Well, it’s official, the long awaited E3 for 2014 has come and gone and what has been left, well that is simple, we have great memories, potentially great games to look forward to and so much more. For me personally I have to say E3 2014 has to have been the best E3 conference to date, what was announced this year has me more excited for the prospects of the future then anything else has so far. Oh so many games, so much to look forward to and so many highlights that have left such great memories and what I am bringing to you today is what were my highlights from this year’s E3. Before I go on I should say that I am me so you should expect Nintendo all the way which was pretty much my highlights, before I go on towards these I would like to give mention to a few points made during the conference that I think other people should really get excited about.
The first of these games is Halo: the Master Chief collection, I don’t find the Halo games interesting in the slightest, to be completely honest I find them boring, but that doesn’t mean that other people do. It is with that point in mind that I actually find this new collection to be interesting, for Halo fans who only ever played the 360 games or even missed those games they can now go back and play the full story all in preparation for the upcoming Halo Guardians. I must congratulate Microsoft on such a great idea and providing such a service to the fans. I do find it exciting to find out how this game turns out when it is released and see if the games all work together with the varying control styles. But now I can move onto my main highlights, the games or things that truly caught my attention at E3.
Nintendo’s Digital Event
Where else is a better place to start than announcement central. The first day of E3 may have had Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA and Sony giving it everything they had and showing off game after game to gather our attention, only a small selection of these games honestly even remotely interested me and that I don’t feel is that good. I left day 1 behind feeling underwhelmed and disappointed and feeling E3 was just going to be a waste, then enter Nintendo. I live in Australia so the Nintendo digital event was held at 2am, far to early but as I wanted to see what Nintendo had to offer I got up early with anticipation and the promise of a new Zelda. From the beginning the digital event proved to be more successful than last year’s E3 direct, in a sense it felt more entertaining and a bit more personal, providing stories of the developers and how they hoped to make their games look better, not to mention all the trailers for games that I don’t think any of us expected. Nintendo easily blew me away with the amazing offerings that they had coming and I couldn’t pull my eyes away, for all I knew I could have been on the verge of tears of joy. Nintendo brought so much to show and I couldn’t have been happier they single handedly saved my E3 and gave me so much more reason to love my Wii U, I would even go so far as to say they won E3 for this year.
Unexpected announcements
Nintendo had a lot to show during its digital event and I think while I love that I got to see a new Zelda which I will mention soon, it truly is the games that we didn’t expect that stole the show for me personally. One game particularly has been quite interesting, that game is Splatoon, I came into the digital event not expecting much in the way of new ideas for a game and prior to the event I did not see anything that would have suggested to me about Splatoon. Being able to see this game for the first time I was honestly amazed, Nintendo’s take on a strategy shooter was original and very contained with its confines that classic Nintendo magic, it was bright, it was colourful and more importantly it looked incredibly fun. The idea of this shooter was one of fun and was born in a way that could give the fans what they wanted while still providing that sense of fun that Nintendo is known for. I wish I could play Splatoon now but unfortunately I can’t.
Another game I wasn’t expecting came in the form of Mario Maker, when I first saw the start of the trailer I must say I was confused, I remember asking myself why? Why on earth are we being shown the classic Super Mario Bros game? Then suddenly it changed and we were being shown the game getting edited, oh the possibilities Mario Maker gave to the current passion of game players for creating their own world and building their own places, Mario Maker would not go as deep but for myself I love the prospect of being able to build a stage that could be a challenge for even the best of Mario players. In the future I hope we will be told that we can share course designs and play through other people’s, Nintendo could even use the ideas of players to help with future games. I did not expect Mario Maker but I love the idea, the possibilities are endless and I really think it could be a really big game.
Zelda and Star Fox
I entered E3 in full awareness that the new Zelda game was going to be shown and I was excited, initially this knowledge was what was going to draw me to watch the Nintendo presentation, I was eager to see how things looked, find out details and be able to express my thoughts. I love the ideas I was shown and told about, the idea of freedom is a great premise for a Zelda game and being able to explore a land as great as Hyrule in any way I choose. Zelda for the Wii U has to be my most anticipated game for the Wii U next year and I look forward to future details.
Star Fox may not have actually had a presence at E3 but the point is that we actually got the knowledge of a new entry in the Star Fox franchise. The new game will be the first new Star Fox game since the Gamecube and personally I think this will get more people excited then even Zelda. I would have loved to have seen a trailer but still this was my highlight in the knowledge.
Final Highlights
My final highlights of E3 really come from previously announced games or should I say a previously announced game. Hyrule Warriors is presently the game I look forward to playing the most this year and the digital event has just made me even more excited. The new details such as being able to play as Zelda and Midna have really sold Hyrule Warriors to me, this has been the game I have most thought about since the digital event and the very possibilities that apparently still have not touched upon really excite me. Thank you Nintendo for really highlighting my E3.
I am sorry to fans of Sony, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and whoever else but for me Nintendo is really what highlights E3 for me this year. I think this all has come down to Nintendo offering that classic sense of fun that Nintendo is all about and their offerings this year have just made me happy and left me constantly excited. I think others will disagree with my opinion and I am fine with that. Nintendo brings to life the kid in me once again and I look forward to next E3, I wish Microsoft, Sony and all the rest luck next year, maybe you might make my highlight list. So what are your highlights from E3 this year, do you agree with my thoughts?
