Hello once again GameSpot or, should I say, DeadSpot? Ehhhhh. I still pop up here frequently to glance at the front page or quickly browse the Forums. For some reason I insist on keeping this place as part of my gaming home. My main home is PlayFire, which is a slowly dying community with no real management or future, but for whatever reason I almost always keep a tab open on that site. I guess it's the Buzz Feed and smaller scale that I like. I don't know to be honest.

Rambling aside, E3 has come and gone. For the first time in years I did not watch any of the conferences. Instead, I chose to read up on all the announcements after they happened. Granted, most of them were happening when I was working or sleeping, so there's that. Still, I don't feel like I missed out on too much by not watching them. I feel they're generally a waste of time to watch as they happen anyway. But alas, there were a couple of cool announcements and others I didn't care for. Anyway, the main purpose of this blog will be to go over every future game I'm currently looking forward to, whether or not they were shown at E3 or not.

No Man's Sky

Release Date: August 9, 2016

Excitement Level: Well, I mean, I guess I'll give it a chance

No Man's Sky has had an interesting history filled with excitement and confusion. I still personally don't know what to make of this game, no matter how much they keep showing or telling us about the game. I'll just have to play it to find out. I'm surprised at its $60 price tag, but I'll just rent it to see what I think of it first.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Release Date: Q1 2017

Excitement Level: Cautiously High

I would have been very disappointed if I watched EA's conference just to see new Mass Effect footage because the time they spent "showing" Mass Effect Andromeda was a letdown. I have high hopes for this game just because it's Mass Effect, but at the same time I can't possibly see how it can top Shepard's journey and Mass Effect 2/3 specifically. I hope it doesn't focus too much on planet exploration because I've never been a huge fan of controlling the Mako.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Release Date: December 6, 2016

Excitement Level: Modest

I really enjoyed the first game and was happy when I heard there would be a follow up. It should be another solid game and fantastic South Park game. I would like to see some improvements to the gameplay elements, but other than that I know this game will be a good time.

Dishonored 2

Release Date: November 11, 2016

Excitement Level: Low

I'm not much of a fan of stealth games, but I liked the first game enough to play a sequel.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Release Date: February 28, 2017

Excitement Level: Moderate

Plenty more was shown of this game at E3 and I'm definitely on board with playing this potentially amazing looking PS4 exclusive. However, I think it could almost equally as likely end up being just a "decent" game at best, which is why I'm keeping my excitement in the middle. It's reminding me a bit too much of Far Cry for some reason. While those are great games, I recently played Primal and I think I've just had my fill of that type of game for the time being.

Mafia III

Release Date: October 7, 2016

Excitement Level: High

Mafia 3 is one of the few games I'm confident in my excitement for. I love open world city games and Mafia 2 was a surprising hit to me. The era isn't one I've explored much in video games or really in general. But thankfully I have some musical tastes from that era and I look forward to exploring the city and its surrounding environments with some awesome tunes in the background. And I have high expectations for the story seeing as that was one of Mafia 2's strong points for me.

Battlefield 1

Release Date: October 18, 2016

Excitement Level: Shit, I'm actually excited for this. I don't want to be excited for this.

I haven't touched a Battlefield game since Battlefield 3. I had my fill of MP shooters long ago, with Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 being the last 2 games I put over 100 hours into their competitive online modes. EA and DICE are boldly taking Battlefield to a WWI setting, which I think is pretty awesome seeing as it's never been explored in a significant way. Granted, it looks like they will be adding their own twist to the era or just stretching the historical accuracies of the war's technology. Still, they kind of have to and I'm looking forward to playing a game in the setting anyway. Of course, my worries remain that it won't feel much different than any recent Battlefield games and that the SP will be lackluster. I do intend to invest some time into the MP, but not the 100-200+ hours I would have once felt compelled to.

Detroit: Become Human

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: Press X to Jason

Say what you want about David Cage or his games, but I thought Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls were great experiences. Flawed and sometimes silly, they still definitely had their high notes as well. I've really liked the concept of this game since it was teased in the Kara tech demo, which I didn't think would actually become its own story, let alone game. It seems the actions in this game will branch out more than ever, which is cool but also overwhelming for people like me who want to see every possibility.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: TBA

I played the first game only about a year ago, to which its sequel was announced about 6 months later. I was ecstatic to see another one would be happening, then it dawned on me that I don't think it can top the first game. It's a bittersweet feeling, but I ended up loving the first game and after seeing this game's trailer I felt kind of sad not seeing any the characters from the first game that I really grew to like. But I'd be a fool to at all dismiss this game because of that. At any rate, I look forward to more info and footage from this game I will definitely be playing.

Watch Dogs 2

Release Date: November 15, 2016

Excitement Level: Moderately-High

The first game got bashed to death, but I personally enjoyed it. Watch Dogs 2 seems to be improving on most of the mechanics from the first game and, overall, I'm really enjoying the look of the new setting. The new protagonist definitely has a lot more personality than Aiden. As much as I like dark, gritty games, I'm looking forward to the apparently more playful tone of this game. I don't expect stellar storytelling, but I do hope for a fun world filled with more of a variety of activities the first game offered.

Days Gone

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: I Really Don't Know

This was one of the few newly announced games that caught my attention. It's an open world post-apocalyptic zombie game with a potentially focus on the narrative alongside the gameplay. Sign me up. I wasn't expecting Day-Z movie zombies when I saw the gameplay footage, but it actually looked kind of cool and terrifying. I do hope the story and characters get attention and this doesn't just end up being a run-around-a-map-and-kill-tons-of-zombies kind of game. I'd like to see some sort of survival elements but again I'm hoping they weren't fooling me with the trailer. I await more footage and info.

The Last Guardian

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Excitement Level: Realistic

I didn't care about The Last Guardian or really even knew what it was for the longest amount of time. But having played ICO some 2 years ago, I know about what I should expect from this game. I've never really known exactly why this game has been hyped up so much over the years, but I honestly don't really care. I've finally made the decision that I will be going out of my way to give this game a play, especially now that it has a release date. I expect many will be disappointed, but going in with my mindset, I don't really have any possibility of being disappointed.

God of War

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: More Than I Anticipated

I've played all God of War games aside from Ascension and, while I thought they were great, I've honestly had my fill of them. The potential of a new God of War announcement didn't excite me at all. But then I watched the trailer and gameplay demo and really liked what I saw. It's definitely taking a new direction and looks very refreshing. And it doesn't look like they'll be shying away from the amazing action the franchise has offered up to this point. But the slower pace and focus on the story is what I'm really excited for. That, and a different mythology, as much as I've enjoyed the Greek mythology I'm looking forward to new creatures, gods, and settings.

Vampyr

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: Low But Rising

This game is sort of a wildcard as I still don't know too much about it and may have some trailers/gameplay to catch up on. But the concept sounded interested and I have faith in the developers, even though all they have under their belt is Remember Me and Life is Strange. I thought Remember Me was solid, but unfortunately the team had much higher desires for that game. And as you probably know, Life is Strange turned out to be a hit. At least, I definitely loved it. But anyway, I'll be keeping my eye on this game.

The Walking Dead: Season 3

Release Date: TBA

Excitement Level: High

I was thrilled for Season 3 to finally be formally announced with a trailer. Where exactly it leaves off following Season 2 is unknown, but Clementine has definitely gotten a few years older once again. I hope to see some other characters return, but as long as the story continues to revolve around Clementine, I'll be happy. As much as I hate the release structure of episodic games at this point, I'll probably play these as they release even though I've had to patience to wait out every other episodic game that I've played. The Walking Dead is just too important to me lol.

Batman: A Telltale Games Series

Release Date: It's another episodic game, you know the drill at this point

Excitement Level: Moderate

TellTale is probably overdoing it at this point, but until I play a game from them I'm underwhelmed by then I don't care. I'm no fanatic, but I do like Batman and am very curious as to how this game will turn out. It will be a longer wait for me as, unlike with The Walking Dead, don't think I'll be able to play through this one in small chunks at a time.

Gravity Rush 2

Release Date: This year?

Excitement Level: Moderately-High

I've known of this game being in the works ever since I played the first one on the Vita. And for a long time I was looking forward to having another "AAA" game to play on the Vita. But obviously that's not happening anymore as this game will be releasing on the PS4. It's definitely the right choice after finally catching up on some footage of the game. I feel I need to re-catch up on the game and its story by playing the Remastered version before diving into this, which I really look forward to.

Persona 5

Release Date: February 14, 2017

Excitement Level: PEEEEERSONAAAA!

Last and certainly not least is Persona 5, a game that delay after delay finally has a concrete release date. I gave Persona 4 Golden a chance on the Vita simply because I didn't know what else to play on it at the time. All in all I'm very glad to have experienced something I probably would have never considered prior. Sometime after, I played Persona 3 Portable and adored that game almost as much as P4G. The characters, story, and music are just amazing and I can't wait to see what Persona 5 has to offer. I just hope it doesn't feel too different. Also it will be my first Persona game on console. It shouldn't be a concern, but I really liked playing Persona 3 and 4 on handheld. I don't like feeling too excited for games, but it's hard not to when it's from a series you've really enjoyed. But at this point I refuse to read any further into or look at any more gameplay footage/trailers of this game because I want to go in almost as blind as I did with Persona 3 and 4.

And here are some other games from E3 that I'm currently not sold on but may consider in the future.

Resident Evil 7 - Having only played Resident Evil 5, I'm far from familiar or a fan of these games. Granted, I enjoyed Resident Evil 5, but I gave RE6 a skip after playing its demo and not wanting to have anything to do with what the game offered. At any rate, not much is known about Resident Evil 7 and I have almost no idea what to think about it. I do look forward to finally playing Resident Evil 4 once that releases on the PS4, though.

Spider-Man - As you may have guessed, also not a huge fan of Spider-Man. But I've never played a Spider-Man game before. The trailer looked pretty cool. If the game is fluid, fun, and has an interesting open world to explore I may eventually give this game a shot.

Crash Remastered - I've never played a Crash Bandicoot game, but this may be the perfect chance for me to do so. I don't know what to expect of these, which is why I'm taking a "wait and find out" approach to this announcement.

Death Stranding - I've never played a Metal Gear Solid game and thus have not played any of Kojima's works, but I know he's a quality developer capable of making masterpieces. No one knows what the hell this game is supposed to be as the little clip apparently has nothing to do with it. But I'll keep my eye on this project, even if it's another few years before we'll get to play it.

Lastly, here's a quick update on my current backlog now that I have it updated. I won't do my normal format because I'm done with this blog at this point and just want to wrap it up.

Current Backlog - 16 Games (+5)

Current Wish List - 38 (+5)

Total Games on my "To Play" List - 54 (+10)

Welp, that's 10 more games than compared to over 6 months ago and 32 more than however long before that. These next couple of years should be really good for gaming for me, at least.

Also, **** the horrible formatting on these blogs. I have to undo a part of my blog because I couldn't fix it and now I can't get this text back to normal size. Oh well, at least I'm done writing this now. Oh, and now it's not letting my publish but now this text isn't big. Please work this time, dammit.