The Electronics Entertainment Expo has changed a lot, since the days of booth babes and swag tossing, years ago. There are still booth babes and swag to be had here and there, but the focus seems to have shifted more on the games themselves.
As I walked the show floor, I made my way around the different booths checking out the games and presentations. These are some of the games and presentations I was able to take a look at during my day at E3 2015:
• Mario Maker and Yoshi’s Wooly World were fun games. Building my own Mario level in Mario Maker was fun. Once I was done, I could test it out and make tweaks to the level wherever there was a problem. Yoshi’s Wooly World plays like Yoshi’s Island series of games, but the graphics are similar to Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
• XSEED is planning on releasing Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space (Fall 2015) to North America on the PS Vita and Earth Defense Force 4.1: Shadow of New Dispair for PS4 (Fall 2015). I have and played Earth Defense Force 2025, and enjoyed this campy, giant alien bug, shooter. EDF 4.1 is a complete re-imagined version of EDF 2025. Graphics have been upgraded, smoother frame rates and over 50% new content. Playing EDF2 on the PS Vita took a little getting used to with the small screen and controls.
• WB Games had presentations for Batman: Arkham Knight (in stores now), Mad Max (Sept. 2015) and LEGO Dimensions (Sept. 2015), with playable demo stations for LEGO Marvel’s Avengers (Fall 2015). The LEGO Dimensions game is probably the most interesting of the bunch. Following in the footsteps of games using figures, like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, LEGO Dimensions merges various characters and properties into a game. Here is a game where the characters from The Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, The LEGO Movie, LEGO Ninjago, The Wizard of OZ, Back to the Future and more, can be played all in one game using special figure packs and LEGO Toy Pad.
• Star Wars Battlefront (Nov. 2015) is one of the games I was very excited to see, since it has been awhile since I have played a Battlefront game. This game looks great! You will be able to play as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and more. Missions include taking on AT-ATs and surviving waves of the Empire’s troops.
• Guitar Hero returns with Guitar Hero Live (Fall 2015). I was really never good at this game, but was always amazed by those that had the coordination to play it extremely well. GH Live puts you on stage, in front of real crowds, at a variety of venues, playing awesome music.
• Fallout 4 is Bethesda’s next installment in the Fallout series, which does not come out until Nov. 2015. In the meantime you can download the new iOS Fallout game called Fallout Shelter. Their booth had a wise-cracking, animatronic version of Codsworth from the game and Vault Boy statue.
• Square-Enix had Dragon Quest Heroes (Oct. 2015), which merges the gameplay of the Dynasty Warriors series and the characters of the Dragon Quest series of games into a new hack-and-slash adventure game. Slimes are abundant and the Gigantes is a tower of a boss, where you are attacking his feet at close range. Sadly, still no Kingdom Hearts 3 only some video of the gameplay on the big screen.
• Konami’s presentations for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Sept. 2015) was packed. You play as Venom Snake during the Soviet-Afghan War and must rely on stealth and various weapons to achieve the goals in your mission. The ability to airlift sheep with a balloon in the game is a bit funny.
• The next Call of Duty game in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Nov. 2015), turns a bit more futuristic than previous games. There are more sci-fi elements in the game where the characters seem to have super abilities.
• There were some interesting indie games in the Indiecade area of E3. Among them were: Butt Sniffin Pugs, with its very strange looking controller of an oversized tennis ball and back half of a dog. Curiouser and Curiouser!, an Alice In Wonderland like game with storybook controls. Gravity Ghost, a puzzle-based game where you play as a ghost exploring a shattered galaxy and rescuing it’s survivors. Graphics on this game are really pretty.
Other things of interest at this year’s E3:
• Ever wonder who the voice of Mario is and what he looks like? Here he is, Charles Martinet.
• Capcom had a stage where you could get your photo digitally taken by 15 different cameras, creating a moving photo, with Street Fighter characters.
• Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde cars from the upcoming movie, Pixels.
• Playable, old school arcade video games in the Video Game Museum area.
• The fountain display for Darksouls 3 was a bit creepy. A body impaled by a sword, spewing dark blood.
Here are a few other pics from around E3:
Tried to play, see and visit as much as I could in one day at E3. But all the time spent there was well worth it.
