In between Monday’s press conferences for Microsoft and Sony, the usual publishers got their work in. Electronic Arts, twice named the Worst Company in America, was the first to show off their new wares at E3. Actually, no, they didn’t show off much new. In fact, apart from some new trailers, I don’t think the word new should be used anywhere near this media briefing.
Video Games
E3 2014: Ubisoft Starts the Franchises, Leaves the New IPs on the Bench
If there’s one thing that Ubisoft is good at, it’s building hype around new IPs at E3. So it was only natural to hope for something new out of the French to steal the show at E3 once again.
The only problem was that all the delays over the last year meant that there seemed to be no room for Ubisoft to unveil new IPs at E3 this year. Instead, new games were the last thing on Ubi’s mind this year as they focused on established franchises and delayed games for this year’s E3. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear this was their 2013 E3 keynote on repeat.
E3 2014: Nintendo May Have Won E3 Without Even Showing Up
For the second straight year, Nintendo forewent the big press event and instead kicked off the first official day of E3 with a special Nintendo Direct video conference. While it might scream of a company bleeding cash, it may not have been a bad idea this year. With neither Sony nor Microsoft setting the world on fire with their media briefings, the door was open for the white brand to make a big impression.
Not only did they have a big opportunity, they took it and got people excited about Nintendo for the first time in a few years.
E3 2014: PlayStation Wants to be Your Shooter and Multiplayer Console
Some seven hours after the Xbox media briefing ended, it was Sony’s turn to try to impress gamers with their keynote to close out Monday’s E3 action. Unlike the green brand, the PlayStation crew used their 90-minute presser to mix their game previews with some new hardware and entertainment offerings. As a result, the middle of the presser dragged a little bit relative to the Xbox one but did the rest of what was shown impress more than what Microsoft had to offer.
E3 2014: The Xbox One is Now a Games Console
When the Xbox One was unveiled last year and presented again at E3 last June, the focus wasn’t really on the games. Microsoft was more interested in pitching the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment unit for the living room by touting the entertainment apps and Kinect integration. Between not worrying about the games, the lingering DRM controversy and a price point $100 higher than the PlayStation 4, Microsoft has been in catch up mode for the last twelve months.
It’s amazing what a difference a year makes. With new Xbox division boss Phil Spencer at the helm, this year’s Microsoft E3 press conference was all about the games. The Kinect was hardly mentioned. Entertainment apps may as well not have existed.
EA Finalizes Settlement in NCAA Video Game Lawsuit
Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licencing Company have settled a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit over the use of the likenesses of NCAA Division I (and FBS) football and basketball players in EA Sports video games without compensation.
After agreeing to a settlement in principle back in September 2013, the three parties agreed to a settlement worth $40 million for the estimated up to 200,000 players who appeared in the EA Sports NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball / March Madness games since 2003.
The Evolution of Racing Video Games (Infographic)
If there are two passions of mine that I write about far too frequently, it’s motorsports and video games. Naturally, I love writing about and playing motorsport video games, especially proper racing sims.
Today, I have an infographic that combines both of my passions into one. Our friends at Team Sport have a look back at the history and evolution of racing video games. It even includes two games from Papyrus Racing Games who are my favourite racing sim devs of all time.
Trials Fusion (PC) Review: Back From the Future
As I mentioned in the last Trials game review, this is a game that’s been around since Miniclip was one of the top sites in the world for gaming. The series has evolved since the original Trials game. It’s gone from Java to a proper standalone release.
With that change, so did the tone of the series. It went from a slightly over the top recreation of professional trials competition to a cartoony extreme sports arcade game.
Trials Fusion is the first Trials game released on next-gen consoles but despite the game being set in the future and the evolution of consoles and the evolution of the game’s graphics, Red Lynx didn’t really do much to evolve the gameplay.
FootLOL: Epic Fail League Review: This Ain’t Football
Not every football (or soccer, in North America) game is super realistic sim that allows you to take over almost every major club or player from around the world. Not every football game is even about football.
Enter the very poorly named FootLOL. FootLOL is a bit like Football Manager if Football Manager was made by someone completely out of their minds. You don’t lead your team to victory with superior tactics, player management and inspired decisions. You lead them to victory with land mines, artillery and stampeding cows.
Goat Simulator Review: G.O.A.T.Y.
Is a comedy game that’s openly considered to be a joke by its own developer and much of the gaming press something that’s a meta joke that also happens to be a game or just a joke that isn’t worth the time and money to buy and play it?
If you’ve read other reviews of Goat Simulator, that’s what they all come down to, whether the reviewer says so or not. Should a game that the developer says is a comparative waste of money be evaluated based on the developer’s promises and description of the game or should it be evaluated against every other game on the market?
The answer has to lie somewhere in the middle ground. Can you punish a game for being a below average technical effort while being exactly what was promised by the devs and hoped for by gamers?
The Lowdown 