My Impressions of E3 2014

This year’s E3 was not the most impressive. E3’s of the past definitely outshined this year’s event, as there were better announcements in the past. Yet there was a lot of great news and announcements this year that got me excited. While this was not the best E3, I have to say that there was still some great moments to get gamers excited.

What caught my eye

First and foremost, the game that impressed me the most was No Man’s Sky. I had not heard of the game before, so when Sony showed off the game at their conference, it blew me away. This game looks beautiful, and the gameplay looks original. No Man’s Sky stole the show for me, and it is now a day one purchase for me when the game releases on the PlayStation 4.

I do not own an Xbox One. Yet one of the most impressive games that I saw at E3 this year was Sunset Overdrive. I have always loved Insomniac Games, and Sunset Overdrive looks like it will not disappoint. The game seems to have the same over the top, crazy action that the Ratchet and Clank series had, and it looks beautiful. Hopefully Insomniac will bring the action from their other games, while injecting some original gameplay into the title. This game just might be the push that I need to pick up a Xbox One.

I have been losing interest in the Battlefield series since the third entry. But my interest has been renewed in Battlefield Hardline. The new setting seems refreshing from all the past entries of the Battlefield series, and that is very welcome. Payday showed me how fun it is to pull a heist, and I hope playing as criminals in Hardline will be just as fun. I am hoping that Hardline will help renew my faith in the Battlefield series later this year.

Nintendo brought it

While there were some good games, I feel that Nintendo just impressed me overall. I felt that Microsoft had a good show, and Sony’s conference mostly bored me, but Nintendo really impressed me. I never wanted a Wii U since it came out, but now I am looking to pick one up. I feel that Nintendo still has a few tricks up their sleeves, and are renewing gamers faith that they can still bring good games that make their consoles worth it.

Zelda, of course, looks impressive. Time and time again Zelda proves that it is one of the greatest series in video games, and I am sure the new Zelda title will not disappoint. A new Kirby game was good news for me, as I absolutely love Kirby. The game that I really liked though was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. I was not expecting that game, so it surprised me when I saw it. It looks like the good ol’ colorful adventures Nintendo is good at bringing, so I am looking forward to it. Overall, Nintendo looked good this year, and is reaffirming my faith in a good Nintendo console.

What got me the most hyped at E3 was not actual gameplay, but just the announcements that we received. I love the Tomb Raider series, so I’m glad that there will be a new entry in the series, Rise of the Tomb Raider. The biggest announcement for me though is that Final Fantasy Type-0 is finally leaving Japan (you can read about that here). Since the game released in Japan, I have been waiting for the game to get localized. While I did want the game on the PS Vita, I am still excited to have it on the next-gen consoles, and hope it comes out soon.

What was missing

While there were some good games on display, there were a few that were missing that I had hoped to see. The biggest would have be The Last Guardian. This game was the biggest title that I wanted to see, yet it was absent. Sony had mentioned that they were waiting for the right time to show it, and I thought that this year’s E3 would be the right time. Obviously, Sony thought otherwise, as one of the most anticipated titles for their conference did not show up at all.

There were a few other games that I wished had more presence. I wanted to see a Metroid game. That would have been the biggest selling point for me in terms of getting a Wii U. Though it was not there, there was mention that we might be seeing Metroid sometime in the future. While  Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair were at the show, I felt that they did not have much presence. I was hoping that these games would be shown off more at E3.

Another game I was hoping would have been at E3 was a long shot, but a game I wanted to see nonetheless: Persona 5. Persona 5 is a game I want to hear about, and I was hoping that it would have some kind of presence at the E3. Even if it was just character information or news on the setting of the game, I would have been happy. Once again, I knew it was a long shot, but it would have been nice to have it at the show.

While there were good things at E3 this year, there were also disappointments.

Nintendo came strong and Microsoft are showing that they have some good games coming up. Sadly, Sony bored me (except for No Man’s Sky and Bloodborne), which is unfortunate. I love the PlayStation, and felt that they missed some opportunities to really show off what is on the way. Overall, this year was a decent show with some highs and some lows. At least we do know that there is some good gaming in the future ahead of us.

What did you think about E3? What were some of your show favorites?