to see a sequel to Dishonored. I wasn't a huge fan of the original game, and I get it was supposed to be steampunk, but it really didn't read steampunk to me as much as it did cartoon. Still, it was a fun game, and it was at least attempting to be original. 

    For Sony, Naughty Dog has become a goldmine. This company has been there since day 1, is a strong component to the SCEA, and is part of some of the biggest franchises of my generation.  Uncharted is ending very soon, and with The Last of Us being another big-time game franchise that has room to grow, I see the possibility of a new IP more apt to happen at this year's E3, for release sometime in the next year, year-and-a-half. I will also predict that the obvious will happens and The Last of Us will either get a sequel, or a Vita port, although I think that happened already. 

    Twisted Metal: can it survive in a world of GTA? The last game was met with more controversy than any other in the series' twenty-year history. That's right, this year Twisted Metal turns twenty, and it is a whole new world since then, and that in-turn has many skeptics wondering if a new title will make the cut. I cannot assure that a new game is in the work, but I would love, love, love to see a reboot of the second game, or even a sequel to the Twisted Metal: Black series. Hell, I'd even laugh to see a DLC sequel in the wonderfully comedic Small Brawl style. This won't happen, Jaffe has in many ways, moved on to greener pastures with the God of War series. Still, putting hundreds of hours into mastering the car combat concept, I wouldn't mind given a new Twisted Metal game another chance. 

    Did I hear someone say: "Gameplay of Star Wars: Battlefront"? Yeah, I'm not sure that's a prediction, more as a shoe-in, but what about the Last Guardian? Or am I just pissing everyone off for saying that? I kid, because we've now moved on to bigger, and better things, right? 

    E3 will most likely show off a new Mass Effect title, although I'm not quite sure even I'd be interested in seeing that, but hey, sequels are always going to usher in more OMGs than some scary looking IP. Although I'd also like to see a sequel for Alien: Isolation, and I believe it would be a legitimately good game, and a contender against the grain of other titles, it may be very, very early for even some concept art at the expo.

     So we talked about Sony, we talked about Microsoft (hah! Just kidding, we don't care about Microsoft hee at the Malacast Editorial!) and we talked about EA, and the fact that Dead Space 4 is probably not going to happen....I'm still waiting on Posession myself, you know, that game when you're some zombie experiment, and you create other zombies? Yeah that game teased before even the Ps3 and XBOne were even released! But want about the Assassin's Creed machine? I mean Ubisoft? You know, if someone didn't post maybe once every three years some short clip of Ghost Recon, or a picture of Rayman, I'd swear Ubisoft only knew one thing: Assassin's Creed. Personally,mi hate these games, I find them overrated, and quite frankly, they are the Nickleback of gaming! Yes! I said what a billion online trolls never have the courage to say! With that being said, I really hated Watchdogs, and I find that political correctness is the only reason Ubisoft even have a damn press conference over other, and let's be real here, more deserving publishers out there. Even Square Enix is more deserving of a whole press conference, and they barely make one game series! Still, I must admit, the tenacity behind Ubisoft is proof of a good work ethic that many big-time publishers could learn from, and alas, why I must make these predictions for Ubisoft, even though it is more like stating the obvious.

      Okay, so Assassin's Creed by now has already been leaked, and is most likely taking place in Victorian England. I don't give two shits personally, but hey, the market proves I'm wrong,and you guys love playing this game. Why? It's the same as those who play Dragonball games, they just won't stop, and the same with Dynasty Warriors....you people are sick!  As I digress, I have to mention yet again,mthwt Assassin's Creed will most definitely be out in November, and every November after that until the end of time. Ubisoft claims to have other games, but nobody I know has ever played them, and I'm sure you haven't, unless you're some obsessed psychopath with francophillia, haven't played them either. 

      So Ubisoft. May do a sequel eventually to the likes of Watchdogs, but seeing as how poorly received it was, they might just stick to Ghost Recon, which is the French Call of Duty, and of course Rayman, which was always a stupid platformer that most people only played ironically as babies, and sparked the current hipster movement. Gag me, please. 

       Oh yeah! Rockstar games! The biggest video game company in the world, the one all of you wish to work for, but not even on the same level as these code monkeys. I know GTA VI (CE?) is years away, and yes Rockstar, I just gave you a lovely little bit of marketing genius right there for your Vice City reboot that we all know is coming. Still, it's never early to predict what Rockstar will be showing off at this year's convention.  Rockstar hasn't had a serious contender for it's GTA series yet, except Manhunt, and earlier, Midnight Club. Rockstar is a company that I am sure wants to expand it's audience well past the masses who line up to play the relatively moderate, but always revolutionary titles that make up the GTA series, but even I found them growing staler, and less sophisticated even as early as right after GTA III.

    Still, the series is white hot, and Rockstar is full of intelligent, talented people, so what else can they show off to cash in on you guys out there? I doubt a Manhunt 3 is even a thought in their kinds, as the second game was forced into such heavy censoring, it held little weight without the excessive ogre, and even games like Mortal Kombwt rivaled that gore, and surpassed it tenfold. Still, do we see another IP, or older franchise stepping up to join the Rockstar family? My hopeful side says absolutely, but my realist, predictive side says that Rockstar isn't going to waste valuable effort to make another game thwt will never reach the margins of GTA, so they will focus all their energy on the obvious Vice City reboot, because let's face it, unless they redo the sixties version of the original games in either London, or someplace else in Europe, which seems too extreme a risk for them to take, prepare yourself for driving around the Florida Keys, and portions of Miami and Kissimmee even by the year 2018. Okay, 2019 at the very latest. 

     My final predictions are as such: E3 2015 will be game-packed, and it will focus on a ton of IP release that will be practically available for download just hours after the show closes up, and the demos go out to fill the limited space on your already cluttered hard-drives, and then  you'll be wondering how you ever lived without high-speed internet. To me, that is incredible how you will go from just one click to download something just previewed live on a computer/television/tablet/phone screen, to right onto your new system. 

    As I just said, there will be a ton of games, and many new peripherals to replace the ones you already have, and "make them updated" but I'm also certain that the new games previewed will not be nearly as surprising as in past years. Personally, the internet, and the 24 hour news cycle has made it nearly impossible for the industry to keep a good secret. Every louse in the tabloid game journalism industry is  always doing their best to ske sure they have the story before anyone else, and it really does screw up those of us who get ally miss hearing in a simultaneous moment when something is officially announced. 

     Finally, I believe in the deepest chambers my heart of hearts that we will hear about some new Tom Clancy title, maybe even a Splinter Cell remake for the newer consoles. Why? Because the new Rainbow Six looks stupid, and if you really think it's spectacular, then gaming must die, yesterday. I play, but I do believe it's coming. 

  Well I hope you've enjoyed my predictions, because it's pretty obvious to see the innovation these people in the industry have, and it's not a stretch outside the imagination. Still this was, for all-intent-and-purposes for fun, and not meant to be an actual portrayal of the upcoming E3 convention,more the conferences involved. 

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial! 

Twitter: @mcasteditorial

E-mail: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com, or my newest account: malacastplays@gmail.com. 

I'll be releasing some upcoming news about the podcast I co-host with Edgar Holves @FunNYFisherman called  EntroPhenom, later this summer. Have a great time, and enjoy E3 this June! 

Mortal Kombat X is Shaping Up to be An impressive Fighter Post 1 of 10 of Preview-A-Palooza!

All images found on Google Image.      

    This week ends the Beta for Mortal Kombat X, which is the next installment in the mortal Mombst Universe. The game will be set twenty-five years in the "future" of the game's series, and I'm. It too sure if that means twenty-five years after the first tournament, or after Mortal Kombat 9, which left us playing the entire series over again in one game. 

    To me, the story for MKX looks to have more questions than answers, but Ed Boon company are turning this game into a serious competitor for the fighting game to lead us into the next-generation of consoles. As you all know, Mortal Kombat is as near and dear to my heart as Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, and even Pac-Man, it is a game that defines video games. I love Mortal Kombat, but I'm unbiased because I am a harsh critic, and can admit there is no such thing as a perfect game. Even MK 9, the highest selling game in the series, even outselling my personal favorite: Mortal Kombat II, has allowed for mortal Kombat X to go above the average sequel, or so it seems at the present. 

    Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, or Mortal Kombat 6, although I'm not sure which game counts as 5.....is it technically MK 4 that is actually the fifth game? Is it like that whole argument that Super Mario 3 is actually 4? Either way, Deadly Alliance was a great reimagination of the series, and brought to the helm a game franchise that has been a staple of my childhood to a much broader audience. Mortal Kombat 9, not but two games after, had made the game mainstream, and although many could say the game just upgraded what we already knew and loved, adding X-Ray moves, and new perspectives on old characters, like playing as Sektor and Cyrax pre-cyborg. 

   In-truth, the game had a great deal of add-ons, it even added a long-time fan request in Skarlett, who was suggested to be a hidden character in the earlier games, although it was just an alternative costume of Mileena. 

     Yet, many claim the game had a great deal of push because of a playable Kratos, and DLC like Freddy Kreuger, which is plausible, I've heard of people buying games for less, but I truly believe it was the immersive story, and a decent gap between games so the taste of Armageddon could be washed from one's mouth. If Armageddon wasn't made, and Deception was the last game, I'm sure MK X would be a completely different animal. Still,  Armageddon is its own blessing in disguise, because 9 was so much better, and I think that train wreck is the reason 9 was a better game.....although, is MK vs DCU seen as cannon? If so, that game was fun, but didn't add too much to the storyline. So instead of making that a blanketed statement, let me elaborate: Mortal Kombat 9 was supposed to be a wash from the end of Armageddon, but this game seems to be the outcome from Armageddon, and 9, so expect a few new faces, and say sayonara to some famous characters, which to me, is perfectly fine, and a step in the right direction. 

      MK X is going to be interesting because it'll add quite a few new characters that even I'm impressed by so-far. My only concern is that 2 player is going to be dropped, because is am old-fashioned, and want the choice to play my friend on the couch, so I can dance and wiggle in front of their face when I rip out their spine. The newest characters are a breath of fresh air: Netherrealm is doing it right, and they've added two (three if you count the Terra-Fer character) new female players so far. To me, the female side of the roster has always been more balanced than most fighters, excluding such titles as Dead or Alove, but that was more against the grain, but if you look at the current MK titles, they've all added female character that are universally respected, if not loved. 

    First off, Sonya Blade is perhaps the most iconic female character in games since Lara Croft, and she's perhaps more the bad ass for it. She was a bit of a joke for a while, but in the past few games has been one of the better characters. The same could be said for Kitana, and my personal favorite: Jade. The point is over ten games, the female characters have been nearly balanced in every game, and each one has been more, and more detailed, their stories more interesting as the game expands. 

    Despite my not caring what the sex is of the character I play, the female characters in Mortal Kombat always seem  to be immersed in the game, not just there for political correctness. Also, they could all make Chun-Li weep.  The new characters are Cassie Cage;    Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage's child, and although this makes sense story wise, and there have been non cannon characters like Kira, I think that a child between Sonya and Jax would've been more interesting. This character has a mixture of Special a Forces stile moves, and some of the campy that makes Johnny Cage a hate him 'til you love him kind of guy. Her fatality was pretty funny, which I was pleasantly surprised to see, even though the clown one all Joker last game was pretty funny as well. The nex character to be introduced so far is D'horah,   looks like a kind of bee/insectoid creature, perhaps a new race in the Netherealm, or some other realm....we don't know if all the realms are open and reacting with each other currently, still she looks to be a bit overpowered, but this game isn't fully balanced yet....and Koto Khan    is probably the most unbalanced character of the game....that blood sacrifice move is going to cause more nerd rage than Jar-Jar Binks announced in the new Star Wars film (just kidding, but Disney is the place where nightmares come true.) still, the new characters look like they both fit into the Mortal Kombat Universe, and although they aesthetically look similar, they still look completely new, and shadow remnants of the past MK games, but still house a design that makes me say, MK is ready for a new generation. Sure,,some people are complaining because there's new characters....but, I hate to sound like a smart ass, and say every single game after the very first Mortal Kombat, even Armageddon, included new playable characters. If people complained about "new characters" back when MK II was made, then my favorite character, Jade, would never have been crafted for the series! So yes, I too am worried we won't see enough favorite characters, and even the Sub-Zero is most likely going to be an offspring of the brother of the original Sub-Zero, but I get it! I hate when my favorite character dies, but I also know that life must go on, especially with a sequel. I'm not saying the concern isn't  understandable, but I will also say that every game has had both the good, and the bad. Yes, even MK 4 had both good and bad parts to it.....although I think nothing can be salvaged from Special Forces, even Tremor was a flawed design, and I'd  say a flawed concept altogether. 

     Still, these new characters, and they may be the only new characters ( Raiden and Kano are coming back, so is Quan Chi, but seeing how the last game ended, that doesn't surprise me.) are  aesthetically pleasing in design, and during gameplay, they move with a grace that made the last game almost artistic in it's juggling, and the combat system has become very updated, so-much-so that even when you combo, or use an environmental piece, it doesn't skip a beat. If this is just a test, I'd be enticed to see just what a finished product looks like, and although the bugs to come might be a sad, sad shame, I have faith this game will be one of the few games that's actually completed on the shipping date...I know! I may be asking too much, but you know what?  If the game isn't without it's flaws, I'm sure it'll be playable at the very least. 

     Also, Master-Blaster (Ferra/Torr)    made it into the game, and if that doesn't put a smile on your face, (yes, I now it's not literally Master-Blaster) then you, good person, have no sense of humor. Still, the game is looking better than most could expect for a franchise that's over twenty years old, and I'd say this game could survive for several more generations, because it seems to be under great management, and that's what keeps a series alive....and if the game is being mismanaged, hopefully it will have a moment of zen, and get someone who will put it back on top. Like Hideo Kojima is assuring us that the legacy of Silent Hill will stay alive, Ed Boon is showing us that Mortal Kombat will survive, at least one more cycle. This is looking to be my first official preorder for the Playstation 4, and you can expect my review to follow. Still, if this game turns out to be utter garbage, I promise you will know immediately. Sure, I gave Armageddon some slack, it wasn't the best, but certainly not the worst, and I think that is why people were disappointed: it wasn't like a grand finale, but a rather clumsy curtain drop. 

       However, I'm excited, as should most MK fans, and although we've heard practically nothing yet, especially for a game that is expected to release in the next eleven months, I expect decent online multiplayer, a more immersed storyline, and I hope the towers come back, but if that gets an upgrade as well, I won't be completely disappointed. Love challenge towers, and it reminds me of classic MK. I also hope they bring back the Shokans. I know they are either universally loved, or universally hated, but I don't mean bring back Goro, or Shiva, or even that pussy cat Kintaro, I'm just saying give me a new Shokan....not sure I'd want a Motaro centaur, but please not that satyr version. Also, I think people want to play as a full-blooded female Tarkartan, not Mileena, but still, I'd love to see some kind of sleek female Baraka that jumps around like a spider, and can hack and gash like a spliced ala Bioshock. To me, that would be an added experience, which wouldn't upset the status quo, and pays homage to the larger world of Outworld. As an avid fan, and a strong critic, I'm quite certain that Ed Boon will do right by the fans, and simply make a fun game....something that's classic, but brand-new, and focused on fun, rather than anticlimactic gameplay, which tries to evoke an emotion, rather than upper cutting someone into a vat of acid, and having a cartoonish skeleton pop right back up. Mortal Kombat X is expected to release sometime in 2015, but I'd believe it to be sometime in late Spring, early Summer, but don't be surprised a game of this magnitude ( that is, as a task for the developers) may be pushed back as far as holiday season of winter 2015. 

Update: as I just finished writing this post, I discovered that three new characters have been leaked. Kung Lao, Kitana, and for pre-order: Goro. The game was also give  a date of release: April 14th, 2015. 

     

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial! Your continued support is always appreciative to the highest extent! 

Twitter: Twitter.com/mcasteditorial or @mcasteditorial

E-mail: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com. 

Twitch is a Fun Medium Rip-Roaring with Marketing Potential

I'm new to Twitch, but it's a cool concept: watch people play games, but maybe not for the reasons you'd think. Sure, I can respect a speedrun, especially if the possibility of breaking a record is greater than just someone playing a game for an audience. Also, the interaction with these individuals who are being watched kind of subconsciously gives one the feeling of talking to a "celebrity", when it's not necessarily true. Although I'm old fashioned, and watching someone play a game doesn't inherit donation, I do like to watch someone play a game that I may be interested in playing, and getting a good look that beats a five minute demo, but not necessarily a full walk through. It's great game marketing, the same way movie rentals from old-school movie stores let you watch a movie before buying the VHS tape. 

     

    To me, Twitch is something to watch that's not only fun, but it can be resourceful, although I'm not sure getting your money on people playing games is a good waste of one's money, but it still shows that the world is always changing, and how we work, how we play, and most importantly, how we decide what is a call for celebrity status, will be entirely in the eyes of the beholder, and not a network, or Hollywood agent. 

    Twitch is a live streaming, video-sharing website, where people play video games for an audience. Sometimes this is for the benefit of those who do not have the system, or like I've stated above, for those I tested in playing a game without the worry of purchasing and then disregarding it later as a waste of sixty bucks. I'm not sure if most people will agree with me, as the whole point is for people to either donate to the gamers, and have them either give you something back, and I suppose many do provide a bit of entertainment, however, I truly do not understand the purpose of Twitch, and maybe that's the point: it is whatever the consumer allows it to be. If they want to bet on games, they bet, if they want to watch a speed run, they do that,'or if they just want to watch someone play a game, and nothing more,then it is for that reason they watch Twitch. Whatever the purpose I find Twitch entertaining, and although I was adamantly against it when the concept was first shown, it goes to show you that Twitch wasn't wrong, now that we give out video game scholarships, and actually take it very seriously, and now thwt teams in colleges will be playing against one-another across the country, it's not surprising to see thwt Twitch isn't just trendy, but a glimpse of a potential future; the very primitive mold of the sports and entertainments divisions that will be viewed by our children's children. 

     Before you go saying this is the end of everything, many naysayers have said the same thing about chess, basketball, football, and other extracurricular activities as a waste of time. Remember, many still think education should be the end-all, be-all of our society, yet more money over the invidivudal's lifetime is more realistically made even playing major league soccer, than working at the starting position of a Fortune 500 company. If you think gaming cannot get to that extreme, think back less than one-hundred years ago, when professional football was played to a crowd of maybe twenty people, and college ball was filling out stadiums. Pro video gaming has a similar correlation, and has tried and failed about the equal amount of times so far, and believe me, it only stands to grow with the forthcoming generations. 

      So Twitch, and MLG,,and other pro organizations that have come and gone, may be the building blocks of whatever will be the fancy marketing tool of the major professional gig to come about, snd take the video gaming world by storm. Remember, even professional wrestling was seen as a joke,and in many way, it still is today,mbut the WWE is now a multi-billion dollar industry, one which most everyone knows, or has come in contact with someone who knows of it, because it is nearly impossible to escape. It is a global phenomenon, and I'm certain video games will follow suit once the right marketer gets behind it, because global tournaments are literally a sign-in password, and HTML away from being the next mainstream professional entertainment juggernaut. 

    Twitch is great,and once it actually defines itself it, or something similar, better, and more apt to sustain a wide audience, will be the ultimate foundation of video games come to the mainstream, and you may just have your kids playing Tekken, or Street Figher over learning how to dunk a basketball, because the money will be astronomical for the players, and the bets will be just as fantastic on the said outcome of the "professional gamers." 

      Sure,you can say tournaments are quite large, some even rake in millions and millions of dollars, but once they break that barrier,,they'll never be a professional gig in the ways of major sports, although major sport titles bring in quite a bit of money in their said tournaments, and that will probably be where it truly begins. 

       

Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial! Your constant support is always welcome, and greatly appreciated! I have not been doing Monday Blogs on Twitter as often, because I've been too busy coming up with something I've not done before: ten previews of some of the best, most anticipated, and some least anticipated games of 2015. ( disclaimer: all games previewed are optioned for 2015 release dates, but can be delayed at the developer's expense.) I'm calling this segment of the Malcast Editorial: Preview-A-Palooza! Ten games, ten of the more well-known, and least known games that will be releasing sometime this year, and the good, and barely acceptable each is going to bring to consoles. To be fair, I'll do one exclusive from each major system (Yes, even the Wii U) and the rest will either be cross platform games, or DLC exclusives.....maybe, I'm not exactly sure I want to go that route, but whatever happens, it will be fun. 

      The first post two posts will be up next Monday, followed by two more posts each on Wednesday and Friday. So six the first week, four the second. 

         Twitter.com/mcasteditorial or @mcasteditorial for my Twitter feed, and my e-mail is mcasteditorial@yahoo.com, though I don't tend to get much e-mail these days, which is fine, but if you want just send me a message on twitter, it's much easier to find me there.