Posts Tagged ‘Conference’

19 Jun

My 10 Favourite Reveals From E3 2015

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

And so another year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo has come and gone, and I have to say this one was a real peach. Despite an astonishing number of pre-show leaks, there were still some real megaton surprises on show, while known titles just got better and better in prospect. Here are my picks of the event.
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10. I Might Actually Be Into Fallout 4

I’m not a Western RPG guy. I’ve tried to get into them over the years, but for one reason or another, it just hasn’t happened. I knew Fallout was a big deal, but the hype around 3 and New Vegas came at exactly the wrong time in my life. The extended gameplay reveal of Fallout 4 at Bethesda’s E3 press conference, however, has my interest well and truly piqued. The customisation options are off the charts, and man, those base building mechanics alone…


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9. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros Looks Fantastic

I’ve made no secret of my affection for Nintendo’s “Mario RPG” franchises on this blog in the past, so to see both of them merged into one incredibly crazy 3DS game is a bit of a treat to say the least. The opportunity for the kind of quirky, often hilarious banter both series are known for is clearly ripe. The game is coming this year, too, which is a very nice bonus even if there are so many games oh my goodness so many games TOO MANY GAMES TO PLAY.

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13 Jun

Get KE3N

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s almost time for yet another annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, which still seems to bring the goods again and again even in today’s leak-heavy internet age. This year, instead of the customary five press conferences, we have eight to take our sleeping hours away. EIGHT. Like, eight of them. If you plan to watch them all, best of luck to you. What a treat, though!

Once again for those Sydneysiders and Melbournians (etc) who are keen to watch any of the conferences but can’t be bothered looking up and cross-referencing time zones to work out when they have to get up, I’ve written them up right here, so look no further.

All times are in AEST.
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12noon JUNE 15TH
BETHESDA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The recently released console versions of The Elder Scrolls Online, the long-awaited Doom reboot, plenty of information on the juggernaut that is Fallout 4.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Dishonored 2 would be very nice indeed.
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2:30am JUNE 16TH
MICROSOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Single player gameplay debuts for what could potentially be the best line-up of console exclusives this holiday season – Forza 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, the Remastered Gears of War and Halo 5: Guardians. Not to mention the reveal of Rare’s next big game.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Specifics on Quantum Break‘s release plans, a significant slice of attention towards awesome indie titles like Cuphead and Inside.
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6am JUNE 16TH
EA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, the first official gameplay showings from Mirrors Edge: Catalyst, Star Wars Battlefront and the new Criterion extreme sports game, the shape of the new Mass Effect, sports games aplenty.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The other Star Wars game. The one Amy Hennig is working on.

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8am JUNE 16TH
UBISOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The normal serving of Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance footage, more info on The Division and Rainbow Six Siege, some as-yet unknown surprise that will inevitably get everyone talking about how cool it could be.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Same as last year – a new Rayman game, or the reappearance of Beyond Good & Evil 2.

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11am JUNE 16TH
SONY
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Project Morpheus, the insane success of the PS4, Uncharted 4, Drawn to Death, Tearaway Unfolded, new Destiny stuff, lots and lots of juicy third party/indie partnerships.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Persona 5 please. Lots more indies on Vita, too. And seriously, where is Gravity Rush 2?

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2am JUNE 17TH
NINTENDO (via “Digital Event”)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Always the toughest to predict, but surely at least the new Star Fox game for Wii U, plenty of new amiibos, that leaked Hyrule Warriors 3DS port, the next main Pokemon game, Splatoon DLC plans, Mario Maker.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: It’s about time for a new Metroid game. Also, please please please let that Paper Mario rumour be true…

NOTE: Nintendo is doing their normal thing again and spreading their content out over the length of E3. These additional times might be useful for Nintendo fans:

12:40am June 15th: Dedicated Super Smash Bros for Wii U / 3DS “New Content Approaching” Live Stream

8am June 15th: Nintendo World Championships 25th anniversary edition

June 17th-19th (schedule TBC): “Treehouse Live @ E3” Presentations

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3am JUNE 17TH
SQUARE ENIX
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: A solid chunk devoted to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the unveiling of the long-teased new Hitman game, my potential game of the year Just Cause 3, some Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV mentions, that new online robot shooter Figure Heads.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: With the confirmed lack of Final Fantasy XV at E3 this year, surely there’s some big Kingdom Hearts 3 stuff to show?

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10am JUNE 17TH
PC GAMING SHOW (Presented by AMD and PCGamer)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plenty of tech talk, Epic’s highly anticipated Fortnight, who knows what else? It’s the longest and most diverse conference on the schedule, so let’s hope it’s also one of the most exciting.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Overwatch, Overwatch and more Overwatch. Come on, Blizzard, let’s get the whole world hyped.

4 Jun

YE3AH, It’s That Time Again

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

It’s time to rub your eyes in disbelief again, because another year has gone by and another Electronic Entertainment Expo is coming our way. Red Bulls at the ready, people. Less than one week left!

Just like last year, for those Sydneysiders and Melbournians (etc) who are keen to watch the conferences but can’t be bothered looking up and cross-referencing time zones to work out when they have to get up, I’ve written them up right here. Look no further!

All times are in AEST.
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JUNE 10TH 2:30am
MICROSOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Some sort of Halo remake for this year, Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break and the rest of the exclusives gang, the improvement of the Games With Gold platform, the plan for a standalone Kinect sensor, more Call of Duty.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The return of Rare to the Banjo Kazooie series, like I secretly hope for every year.

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JUNE 10TH 5am
EA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: A fresh crop of next-gen sports games, the new direction for the Battlefield series, The Sims 4, plenty of Star Wars games including the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront, some gameplay from the new version of Mirror’s Edge.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: A release date for Battlefront. Probably unlikely. This is the conference I always sleep through.

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JUNE 10TH 8am
UBISOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The two new upcoming Assassin’s Creed games, various modes from Far Cry 4, The Crew‘s release plans, what’s next for the awesome UbiArt framework engine, the next inevitable Just Dance, new gameplay footage from The Division.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Dare I hope for a new Rayman game, or the fabled Beyond Good & Evil 2?

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JUNE 10TH 11am
SONY
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Destiny, the Playstation Now service, the state of the new Uncharted, dogged support of the Vita, more coverage of DriveClub and The Order: 1886, a slew of new indie game support, the current state of Final Fantasy XV and the two announced Kingdom Hearts games.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Samurai Gunn, Persona 5 and Gravity Rush 2.

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JUNE 11TH 2am
NINTENDO (via “Digital Event”)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The new Super Smash Bros on both consoles, Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the unnamed upcoming Wii U Zelda game, release info for Bayonetta 2 and Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo’s new figurine initiative, fresh details on previously announced concepts.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: A stereoscopic remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for the 3DS. Give me nothing but that and I’ll be happy.

NOTE: Nintendo will also by streaming live, game-specific shows called “Treehouse at E3” from the following times:

4:30am June 11th

2:15am June 12th

2:30am June 13th

Each will go for several hours, so I assume there will be some repeating going on.

14 Jun

Mega Ultra Blast Cast

Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that after months of trying to get the idea off the ground, a group of friends and I have finally started podcasting!

mubc2

Our podcast is called the Mega Ultra Blast Cast (MUBC) and we basically use it to talk about games and movies and such.

However the first episode, which we recorded on June 12th, is 100% devoted to talking about the five big E3 conferences. We go through our thoughts on almost every single game mentioned at each conference, so it isn’t a short episode. It’s three and a half hours long, actually.

The good news is that it’s split into six sections, so you can just listen to the one or two that interest you if you want.

We talk Microsoft at the beginning.

From 1:02:56 we chat about EA.

Ubisoft talk starts at 1:23:56.

We dissect Sony from 1:49:48.

Nintendo is in the spotlight starting at 2:40:03.

And we wrap the whole thing up from 3:21:10 until the end. If you just listen to just one segment, go this one.

So if you feel so inclined, download the following file (or just click play), go for a run, take a scenic drive or just curl up on the couch and listen to the irritating opinions of three very sleep-deprived Sydneysiders.

Here it is! We’re hosting it at Soundcloud at the moment.


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https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mega-ultra-blast-cast-e3-2013

(Follow the link and then click the download tab)

As this was our first attempt at podcasting, I apologise for any audio issues that might pop up. We hope to learn and get better (and a lot shorter) as we continue making episodes. I am really really excited that this finally happened and I sincerely hope you enjoy listening.

11 Jun

Conference Call 2013

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Another year, another round-up, another desperate relationship with sleep.

What an exciting Electronic Entertainment Expo. If you ask me the 2013 major publishing conferences were the most interesting, surprising and, in at least one case, outright brutal I have seen for a long, long time. Wow.

Just as I did last year, I’ve broken down and ranked each conference from least to most impressive in my own opinion. Of course each company just showed so very many games that I cannot possibly hope to remember them all, so please keep that in mind. I will say that even though last year I placed Ubisoft on top of the list, this year’s EA conference (which is ranked lowest here) would have given that purple French showcase a real run for its money. 2013 was just that good for E3 conferences.

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4 Jun

SLE3P IS FOR THE WEAK

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Another year has passed and we are once again on the doorstep of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One week left!

For those Sydneysiders and Melbournians (etc) who are keen to watch the conferences but can’t be bothered looking up and cross-referencing time zones to work out when they have to get up, I’ve written them up right here. Look no further!

All times are in AEST.
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JUNE 7TH 3am –
KONAMI (pre-E3)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Metal Gear Solid V, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The fact that David Hayter will actually be voicing Snake again and that Pro Evo no longer has exclusive rights to the J-League. Fat chance.
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JUNE 11TH 2am – 4am
MICROSOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plenty of games for Xbox One, some current-gen stuff and some casual stuff no-one cares about.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Price, release date and launch game confirmations for Xbox One, clarifying information on preowned games and always-online functionality.

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JUNE 11TH 6am – 7am
EA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Battlefield 4, plenty of EA Sports titles and their lucrative new Star Wars game license.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: A new Star Wars: Battlefront game. Oh please please please let this happen.

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JUNE 11TH 8am – 9am
UBISOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Watch_Dogs, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: When we’ll finally get to play South Park: The Stick of Truth. This year.

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JUNE 11TH 11am – 1pm
SONY
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: What the PS4 console actually looks like, Killzone Shadowfall, Infamous Second Son and the gang.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The unveiling of Final Fantasy XV and a new Gravity Rush sequel on Vita.

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JUNE 12TH 12 midnight –
NINTENDO (via Nintendo Direct Broadcast)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Zelda Wind Waker HD, a new 3D Mario platformer, new Mario Kart, new Smash Bros
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The new Wii U Zelda title, a new Advance Wars for 3DS, Lloyd Irving playable in Smash Bros. All unlikely.

18 Jun

Conference Call

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists. Tagged: , , , , , , .

My internet connection has been giving me real problems of late, which has made this piece a little later than I would have wanted. Alas.

That magic week in worldwide gaming news has already come and gone for another year. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for the affectionate/professional/lazy, delivered less surprises than in past years, but there was still plenty to talk about. The aftermath has been dissected a million ways already. Chief among the topics of conversation, as always, were the five big press conferences. Here I throw in my 2c on them by ranking them in terms of how strong I thought they were, from least to most.

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