They’ll let anyone into E3 parties…
So Day Two is done and I am packed to the gills with new info flying through my head. Most of yesterday was spent in South Hall, with the exception of one interview I did right in the beginning of the day. Here’s what I saw:
-The day began with Guilty a Gear Xrd, as I interviewed series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari and animator/character modeler Junya Motomura. A full preview will be up on GamesRadar soon, but here’s a brief tease: one of the two new characters I saw is the most insane and original fighting game character I’ve ever seen.
-I then ran to Square Enix’s booth, where I played a bit of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call and Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD. Theatrhythm is just as fun as before, especially when playing the Advent Children version of “One Winged Angel” (aka THE BEST VERSION). They also had “Aboard the Hilda Garde” from Final Fantasy IX in the demo, which gave me many nostalgia feels. Kingdom Hearts was Kingdom Hearts, but that’s not a bad thing, I played the boss fight from Beast’s Castle with the chandelier you can jump on, and everything moved and looked beautifully.
-Next I snuck into the Dragon Age Inquisition presentation at EA, and I think I’ve turned a corner. I was apathetic about the game, having not really enjoyed the first two, but this one could be the one I can get into. A lot of interesting things going on, like the War Table where you decide what you actually want to do, and I saw a fight with a dragon that was just awesome. I was impressed.
-Next was my appointment with Konami for hands-on with Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and Metal Gear Solid V. I can’t talk about PES here, as the info is embargoed until later this month, but DAT METAL GEAR. We saw the mission in Afghanistan from the E3 trailer last year, with the full cutscenes beforehand. The game looks AMAZING, every little detail is impressive. Watching Snake using the Fulton Recovery System to transport things to Mother Base is cool, but it also can be funny when he sends things like sheep flying into the air. The entire demo was damn good, and I can’t wait to play it.
-Next I went to Disney Interactive for some Disney Infinity and Fantasia. The new Marvel super heroes are a smart and fun addition; zooming around a city as Nova is really cool and smashing stuff as Hulk is just awesome. I also got to dabble with Toy Box, where I built Agrabah in the middle of New York City then saved a mini Elsa from palace guards with Iron Man. Infinity is fun, but Fantasia is the biggest surprise of the show for me. That game is SO MUCH FUN. It’s not just dancing around like Dance Central; you’re manipulating the song withi your movements, making it sound completely different. Before the song starts you choose parts of three different remixes of that song to meld into one. At some points you can actually add your own section, adjusting beats and pitch with your movement. Oh, and it’s not just popular music; I played “Night on Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky, aka that song from Fantasia where the devil Chernabog rises from the mountain. SO COOL.
-Next was my marathon two and a half hour Activision appointment, where I saw some Call of Duty and played some Destiny. I really like the new direction of CoD; I really think it could be the next Modern Warfare for the franchise. Destiny reminds me a lot of Halo, and that’s not a bad thing at all. I played the co-op Strike mode as a Warlock, and while I didn’t think I would I really like that class a lot. He had AoE grenades that do constant damage to anyone in the field and a sick double jump that freezes the initial jump’s trajectory; two quick presses of the jump button sends him flying. Good stuff.
-Finally I sat in on a presentation of one of my most anticipated games at the show: MORTAL KOMBAT. Gore galore, and I want more. Four new characters were shown, though only two were played; D’Vorah is the wasp-like woman from the Sony conference, Ferra/Tor is the Master Blaster looking dude with the little girl on his shoulder, Kotal Kahn is an Aztec warrior we didn’t get a lot of info on, and Cassie Cage is THE DAUGHTER OF JOHNNY CAGE AND SONYA BLADE WHAT. We didn’t get to see Cassie or Kotal Kahn, but the other two are interesting fighters. More on that soon.
Today is the final day, and I see TellTale, Atlus, and a big ol’ booth tour with Nintendo. Keep an eye out for day three impressions tonight!
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