I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately, and when I have there's been heavy focus on video games. Everything else is still going on in my life, volleyball, music, all that stuff, but you all know well I'm a Nintendo fanboy and when they have a strong year I get excited. I'll talk about the goings on at the end, but let's get to something big in the game world: E3.
Well E3 has come and gone again. I think we can all agree that this year was much better for all three of the major companies. The most noticeable improvement for a company was Nintendo's. After their God awful conference last year, they really stepped it up and put on a great show. I'm quite excited about a lot of games they talked about, so I thought I'd make a list of the top ten I'm looking forward to most.
This list was extremely hard to make. Nintendo announced and talked about so many amazing looking games and I could only fit ten, so let's start with ones that didn't quite make the cut, but I will definitely be getting
Honorable Mentions: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii) (I found it hard to not include it, but some of the lower games in the top 10 barely clinched it)
10. Dead Space: Extraction
This is definitely not my kind of game. I'm easily scared, and this game is survival horror in its purest form. But I really can't resist looking into the game. I don't know too much about it, other than you shoot zombies in space in the future, but I know it looks pretty badass.
YouTube - E3 Dead Space Extraction Video
9. The Grinder
While this game will probably be fantastic, deserving much better than #10, so little is known about it that I can't get that excited for it. The graphics are amazing, the gameplay looks intense, and it's coming from High Voltage, who is also producing The Conduit, which is shaping up to look damn impressive. Regardless of how much we know there's little doubt it will be great. I'll certainly be looking at this one as it goes through further development. It already looks stunning in the pre-Alpha stage so I'm excited to see the end result.
8. New Super Mario Bros.! Wii
No one ever forgets the good ol' days of the cla$$ic Mario platformers. Hours of challenging (or sometimes simple) fun. When New Super Mario Bros.! came out for Nintendo DS, it was welcomed with huge acclaim. Now Nintendo's brought a new idea to the table, a co-op Super Mario platformer, just like the originals, but with four people working to get to the finish. The game was not given a higher spot on my list because it's essentially a new idea polished up with a new feature. By myself, I'd rather play the game for the DS. When I play a game on the Wii I'm playing for a full scale 3-D game. However when the game comes out I'll definitely get it, have some friends over and just go through the game. Definitely a neat idea, but among some other great looking titles, it can't be put too high up. Make no mistake, most other years this would be a top 3 pick, but this year was just such a great year for Nintendo.
YouTube - New Super Mario Bros. Wii Trailer
7. Golden Sun DS
I've heard of the legendary Golden Sun series before, but never had a chance to play it. Now that it's coming to DS, it looks absolutely amazing. I feel like I need to get it. I don't know how my wallet is gonna handle all of this spending, but I'll have to find a way to manage. Anyway, the game looks beautiful, and I could always use a good RPG.
YouTube - Golden Sun DS trailer
6. Zelda Wii
Actually, it's the game I'm anticipating the single most. The new Zelda for Wii is the game I look forward to more than anything. But, nothing has been revealed about the game except this concept art, so I thought it would be unfair to pass up other great looking games and put this so high up. The graphics and controls will be a massive improvement over Twilight Princess, since that was a Gamecube game ported to Wii with tacked on controls. Still, it was a great game, and if it improves as much as I expect it to, this will be one for the ages.
YouTube - News About Next Legend of Zelda for Wii - Part 21
5. The Conduit
Only not put in the top 3 because it's coming out in just a little over a week, so there's not much to anticipate more, it's pretty much here! However I still wanted to give it a shout out. I don't doubt that it could definitely take over as game of the year. I have extremely high hopes for this game. The campaign mode will undoubtedly be fun. I mean FPS campaigns are always at least pretty fun. But even if it isn't as amazing as I expect it to be, the multiplayer will without a shadow of a doubt be the best online experience available for the Wii. One could argue that you could simply go play Halo or something on Xbox 360 or PS3, but the biggest reason I have to play this game is the controls. Being fully customizable, I can fix everything the way I want, make it the way I think game should be controlled. Expect me to be up late when this one comes out next week. Some people may complain that it's just a generic FPS, but that's just what the Wii needs. It doesn't have enough generic FPSs. If that's the only complaint people can find, it will be the best game in a while.
YouTube - The Conduit Multiplayer-Trailer
And now a four-way-yes, four-way, I can't choose one-tie for my most anticipated game of E3 2009.
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
The first Super Mario Galaxy has become the most critically acclaimed exclusive of the generation, holding a 97/100 average on Metacritic. Needless to say, it's an absolute masterpiece. Absolute perfection. It takes what made Super MArio 64 and Super MArio Sunshine so great and builds on it. With the best power-ups we've ever seen in a Mario game, beautiful awe-inspiring graphics, unforgettable gameplay, and most of all it's unique level designs, hopping from planet to planet with its own gravity, it has earned its place in gaming history. Being a sequel to such a fantastic game, it will no doubt build upon previous strengths, and fix the tiny flaws. The addition of Yoshi looks to bring a new dimension to the game. Only being a direct sequel, and therefore something I've seen before, holds this off from the #1 spot.
YouTube - Super Mario Galaxy 2 E3 2009 Trailer [HQ] (Rate This Game)
1. Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
As you probably know, I am of the humble opinion that The Legend of Zelda is the best thing to ever happen to video games. My two favorite games are both Zelda titles (Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, which I tried to blog about a while ago but it wouldn't work). I was a huge fan of Phantom Hourglass when it came out, and I even spent some time with it today. Spirit Tracks is what I've been waiting for for so long, a new Zelda title. I don't even need further explanation. It's a Zelda game, and will therefore be amazing.
YouTube - Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - E3 2009 Trailer
1. Metroid: Other M
As a huge fan of the Metroid series, and one who once claimed Metroid Prime 3 to be my favorite game of all time (though since I have lowered it down a bit, I was extremely excited to see a new Metroid title. From the get go, I was expecting something similar to the Prime games, a first person adventure (no it's not an FPS, don't argue, it isn't) through space, battling evil using high-tech weapons. I was caught completely off-guard by what I saw. The game runs in both third-person and first-person, switching between an adventure with FPS like action and intense third-person melee and shooting action, that looks more like a choreographed movie scene than a video game. I'm anticipating this game more than almost any other. Yet another game is proving that the Wii has far more powerful graphics than it is given credit for. But what could the other #1 possibly be?
YouTube - E3 09: Metroid: Other M Trailer
1. Scribblenauts
Bet ya didn't see a DS game coming in at #1 for me or Gamespot didja? I don't blame you, there's typically a shortage of great games for handheld consoles. But I haven't seen a concept quite as original and unique as this one in..... well quite possibly my whole life. This was enough to sway both me and Gamespot to put it as best game of the whole show. This time last year, if someone had told you that they were making a video game where you could type in literally any (or 10,000+ if we gotta get specific here) noun and it would appear right in the game so you could use it to solve a puzzle, you likely would have thought "No way in hell is that going to work." How could you program THAT much into one handheld game, even a console game couldn't do that. But they're working their asses off, putting more effort into the programming of this game than possibly any developer has before. In fact, I'm so excited for this game, I traded in my old DS, 6 old Wii games, and 4 old DS games to get a DSi to make sure I could do everything. The DS looks to have a huge next two years, as big as the Wii. Now excuse me, I must start taking bets for who will win in my epic battle of God vs. a metal Pterodactly vs. King Kong (which I happen to be watching now, great movie) vs. a dog vs. a Kraken vs. a pirate vs. Abraham Lincoln/ Yes, you can make that happen in this game. I'm betting on God to win.
YouTube - Scribblenauts Trailer
Also a quick shout out to a game coming out on the same day as The Conduit that I'm also getting, that wasn't mentioned at E3.
Little King's Story
Looks brilliant. It's Pikmin meets Animal Crossing meets Minions.
Just to show I pay attention to other platforms, I'll mention the the two games form the other two major platforms I want to play most.
Xbox 360
Mass Effect 2
I'm begging one of my friends to get this so I can play it. We've settled that he'll rent it and if it sucks I'll pay for it. Oh yeah, and I have to bring food and drinks to his house to play it.
PS3
MAG
256 player online? Yes sir, sign me up. I don't know anyone with a PS3 (mainly because it usually sucks, with a few exceptions), but I'll do my best to try and play this.
Next blog I'll discuss other topics, this took a hell of a long time to make. I promise not to even mention video games in the next blog.