Conference 1: Microsoft

They didn't even have enough games to create even a semi-epic montage to open their show with.
Most of the games shown were uninteresting and all, but the key point that should be noticed is Microsoft didn't ONCE address gamer concerns or even attempt to make their XboxDone appear as an attractive buy. All I heard was, "It's all about the games". It was laughable at best. The only I guess highlight was the showing of a real rare car. It was a beauty.

Conference 2: EA

The introduction to their show was mostly flash rather than nostalgia at best, but a few of the games shown did stand out and made me want to learn more about them. This includes: Need For Speed: Rivals, Battlefield 4, and Mirror's Edge 2 (yes?!). As for EA itself, the show was kind of silly, and KIND OF is an understatement. The new Plants vs. Zombies spokesman must have been on something, along with the creators of the game. Naturally for the stream, the soundn't lost at a good time, it went down after the sports yawn instead.

Conference 3: Ubisoft

Ubisoft delivered once again. The intro was definitely different, not flashy, but different. I can enjoy some Rock 'n' Roll, and Rocksmith is definitely a fun learning game, unlike Guitar Hero. Quoting South Park here when I say, "Congratulations! You.Are.F**s. However, they brought back a very open-talker and annoying spokeswoman. She hasn't improved since last year, but if you could somehow manage to ignore her and her random shouting at the beginning or end of a trailer that made it seem at first as if the words were part of the trailer at random, then you were in good shape.
Just going to get this over with now...WATCH DOGS. Besides that, the following games interested me: Splinter Cell: Blacklist, The Crew (wow! what a trailer!), Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and The Division (what a unique take on a virus storyline).
*The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot's 'real' announcement trailer was pretty funny, especially when characters started to be bleeped left and right for cussing like crazy.

Conference 4: Sony

Three words: Like a boss!
Seriously, Sony did NOT disappoint. I always look forward to their E3 conference, because their CEO spokesman doesn't attempt and fail at being funny. He is professional, witty, and gets to the point. Other companies need to take note of what a real spokesman acts like.
The introduction montage keeps exceeding the last year's performance. I seriously want some of these conference monitors. Hoy shit at the presentation. The intro montage was very nostalgic and well-presented, and the games were outstanding.
Even though I don't care for many Indie games, the fact they embraced the little guy was pretty humble.
The system itself reminded me very much of the PS2 fatty, and other than wondering why it's layered and has the optical illusion of slanting forward, I like the design.
Just when I thought the best part had come and gone, with Final Fantasy XV finally being mentioned again, along with Kingdom Hearts III, but then the CEO of Sony absolutely went to town on Microsoft in every dreamt up way possible.
List of ownage:
The PS4 is region-free /The XboxOne is region-locked.
The PS4 won't restrict used-games (Gamestop can breathe a sigh of relief) /The XboxOne restricts used-games.
The PS4 won't require a routine check-in every 24 hours, while the Xbone will.

Later on it was implied and later confirmed that for multiplayer games the PS4 will require you to have a PlayStation Plus account, but that's only IF you want to play multiplayer. I've ran servers before, and I can tell you it isn't something that's free. Plus (pun not intended) you get well over what you pay for every month.

And the best part, while the XboxOne is going to cost $499, the PS4...is $399! That got me laughing, because FINALLY a company was using their heads. I had at best hoped it'd cost $450, just to make Microsoft look bad, but nope...A whole $100 less. Well played Sony, well played.

Oh, and the cheering of, "Sony! Sony! Sony!" was nice too :P
-Microsoft cries-

My take on Xbox:
I've never had much love for Xbox, but I mostly grew up defending Microsoft as a whole. I build and repair computers and have always loved working with Microsoft operating systems over MACs. XP was flawed, but my favorite up until recently where I firmly believe that Microsoft is purposefully coming up with more and more Windows Updates that break the OS has been Windows 7. Vista was a distaster, and when Windows 7 came out, most people thought they had learned their lesson. Nope. Introducing Windows H8. I mean, Windows 8. It was clear from the moment the beta came out for it that it was intended for one thing and one thing only, handheld devices, like iPads, iPhones, Androids, etc. but NOT for the desktop or laptop. If a user wanted to use it the way it was intended at all with that god-awful Start Menu app-top disaster, then they'd need to get a touch screen monitor, and the majority of people couldn't care less about that sort of thing. No, most users want to just use a computer. They don't want something fancy, which ultimately spells out when it comes to Microsoft as ineffective and useless, but something to get the job done. It was sadly funny, going from age groups between 10-70 and not one person was able to figure out how to get back to the start menu from Internet Explorer. That is bad, and it's worse when you need to go on an earlier OS and computer just to learn How To do anything in it.
Only after many months of alternate sites having a paid or free version of a hack to change back the menu to look like our beloved classic desktop and start menu did Microsoft only recently announce a free upgrade to Windows Blue, which will give the option (remember options people?) for you to decide what version of the desktop you want. Oh wait, that's not even quite right either. It lets you have the classic desktop, except click on the start menu brings you back to the app-like interface.
Getting the Xbox 360 was a mistake for me. I worry that if I turn it on even briefly it'll get the red ring of death, it has nothing but ads plastered all over its menu screen, essentially dubbing it the Adbox, and it's seriously been collecting 6 months+ of dust now because there's little games I want for it that the PSN/PS3 & PC doesn't already have.
Now it's time for the PR-disaster, the Xbox (d)One. After their initial unveiling, they tried twice more to do damage control, which only damaged them worse. Always online one per 24-hour check-ins, one-hour only on a friend's console if your console is offline at home, intrusive that's-not-your-paid-for-game-disc moves, DRM up the ass (with the help of their soulmate EA), $500 system that is worth at best $50 in my opinion, a system design that reminds me of a VHS/DVD player or a toaster (thank you AlphaOmegaSin), hate for used games, etc. The list goes on and on.
They didn't once address the issues, and in the end something surprised me. Xbox fans, and some of them hardcore (you know the type, that loves CoD), actually switched over to Sony's side and are planning on getting a PS4! When that happens, that hardcore fans switch over ironically after years of bashing the PlayStation, a company like Microsoft just knows they're screwed.

So like the title says, I've finished the Skyrim DLC, which include Hearthfire, Dawnguard, and Dragonborn. I literally finished Dragonborn today. I still have a few side quests to do, but who doesn't. They're practically neverending. Dragonborn was really good, and I can say I loved it even more than Dawnguard but not by a lot. There were quite a few surprising twists to the main questline, and very nice nostalgia tidbits, like seeing the last Silt Strider left in the world, least that's what the caregiver of a female Silt Strider named Dusty practically said. It's too bad you can't actually control the dragons you tame in terms of actually flying around, but I loved the much needed bonus's you gain from the DLC, especially for my character who is a high level (I didn't want to make another character for the recent Skyrim DLC, not yet). I can't wait for the next DLC to be released, because Bethesda knows what they're doing when it comes to DLC. The cost is well worth it. I actually lucked out, for two reasons, when purchasing the DLC.
1) Bethesda was apologizing for how delayed the PS3 took to get their DLC, so all but Dragonborn was 50% off.
2) Sony had just had its PS4 announcement conference, so everyone who has stuck around with the PS3 for a long while got a free $10 redeemable coupon.
So all in all, it all worked out. Props to Bethesda for giving TES fans neverending nostalgia. TES is bound to last for many decades to come. The lore is beyond unique, and the world unforgettable.

A family of Netchs

Although it took what felt like AGES for Sony to get its butt in gear and approve Skyrim's three DLCs to be released on the Playstation Network, it was well worth the wait. At first I was skeptical that Hearthfire would be anything but a Skyrim version of building The Sims houses. However, the houses you can build, though they don't really vary that much between each other, they make up for in seclusion with some of the best views in the game. You have limited, but pretty worthy options on what you can build in your house, and it makes the perfect place to add a bard and steward...and a couple barking dogs and maybe a skeever, spider, fox, or rabbit...normal right? :) You can have barking dogs because you can have pets in this dlc, including the option to adopt a maximum of 2 children. I hope in the future the cap will be at 4 children, because I have two spare twin beds upstairs!
Ok, that dlc is alright, but nothing to wait about a year for if you're a PC or PS3 user. That's where we get to the next to be released (yes they were released in a skewed order from their original announcement dates) dlc, Dragonborn. I have yet to delve into it much because of the fact I love the third dlc, Dawnguard, to death, but Dragonborn has a LOT of additions to it. First of all, the only flea any gamer likes is the Silk Striders...from Morrowind. Now, don't get too excited. There's only one, that I know of, in the game, and you can't ride it. However, there are Netchs, also from Morrowind. Why all the Morrowind references? Well, Dragonborn takes places on an island called Solstheim, off the north coast of Morrowind. Not only does Dragonborn provide nostalgia for the veteran TES fans, but you can ride dragons, finally. Although you can't really control them as if they were an attachment of yourself, you can direct their destination, among other things like being able to air attack enemies. Also, from the beginning of where I left off in Whiterun, I noticed that I was immediately attacked by cultists who had a note on them accusing me of not being the true dragonborn and therefore a threat. I just know it's going to be a great storyline later on after I finish Dawnguard. Now, onto the last dlc. Dawnguard adds a fantastic vampire story to the game without being cliche. I might spoil a few things here, so don't read on if you don't want that to interfere with the experience of the story. My favorite follower now is the undying vampire Lady Serana. She basically got caught in the middle of a parent feud over whether to make themselves be able to walk in the daylight unharmed by the sun in front of mortals or not. It's a lot more involved than that, but basically Serana was locked away for 100s of years to prevent her family from getting his hands on the information the Elder Scroll she carried provided. On the other side of that is the vampire killer organization known as the Dawnguard. You can choose later on who to side with, and I chose the Dawnguard. I'm not all that into the vampire mechanics and I've killed so many vampires in Skyrim already, so why stop now. ;) Anyways, Dawngaurd adds a lot of neat features just like Dragonborn, including: Dragonbone weapons, new fighting camera angles when perform a killing blow, the ability to be a werewolf again, two unique areas (my favorite Soul Cairn and Forgotten Vale), Legendary Dragons, Crossbows, other new items-weapons-armor, etc. and oh yeah...an undead horse which constantly burns with a blue fire that you can ride named Arvak.
The next dlc to come out is rumored to be called Redguard. All veteran TES gamers will know what that is a reference to immediately.

* Durnehviir,  keeper of the Soul Cairn

It is now officially day 1 of E3 2012, but I tuned in to all of the press conferences from yesterday up to today. Our of all of them, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo, I thought Ubisoft and Sony did the best. Both of them had their cringe moments and you all know what I'm talking about if you watched any of it. As for EA, I liked the intro, but that's about it. Microsoft's only upside to me was Tomb Raider, and Nintendo...I don't even know. I've never been much of a fan of games like Mario and all of those games, but the Wii-u doesn't spark any interests for me. Ubisoft was fantastic as far as the games go, with Assassin's Creed III, and possibly Watch Dogs. I was already interested in getting Far Cry 3, but after that demo and the unnecessary eye candy for guys, it isn't quite what I expected the game to be like, but I still will probably get it just for all of the insanity in the main antagonist.
For Sony, the intros are always amazing. Last years was fantastic too. Beyond: Two Souls, I honestly don't know what to think about it as it is right now. Assassin's Creed III: Liberation looks nice, but I'm not picky in general with the AC franchise. Again, Assassin's Creed III was shown. It looks amazing, on land and sea. And finally, The Last of Us.

Now for the main cringe moments. Microsoft in general. I'm not a huge fan of adbox, but there are a few games that I like that they have exclusively. However, it isn't worth getting a console for and I'm just waiting for the red ring of death lol. Their introduction to Halo 4 was not a good build up. Live action rarely turns out good. I think the only time I liked it was the brief teaser Skyrim had half a year ago.
EA once again focused on Madden and all their sports games. SimCity Social made me miss the classic SimCity games, cause all this Facebook and social gaming The Sims games are trying out are just awful and corny.
Ubisoft, the host...simply put. She was condescending to Toby Turner (I'm not a die-hard fan of him, but I do watch his videos from time to time on Youtube) and so not funny. I would have preferred to have Toby host. Their dance intro was baaad. Those shorts will never be stylish or attractive and they looked too old to be wearing them in general lol. Then the rapper came out...fake bling is fake.
For Sony it was definitely the children games that were gay I understand that consoles need to appeal to the younger folks too, but at least, at LEAST, have an actual child playing and not a middle-aged woman.
And if you don't think something was wrong with any of these things, just look up the charts on how the audience was rating the events live on each of those conferences.
As I said earlier, the demo for Far Cry 3 I didn't care for was during the Sony conference. They just weren't good.
For Nintendo, I just think they focus too heavily on all the Wii consoles. I'd much prefer seeing a lot more content for the DSi. Everything they showed was typical for them, so it wasn't hated.

However, I will say this. For EA, Dead Space 3 looks pretty good if they can keep to what the franchise has always been about while still pulling off co-op that doesn't become the generalized co-op shooter. Need For Speed looks ok, and though I will never get a generalized shooter game, I hope Battlefield 3 takes over CoD. If you've played one CoD, you've played them all in my opinion.

I look forward to watching the Live Shows and LiveCam Tours.

It has just been announced that The Elder Scrolls will be having an online game out by 2013. As most are well aware, The Elder Scrolls games have always been about adventure and making your own paths through the games. Though I am excited that once again Bethesda has listened to its community, there are some who don't want the franchise to have any online game and become the norm (almost every other game that comes out seems to have a multiplayer aspect to it now). What are your thoughts on this development? For me, I'm thrilled about it, a little skeptical like anyone else, but I can't wait to be able to go through such a vastly filled lore world with friends.

I'm in love with this game, more so than I was with Oblivion. Need I say more?! :D

Minecraft.

Ok, who else has been checking out this game? It's addictive in its simplicity.

And...Skyrim! I can't wait : )

Now, to quote Machinima, "And before you go, here's the best picture ever:"

What makes this funnier is that they recovered computers at the compound. lol

Who's been tuning in to watch E3 this year so far, and what games seem to be worth buying, or don't seem to make the cut?

I'm eagerly waiting for:

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Killzone 3

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Dead Space 2

Dungeon Siege III

(still hoping Square Enix gives us some insight on FF Versus XIII, or on a Kingdom Hearts title)

You know you want to be the guy in that suit :P

What are you looking forward to the most from the Final Fantasy XIII project? Which of the games are you more interested in (final fantasy XIII, final fantasy versus XIII, or final fantasy XIII agito)?