Hey, last chance to avoid viewing true suffering – go look at some nice wholesome games!

Verizon (“Gaming for good”)

5G gaming will revolutionize mobile gaming, or so Verizon says. In what way? That’s not important! But during the presentation Verizon specifically marked developers and esports teams specifically for Verizon-sponsored projects. They brought out Derwin James, Free Safety for the LA Chargers (one of the least successful NFL franchises in the league) to talk about Verizon’s Super Bowl Fortnite map. This doesn’t matter to anyone, anywhere other than the people on stage and some shareholders somewhere, but the E3 presentation isn’t overly loud or offensive so I can’t be too mad. I’m here to be advertised to. Big ups to the Verizon crew for spending a large portion of their presentation talking about building mentorships and scholarships for women in esports and professional gamescasting.

Intellivision

Intellivision is jumping back into the console world with Intellivision Amico which is a WiiU-styled handheld plus console hybrid specifically positioned for families with young children. The games announced on it look like one of those plug n’ play TV consoles, with asteroids styled games and whatnot. But the controller has an interesting design to it in the same way that home-karaoke systems usually have a wacky controller with them. Even if this is some kind of huge miss, hey it’ll be a funky collectible piece later!

Take-Two Interactive

Take-two and 2K hosted a panel featuring organizations like Girls Make Games, Gay Gaming Professionals, as well as groups like USC and Private Division to talk about initiatives they are making to help bridge gaps of inequity within gaming. Gordon Bellamy of GGP at one point shouted “We are the batter, not the frosting!” and I really enjoyed that line. This ain’t games advertising, but this was way better than anything I thought I was asking for from something called the “Take-Two Interactive Panel”. The right people in the right room on a big stage!

Mythical Games

[VIDEO DESTROYED FOR REASONS OF TASTE]

The Blankos vinyl-toy game website says: “WE ARE CREATING UNIVERSAL ECONOMIES DRIVEN BY PLAYER OWNERSHIP. WE BELIEVE THAT TRUE OWNERSHIP OF DIGITAL ASSETS, VERIFIABLE SCARCITY, AND INTEGRATED SECONDARY MARKETS ARE THE FUTURE OF GAMES.” so fuck them. Private ownership is theft, and these people are in the business of scamming children. I will go Iron Sheik on this crew; break their back, and make them humble.

Indie Showcase

Renee Gittens of the IGDA hosted another group-panel speaking with a small selection of indie game developers. Normally, this would be a nice refreshing break from E3’s AAA-heavy content, but I found the discussion dangerously reductive and coming from a privileged headspace. I want to push against the IGDA advocating for hustle culture, financial risk, and ‘passion-driven development’. Especially since that nearly lead to panelist Edmund McMillan’s destitution multiple times. The IGDA has been very successful under new leadership the last few years moving away from the boys-club AAA-wishing mentality it used to have a decade ago and building a more diverse community and diverse selection of events for all types around the world, but there is still more work to be done if the IGDA wants to be seen as an equitable organization advocating for indie developers, and this showcase proved that.

After the panel, they showed a selection of IGDA-curated trailers in rapid succession, but speaking about any one of the games as I’d like to probably wouldn’t end up being very professional. The kindest thing I could say about them is that they’d probably be right at home on the Intellivision Amico. It was a presentation that looked like the rejected options from the other indie showcases. The un-cool kids table, as Elvie very fairly put it.

Freedom Games

GAMES! This tiny, brand new publisher got into the E3 conference! Good for them. And they showcased some games when people were desperately asking for something good! Here’s a list:

• Dreamscaper
• Airborne Kingdom
• Coromon
• Cat Cage Manager
• To The Rescue
• Slaughter League

Maybe one of these names appeals or looks cool to you? For me, after the previous couple of days, they seem very uninspired and un-challenging. Freedom Games is managing a selection of the whitest male-est indie games you could think of. That said, I asked for games, and this little crew gave some games that I can suppose people will play, and that’s at least the bare minimum! Anyways, let’s continue lower the bar:

VENN presents: Origin Stories with Hector Martinez

I want to be critical about a vanity talk show for the dudebro-est pro gamers talking about celebrities they’ve met, but NRG owner and pro CoD player, Hector Martinez, is a charming host. The presentation of the show isn’t overproduced or trying too hard, and the spotlight interview we were shown with 100 Thieves owner, Matthew Haag, is produced to be fast and engaging. Nobody cares though. This is when the E3 channel on Twitch finally dipped below 100k viewers, hemorrhaging about 20% of the entire viewing audience over 20 minutes. Folks are completely done with E3 being completely disconnected from games in any real way and have lost faith in the ESA’s production. Not even gamer-to-the-gamers, Nadeshot making cusses and referencing Justin Beiber can bring them back. I was a bit entertained, but nobody cares one bit.

Limited Run Games

ARE YOU READY? You know what you are getting, you don’t need me editorializing this one (and I’m really tired at this point, thank you for your patience)

Physical Releases coming soon for:

• Zombies Ate My Neighbors/Ghoul Patrol (Switch)
• SuperHot (PS4/Switch)
• Double Dragon/Kunio-kun Collection (PS4/Switch)
• River City Girls (PS5)
• River City Girls Zero (Switch) (Though important to note this is simply just a re-titling of the fourth game of the Kunio-kun series!)
  
• River City Girls 2 (All consoles)
• Strife Veteran Edition (Switch)
• Shantae: all of em, technical name (PS5)
• Bloodrayne Betrayal Remaster (PS4/Switch)
• Haven (Switch/PS4/5)
• SkateBird (Switch)
• Huntdown (Switch)
• Axiom Verge 2 (PS4/5/Switch)
• The Takeover (PS4/Switch)
• Dusk (Switch)
• République (PS4/PSVR/Switch)
• Going Under (PS4/Switch)
• One Step From Eden (PS4/Switch)
• RWBY: Grimm Eclipse (Switch)
• Retromania Wrestling (PS4/Switch)
• Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night + Rondo of Blood (PS4)
• Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Turbo Duo)
• Contra Anniversary (PS4/Switch)
• Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties (Switch/PS4/5/PC)
  

Capcom

Capcom announced nothing. Let me help you understand this as I say it again: CAPCOM ANNOUNCED NOTHING, AT E3. So after an incredibly hot fire year that definitely has had no bad moments or rough speed bumps you’d think they’d be ready for a great show with announcements of the properties they’ve been developing over the last few years. They did not, and that’s because every company has no faith in E3. It’s not even that they just have no faith that E3 can survive into 2022, but many companies like Capcom are simply playing nice with the ESA so they can hold their spot for future shows. This is why every presentation looks so cheaply put together and doesn’t announce anything. No faith, no reason, and no pressure from the abysmally pathetic ESA. Anyways, let’s talk Capcom’s E3 2021 lineup:

Resident Evil: Village uhh did you know this was out? I sure did, and it was a decent game! But this sure isn’t the place for old games, and so folks were Big Mad seeing this. We also already knew that the multiplayer mode, Resident Evil RE:Verse, is going to be out in a few days. They couldn’t even get it to come out today and get people playing, so great work all around everyone.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a new game and would be a good announcement for folks if this weren’t the fifth different trailer we’ve seen and SECOND TIME THIS WEEK. This trailer had a crying lady. I still think it’s a cute looking game and am happy to see it! The demo comes out on June 25th. (You missed by a week again, Capcom!!) As a little sprinkle on top though, they did show the Monster Hunter Rise roadmap for the next year of development. HOWEVER, the announcement they brought was that they were doing collabs with themselves. Wings of Ruin characters will be added to Monster Hunt Rise! Isn’t that great? It’s like they announced adding Luigi to the Mario game– we know, you dorks! Not really a reason to buy into the DLC and not newsworthy in any way, when it would’ve been greatly appreciated right now. PLEASE just ONE PERSON please surprise us. I’m begging here!

The final announcement Capcom had was for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, which comes out next month on July 24th. We’re looking forward to this so much, and although it isn’t set in America this time, it will still bring so much culture coming from England with the ever-elusive Herlock Sholmes teaming up with Phoenix’s ancestor Ryunosuke Naruhodo. During the new trailer, we got to see the jury throwing some hot fireballs at the scales of justice to delegate their votes which is really engaging and fun. The details that were shown in this new trailer were substantial and almost thawed our frozen and decaying hearts as we are technically now six hours into the proceedings. Well, it almost did until–

Razer

So, funny story about Razer. Actually, it’s not funny, it’s really kinda sad. Every Razer product I’ve bought since 2009 was overpriced, poorly designed, and broke very quickly. I’ve tried keyboards, headphones, mice and even the big gamer mousepads after really liking the $13 razer mouse I got in 2009. Only disappointment. Today’s presentation was exactly as expected. Here’s the details:

• Razer Blade 14 gamer laptop – AMD powered, 14” – $1,799 up to $2,799

For the gamer who settles for less, but pays the most.

• Razer GaN Charger for up to four different usb devices – $179

GaN charging seems like neat technology! Avoid Razer.

• Razer Raptor 27 gamer display – $799

It tilts straight up to look at the sky and scream why

Raptor 27 has RGB lights in the base that you cannot get rid of

Does not include a +$99 adapter to connect it to a multi-display mount for freaks

• Project Hazel

Hey remember that meme Razer mask with the RGB? I guess it was a ‘joke’ before because today’s announcement is that it’s Real and coming out in ~8 months. One of the planet’s worst horrors is on its way out of America due to vaccinations; however, it’s very on brand for Razer to be announcing old technology, late into the cycle, for an audience that is basically rich people who just buy the first thing that shows up on Newegg and Amazon. Anyway here’s the incredibly epic gamer details that made me laugh incredulously to end E3 today. (No Price Given, HAH)

• • Replaceable N95 filters (no price listed)
  • Secure Silicon Mouth seal (oral pleasure)
  • Clear transparent face design (accessibility-first design for mouth lookers)
  • Interior lighting for your mouth (gamer mouth lookers)
  • Anti-fog coating (KEEP LOOKING INTO MY MOUTH)
  • Project Hazel filter on Instagram and tag @Razer (Cross branding promotion synergy!)
  • 1st drop is in Q4 2021 (I can almost assure there won’t be a 2nd)
    

Hi Scott! Looking good, and thanks for wearing a mask!

We did it! We survived Day 5 of E3 2021! They say no news is good news, and yet here I am suffering. Now I need a stiff beer, or maybe I’ll settle down by watching how the rest of the Video Game Choo Choo crew “enjoyed” the day on the Twitch channel!

The post E3 2021 Day 5 – The ENTIRE Variety Day Roundup #Beer3 appeared first on Gamesline.

Axiom Verge 2
Thomas Happ Games

Toem: A Photo Adventure
Something We Made

Phantom Abyss
Team WIBY

Garden Story
picogram via Rose City Games

Soup Pot
Chikon Club

A Musical Story
Glee-Cheese Studio

Vokabulantis
Wired Fly Stop Motion/Kong Orange/Morten Søndergaard

Road 96
Digixart

The Wandering Village
Stray Fawn Studio

Unbeatable
D-Cell Games

Death’s Door
Acid Nerve

Behind the Frame
Silver Lining Studio

Moonglow Bay
Coatsink

Lootriver
straka.studio

Despelote
Julián Cordero & Sebastián Valbuena

Last Stop
Variable State

And one more thing! A micro-round up of micro-proportions by Asobu Games:

Asobu is a content-production and publishing team that is brand new bridging Japanese developers to the west which is something we always need more of. And for this event, they put together multiple games that all look really neat! For this, I think I’ll let Christine’s expert note-taking do the talking for this section because she summed my thoughts up completely:

Elec head by NamaTakahashi – “gettin vvvvibes”
demolition robots kk by Takaaki Ichijo – “looks like gundam rampage”
Walk by Kazumi Games – “look fucking weird as shit fmv silent hill school girl what the fuck”

AND THAT’S DAY OF THE DEVS, PEOPLE! We did it! 19 games in about an a blistering 70 minutes! I’m utterly exhausted now. Normally during press conferences I can chill during boring games, but LOOK AT THAT LIST! When was I supposed to chill? During the 3D dungeon crawler that deletes itself? Or while a game promised 148,268 different routes? Just an utterly ridiculous way to cap off the -1th day of E3 2021. The curation put together here blew me away and I think I can speak for all of us after watching two hours of Geoff Keighley, that we needed it. I hope you enjoyed the recap and good luck with the rest of the game presentations this week!

The post E3 2021 Day 1 – Day of the Devs Roundup appeared first on Gamesline.

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Of course, you can’t have an eventful year in gaming without a bunch of games! This year was full of great games on every system. This is a double-edged sword, since it also meant that there was no way for me to play every great game that came out this year. I’m amazed I was able to get in a many games as I did! Unfortunately, it meant a ton of great games that might have otherwise made this list got left out in the cold. I’m sorry Ori and the Blind Forest, Environmental Station Alpha, Soma, Beginner’s Guide, Witcher 3, Tales from the Borderlands, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and too many others to even name. Hopefully I’ll get to play at least a few of you sometime next year. In the meantime, here are my top 10 games of 2015!

10. Xeodrifter

It was between this game and Sonic Dreams Collection for the number ten spot. When I saw how many other people on Chooch were doing Sonic Dreams Collection, I decided to go with this fun little Metroidvania game from Renegade Kid. While it technically came out last year, it was right at the end in December. I didn’t actually get play it until this summer, so I’m grandfathering it in for the sake of mixing things up.

This is a neat game that, unlike most other Metroidvania games, takes its cues from Metroid 2: The Return of Samus instead of Super Metroid. I admire this kind of switch-up, taking things in a different direction from the norm. It definitely makes for a fun and different spacefaring experience. That being said, this influence also leads to boss fights being a bit repetitive. It also limits the level of exploration in a way similar to Metroid Fusion by gating off the game’s different areas. While these design choices can be a bit hit and miss, the game is still a fun and worthwhile Metroidvania for those looking for another one to try, or a great way to dip your toes in the genre without getting too overwhelmed.

9. Transformers Devastation

Between the massive downsizing of High Moon Studio, the developer of both War for Cybertron and Fall of Cyberton, and developer Edge of Reality putting out the massive turd that was Rise of the Dark Spark, Transformers fans have been waiting for Activision to put out another game that’s actually good. Transformers: Devastation is the answer to their prayers. While it is by no means a perfect game, Devastation is the perfect game for any Transformers fan, especially G1 fans. As a huge Transformers fan myself, this game scratched more than a few itches. Sometimes I would just stop for a bit and transform back and forth between modes because of how perfectly executed the action was. While some of the gameplay could certainly be improved, Platinum nailed all the important details and left me wanting more.

8. Boxboy!

Boxboy! is the kind of game you should show to a Game Design 101 class. It starts out simple, steadily introducing you to more and more mechanics over time until you become an expert. It tends to be a bit on the easy side, which isn’t surprising since it’s from Kirby developer HAL Laboratory. Like Kirby, it’s still a ton of fun even if it is easy, and makes you feel clever when you solve some of the more difficult puzzles. It’s a short game, but also easily affordable and more than worth the cheap price. I’d recommend it to anyone with a 3DS who wants to have a good time.

7. N++

The N series takes platforming and cuts away all the excess fat, encapsulating only the true essence of the genre in an appropriately minimalist fashion. I’ve been a fan since the original N flash game, playing through both that and N+ on the DS. N++ doesn’t change any of base mechanics or gameplay, and it shouldn’t. This is a game that just straight up feels good to play, with everything from the physics to the level design  contributing perfectly. It’s the kind of game where I can try a level over and over again without feelings too frustrated, which is a good thing since while the levels are short, you’re guaranteed to die a lot on some of the harder ones. The constant death never breaks the game’s quick flow though, keeping things moving fast and smooth. If you enjoyed any of the previous N games or have an appreciation for this sort of gameplay, you should definitely pick this one up.

6. Stretchmo

If there’s one thing I have a very specific kind of hunger for, it’s good puzzle games. You probably were able to guess this from some of my earlier entries on this list. There’s just something the satisfaction of solving a clever puzzle that just feels good to me. Stretchmo, the latest in the Pushmo series, greatly satisfies that special kind of hunger. It adds a neat new gimmick while retaining the smart puzzle design the series is known for. While there isn’t much of a story to this game, the characters are super cute as usual, and the game adds a cute new series of robot buddies that make what little plot there is all the more charming. In short, clever puzzles+cute aesthetic=great game!

5. Yo-Kai Watch

When I got Yo-Kai Watch, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had watched some of the show so I knew I liked the writing and the characters, but the actual gameplay was a mystery to me other than vague shouts of “It’s The New Pokemon” coming from the internet. I found myself pleasantly surprised when I dove in and found the gameplay to be a departure from not just Pokemon, but the entire monster-collecting genre. The set-up of having you be more of a coach instead of directly control every single little action felt great to me, clicking perfectly with my admittedly very ADHD brain. Coupled with the game’s clever writing and endearing cast of both human and Yo-Kai characters, my entire experience with the game was a pleasure, leaving me looking forward to the sequels getting localized here as well.

4. Super Mario Maker

This game is nothing short of the perfect celebration of Super Mario Bros. 30th anniversary. You’ve seen me singing the importance of game design on this list more than a few times already. Super Mario Maker is the epitome of this, being both a deconstruction and reconstruction of game design in one package. It gives you all the necessary tools to do almost anything you want. You can get super creative with the level maker or you can just dive into both Nintendo and user-created levels.

What’s amazing to me is how much I’ve been able to learn about making a good level from even poorly designed user levels. Good levels teach you what works, bad levels teach you what doesn’t. It’s given me a new appreciation for just how well-designed all the levels in this game’s predecessors have been, how much thought, care, and purpose the designers put into each part. Boxboy! might be a few lessons in a Game Design 101 class, but Super Mario Maker is that class’s core curriculum, textbook, homework, and final exam.

3. Axiom Verge

Have you ever wondered to yourself “what if Dark Seed and Dark Seed 2 were GOOD games?” and then also wondered “what if these hypothetical GOOD Dark Seed games had a baby with Metroid?” If so, then Axiom Verge is the game for you. It takes the base gameplay and style of Metroid, then injects it with the dark interdimensional plotline and extreme H.R. Giger aesthetics of Dark Seed. The game gives you a huge variety of weapons and upgrades ranging from the expected to the downright bizarre. Yeah, you get upgraded health and damage, but you also gain the ability to take the graphical flickering that would happen in older games and use them as actual gameplay mechanics.

The only shortcoming between this marriage of Dark Seed and Metroid is that they took their protagonist from the wrong game. While player character Trace isn’t nearly as bad as the pathetic and whiny Mike Dawson circa Dark Seed 2, he’s a rather bland and boring protagonist in the same way Dawson is circa the original Dark Seed. It’s a trap many Metroidvania games fall into, forgetting to take a lesson from Metroid protagonist Samus Aran and just making their protagonists boring white dudes with no personality. That being said, it’s one minor sin in a sea of excellent design choices. If you’re even remotely interested in Metroidvania games this is a must-play, and worth a try even if you aren’t.

2. Splatoon

As you can probably guess, I’m not big into the online team shooter scene. I’m not on the edge of my seat waiting to see what the next COD game looks like. While I was certainly excited when I saw Splatoon get announced, I certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it much beyond the single player campaign. Boy howdy was I wrong! Splatoon is extremely fun and keeps pulling me back in every time I pick up the Wii U gamepad. The various match types and maps are all loads of fun, with solid gameplay mechanics acting as a coat of primer for the games many layers of charm and creativity.

When I was trying to finish playing games for GOTY, this is the game that kept pulling me back in to play it when I should have been finishing up other games. Keep in mind that these other games were FUN games, but alas, I just couldn’t resist the siren song of Splatoon. After GOTY is over, it’s probably the game on this list I’ll continue to actively play the most. Who would have thought that a game about painting could be so fun! If you have a Wii U and an internet connection, this game is an automatic must-own.

1. Undertale

Listen, I love Undertale. I unabashedly love it. I knew this labor of love from Toby Fox was going to be number one on my list as soon as the final credits rolled. Is it an objectively perfect game? No, no it isn’t. Is it a perfect game to me? Yes, yes it is. If that sounds silly and overdramatic, I don’t care. I won’t apologize for an overeager fandom or hard-to-avoid spoilers. I was lucky enough to beat that wave, and I won’t pretend that this game is somehow not as good because of uncontrollable outside influences.

The writing is excellent, bringing the game’s unique world to life and giving each character a distinct personality. This is backed by an extensive soundtrack full of great and memorable tunes that will elicit emotions out of you long after you’ve finished playing. The gameplay is unique, with its turned-based bullet hell action and ability to get through the game without killing anything. While it’s not the first game to give you an option like this, it’s one of the very few that does, and the only one I can think of that actively encourages it. This is the sort of mechanic I’ve wanted in a game for far too long without even realizing it. All of this comes together in such a pure and genuine way that sets it apart from everything else.

Simply put, this game moved me in a way no other game on this list did. It makes me excited to see how it will influence future game developers and games. The 14 hours I spent with this game are 14 hours that are gonna stick with me for a long time, hopefully the rest of my life. Undertale is, to me personally, an extremely important game that I love a lot. None of the other games on this list ever stood a chance.

The post Kay’s Top 10 Games of 2015 appeared first on Gamesline.