Sega bought out Bandai after Bandai went backrupt in the mid 90s. Later, Sega sold its games division to Apple and became exclusively a toy company (still owning Bandai's old properties). Namco has been on its own, and still goes by just Namco after acquiring FromSoftware (a much smaller company).
Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
I'm gonna be honest, it's getting a bit exhausting to do these big updates where most of the responses are questions about things completely tangential to the timeline. I get that everyone's curious about what's going on in pop culture and the world outside of the main gaming focus of the thread, but it's important to keep in mind that I cover the things I want to cover in the timeline itself, and that anything I don't cover is something that it takes a bit more effort to think/write about. I'll answer questions from time to time, but I'd prefer that more of the comments be about the timeline itself. I'm just finding it harder and harder to go through and answer everything. Plus, the more questions I answer outside of the timeline, the more stuff I have to remember, since sometimes I forget what's canon and what's not and I end up having to retcon things.
I'm thinking of maybe ignoring all questions entirely in favor of doing something like a "quarterly suggestion box" where after every three months in the timeline, I'll open up for PMs asking specific questions about one or two things at a time, and then I pick the ones I'm most interested in asking. I'm not going to go that route yet, but understand that there's a reason I've slowed down a lot with answering questions, and that's because it's getting exhausting (especially in these tough times when writing the timeline is supposed to be an escape for me and not, well, work).
I'm thinking of maybe ignoring all questions entirely in favor of doing something like a "quarterly suggestion box" where after every three months in the timeline, I'll open up for PMs asking specific questions about one or two things at a time, and then I pick the ones I'm most interested in asking. I'm not going to go that route yet, but understand that there's a reason I've slowed down a lot with answering questions, and that's because it's getting exhausting (especially in these tough times when writing the timeline is supposed to be an escape for me and not, well, work).
That’s understandable. I guess the breaks in question-answering are more understandable now.
E3 2014 (Part 2)
Apple Keynote – E3 2014
Apple's keynote begins with a brief sizzle reel showing highlights from Virtua, Gemini, and iPhone games, before John Carmack takes the stage to loud applause. He thanks everyone for attending, then begins talking up the Virtua, introducing it as the most advanced gaming system on the market and the exclusive home for the hottest franchises in gaming. He announces that one of those exclusives is getting a world premiere trailer today, then launches right into a storyline trailer for Street Fighter VI, focusing on Ryu and Cammy leading their friends into battle against a new organization of evil fighters led by an ancient master known as Hakando. Hakando is the man who taught Ryu's master, and used to be a benevolent hero, but has now decided to become a tyrant and recruit fighters from all over to join him. After the storyline trailer, we get a brief gameplay presentation with some Capcom developers, showing off the game's gorgeous graphics and some of the brand new combos, and a fighting system that makes it easier than ever for new players to pick up the game. Capcom then showed off the motion controls, allowing players to feel like they're part of the action, and to design their own fighters with a detailed create a fighter system, a first for the series. Street Fighter VI will come exclusively to the Virtua in 2015. After the Street Fighter VI exhibition, Carmack then invited his old friend Tom Hall back to the stage to show off Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality, which will launch exclusively for the Virtua in October. We've seen tons of footage and gameplay of the game, we've already gotten a Virtua demo, and the game was shown off at E3 2013, and this was a detailed presentation that lasted about seven minutes, showing off tons more gameplay. We can see that Billy and Reynard are in constant communications with their friends while playing, simulating the dialogue during multiplayer online matches, so when the player makes a move, other characters, both friend and foe, will comment on it. The game is as wild and as fun as ever, and it looks like Billy and Reynard won't be the only playable characters, as we got some footage of Becky in action as well. The presentation ended with a storyline trailer implying that Reynard will be trying to sabotage Billy even as they both work together to battle the evil gamer villain Hardcore2001. We got to see a couple of new characters, including tough girl Nebula and online streamer Zack Attack, both of whom will be supporting the protagonists on their quest. We also got to see the evil streamer girl Rockstarr, who seems to have a history with Hardcore2001. The trailer got everyone quite hyped for the game, and the reaction was nearly as positive as the one for the Squad Four Betrayal trailer. With the two games set to launch within about a week and a half of one another, they'll definitely compete for sales and critical attention, and could be the top two contenders for Game of the Year. After the Commander Keen segment, Carmack introduced Steve Jobs to the stage, and this began a presentation about several new Apple gaming products, most notably the new Gemini Mini, a smaller version of the original Gemini handheld. The Gemini Mini introduces a smaller overall form factor, the replacement of the 240GB hard drive with 256GB of internal flash memory (plus a microSD card slot), a smaller but improved screen, and longer battery life (due to the removal of the hard drive). While it loses the detachable iTwin controllers, it's still compatible with them, so players can still set it up to play games. Jobs also discussed some new games for the upcoming iPhone 6, and also revealed the fact that not only would the iPhone 6 be able to stream Virtua games, it would also be able to download and play certain Gemini games as well, including the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog 7. Jobs then pushed some new gaming apps for the iPad, and introduced Apple's new streaming TV service, which would be compatible with the Virtua, Gemini, iPhone, and iTwin. He then teased that a future VR accessory for the Virtua was in development, before ceding the stage back to John Carmack. Jobs' presentation generated a lot of buzz from the crowd, and definitely did a better job of pushing hardware than Nintendo's earlier presentation did, with the Gemini Mini looking especially impressive.
We then segued into a gorgeous presentation for Phantasy Star Online 3, with a brief trailer that showed all the things it'll be possible to do in the game, along with a few quest previews, then we got to see some more gameplay footage showing off the new action RPG combat system and a selection of gorgeous, wide open worlds with full fledged sci-fi style combat blending with fantasy. It was announced that a beta server would be open for all E3 attendees to try out the game for themselves, and that a series of quests would be shown off. Phantasy Star Online 3 looks positively beautiful, with amazing graphics and some truly spectacular landscapes that range from the insides of massive ships to some enormous paradise worlds reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII. It's clear that this will be a much faster paced game than the previous iterations of Phantasy Star Online, and most importantly, it'll be free to play after the initial purchase of the game. It's expected to be released early next year. Next up, we got a quick preview for a game still early in development, “from the makers of Bayonetta 2”. The game, with its human hero in a world of dragons and dinosaurs, seemed to be reminiscent of Dragonwar, but with a lot more fighting and action, and absolutely stunning 3-D graphics. We saw footage of the hero and his dragon fighting a large T-rex like creature, and barely coming out alive. The game's title was revealed as Scalebound, though no further information was given. After this, we were treated to a few rapid-fire Gemini previews, starting with Weapon10, the follow-up to 2011's launch title Weapon9. It's the same idea as the first: a hack and slash involving nine different weapons, but this time, we get a tenth: a rocket launcher providing some truly explosive ordinance. It'll be interesting to see how they balance the rocket launcher with the rest of the weapons when the game comes out early next year. After that, we were treated to a wacky cel-shaded 2-D platformer about an anthropomorphic raccoon who must progress through a series of stages to battle the evil walrus king who stole his house. This game looks absolutely insane, with lots of wacky animations and crazy hazards, and could be a nice compliment to Sonic The Hedgehog 7. It's called Raffius Raccoon vs. The Walrus, and it's coming in October. Also coming in October: Resident Evil: Revelations 2, which looks just as impressive and terrifying as its predecessor, and sees Claire Redfield return to save a young girl from some evil cultists. It's going to be hard to top this game for handheld horror quality when it comes out in a few months. Of course, the biggest Gemini game of the year is expected to be Sonic The Hedgehog 7, and we got a full five minute feature for this one. It picks up where the last game left off, with Shadow the Hedgehog having collected all the pages of Eggman's journal and preparing to set a plan into motion to resurrect Maria, only for the journal to be snatched from him at the last moment by a robotic creature named Metallis. Metallis wants to use the journal to finish Eggman's greatest design, and Sonic and Shadow have to team up, this time with the rest of Sonic's friends, to get it back. This game is a classic Sonic platformer like its predecessor, with fully 3-D graphics and some amazingly creative level designs. Shadow is fully playable in this one, and is able to directly attack enemies with punches and kicks, while Sonic has to roll into them. However, this is balanced out by Sonic being considerably more agile. Sonic The Hedgehog 7 looks like a gorgeously fun game, and it'll hit the Gemini in November.
After the Sonic presentation, John Carmack returned to briefly discuss the Virtua's success, and that more games were on their way, including these titles from Apple's partner studios. We got a quick sizzle reel of some upcoming Virtua games, both multiplatform and otherwise, before a featured spotlight on three upcoming titles, starting with Star Siren 101. This latest game in the Star Siren series sees Saiyuki and her friends finally graduating from high school and entering college, only to learn that it's a university where all of their professors are supervillains looking to recruit students into a corporation of evil! The evil professors transport Saiyuki, the Star Souls, and their boyfriends into a series of mysterious realms and force them to fight their way out. This game brings all the familiar side-scrolling beat 'em up action that players have come to know and love from the series while introducing some truly wacky college tropes. It doesn't have the fourth wall busting emotional factor of You And Me, but the Star Souls play a more prominent role, and the graphics look absolutely gorgeous. We then got a brief preview for an interesting adventure game combining extreme sports and beat 'em up mechanics into one crazy dystopian package known as Sunset Overdrive. The game's graphics look quite unique, and there's definitely some Thrillseekers and Tony Hawk influence, though the game also takes some inspiration from Jet Set Radio all the way back on the Katana, and could well be a spiritual successor. Then, we saw a preview for a strange but definitely scary horror title in which the protagonist must search for a missing artist who may have been trapped in one of her own paintings. The game is called Lenora's Last Masterpiece, and combines elements of clue-hunting visual novel games with Resident Evil-style thrills. It's an indie title, but funded by Apple, so it's definitely got some resources behind it. John Carmack then returned to the stage to talk about one more game, which, he said, along with Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality, was the Virtua's biggest game of the year: Land Of Enchantment 2. He invited some of the game's developers to the stage, and we got to see several minutes of gameplay, mostly focused on a battle between one of the heroes and a group of Soviet soldiers with alien super-tech. The presentation showed off the game's combat mechanics and also demonstrated the motion controls, which allow for an unprecedented freedom of character control and interaction. The character that was shown off in the preview was Jane, the telekinetic, and it was shown how the Virtua's motion controls will allow players to feel like they really have superpowers, throwing and manipulating objects with simple hand gestures, and even hijacking the minds of some of the enemies to make them attack one another. The developers said that no two players would experience the exact same battle, as players will have incredible freedom to decide how to carry out a fight. We then got to see an intense storyline trailer showing the five heroes trapped in an alternate world in which the Soviet Union exerts totalitarian control, and how even with superpowers, the young teenagers find themselves overwhelmed and outmatched. The trailer brought loud cheers from the crowd, and Apple made it quite clear that they have two huge games on deck to counter Nintendo's expected hit. Finally, Carmack introduced one more game, and like the end of last year's E3, it's a presentation for an upcoming online title, in which players will be able to take to the skies, soaring on the wings of powerful and majestic dragons... that's right, it's Panzer Dragoon Online, coming soon to the Apple Virtua. We didn't get to see much of this game, but the trailer boasted an enormous world and it looks like the game will have both PvP and PvE combat.
Apple's E3 2014 keynote wasn't all that different from their 2013 keynote, even featuring many of the same games. However, they turned it up this year with more focus on graphical power and hardware, showing that the company intends to compete heavily with its rivals every step of the way. Hopefully sometime soon, we'll get further updates on both these games and some of the games that we didn't get to see, including games like Project Echo which we've heard very little about since last year.
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Necrocracy 3 Shaping Up To Be Biggest PC Exclusive Of 2014
Though this year is seeing a bumper crop of strong PC releases, the biggest by far is expected to be Bioware's Necrocracy 3, the conclusion to the popular RPG saga about a world overrun by the living dead. While the game isn't “technically” a PC exclusive (it's coming to consoles in 2015), it'll be released on Steam only when it launches this November, and is expected to be an enormous boon, both for Steam and for PC hardware in general, as PC games scramble to get their rigs ready for what could be the biggest game of all time. Necrocracy 3 sees the human Latham and the zombie Cass launch twin rebellions to liberate the world from the zombie menace, with Latham attempting to persuade downtrodden humans to rise up, and Cass seeking to persuade her fellow zombies to overthrow their fellow flesh-eaters. We'll be traveling the world for this game, and we got to see zombified versions of London, Cairo, and Tokyo, with more cities promised, each of them expected to be the same size if not bigger than Chicagoland in the first two games in the series. Cass in particular has a whole host of brand new zombie powers as she continues to consume the brains of both the living and the dead in order to sustain herself (and also, it seems, to sustain her grip on her sanity), while Latham angsts over the fact that his friends, including Cass, who have become zombies may themselves have to be put down before the war can be declared truly over. We also got to see a glimpse of some terrifying new bosses, including a zombie kraken whose tentacle looks to be the size of a moderately tall skyscraper, and who may have dozens of tentacles in all.
Bioware has been pushing hard to have Necrocracy 3 ready for release by the end of the year, but there's also been some controversy about the amount of “crunch” that the company has been using to finish up the game. While Necrocracy and Necrocracy 2 got by with only a minimal amount of crunch, if any, the sheer scope of Necrocracy 3 looks significantly larger, and with vastly improved graphical detail and more complex game mechanics, completing it, even with four years of development time, looks to have been a truly Herculean feat. While it's likely that all of that paid off and that Necrocracy 3 is looking like a major contender for Game of the Year, only time will tell what kind of toll the game took on those who developed it. Necrocracy 3 is set to launch this November, exclusively on the Steam service for PC and Macintosh, and in 2015 for consoles.
-from an article on Games Over Matter, posted on June 11, 2014
Apple's keynote begins with a brief sizzle reel showing highlights from Virtua, Gemini, and iPhone games, before John Carmack takes the stage to loud applause. He thanks everyone for attending, then begins talking up the Virtua, introducing it as the most advanced gaming system on the market and the exclusive home for the hottest franchises in gaming. He announces that one of those exclusives is getting a world premiere trailer today, then launches right into a storyline trailer for Street Fighter VI, focusing on Ryu and Cammy leading their friends into battle against a new organization of evil fighters led by an ancient master known as Hakando. Hakando is the man who taught Ryu's master, and used to be a benevolent hero, but has now decided to become a tyrant and recruit fighters from all over to join him. After the storyline trailer, we get a brief gameplay presentation with some Capcom developers, showing off the game's gorgeous graphics and some of the brand new combos, and a fighting system that makes it easier than ever for new players to pick up the game. Capcom then showed off the motion controls, allowing players to feel like they're part of the action, and to design their own fighters with a detailed create a fighter system, a first for the series. Street Fighter VI will come exclusively to the Virtua in 2015. After the Street Fighter VI exhibition, Carmack then invited his old friend Tom Hall back to the stage to show off Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality, which will launch exclusively for the Virtua in October. We've seen tons of footage and gameplay of the game, we've already gotten a Virtua demo, and the game was shown off at E3 2013, and this was a detailed presentation that lasted about seven minutes, showing off tons more gameplay. We can see that Billy and Reynard are in constant communications with their friends while playing, simulating the dialogue during multiplayer online matches, so when the player makes a move, other characters, both friend and foe, will comment on it. The game is as wild and as fun as ever, and it looks like Billy and Reynard won't be the only playable characters, as we got some footage of Becky in action as well. The presentation ended with a storyline trailer implying that Reynard will be trying to sabotage Billy even as they both work together to battle the evil gamer villain Hardcore2001. We got to see a couple of new characters, including tough girl Nebula and online streamer Zack Attack, both of whom will be supporting the protagonists on their quest. We also got to see the evil streamer girl Rockstarr, who seems to have a history with Hardcore2001. The trailer got everyone quite hyped for the game, and the reaction was nearly as positive as the one for the Squad Four Betrayal trailer. With the two games set to launch within about a week and a half of one another, they'll definitely compete for sales and critical attention, and could be the top two contenders for Game of the Year. After the Commander Keen segment, Carmack introduced Steve Jobs to the stage, and this began a presentation about several new Apple gaming products, most notably the new Gemini Mini, a smaller version of the original Gemini handheld. The Gemini Mini introduces a smaller overall form factor, the replacement of the 240GB hard drive with 256GB of internal flash memory (plus a microSD card slot), a smaller but improved screen, and longer battery life (due to the removal of the hard drive). While it loses the detachable iTwin controllers, it's still compatible with them, so players can still set it up to play games. Jobs also discussed some new games for the upcoming iPhone 6, and also revealed the fact that not only would the iPhone 6 be able to stream Virtua games, it would also be able to download and play certain Gemini games as well, including the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog 7. Jobs then pushed some new gaming apps for the iPad, and introduced Apple's new streaming TV service, which would be compatible with the Virtua, Gemini, iPhone, and iTwin. He then teased that a future VR accessory for the Virtua was in development, before ceding the stage back to John Carmack. Jobs' presentation generated a lot of buzz from the crowd, and definitely did a better job of pushing hardware than Nintendo's earlier presentation did, with the Gemini Mini looking especially impressive.
We then segued into a gorgeous presentation for Phantasy Star Online 3, with a brief trailer that showed all the things it'll be possible to do in the game, along with a few quest previews, then we got to see some more gameplay footage showing off the new action RPG combat system and a selection of gorgeous, wide open worlds with full fledged sci-fi style combat blending with fantasy. It was announced that a beta server would be open for all E3 attendees to try out the game for themselves, and that a series of quests would be shown off. Phantasy Star Online 3 looks positively beautiful, with amazing graphics and some truly spectacular landscapes that range from the insides of massive ships to some enormous paradise worlds reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII. It's clear that this will be a much faster paced game than the previous iterations of Phantasy Star Online, and most importantly, it'll be free to play after the initial purchase of the game. It's expected to be released early next year. Next up, we got a quick preview for a game still early in development, “from the makers of Bayonetta 2”. The game, with its human hero in a world of dragons and dinosaurs, seemed to be reminiscent of Dragonwar, but with a lot more fighting and action, and absolutely stunning 3-D graphics. We saw footage of the hero and his dragon fighting a large T-rex like creature, and barely coming out alive. The game's title was revealed as Scalebound, though no further information was given. After this, we were treated to a few rapid-fire Gemini previews, starting with Weapon10, the follow-up to 2011's launch title Weapon9. It's the same idea as the first: a hack and slash involving nine different weapons, but this time, we get a tenth: a rocket launcher providing some truly explosive ordinance. It'll be interesting to see how they balance the rocket launcher with the rest of the weapons when the game comes out early next year. After that, we were treated to a wacky cel-shaded 2-D platformer about an anthropomorphic raccoon who must progress through a series of stages to battle the evil walrus king who stole his house. This game looks absolutely insane, with lots of wacky animations and crazy hazards, and could be a nice compliment to Sonic The Hedgehog 7. It's called Raffius Raccoon vs. The Walrus, and it's coming in October. Also coming in October: Resident Evil: Revelations 2, which looks just as impressive and terrifying as its predecessor, and sees Claire Redfield return to save a young girl from some evil cultists. It's going to be hard to top this game for handheld horror quality when it comes out in a few months. Of course, the biggest Gemini game of the year is expected to be Sonic The Hedgehog 7, and we got a full five minute feature for this one. It picks up where the last game left off, with Shadow the Hedgehog having collected all the pages of Eggman's journal and preparing to set a plan into motion to resurrect Maria, only for the journal to be snatched from him at the last moment by a robotic creature named Metallis. Metallis wants to use the journal to finish Eggman's greatest design, and Sonic and Shadow have to team up, this time with the rest of Sonic's friends, to get it back. This game is a classic Sonic platformer like its predecessor, with fully 3-D graphics and some amazingly creative level designs. Shadow is fully playable in this one, and is able to directly attack enemies with punches and kicks, while Sonic has to roll into them. However, this is balanced out by Sonic being considerably more agile. Sonic The Hedgehog 7 looks like a gorgeously fun game, and it'll hit the Gemini in November.
After the Sonic presentation, John Carmack returned to briefly discuss the Virtua's success, and that more games were on their way, including these titles from Apple's partner studios. We got a quick sizzle reel of some upcoming Virtua games, both multiplatform and otherwise, before a featured spotlight on three upcoming titles, starting with Star Siren 101. This latest game in the Star Siren series sees Saiyuki and her friends finally graduating from high school and entering college, only to learn that it's a university where all of their professors are supervillains looking to recruit students into a corporation of evil! The evil professors transport Saiyuki, the Star Souls, and their boyfriends into a series of mysterious realms and force them to fight their way out. This game brings all the familiar side-scrolling beat 'em up action that players have come to know and love from the series while introducing some truly wacky college tropes. It doesn't have the fourth wall busting emotional factor of You And Me, but the Star Souls play a more prominent role, and the graphics look absolutely gorgeous. We then got a brief preview for an interesting adventure game combining extreme sports and beat 'em up mechanics into one crazy dystopian package known as Sunset Overdrive. The game's graphics look quite unique, and there's definitely some Thrillseekers and Tony Hawk influence, though the game also takes some inspiration from Jet Set Radio all the way back on the Katana, and could well be a spiritual successor. Then, we saw a preview for a strange but definitely scary horror title in which the protagonist must search for a missing artist who may have been trapped in one of her own paintings. The game is called Lenora's Last Masterpiece, and combines elements of clue-hunting visual novel games with Resident Evil-style thrills. It's an indie title, but funded by Apple, so it's definitely got some resources behind it. John Carmack then returned to the stage to talk about one more game, which, he said, along with Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality, was the Virtua's biggest game of the year: Land Of Enchantment 2. He invited some of the game's developers to the stage, and we got to see several minutes of gameplay, mostly focused on a battle between one of the heroes and a group of Soviet soldiers with alien super-tech. The presentation showed off the game's combat mechanics and also demonstrated the motion controls, which allow for an unprecedented freedom of character control and interaction. The character that was shown off in the preview was Jane, the telekinetic, and it was shown how the Virtua's motion controls will allow players to feel like they really have superpowers, throwing and manipulating objects with simple hand gestures, and even hijacking the minds of some of the enemies to make them attack one another. The developers said that no two players would experience the exact same battle, as players will have incredible freedom to decide how to carry out a fight. We then got to see an intense storyline trailer showing the five heroes trapped in an alternate world in which the Soviet Union exerts totalitarian control, and how even with superpowers, the young teenagers find themselves overwhelmed and outmatched. The trailer brought loud cheers from the crowd, and Apple made it quite clear that they have two huge games on deck to counter Nintendo's expected hit. Finally, Carmack introduced one more game, and like the end of last year's E3, it's a presentation for an upcoming online title, in which players will be able to take to the skies, soaring on the wings of powerful and majestic dragons... that's right, it's Panzer Dragoon Online, coming soon to the Apple Virtua. We didn't get to see much of this game, but the trailer boasted an enormous world and it looks like the game will have both PvP and PvE combat.
Apple's E3 2014 keynote wasn't all that different from their 2013 keynote, even featuring many of the same games. However, they turned it up this year with more focus on graphical power and hardware, showing that the company intends to compete heavily with its rivals every step of the way. Hopefully sometime soon, we'll get further updates on both these games and some of the games that we didn't get to see, including games like Project Echo which we've heard very little about since last year.
-
Necrocracy 3 Shaping Up To Be Biggest PC Exclusive Of 2014
Though this year is seeing a bumper crop of strong PC releases, the biggest by far is expected to be Bioware's Necrocracy 3, the conclusion to the popular RPG saga about a world overrun by the living dead. While the game isn't “technically” a PC exclusive (it's coming to consoles in 2015), it'll be released on Steam only when it launches this November, and is expected to be an enormous boon, both for Steam and for PC hardware in general, as PC games scramble to get their rigs ready for what could be the biggest game of all time. Necrocracy 3 sees the human Latham and the zombie Cass launch twin rebellions to liberate the world from the zombie menace, with Latham attempting to persuade downtrodden humans to rise up, and Cass seeking to persuade her fellow zombies to overthrow their fellow flesh-eaters. We'll be traveling the world for this game, and we got to see zombified versions of London, Cairo, and Tokyo, with more cities promised, each of them expected to be the same size if not bigger than Chicagoland in the first two games in the series. Cass in particular has a whole host of brand new zombie powers as she continues to consume the brains of both the living and the dead in order to sustain herself (and also, it seems, to sustain her grip on her sanity), while Latham angsts over the fact that his friends, including Cass, who have become zombies may themselves have to be put down before the war can be declared truly over. We also got to see a glimpse of some terrifying new bosses, including a zombie kraken whose tentacle looks to be the size of a moderately tall skyscraper, and who may have dozens of tentacles in all.
Bioware has been pushing hard to have Necrocracy 3 ready for release by the end of the year, but there's also been some controversy about the amount of “crunch” that the company has been using to finish up the game. While Necrocracy and Necrocracy 2 got by with only a minimal amount of crunch, if any, the sheer scope of Necrocracy 3 looks significantly larger, and with vastly improved graphical detail and more complex game mechanics, completing it, even with four years of development time, looks to have been a truly Herculean feat. While it's likely that all of that paid off and that Necrocracy 3 is looking like a major contender for Game of the Year, only time will tell what kind of toll the game took on those who developed it. Necrocracy 3 is set to launch this November, exclusively on the Steam service for PC and Macintosh, and in 2015 for consoles.
-from an article on Games Over Matter, posted on June 11, 2014
E3 2014 (Part 3)
Google Keynote – E3 2014
Google's E3 keynote begins with Eric Bright taking the stage and touting the success of the Google Nexus over the holiday season, thanks to great games like Miraculous Ladybug and The Witcher: Shrouded Silence. He emphasizes that the Nexus is the best value in gaming, coming fully loaded with a next generation console and a full featured Android device for just $299, or, for the many who already have an Android device of their own, allowing them to purchase a modern gaming console for just $199, half the price of the Nexus' competitors, with a huge lineup of exclusive and multiplatform games. He then introduces the first game of the presentation, Dream Garden. It's a simulation/adventure title coming to the Nexus next year that will allow players from all over the world to build their own magical gardens and go on hundreds of adventures, growing the items and equipment they'll need and meeting magical companions along the way. The game looks like a cross between Animal Crossing and World Of Warcraft, and will feature plenty of fun for all ages, with a huge cast of characters and amazing creative possibilities. After the Dream Garden presentation, Bright introduces the team behind Techno Angel: Sabine, coming this December. Techno Angel: Sabine looks to take the series from a traditional FPS to a full-blown RPG/looter shooter, with on screen damage numbers and enemies that drop loot that Sabine can use to improve her equipment and abilities, and also featuring the fastest paced combat in the series to date. Sabine is able to recruit companions, both human and robotic, and is able to enhance her standing with various characters and factions by performing side quests and odd jobs. However, despite the more open-ended gameplay, there's still a definite storyline, as evidenced by the brief trailer shown at the end of the presentation, which depicts Sabine battling an enemy known as the Decembrist, and aligning herself with a faction of teenage freedom fighters who may not be all that they seem. Techno Angel: Sabine is a gorgeous exhibition of the Nexus' graphical power, with a vast world and detailed animations, and looks to be the Nexus' biggest game of the year, positioned to challenge games like Squad Four Betrayal and Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality for holiday supremacy. The next segment of Google's presentation centered around new products and new merch. First, we got a quick look at some upcoming Miraculous Ladybug spinoff material, including animated web shorts, action figures (including digital interactive figures for use with the game), and three mobile games, one of them exclusive to the Nexus Companion and the other two available on phones. Thomas Astruc did a quick video chat with Eric Bright during this segment of the presentation in which he showed off several new comics as well as two of the interactive figures, and there was even a quick skit where Barbara Dunkelman, dressed up as and acting like Chloe, interrupted him to hype one of the Android games. It was a bit of a cheesy segment, and the crowd mostly groaned, but fans of Miraculous Ladybug should be quite pleased with all the new merch. Then, Bright resumed talking about the Nexus, and some new features that would be coming to the system and to the Nexus Companion over the coming months. These include improved online matchmaking, a new “virtual hangout” for the Nexus with interactive games and prizes, the announcement of improved remote play for Android phones to take Nexus games on the go, and the announcement of a new streaming service that would be tied in with Okuma. This service will allow players to join in on each other's games, playing them remotely to help each other through tough segments. It's an intriguing feature, if not a game-changing one. These new services are aimed at making the Nexus a more versatile console going forward, and while it doesn't make up for the technical gap between the Nexus and its competitors, it is something that's quite welcome to see.
We then got a trailer and presentation for a brand new IP from id Softworks called Rezna War. It's a brutal, bloody 3D FPS in which the player is a mercenary dropped onto a demonic hellworld in the midst of a civil war between two violent factions. It definitely looks like Doom, but has a bit more of a story attached to it, with numerous NPCs for the player to interact with, and a more complex narrative overall. The game also has a multiplayer mode in which players can battle it out online, which looks like fairly standard deathmatch fare. John Romero helped to hype up the game, appearing in a pre-recorded video where he discussed his ambitions for Rezna War and why it's a Nexus exclusive (likely related to money and Google funding). It's definitely one of the more intriguing FPS games of the year, and could potentially pave the way for us to see an actual Doom comeback in the future. The next few previews came in the form of quick video presentations, starting with Star Wars: Rise Of A Jedi. This RPG comes to the Nexus in August, and rather than being a Western-style RPG like the KOTOR series, this game is a more traditional Japanese-style RPG, with a more linear narrative. It's the first such game set in the Star Wars universe, and chronicles the rise of a young Padawan named Adana Shen as she embarks on a journey from young recruit to heroic Master. She'll team up with a variety of characters from all over the Galaxy as they battle against a new threat known as the Legion of the Cloak, and realizes her destiny in the fires of battle. Next is Haze: Violet Summer, which returns to the enchanted forest in a time of great peril for Azora and her queen, and a new champion, a young elfin girl who may be able to free the two from their curse. The girl possesses no powers at first, and must rely on companions to help her, but soon realizes her own strength and courage as a terrible calamity threatens to destroy the entire forest. This sequel to two excellent adventure games could be a key exclusive for the Nexus, though it's still quite early in development and won't be released until next year. We then got the reveal of another spinoff in the Wakfu series, Wakfu: The Great Adventure. More open-world RPG than tactical game, this is an RPG set in the Wakfu universe and starring all the familiar favorites, as well as a few new ones. We weren't that impressed with the game's fairly basic graphics, but the ability to tie in with the Android app to provide new quests and bonuses for players could expand the replay value on this one. We then segued into a quick sizzle reel for other Nexus games, most of them coming next year, and most of them multiplatform. Nothing new was really revealed here, we got to see Grand Theft Auto III, Call Of Duty, the usual suspects essentially, though we did get some new footage of Mortal Kombat Eternal and Scavenger Of The Slums 2. We were then treated to a quick Android/mobile gaming reel, showing off titles like a new Bejeweled, an interesting Beetlejuice game called Beetlejuice: Denizens Of The Neitherworld, and a simplistic platformer called Cubedude And Hypertron that looked really fun, with controls tuned for mobile play. Perhaps the most intriguing game we saw during this segment was a Companion exclusive title, Pirates Of Redsea, which looked like a cross between an old school Tales Of The Seven Seas title and a resource management game in which players can raid other players for loot, while also progressing through an expansive single player quest. Pirates Of Redsea's reveal was made even more exciting by the fact that it's going to go live on Android immediately, and indeed, we saw some in the crowd typing away on their phones to download the game before the presentation was even over.
They might have wanted to play attention to the stage, because we got a very fun trailer after the mobile reel ended. The trailer showed a bunch of young teenagers hanging out in a gloomy seaside town, only to be drawn to a mysterious mansion, where an investigation quickly began. The quirky art style and fun dialogue drew some laughs and attention from the crowd, but despite the game's somewhat kiddy look, the action soon grew quite serious when one of the kids literally had their soul sucked from their body, being forcefully turned into a ghost right in front of her friends' eyes. Fortunately for her, she remains able to communicate with her friends, and it looks like she's going to help them try and get their body back and solve the mystery. Meanwhile, events in the town go from bad to worse, and it's clear that this game's scope goes far beyond the mansion itself. This game definitely has echoes of titles like Terror Trip and the Crime Stories series, and makes great use of the Nexus' second screen as well from what we can tell. The game is set for release sometime next year, and it's called Phantom's Kiss, with a demo announced to be available on the show floor. Next, Eric Bright himself showed off a fun looking FPS called Infrascope, which makes extensive use of the Nexus' second screen as a kind of interactive sniper sight. It's another game that's still early in development, but looks extremely promising, and easy to pick up as well thanks to the game's controls. We then got to see a full storyline trailer for the upcoming Buffy The Vampire Slayer game that's now just a few months away, with the plot revolving around an ancient coven of witches who look to use their powers to take over the world, and whose actions turn the entire world of the series upside down, with familiar events taking on entirely new meaning. The friendship between Buffy and Willow seems to be at the very center of this game's main plot, though characters such as Angel and Cordelia also look to play major roles. After the final Buffy trailer, Bright said that Google has been working with some of the greatest creators in the industry, to create experiences unlike any other. He then said that he wants to introduce two of these experiences today, both still early in development, but both having the potential to change the way you play games forever. The first video was a trailer in which the phone of every single person on Earth lit up with a mysterious red jewel icon, before a character who introduced himself as the Game Master appeared and said that it was time to play. Weapons and armor began materializing themselves around everyone, before enormous monsters appeared, created from digital energy. These monsters began mauling people, before the civilians started fighting back with their digitally constructed weapons as the Game Master laughed in the background. The game's title was given as Redshift, before the words “Coming Soon Exclusively To Google” appeared on the screen. Then, another video immediately started. This one focuses on a small village in a high fantasy setting, in which a young boy with a sort of chipmunk face is joined by his sister (who also looks a bit like a mouse or chipmunk). The trailer explains that in the world of Parathera, children of a certain age are expected to go out into the wilderness in search of adventure and new lands, and that other realms around the world have their own version of this same tradition. We see briefly these other realms, each with their own distinct race of mythical humanoids, all venturing out on journeys in a variety of environments. The trailer doesn't say much about the gameplay, but it still screams adventure, and left the crowd very intrigued as the game's logo and title, Expedition, were shown on screen. Bright then spoke a bit more to briefly explain the concept behind these games: Redshift is an interactive worldwide battle royale title in which players can battle powerful digital foes anywhere they go, but can also challenge each other for battle or loot at any time with their Android devices, while Expedition is a groundbreaking MMORPG of unprecedented scope, that will be absolutely free to play and offer the biggest single world in video game history, offering limitless adventure for players around the world. He said that neither of these games would require the Google Nexus itself to play, but that both games offer an experience enhanced by the Nexus platform. He also stated that these games would form the first cornerstone of Google's new “Play Anywhere, Play Everywhere” initiative, more of which would be revealed in the coming months and years. He thanked those in attendance, and that's the end of Google's E3 2014 keynote.
While Google's keynote probably had the least impressive games overall, it was also perhaps the most forward thinking, and it's quite interesting that so many of Google's concepts downplay the idea of the Nexus platform itself, while also presumably existing with the perhaps to sell these Nexus consoles. More than the Reality or the Virtua, which tout themselves as must-have devices of overwhelming technical power, Google is touting its Nexus as more of an accessory than a console: required to play some of its games, but not all of them. It's probably the budget price of the console that allows Google to take this approach, and it'll be interesting to see if it works moving forward.
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Now more than ever, the big software developers are making their presence felt at E3. Most of the major companies had keynote speeches, a large booth, or both, where plenty of games were shown off and demoed for throngs of games media personalities and curious onlookers. We'll break down some of the biggest games we got to try out at the show.
Of all the third parties, Ubisoft definitely had the biggest presence at E3, and may have even had the best booth overall, even more than the console makers. This was the first E3 that they really choose to heavily push their newly acquired Konami IPs, making for a huge variety of games that the company will be launching over the next few years. Blackheart fans hopeful for a return to form for the once dominant but now flagging shooter series may get their wish with Blackheart 666, which sees Sadira return to neutralize members of a demonic death cult that seeks to release a chemical weapon into the world's atmosphere to carry out a dark prophecy. As is par for the course, Sadira straddles the line between good and evil, potentially seeking out the weapon for her own twisted purposes, while Messiah plays the role of hero, leading her and her longtime rival into potential conflict. However, we got to see a lot more of playable Sadira in the demo we played, which featured lots of fast-paced third person shooting and that familiar cruelty we've grown accustomed to from our morally ambiguous hero. As for Messiah, she's doing a bit more sneaking this time around, but did get up close and personal with a particularly zealous cultist... and it looks like she'll be getting herself into trouble again, though whether Sadira or someone else is responsible, we didn't get to see. Sadira Blackheart's latest controversial adventure is set to launch next month. Meanwhile, Hideo Kojima has been working as hard as ever with two upcoming games: Metal Gear Subterfuge and Silent Hills. Both look to be quite good, with Metal Gear Subterfuge taking place at some point in Solid Snake's past, and sees him as a double agent, sabotaging an American operation for an undisclosed reason. The first Metal Gear for the current generation of consoles, it looks gorgeous and features similar gameplay to Metal Gear Solid III, though Kojima himself admitted that the game won't have the same epic scale. He seemed more excited about Silent Hills, a personal passion project for him set for release in October. Ubisoft has been mum about the game's storyline, but it looks to blend cinematic terror with stealth gameplay, and promises to “invoke the player's worst fears” according to Kojima himself, who laughed as he teased some of the things he included in the game. We can't wait to play these two upcoming titles, and we'll be getting them in the next few months, which really doesn't seem real. We also learned that Metal Gear Solid IV has been in production since 2012, and will be the “definitive conclusion” to Solid Snake's story when it launches next year, with a trailer and playable demo expected at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Goemon And Rayman is almost ready to ship for the Nintendo Connect, and it's the first “crossover” for Konami and Ubisoft, seeing Michel Ancel's platforming hero Rayman meet up with the legendary mystical ninja, teaming up across worlds in a fun sidescrolling platformer adventure. Featuring some big bosses and some gorgeous animation, it's a beautiful looking game and should thrill fans of both franchises. We also got a fun presentation for Just Dance Revolution, which saw Lyssa Fielding and Uma Thurman battling one another to Fall Out Boy's, you guessed it, “Uma Thurman”. Lyssa won the dance battle (which Uma explained away by being rusty), but can this game win the war for party game fans this holiday season? It looks like a blast, so chances are good that it succeeds. Assassin's Creed Liberation looks awesome, featuring an American Revolution setting and an exciting new explosive rifle weapon, and will no doubt be one of the year's biggest games. We got a video preview of Far Cry 3, which has experienced a lot of development struggles but is finally in production. Finally, we got a couple of small teasers, including the announcement that Beyond Good And Evil 4 was coming. The game will feature a brand new protagonist and story and won't have any involvement from Michel Ancel, but will feature much of the same open world adventuring that made the original trilogy so beloved, and we hope it can live up to those titles. Then, we got confirmation that a game combining the Blackheart and Metal Gear Solid IPs was on the way, but that it was extremely early in production. In other words, don't expect it until 2016 at the absolute earliest. With all the exciting announcements and fun demos, Ubisoft definitely won E3 2014 in our opinion, but the truth will really be revealed once all these games start hitting players' hands, starting next month with Blackheart 666 and Goemon and Rayman.
Take Two Interactive didn't have quite as many games to show off, but the ones they had were extremely impressive, and we felt that four in particular will be major hits. Grand Theft Auto III was of course the biggest, and it's set to be released in August. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said: the world is huge and beautiful, everything's improved, there's tons of stuff to do, and whatever controversy that'll arise over the main character's gender will probably just lead to more sales along with all the other controversy that inevitably results from a Grand Theft Auto game. No doubt, this will be a heavy contender for Game of the Year. However, the most surprising Rockstar game on display was Chance, a sort of spy thriller third person shooter game developed by most of the same team behind the Max Payne series. The titular main character is a James Bond-esque spy, and this game plays that mostly straight, not going for as much humor as the Grand Theft Auto games do, with the occasional bit of witty banter or cheese filtering in, but featuring a serious plot about a mission gone wrong and a dead mentor. The shooting in Chance in particular was deadly accurate: we got to play this game at the booth and walked away thinking that this title may revolutionize the genre. It's stylistic, it's addictive, it's tons of fun, and it's coming early next year. Take Two's The Lobotomized III is much closer, coming in September. Set in an asylum in the 1940s, the game looks to be as much tragedy as it is horror, with a protagonist who may have already undergone the terrible procedure, and who must save his friend from the same fate. Of course, this game like its predecessors is full of dark, twisted events and mind screw moments, and with the upgraded graphics of the new consoles, may give even the most seasoned horror veterans nightmares. Then, there's next year's Crime Stories: Dance Of The Jackdaw. We got to play a little of the game itself, and yes, that's George Takei's voice we heard as a prominent supporting character! The Crime Stories games have always brought plenty of class and intrigue to players, and this, along with Chance, could sell millions of copies for Rockstar in 2015.
EA was of course present and accounted for, showing off all the latest sports games such as Madden NFL 15 and NBA Live 15. Of particular note, however, was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015, which features lots of new courses to play and an extensive new create a golfer feature, allowing players to play on both the PGA and LPGA circuits, and allowing for unprecedented swinging control and weather conditions. Of course, we also got to have some fun with Fallout: The Swamp, a new Fallout title taking place amidst the flooded ruins of New Orleans and the surrounding Louisiana swamps. We got to battle mutant gators and giant creepy fireflies, and the game's plot, involving a wicked consortium seeking to bring slavery back to the post-apocalyptic South, will definitely give players a villain worth blowing to bits with a Fat Man missile launcher. It's coming out in August, where it'll compete with Grand Theft Auto III and Metal Gear Subterfuge and give all of us a reason to never ever leave our basements.
Eidos didn't have a keynote, but did show off Tomb Raider: Soul Of The Betrayer at their booth. It's still early in development, but will be a “whole new beginning” for Lara Croft, and may well tie in with the events of the upcoming Tomb Raider television series which will also debut in 2015. We didn't get much in the way of plot spoilers, but we got to play some of the game itself, which looks gorgeous on the Nintendo Reality and will no doubt look amazing on the Virtua and Nexus as well. We've never been able to control Lara as fluidly and as easily, and she'll have a new array of melee takedowns at her disposal. Eidos was also showing off a brand new IP, a game set in a prehistoric world, in which the player creates a hunter-gatherer human who becomes caught up in an incredible adventure. Eidos didn't have a title for the game, which is going by the working title of “Project Virgin Earth”, and we likely won't see this one until at least 2016.
Of course we expected Activision to be a major presence at the show, and they didn't disappoint. From Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which will see futuristic fighting amidst a new world war caused by a power-hungry American president, to Thrillseekers: Waveriders 2, which puts sexy surfer girl Marina front and center again as she competes in various water-based extreme sports, all the usual suspects were present and accounted for, and both of them look fantastic. Advanced Warfare looks to have the most exciting combat in the series to date, with weapons that make fighting a breeze and make tactical positioning paramount, while Waveriders 2 introduces hydroflying and at least one other sport to the series, and also features a more intimate storyline focusing on Marina's relationships with Alex and Stacy. Activision also introduced two new IPs: The World Below, in which a group of elite soldiers must battle the mutated denizens of a destroyed underground city, and Elite Super, which combines elements of street racers like Burnout with RPGs. Elite Super is extremely early in development and we only got to see some video and concept art, but it already looks quite exciting, while we got to play a few levels of The World Below and were extremely impressed with the shooting mechanics and the level of horror in the game. We hope it'll rely more on atmospheric horror than cheap jump scares, but either way it's shaping up to be one of next year's best games.
Acclaim was surprisingly low profile at this year's show. They didn't have a keynote, and instead had a big booth, showing off games like Divine Wrath 5 and Mortal Kombat Eternal to excited crowds. They seemed mostly interested in pushing Sepulchre, their medieval action title which sees Crusaders battling it out. The game's dual protagonists are on opposite sides of the conflict, and players will be spending an equal amount of time with both of them as they fight to protect their individual homelands. The game introduces a “rival” system in which NPC soldiers can rise through the ranks, especially after “killing” the player in battle. After returning, they'll see that the soldier has been given a higher rank and is now even stronger than before, making them even harder to beat during the rematch. The game features a mostly open world, giving the player freedom to progress through missions at their leisure while also expanding their skill tree, improving their equipment, and even raising their own armies and hiring mercenaries. Sepulchre has been hyped as one of the year's biggest games, and for good reason. It'll be released in September.
On a similar note, we also got to spend a lot of time with Rise A Knight IV: Scourge, THQ's long in development RPG that's finally shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the holiday season. It takes place in a fantasy world that will feature humans battling Ork-like creatures known as Vergons, though it's clear that many of these Vergons are peaceful creatures who don't wish to go to war with humans, forcing the protagonist (who can be either male or female) to find a new approach to the war, especially as a devastating plague threatens to ravage both sides of the conflict. It's clear that THQ made this game with the next generation consoles in mind: it features gorgeous graphics and a massive open world to explore, and we'll soon find out if the delay from 2012 was worth it when this game is finally released in December.
Of the Japanese companies present at E3 2014, Squaresoft had the biggest presence, and was mostly showing off the upcoming Final Fantasy Online II, which will launch later this year for all three consoles and PC. It's a beautiful upgrade to the 2005 original, and looks far better than 2010's Sapphire version of Final Fantasy Online as well, while incorporating elements from recent games in the series (including, potentially, the Guardian mechs of Final Fantasy XIII). Like its predecessor, the game will charge a monthly subscription fee, but as one of the most visually stunning and content rich MMORPGs of all time, Final Fantasy Online was worth the cost for most players, and we expect this game will be too. Squaresoft also showed off Angels Of Mana, a brand new title in the Mana series of action RPGs, and one expected to suitably adapt the series to a new generation. The graphics are a bit “kiddy” compared to those of the Final Fantasy series, but they're still detailed and gorgeous, and the game itself features all the classic Mana quirks and mechanics that players have grown to love. Tecmo's Sword Of Destiny is another lovely RPG with a traditional feel to it that looks to capture the feel of classic 16 bit titles with modern graphics and quality of life improvements. It definitely feels better than Secret Of The Stars, and while it looks generic and cliched, you can't judge a great RPG by its cover. Other companies like Enix, Game Arts, and Koei all had some exciting games of their own at the various E3 booths, and we'll have in-depth previews of those titles in a future article.
Valve, in addition to showing off Necrocracy 3, previewed a new MMORPG that will be developed by Bioware, and will take place on an industrialized planet fought over by corporations, robots, and downtrodden workers. Called Gearworld, the game will allow players to join up with one of the three factions, and while we didn't get much information about this one, the concept art looks visually stunning, presenting some very far out there character designs for all three different factions. Valve also showed off their Steam Machine, expected to launch later this year as a console-like device for PC games. It'll retail for $600, and is expected to play most PC titles at medium to high settings, including the upcoming Necrocracy 3. Valve has floated the idea of other models of the device available at a higher or lower cost, but for now, there's just one. It's not expected to outsell any of the current consoles, at least this year, but could be a big seller amongst console players hoping for an easier gateway into PC gaming.
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E3 2014 was all about the eighth generation and how wonderful it could be with all the software developers and console makers putting their best foot forward and showing off just what the current crop of consoles were truly capable of. It was home to huge trailers and plenty of exciting games playable on the floor, and confirmed that 2014 was likely to be one of the best years for video games of all time and that 2015 and 2016 could be even brighter.
Nintendo was all about Squad Four. From Squad Four Betrayal to their upcoming anniversary collection, the Nintendo keynote and booth were dripping with sci-fi space heroes, and aimed to send the message that Squad Four Betrayal was the must play game of not only 2014, but of this entire generation. For the most part, it worked: the game ended up being the consensus Best Of Show, and lines to play were long for the entirety of the week. Those who did get to play it came away impressed, those who didn't came away disappointed. Of course, those looking to see much of other games also came away disappointed, but we were treated to a snippet of the new Legend Of Zelda and the first character reveal for the Reality Smash Bros. game, so... there was that at least? One thing was clear: Nintendo was once again in the lead, and were confident in putting all their eggs in the Squad Four basket, knowing that if that game was ultimately a disappointment, Nintendo would still be Nintendo and would have plenty of other games on the way.
Apple, meanwhile, went the route of pushing their hardware as hard as possible. Nintendo had the Virtua outmuscled, so instead, Apple pushed motion controls and accessories heavily, and also announced that “VR is on the way, we promise!” Apart from that, though, their future game lineup did manage to impress. Street Fighter VI looked like a winner, Phantasy Star Online 3 was undeniably impressive (more impressive than Final Fantasy Online II, and without a monthly subscription), and while Marvel vs. Capcom 4 wasn't present during the keynote, it drew big crowds at the booth and won Best Fighting Game of the show over the impressive Killer Instinct 5 and the aforementioned Street Fighter VI. The Apple Virtua came out of E3 2014 smelling like a rose, while the Gemini, already surging going into E3, came out looking like it might just catch up with the Connect: unveiling a new Mini model with a sorely needed SSD, and even showing off some of the show's best handheld titles. Apple had a fantastic E3 2014, and to people who weren't blinded by Squad Four Betrayal, was the winner in the eyes of most in attendance.
Google, meanwhile, demonstrated that they didn't really care how many Nexus units they sold (with the first half of 2014 looking like a steep decline from the heights of 2013), but instead, wanted you playing Google everywhere. Google in the morning, Google in the evening, Google at supper time! When Google's on a bagel... yeah, you get the picture. Despite their apathy for Nexus sales, they still had some impressive games on display, including Techno Angel: Sabine and John Romero's new Rezna War. Google also showed off plenty of games for the Nexus Companion, their “I swear it's not a Google handheld” handheld. Google ended its presentation by revealing two ambitious new massively multiplayer projects that are scheduled to be released... whenever, and by then, we might already have a Nexus successor on the way. Google definitely didn't win E3 2014, but it's hard to say they lost either. We'll give Google a big “?” grade and leave it at that, while hoping that the company's community manager sticks to busting online trolls and not impersonating Ubisoft's take on Regina George.
On the PC front, there was a lot going on, but mostly on the hardware end, with all the big companies showing off new graphics cards and accessories. Meanwhile, Valve showed off the Steam Machine, a PC console that could revolutionize PC gaming if enough people are willing to fork over $600 for the privilege of not having to build their own rigs. Valve also showed off Necrocracy 3, which looked amazing and was one of the most crowded games on the floor, and a new MMORPG called Gearworld that looks to be Bioware's answer to World Of Warcraft. Other great PC games included Nix, an adventure/RPG title about a transforming imp/darkness fairy who lives in a world of perpetual night, and was an impressive enough game both visually and from a gameplay perspective to steal the Best PC Game of the show award away from Necrocracy 3. PC gaming arguably had an off year, but Necrocracy 3 could change that if it proves to be as big a hit as Half-Life 3, and could also help push the Steam Machine to a lot of console gamers who don't want to wait for next year.
Last year, we wrote that we expected to see Mario, Sonic, and Link all present at this year's show, and we were right: Mario and Sonic were headlining highly anticipated handheld games, while Link appeared in a teaser for a reboot of his original game. While we fully expect Mario and Sonic to make their proper next-gen console debuts soon, and almost certainly at E3 2015, we've also learned to expect the unexpected. Nintendo, leaning heavily into a franchise that seemed to be on the decline. Apple, going full-bore on accessories and enhancements in a strategy mimicking Sega's old tactics. And Google, saying “we don't care about console sales” after dominating the 2013 holiday season. E3 2014 brought plenty of the old familiar, but also brought plenty of surprises, and the next 12 months should be interesting indeed as we wait to see which of these hugely anticipated games will live up to their massive hype.
-from IGN's summary of E3 2014
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Game Critics Awards E3 2014
Best Of Show: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Original Game: The World Below
Best Console Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best PC Game: Nix
Best Handheld Game: Sonic The Hedgehog 7
Best Peripheral/Hardware: The Steam Machine
Best Action Game: Chance
Best Action/Adventure Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Role Playing Game: Phantasy Star Online 3
Best Racing Game: Formula One Inject
Best Sports Game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015
Best Fighting Game: Marvel vs. Capcom 4
Best Shooter: Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Best Party Game: Just Dance Revolution
Best Online Multiplayer: Phantasy Star Online 3
Google's E3 keynote begins with Eric Bright taking the stage and touting the success of the Google Nexus over the holiday season, thanks to great games like Miraculous Ladybug and The Witcher: Shrouded Silence. He emphasizes that the Nexus is the best value in gaming, coming fully loaded with a next generation console and a full featured Android device for just $299, or, for the many who already have an Android device of their own, allowing them to purchase a modern gaming console for just $199, half the price of the Nexus' competitors, with a huge lineup of exclusive and multiplatform games. He then introduces the first game of the presentation, Dream Garden. It's a simulation/adventure title coming to the Nexus next year that will allow players from all over the world to build their own magical gardens and go on hundreds of adventures, growing the items and equipment they'll need and meeting magical companions along the way. The game looks like a cross between Animal Crossing and World Of Warcraft, and will feature plenty of fun for all ages, with a huge cast of characters and amazing creative possibilities. After the Dream Garden presentation, Bright introduces the team behind Techno Angel: Sabine, coming this December. Techno Angel: Sabine looks to take the series from a traditional FPS to a full-blown RPG/looter shooter, with on screen damage numbers and enemies that drop loot that Sabine can use to improve her equipment and abilities, and also featuring the fastest paced combat in the series to date. Sabine is able to recruit companions, both human and robotic, and is able to enhance her standing with various characters and factions by performing side quests and odd jobs. However, despite the more open-ended gameplay, there's still a definite storyline, as evidenced by the brief trailer shown at the end of the presentation, which depicts Sabine battling an enemy known as the Decembrist, and aligning herself with a faction of teenage freedom fighters who may not be all that they seem. Techno Angel: Sabine is a gorgeous exhibition of the Nexus' graphical power, with a vast world and detailed animations, and looks to be the Nexus' biggest game of the year, positioned to challenge games like Squad Four Betrayal and Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality for holiday supremacy. The next segment of Google's presentation centered around new products and new merch. First, we got a quick look at some upcoming Miraculous Ladybug spinoff material, including animated web shorts, action figures (including digital interactive figures for use with the game), and three mobile games, one of them exclusive to the Nexus Companion and the other two available on phones. Thomas Astruc did a quick video chat with Eric Bright during this segment of the presentation in which he showed off several new comics as well as two of the interactive figures, and there was even a quick skit where Barbara Dunkelman, dressed up as and acting like Chloe, interrupted him to hype one of the Android games. It was a bit of a cheesy segment, and the crowd mostly groaned, but fans of Miraculous Ladybug should be quite pleased with all the new merch. Then, Bright resumed talking about the Nexus, and some new features that would be coming to the system and to the Nexus Companion over the coming months. These include improved online matchmaking, a new “virtual hangout” for the Nexus with interactive games and prizes, the announcement of improved remote play for Android phones to take Nexus games on the go, and the announcement of a new streaming service that would be tied in with Okuma. This service will allow players to join in on each other's games, playing them remotely to help each other through tough segments. It's an intriguing feature, if not a game-changing one. These new services are aimed at making the Nexus a more versatile console going forward, and while it doesn't make up for the technical gap between the Nexus and its competitors, it is something that's quite welcome to see.
We then got a trailer and presentation for a brand new IP from id Softworks called Rezna War. It's a brutal, bloody 3D FPS in which the player is a mercenary dropped onto a demonic hellworld in the midst of a civil war between two violent factions. It definitely looks like Doom, but has a bit more of a story attached to it, with numerous NPCs for the player to interact with, and a more complex narrative overall. The game also has a multiplayer mode in which players can battle it out online, which looks like fairly standard deathmatch fare. John Romero helped to hype up the game, appearing in a pre-recorded video where he discussed his ambitions for Rezna War and why it's a Nexus exclusive (likely related to money and Google funding). It's definitely one of the more intriguing FPS games of the year, and could potentially pave the way for us to see an actual Doom comeback in the future. The next few previews came in the form of quick video presentations, starting with Star Wars: Rise Of A Jedi. This RPG comes to the Nexus in August, and rather than being a Western-style RPG like the KOTOR series, this game is a more traditional Japanese-style RPG, with a more linear narrative. It's the first such game set in the Star Wars universe, and chronicles the rise of a young Padawan named Adana Shen as she embarks on a journey from young recruit to heroic Master. She'll team up with a variety of characters from all over the Galaxy as they battle against a new threat known as the Legion of the Cloak, and realizes her destiny in the fires of battle. Next is Haze: Violet Summer, which returns to the enchanted forest in a time of great peril for Azora and her queen, and a new champion, a young elfin girl who may be able to free the two from their curse. The girl possesses no powers at first, and must rely on companions to help her, but soon realizes her own strength and courage as a terrible calamity threatens to destroy the entire forest. This sequel to two excellent adventure games could be a key exclusive for the Nexus, though it's still quite early in development and won't be released until next year. We then got the reveal of another spinoff in the Wakfu series, Wakfu: The Great Adventure. More open-world RPG than tactical game, this is an RPG set in the Wakfu universe and starring all the familiar favorites, as well as a few new ones. We weren't that impressed with the game's fairly basic graphics, but the ability to tie in with the Android app to provide new quests and bonuses for players could expand the replay value on this one. We then segued into a quick sizzle reel for other Nexus games, most of them coming next year, and most of them multiplatform. Nothing new was really revealed here, we got to see Grand Theft Auto III, Call Of Duty, the usual suspects essentially, though we did get some new footage of Mortal Kombat Eternal and Scavenger Of The Slums 2. We were then treated to a quick Android/mobile gaming reel, showing off titles like a new Bejeweled, an interesting Beetlejuice game called Beetlejuice: Denizens Of The Neitherworld, and a simplistic platformer called Cubedude And Hypertron that looked really fun, with controls tuned for mobile play. Perhaps the most intriguing game we saw during this segment was a Companion exclusive title, Pirates Of Redsea, which looked like a cross between an old school Tales Of The Seven Seas title and a resource management game in which players can raid other players for loot, while also progressing through an expansive single player quest. Pirates Of Redsea's reveal was made even more exciting by the fact that it's going to go live on Android immediately, and indeed, we saw some in the crowd typing away on their phones to download the game before the presentation was even over.
They might have wanted to play attention to the stage, because we got a very fun trailer after the mobile reel ended. The trailer showed a bunch of young teenagers hanging out in a gloomy seaside town, only to be drawn to a mysterious mansion, where an investigation quickly began. The quirky art style and fun dialogue drew some laughs and attention from the crowd, but despite the game's somewhat kiddy look, the action soon grew quite serious when one of the kids literally had their soul sucked from their body, being forcefully turned into a ghost right in front of her friends' eyes. Fortunately for her, she remains able to communicate with her friends, and it looks like she's going to help them try and get their body back and solve the mystery. Meanwhile, events in the town go from bad to worse, and it's clear that this game's scope goes far beyond the mansion itself. This game definitely has echoes of titles like Terror Trip and the Crime Stories series, and makes great use of the Nexus' second screen as well from what we can tell. The game is set for release sometime next year, and it's called Phantom's Kiss, with a demo announced to be available on the show floor. Next, Eric Bright himself showed off a fun looking FPS called Infrascope, which makes extensive use of the Nexus' second screen as a kind of interactive sniper sight. It's another game that's still early in development, but looks extremely promising, and easy to pick up as well thanks to the game's controls. We then got to see a full storyline trailer for the upcoming Buffy The Vampire Slayer game that's now just a few months away, with the plot revolving around an ancient coven of witches who look to use their powers to take over the world, and whose actions turn the entire world of the series upside down, with familiar events taking on entirely new meaning. The friendship between Buffy and Willow seems to be at the very center of this game's main plot, though characters such as Angel and Cordelia also look to play major roles. After the final Buffy trailer, Bright said that Google has been working with some of the greatest creators in the industry, to create experiences unlike any other. He then said that he wants to introduce two of these experiences today, both still early in development, but both having the potential to change the way you play games forever. The first video was a trailer in which the phone of every single person on Earth lit up with a mysterious red jewel icon, before a character who introduced himself as the Game Master appeared and said that it was time to play. Weapons and armor began materializing themselves around everyone, before enormous monsters appeared, created from digital energy. These monsters began mauling people, before the civilians started fighting back with their digitally constructed weapons as the Game Master laughed in the background. The game's title was given as Redshift, before the words “Coming Soon Exclusively To Google” appeared on the screen. Then, another video immediately started. This one focuses on a small village in a high fantasy setting, in which a young boy with a sort of chipmunk face is joined by his sister (who also looks a bit like a mouse or chipmunk). The trailer explains that in the world of Parathera, children of a certain age are expected to go out into the wilderness in search of adventure and new lands, and that other realms around the world have their own version of this same tradition. We see briefly these other realms, each with their own distinct race of mythical humanoids, all venturing out on journeys in a variety of environments. The trailer doesn't say much about the gameplay, but it still screams adventure, and left the crowd very intrigued as the game's logo and title, Expedition, were shown on screen. Bright then spoke a bit more to briefly explain the concept behind these games: Redshift is an interactive worldwide battle royale title in which players can battle powerful digital foes anywhere they go, but can also challenge each other for battle or loot at any time with their Android devices, while Expedition is a groundbreaking MMORPG of unprecedented scope, that will be absolutely free to play and offer the biggest single world in video game history, offering limitless adventure for players around the world. He said that neither of these games would require the Google Nexus itself to play, but that both games offer an experience enhanced by the Nexus platform. He also stated that these games would form the first cornerstone of Google's new “Play Anywhere, Play Everywhere” initiative, more of which would be revealed in the coming months and years. He thanked those in attendance, and that's the end of Google's E3 2014 keynote.
While Google's keynote probably had the least impressive games overall, it was also perhaps the most forward thinking, and it's quite interesting that so many of Google's concepts downplay the idea of the Nexus platform itself, while also presumably existing with the perhaps to sell these Nexus consoles. More than the Reality or the Virtua, which tout themselves as must-have devices of overwhelming technical power, Google is touting its Nexus as more of an accessory than a console: required to play some of its games, but not all of them. It's probably the budget price of the console that allows Google to take this approach, and it'll be interesting to see if it works moving forward.
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Now more than ever, the big software developers are making their presence felt at E3. Most of the major companies had keynote speeches, a large booth, or both, where plenty of games were shown off and demoed for throngs of games media personalities and curious onlookers. We'll break down some of the biggest games we got to try out at the show.
Of all the third parties, Ubisoft definitely had the biggest presence at E3, and may have even had the best booth overall, even more than the console makers. This was the first E3 that they really choose to heavily push their newly acquired Konami IPs, making for a huge variety of games that the company will be launching over the next few years. Blackheart fans hopeful for a return to form for the once dominant but now flagging shooter series may get their wish with Blackheart 666, which sees Sadira return to neutralize members of a demonic death cult that seeks to release a chemical weapon into the world's atmosphere to carry out a dark prophecy. As is par for the course, Sadira straddles the line between good and evil, potentially seeking out the weapon for her own twisted purposes, while Messiah plays the role of hero, leading her and her longtime rival into potential conflict. However, we got to see a lot more of playable Sadira in the demo we played, which featured lots of fast-paced third person shooting and that familiar cruelty we've grown accustomed to from our morally ambiguous hero. As for Messiah, she's doing a bit more sneaking this time around, but did get up close and personal with a particularly zealous cultist... and it looks like she'll be getting herself into trouble again, though whether Sadira or someone else is responsible, we didn't get to see. Sadira Blackheart's latest controversial adventure is set to launch next month. Meanwhile, Hideo Kojima has been working as hard as ever with two upcoming games: Metal Gear Subterfuge and Silent Hills. Both look to be quite good, with Metal Gear Subterfuge taking place at some point in Solid Snake's past, and sees him as a double agent, sabotaging an American operation for an undisclosed reason. The first Metal Gear for the current generation of consoles, it looks gorgeous and features similar gameplay to Metal Gear Solid III, though Kojima himself admitted that the game won't have the same epic scale. He seemed more excited about Silent Hills, a personal passion project for him set for release in October. Ubisoft has been mum about the game's storyline, but it looks to blend cinematic terror with stealth gameplay, and promises to “invoke the player's worst fears” according to Kojima himself, who laughed as he teased some of the things he included in the game. We can't wait to play these two upcoming titles, and we'll be getting them in the next few months, which really doesn't seem real. We also learned that Metal Gear Solid IV has been in production since 2012, and will be the “definitive conclusion” to Solid Snake's story when it launches next year, with a trailer and playable demo expected at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Goemon And Rayman is almost ready to ship for the Nintendo Connect, and it's the first “crossover” for Konami and Ubisoft, seeing Michel Ancel's platforming hero Rayman meet up with the legendary mystical ninja, teaming up across worlds in a fun sidescrolling platformer adventure. Featuring some big bosses and some gorgeous animation, it's a beautiful looking game and should thrill fans of both franchises. We also got a fun presentation for Just Dance Revolution, which saw Lyssa Fielding and Uma Thurman battling one another to Fall Out Boy's, you guessed it, “Uma Thurman”. Lyssa won the dance battle (which Uma explained away by being rusty), but can this game win the war for party game fans this holiday season? It looks like a blast, so chances are good that it succeeds. Assassin's Creed Liberation looks awesome, featuring an American Revolution setting and an exciting new explosive rifle weapon, and will no doubt be one of the year's biggest games. We got a video preview of Far Cry 3, which has experienced a lot of development struggles but is finally in production. Finally, we got a couple of small teasers, including the announcement that Beyond Good And Evil 4 was coming. The game will feature a brand new protagonist and story and won't have any involvement from Michel Ancel, but will feature much of the same open world adventuring that made the original trilogy so beloved, and we hope it can live up to those titles. Then, we got confirmation that a game combining the Blackheart and Metal Gear Solid IPs was on the way, but that it was extremely early in production. In other words, don't expect it until 2016 at the absolute earliest. With all the exciting announcements and fun demos, Ubisoft definitely won E3 2014 in our opinion, but the truth will really be revealed once all these games start hitting players' hands, starting next month with Blackheart 666 and Goemon and Rayman.
Take Two Interactive didn't have quite as many games to show off, but the ones they had were extremely impressive, and we felt that four in particular will be major hits. Grand Theft Auto III was of course the biggest, and it's set to be released in August. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said: the world is huge and beautiful, everything's improved, there's tons of stuff to do, and whatever controversy that'll arise over the main character's gender will probably just lead to more sales along with all the other controversy that inevitably results from a Grand Theft Auto game. No doubt, this will be a heavy contender for Game of the Year. However, the most surprising Rockstar game on display was Chance, a sort of spy thriller third person shooter game developed by most of the same team behind the Max Payne series. The titular main character is a James Bond-esque spy, and this game plays that mostly straight, not going for as much humor as the Grand Theft Auto games do, with the occasional bit of witty banter or cheese filtering in, but featuring a serious plot about a mission gone wrong and a dead mentor. The shooting in Chance in particular was deadly accurate: we got to play this game at the booth and walked away thinking that this title may revolutionize the genre. It's stylistic, it's addictive, it's tons of fun, and it's coming early next year. Take Two's The Lobotomized III is much closer, coming in September. Set in an asylum in the 1940s, the game looks to be as much tragedy as it is horror, with a protagonist who may have already undergone the terrible procedure, and who must save his friend from the same fate. Of course, this game like its predecessors is full of dark, twisted events and mind screw moments, and with the upgraded graphics of the new consoles, may give even the most seasoned horror veterans nightmares. Then, there's next year's Crime Stories: Dance Of The Jackdaw. We got to play a little of the game itself, and yes, that's George Takei's voice we heard as a prominent supporting character! The Crime Stories games have always brought plenty of class and intrigue to players, and this, along with Chance, could sell millions of copies for Rockstar in 2015.
EA was of course present and accounted for, showing off all the latest sports games such as Madden NFL 15 and NBA Live 15. Of particular note, however, was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015, which features lots of new courses to play and an extensive new create a golfer feature, allowing players to play on both the PGA and LPGA circuits, and allowing for unprecedented swinging control and weather conditions. Of course, we also got to have some fun with Fallout: The Swamp, a new Fallout title taking place amidst the flooded ruins of New Orleans and the surrounding Louisiana swamps. We got to battle mutant gators and giant creepy fireflies, and the game's plot, involving a wicked consortium seeking to bring slavery back to the post-apocalyptic South, will definitely give players a villain worth blowing to bits with a Fat Man missile launcher. It's coming out in August, where it'll compete with Grand Theft Auto III and Metal Gear Subterfuge and give all of us a reason to never ever leave our basements.
Eidos didn't have a keynote, but did show off Tomb Raider: Soul Of The Betrayer at their booth. It's still early in development, but will be a “whole new beginning” for Lara Croft, and may well tie in with the events of the upcoming Tomb Raider television series which will also debut in 2015. We didn't get much in the way of plot spoilers, but we got to play some of the game itself, which looks gorgeous on the Nintendo Reality and will no doubt look amazing on the Virtua and Nexus as well. We've never been able to control Lara as fluidly and as easily, and she'll have a new array of melee takedowns at her disposal. Eidos was also showing off a brand new IP, a game set in a prehistoric world, in which the player creates a hunter-gatherer human who becomes caught up in an incredible adventure. Eidos didn't have a title for the game, which is going by the working title of “Project Virgin Earth”, and we likely won't see this one until at least 2016.
Of course we expected Activision to be a major presence at the show, and they didn't disappoint. From Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which will see futuristic fighting amidst a new world war caused by a power-hungry American president, to Thrillseekers: Waveriders 2, which puts sexy surfer girl Marina front and center again as she competes in various water-based extreme sports, all the usual suspects were present and accounted for, and both of them look fantastic. Advanced Warfare looks to have the most exciting combat in the series to date, with weapons that make fighting a breeze and make tactical positioning paramount, while Waveriders 2 introduces hydroflying and at least one other sport to the series, and also features a more intimate storyline focusing on Marina's relationships with Alex and Stacy. Activision also introduced two new IPs: The World Below, in which a group of elite soldiers must battle the mutated denizens of a destroyed underground city, and Elite Super, which combines elements of street racers like Burnout with RPGs. Elite Super is extremely early in development and we only got to see some video and concept art, but it already looks quite exciting, while we got to play a few levels of The World Below and were extremely impressed with the shooting mechanics and the level of horror in the game. We hope it'll rely more on atmospheric horror than cheap jump scares, but either way it's shaping up to be one of next year's best games.
Acclaim was surprisingly low profile at this year's show. They didn't have a keynote, and instead had a big booth, showing off games like Divine Wrath 5 and Mortal Kombat Eternal to excited crowds. They seemed mostly interested in pushing Sepulchre, their medieval action title which sees Crusaders battling it out. The game's dual protagonists are on opposite sides of the conflict, and players will be spending an equal amount of time with both of them as they fight to protect their individual homelands. The game introduces a “rival” system in which NPC soldiers can rise through the ranks, especially after “killing” the player in battle. After returning, they'll see that the soldier has been given a higher rank and is now even stronger than before, making them even harder to beat during the rematch. The game features a mostly open world, giving the player freedom to progress through missions at their leisure while also expanding their skill tree, improving their equipment, and even raising their own armies and hiring mercenaries. Sepulchre has been hyped as one of the year's biggest games, and for good reason. It'll be released in September.
On a similar note, we also got to spend a lot of time with Rise A Knight IV: Scourge, THQ's long in development RPG that's finally shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the holiday season. It takes place in a fantasy world that will feature humans battling Ork-like creatures known as Vergons, though it's clear that many of these Vergons are peaceful creatures who don't wish to go to war with humans, forcing the protagonist (who can be either male or female) to find a new approach to the war, especially as a devastating plague threatens to ravage both sides of the conflict. It's clear that THQ made this game with the next generation consoles in mind: it features gorgeous graphics and a massive open world to explore, and we'll soon find out if the delay from 2012 was worth it when this game is finally released in December.
Of the Japanese companies present at E3 2014, Squaresoft had the biggest presence, and was mostly showing off the upcoming Final Fantasy Online II, which will launch later this year for all three consoles and PC. It's a beautiful upgrade to the 2005 original, and looks far better than 2010's Sapphire version of Final Fantasy Online as well, while incorporating elements from recent games in the series (including, potentially, the Guardian mechs of Final Fantasy XIII). Like its predecessor, the game will charge a monthly subscription fee, but as one of the most visually stunning and content rich MMORPGs of all time, Final Fantasy Online was worth the cost for most players, and we expect this game will be too. Squaresoft also showed off Angels Of Mana, a brand new title in the Mana series of action RPGs, and one expected to suitably adapt the series to a new generation. The graphics are a bit “kiddy” compared to those of the Final Fantasy series, but they're still detailed and gorgeous, and the game itself features all the classic Mana quirks and mechanics that players have grown to love. Tecmo's Sword Of Destiny is another lovely RPG with a traditional feel to it that looks to capture the feel of classic 16 bit titles with modern graphics and quality of life improvements. It definitely feels better than Secret Of The Stars, and while it looks generic and cliched, you can't judge a great RPG by its cover. Other companies like Enix, Game Arts, and Koei all had some exciting games of their own at the various E3 booths, and we'll have in-depth previews of those titles in a future article.
Valve, in addition to showing off Necrocracy 3, previewed a new MMORPG that will be developed by Bioware, and will take place on an industrialized planet fought over by corporations, robots, and downtrodden workers. Called Gearworld, the game will allow players to join up with one of the three factions, and while we didn't get much information about this one, the concept art looks visually stunning, presenting some very far out there character designs for all three different factions. Valve also showed off their Steam Machine, expected to launch later this year as a console-like device for PC games. It'll retail for $600, and is expected to play most PC titles at medium to high settings, including the upcoming Necrocracy 3. Valve has floated the idea of other models of the device available at a higher or lower cost, but for now, there's just one. It's not expected to outsell any of the current consoles, at least this year, but could be a big seller amongst console players hoping for an easier gateway into PC gaming.
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E3 2014 was all about the eighth generation and how wonderful it could be with all the software developers and console makers putting their best foot forward and showing off just what the current crop of consoles were truly capable of. It was home to huge trailers and plenty of exciting games playable on the floor, and confirmed that 2014 was likely to be one of the best years for video games of all time and that 2015 and 2016 could be even brighter.
Nintendo was all about Squad Four. From Squad Four Betrayal to their upcoming anniversary collection, the Nintendo keynote and booth were dripping with sci-fi space heroes, and aimed to send the message that Squad Four Betrayal was the must play game of not only 2014, but of this entire generation. For the most part, it worked: the game ended up being the consensus Best Of Show, and lines to play were long for the entirety of the week. Those who did get to play it came away impressed, those who didn't came away disappointed. Of course, those looking to see much of other games also came away disappointed, but we were treated to a snippet of the new Legend Of Zelda and the first character reveal for the Reality Smash Bros. game, so... there was that at least? One thing was clear: Nintendo was once again in the lead, and were confident in putting all their eggs in the Squad Four basket, knowing that if that game was ultimately a disappointment, Nintendo would still be Nintendo and would have plenty of other games on the way.
Apple, meanwhile, went the route of pushing their hardware as hard as possible. Nintendo had the Virtua outmuscled, so instead, Apple pushed motion controls and accessories heavily, and also announced that “VR is on the way, we promise!” Apart from that, though, their future game lineup did manage to impress. Street Fighter VI looked like a winner, Phantasy Star Online 3 was undeniably impressive (more impressive than Final Fantasy Online II, and without a monthly subscription), and while Marvel vs. Capcom 4 wasn't present during the keynote, it drew big crowds at the booth and won Best Fighting Game of the show over the impressive Killer Instinct 5 and the aforementioned Street Fighter VI. The Apple Virtua came out of E3 2014 smelling like a rose, while the Gemini, already surging going into E3, came out looking like it might just catch up with the Connect: unveiling a new Mini model with a sorely needed SSD, and even showing off some of the show's best handheld titles. Apple had a fantastic E3 2014, and to people who weren't blinded by Squad Four Betrayal, was the winner in the eyes of most in attendance.
Google, meanwhile, demonstrated that they didn't really care how many Nexus units they sold (with the first half of 2014 looking like a steep decline from the heights of 2013), but instead, wanted you playing Google everywhere. Google in the morning, Google in the evening, Google at supper time! When Google's on a bagel... yeah, you get the picture. Despite their apathy for Nexus sales, they still had some impressive games on display, including Techno Angel: Sabine and John Romero's new Rezna War. Google also showed off plenty of games for the Nexus Companion, their “I swear it's not a Google handheld” handheld. Google ended its presentation by revealing two ambitious new massively multiplayer projects that are scheduled to be released... whenever, and by then, we might already have a Nexus successor on the way. Google definitely didn't win E3 2014, but it's hard to say they lost either. We'll give Google a big “?” grade and leave it at that, while hoping that the company's community manager sticks to busting online trolls and not impersonating Ubisoft's take on Regina George.
On the PC front, there was a lot going on, but mostly on the hardware end, with all the big companies showing off new graphics cards and accessories. Meanwhile, Valve showed off the Steam Machine, a PC console that could revolutionize PC gaming if enough people are willing to fork over $600 for the privilege of not having to build their own rigs. Valve also showed off Necrocracy 3, which looked amazing and was one of the most crowded games on the floor, and a new MMORPG called Gearworld that looks to be Bioware's answer to World Of Warcraft. Other great PC games included Nix, an adventure/RPG title about a transforming imp/darkness fairy who lives in a world of perpetual night, and was an impressive enough game both visually and from a gameplay perspective to steal the Best PC Game of the show award away from Necrocracy 3. PC gaming arguably had an off year, but Necrocracy 3 could change that if it proves to be as big a hit as Half-Life 3, and could also help push the Steam Machine to a lot of console gamers who don't want to wait for next year.
Last year, we wrote that we expected to see Mario, Sonic, and Link all present at this year's show, and we were right: Mario and Sonic were headlining highly anticipated handheld games, while Link appeared in a teaser for a reboot of his original game. While we fully expect Mario and Sonic to make their proper next-gen console debuts soon, and almost certainly at E3 2015, we've also learned to expect the unexpected. Nintendo, leaning heavily into a franchise that seemed to be on the decline. Apple, going full-bore on accessories and enhancements in a strategy mimicking Sega's old tactics. And Google, saying “we don't care about console sales” after dominating the 2013 holiday season. E3 2014 brought plenty of the old familiar, but also brought plenty of surprises, and the next 12 months should be interesting indeed as we wait to see which of these hugely anticipated games will live up to their massive hype.
-from IGN's summary of E3 2014
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Game Critics Awards E3 2014
Best Of Show: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Original Game: The World Below
Best Console Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best PC Game: Nix
Best Handheld Game: Sonic The Hedgehog 7
Best Peripheral/Hardware: The Steam Machine
Best Action Game: Chance
Best Action/Adventure Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Role Playing Game: Phantasy Star Online 3
Best Racing Game: Formula One Inject
Best Sports Game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015
Best Fighting Game: Marvel vs. Capcom 4
Best Shooter: Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Best Party Game: Just Dance Revolution
Best Online Multiplayer: Phantasy Star Online 3
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Spring 2014 (Part 5) - Bungie Jumping
The Covenant: Spartan
The Covenant: Spartan is a third person shooter title developed by Bungie and published by Google. The game takes place alongside The Covenant 5, and between the events of the third and fourth games. It focuses on a Spartan soldier codenamed Experiment 41, after a calamity befalls a secret underground lab that Earth's military has been using to birth Spartan troops. While the game has many similarities to The Covenant 5, and uses an identical engine (which accounts for the quick turnaround time from that game), it also features a robust skill tree system, and features a more enclosed, horror-type setting, with more mystery and close-quarters combat. It also doesn't feature the epic scale of that game, with half the game taking place in a lab and half the game taking place in a besieged city. The enemies are a mix of experimental creatures, brainwashed Spartans, and hostile human troops, with 41 forced to fight his way past an Earth military seeking to kill him to tie up their loose ends. The game features some large creatures as bosses, and like The Covenant 5, does share some elements with the recent Metroid titles. There IS a big exception to this: Spartan is a linear game, whereas The Covenant 5 included some Metroidvania elements. 41 mostly moves from place to place with little backtracking, taking down the enemies put in front of him and occasionally solving a puzzle or two to clear his path. 41's skill tree is mostly divided into three segments: Attack, Survivability, and Speed, with the average player able to gain about half of the game's skills over the course of a single playthrough. Attack increases 41's accuracy and rate of fire, Survivability increases his acuity with armor and his health bar, while Speed allows him to run faster and dodge better. Players will need to determine their preferred playstyle if they wish to make the best use out of these skills. The game's plot starts with 41 awakening in a shattered tank, in a lab that's been destroyed by mutated creatures. He learns that many of his fellow Spartans are dead, and that many scientists and military personnel have also died. As he slowly pieces together what happened, he begins to come across his fellow Experiments who have survived, all of whom are hostile to him and must be put down. 41 begins to learn that he was not born in this lab, but was recruited from the Space Marine ranks, and that his real name is Henry Stone. He and his fellow Marines were tricked into volunteering for the Spartan procedure, as humanity grew desperate in its fight against the Covenant and feared being overrun with Master Chief having disappeared. He escapes into a hellscape of fire and destruction, with aliens attacking the surrounding area, but when he tries to help the humans fight them, they turn their weapons on him, forcing him to flee. He realizes that the government is attempting to cover up the Spartan Project, and that he will be a pariah unless he finds a way to leave Earth. He eventually comes across three of his fellow Experiments who managed to escape, and learns their names and life stories as well. One of them, Experiment 57, Benjamin Chung, sacrifices his life after the four are overrun by a large group of robotic soldiers. Experiment 28, Matt Reed, and Experiment 34, Jessica Lillian, join 41 in his escape from the city. They come to a spaceport, but 28 is gunned down in their attempt to get off world, and 34 and 41 are forced to flee into a large hive of mutated creatures, another failed military experiment gone wrong. They are pursued by the lead scientist of the project, along with Experiment 1, who isn't brainwashed but is willingly helping the government cover up the failed experiment. He hopes to become the new Master Chief, and he pursues 34 and 41 into the hive. 34 and 41 work together to defeat a large alien creature, but 34 is badly wounded, and 41 is cornered by 1. The two of them have an intense fight, and the lead scientist is killed, while Experiment 1 is seemingly killed. 41 manages to carry 34 to safety, and the two find another ship that they use to flee into space together, putting themselves into hypersleep and drifting off into parts unknown. The end of the game reveals that Experiment 1 has survived, and indeed, he takes on the rank of Master Chief, even donning the Chief's iconic armor and becoming a "hero" of humanity, ending the game on somewhat of a cliffhanger.
The Covenant: Spartan receives a mostly positive reception from fans, despite its fairly limited scale when compared with The Covenant 5. Reviews average right around the 8/10 range, with critics calling it a good game but saying that it doesn't improve very much upon its predecessor. It achieves strong sales and becomes one of the most successful Nexus games of the first half of 2014, but the criticisms seem to linger a bit, with some fans saying that Bungie is mostly just going through the motions. Indeed, behind the scenes, there have been tensions between Bungie and Google, and those tensions begin to surface almost immediately after the game's release in June 2014...
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After Time Goes Multiplatform, Bungle/Google Split?
Last year at E3 2013, Google revealed a brand new Bungie IP called After Time. An ambitious shooter about a soldier on a dying Earth who must travel to other worlds to battle aliens, the game looked to be the next big thing for both companies, and looked to be a major future Nexus tentpole. However, the game was conspicuously absent from E3 2014, and now it appears we know why. Bungie has recently announced that After Time will not be exclusive to the Google Nexus, but will also be released for the Reality and the Virtua, the company's first game that hasn't been exclusive to a specific platform. This won't effect future Covenant titles (Google owns the Covenant IP after acquiring it from Microsoft), but could spell the beginning of a rift between the two companies. It's also known that another development company will be working on at least one future Covenant title, and that Bungie's work on the series is expected to be dialed back in the future. Google did consider acquiring Bungie before the release of the Nexus, but chose to instead invest in its own development studios, and this may have been the start of the tensions between Google and Bungie, which also persisted throughout the development of The Covenant: Spartan. While there's not enough animosity between the companies to prevent the release of After Time on the Nexus, we may see Bungie's role in the Covenant series continue to diminish, and may in fact completely disappear after the franchise's next game.
-from an article on Gamespot, posted on June 30, 2014
The Covenant: Spartan is a third person shooter title developed by Bungie and published by Google. The game takes place alongside The Covenant 5, and between the events of the third and fourth games. It focuses on a Spartan soldier codenamed Experiment 41, after a calamity befalls a secret underground lab that Earth's military has been using to birth Spartan troops. While the game has many similarities to The Covenant 5, and uses an identical engine (which accounts for the quick turnaround time from that game), it also features a robust skill tree system, and features a more enclosed, horror-type setting, with more mystery and close-quarters combat. It also doesn't feature the epic scale of that game, with half the game taking place in a lab and half the game taking place in a besieged city. The enemies are a mix of experimental creatures, brainwashed Spartans, and hostile human troops, with 41 forced to fight his way past an Earth military seeking to kill him to tie up their loose ends. The game features some large creatures as bosses, and like The Covenant 5, does share some elements with the recent Metroid titles. There IS a big exception to this: Spartan is a linear game, whereas The Covenant 5 included some Metroidvania elements. 41 mostly moves from place to place with little backtracking, taking down the enemies put in front of him and occasionally solving a puzzle or two to clear his path. 41's skill tree is mostly divided into three segments: Attack, Survivability, and Speed, with the average player able to gain about half of the game's skills over the course of a single playthrough. Attack increases 41's accuracy and rate of fire, Survivability increases his acuity with armor and his health bar, while Speed allows him to run faster and dodge better. Players will need to determine their preferred playstyle if they wish to make the best use out of these skills. The game's plot starts with 41 awakening in a shattered tank, in a lab that's been destroyed by mutated creatures. He learns that many of his fellow Spartans are dead, and that many scientists and military personnel have also died. As he slowly pieces together what happened, he begins to come across his fellow Experiments who have survived, all of whom are hostile to him and must be put down. 41 begins to learn that he was not born in this lab, but was recruited from the Space Marine ranks, and that his real name is Henry Stone. He and his fellow Marines were tricked into volunteering for the Spartan procedure, as humanity grew desperate in its fight against the Covenant and feared being overrun with Master Chief having disappeared. He escapes into a hellscape of fire and destruction, with aliens attacking the surrounding area, but when he tries to help the humans fight them, they turn their weapons on him, forcing him to flee. He realizes that the government is attempting to cover up the Spartan Project, and that he will be a pariah unless he finds a way to leave Earth. He eventually comes across three of his fellow Experiments who managed to escape, and learns their names and life stories as well. One of them, Experiment 57, Benjamin Chung, sacrifices his life after the four are overrun by a large group of robotic soldiers. Experiment 28, Matt Reed, and Experiment 34, Jessica Lillian, join 41 in his escape from the city. They come to a spaceport, but 28 is gunned down in their attempt to get off world, and 34 and 41 are forced to flee into a large hive of mutated creatures, another failed military experiment gone wrong. They are pursued by the lead scientist of the project, along with Experiment 1, who isn't brainwashed but is willingly helping the government cover up the failed experiment. He hopes to become the new Master Chief, and he pursues 34 and 41 into the hive. 34 and 41 work together to defeat a large alien creature, but 34 is badly wounded, and 41 is cornered by 1. The two of them have an intense fight, and the lead scientist is killed, while Experiment 1 is seemingly killed. 41 manages to carry 34 to safety, and the two find another ship that they use to flee into space together, putting themselves into hypersleep and drifting off into parts unknown. The end of the game reveals that Experiment 1 has survived, and indeed, he takes on the rank of Master Chief, even donning the Chief's iconic armor and becoming a "hero" of humanity, ending the game on somewhat of a cliffhanger.
The Covenant: Spartan receives a mostly positive reception from fans, despite its fairly limited scale when compared with The Covenant 5. Reviews average right around the 8/10 range, with critics calling it a good game but saying that it doesn't improve very much upon its predecessor. It achieves strong sales and becomes one of the most successful Nexus games of the first half of 2014, but the criticisms seem to linger a bit, with some fans saying that Bungie is mostly just going through the motions. Indeed, behind the scenes, there have been tensions between Bungie and Google, and those tensions begin to surface almost immediately after the game's release in June 2014...
-
After Time Goes Multiplatform, Bungle/Google Split?
Last year at E3 2013, Google revealed a brand new Bungie IP called After Time. An ambitious shooter about a soldier on a dying Earth who must travel to other worlds to battle aliens, the game looked to be the next big thing for both companies, and looked to be a major future Nexus tentpole. However, the game was conspicuously absent from E3 2014, and now it appears we know why. Bungie has recently announced that After Time will not be exclusive to the Google Nexus, but will also be released for the Reality and the Virtua, the company's first game that hasn't been exclusive to a specific platform. This won't effect future Covenant titles (Google owns the Covenant IP after acquiring it from Microsoft), but could spell the beginning of a rift between the two companies. It's also known that another development company will be working on at least one future Covenant title, and that Bungie's work on the series is expected to be dialed back in the future. Google did consider acquiring Bungie before the release of the Nexus, but chose to instead invest in its own development studios, and this may have been the start of the tensions between Google and Bungie, which also persisted throughout the development of The Covenant: Spartan. While there's not enough animosity between the companies to prevent the release of After Time on the Nexus, we may see Bungie's role in the Covenant series continue to diminish, and may in fact completely disappear after the franchise's next game.
-from an article on Gamespot, posted on June 30, 2014
Bungie's breaking away again. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Damn I’m surprised Bungie lasted this long with covenant/Halo. They got tired of Halo after a while IOTL
Sports In 2014
The 2013-14 NBA season saw more young superstars establish themselves in an increasingly dynamic and flashy league, taking new teams to the top while also keeping perennial powerhouses in contention. In the East, it was the Central Division that saw an all out war between four dynamic young teams: the Bulls, the Cavs, the Pacers, and the Pistons. The Pistons were the defending champions, but their grinding, defensive style had difficulty keeping up with shooting stars like Stephen Curry for the Bulls and of course, LeBron James for the Cavs. LeBron, traded to his hometown team in an offseason blockbuster, took the Cavs from the outhouse to the penthouse despite a lack of supporting talent, and guided his team to third place in the conference, while the Pistons struggled to finish fourth. The Miami Heat made it back to the playoffs thanks to their rookies, Joel Embiid and Michael Carter-Williams, though Embiid struggled with injuries in his first year in the league.
In the West, the Supersonics, lead by Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul, were dominant yet again, finishing with a league best 65-17 record, but the Lakers, led by young Anthony Davis and veteran Dwyane Wade, were nipping at their heels, and finished 62-20. Eight games back of them were the Utah Jazz, with a mix of young playmakers and cagey veterans. Players like the mercurial Darko Milicic had found a home on the team, along with Vince Carter, looking to make another championship push. The Denver Nuggets fell quite a bit thanks to trading away LeBron, but their nucleus of young stars acquired in the trade, along with rookie sensation Willard Jones, were good enough to earn them the last spot in the conference.
Playoffs:
First Round:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Chicago Bulls over (8) Miami Heat, 4 to 0
Joel Embiid had battled injuries all season, and that was no different here, though he did manage to limp onto the court long enough to make two of these four games competitive. It wasn't enough to stop the Steph Curry-led Bulls, who had a much easier time of things in their opening series than they did last year, and easily advanced to the second round.
(5) Indiana Pacers over (4) Detroit Pistons, 4 to 3
The defending champs got knocked out in the first round by a tough Pacers team, in a rematch from last year that went much differently. Klay Thompson and Gordon Hayward shot the lights out for the Pacers, and their tough defense did the rest, matching Anthony and the Pistons shot for shot in a grinding series that went down to a tough game 7. Carmelo was tired all year, and just didn't have the killer instinct that he had the previous season. Game 7 went down to the wire but in the end, the Pacers won, 96 to 93.
(7) Charlotte Hornets over (2) Philadelphia 76ers, 4 to 2
Russell Westbrook took his Hornets team to a major upset over the Dwight Howard-led 76ers. It wasn't easy, but the Hornets, despite losing some of their edge from the previous season, got things done. They were aided by an untimely injury that limited Howard's effectiveness, and the Hornets being able to guard Philly's James Harden fairly effectively throughout. This year was seen as a lost opportunity for the Sixers, though with Howard and Harden still playing well together, the window was still open.
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (6) Brooklyn Nets, 4 to 1
The Brooklyn Nets got strong play out of their rookie forward Anthony Bennett, though they didn't lean on him too heavily (he was only the fifth pick after all). Greg Oden had trouble staying healthy, but remained a defensive force, with Ian Mahinmi able to give him rest when he needed it. However, despite their strong big men, they were no match for LeBron, the best player in the league and the MVP for dragging an otherwise hapless Cavs team to a three seed. The Cavs would win fairly easily, with LeBron dominating.
Western Conference:
(1) Seattle Supersonics over (8) Denver Nuggets, 4 to 2
The Denver Nuggets didn't make this one easy: this series was a major coming out party for Willard Jones, and Luol Deng was there to help when needed. However, Lob City was too much for Denver, and despite the Nuggets winning a close Game 3 and 4 at home, Seattle was able to close it out easily in Games 5 and 6.
(5) Golden State Warriors over (4) Dallas Mavericks, 4 to 3
This was a ferocious series in which Kobe Bryant played out of his mind and the Mavs' veteran stars played equally hard. Six out of the seven games were close, settled by less than eight points each, but in the end, the Warriors were able to pull out the victory and advance.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (7) Phoenix Suns, 4 to 0
The Suns got absolutely clobbered in this series, losing all four of their games by 13 points or more. They're definitely a team on the rise, but the star-stacked Lakers had momentum and wouldn't be denied, sweeping this series easily with Anthony Davis easily the star of the show. The Lakers were headed to the next round, where they'd be facing an exhausted team.
(3) Utah Jazz over (6) Houston Rockets, 4 to 3
This series was played hard on both ends of the court. The Rockets had regressed a bit, thanks to tension between Kawhi Leonard and Damien Lillard, and while they'd gotten their differences settled enough to make a playoff push, it wasn't quite enough to lead them past the hungry and cagey Jazz, with Milicic proving especially heroic in this series, averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds and keeping Leonard off the rim. The Jazz would advance to face the Lakers, but had a tough series ahead...
Second Round:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Chicago Bulls over (5) Indiana Pacers, 4 to 2
The Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers played a high scoring, hot shooting series, with Curry and Thompson trading threes most of the way. The series was exciting on the scoreboard, but it actually wasn't all that close: four of the six games were decided by 15 points or more, with the Bulls taking two and the Pacers taking two. Game 2 was the closest, with the Bulls winning 118 to 116 to tie things up after a Game 1 Pacers rout, while Game 6 was also fairly exciting, ending in a 134-127 Bulls win. Chicago would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where Curry hoped to win his first conference title.
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (7) Charlotte Hornets, 4 to 0
LeBron proved to be the alpha male in this battle between him and Westbrook, despite Westbrook's stronger supporting cast. This was all LeBron, as the superstar made his teammates look like All Stars, and though the two games played in Charlotte were fairly close, the Hornets were never really in this series.
Western Conference:
(1) Seattle Supersonics over (5) Golden State Warriors, 4 to 3
Another tough series for Seattle, which struggled to contain Kobe and his young supporting cast, in a series that went down to the wire. Game 7 saw Golden State pull out to a 44-30 lead before Seattle finally stopped the bleeding, and eventually went ahead 81-74 in the third before Golden State came back. The final score in Game 7 was 116-114, giving Seattle the win and its second straight showdown with the Lakers in the conference finals.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (3) Utah Jazz, 4 to 0
The exhausted Jazz were no match for the young and fresh Lakers, who utterly demolished them for their second straight year of sweeps in their first two playoff series. Davis and Wade couldn't be stopped, and Milicic found himself once again losing his temper, punching at Anthony Davis in Game 3 to earn a suspension for Game 4. The Lakers would once again advance to the Conference Finals, and this time, they hoped to take down Seattle.
Conference Finals:
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (1) Chicago Bulls, 4 to 3
The highly anticipated showdown between LeBron James and Stephen Curry didn't disappoint, with the Cavs coming out on top in a fiercely competitive series. Cleveland stole Game 1, with a 106-97 victory, before Stephen Curry made a game winning shot in overtime to guide the Bulls past the Cavs in Game 2. Curry's heroics continued into Game 3, where he led his team to a 106-104 victory. The Cavs roared back in Game 4, winning 140 to 115, but Chicago took a close Game 5, putting LeBron's back against the wall. The Cavs were excellent in Game 6, taking a 127 to 111 win, but Game 7 was much closer, going back and forth between these two tough teams, until finally LeBron made some crucial plays down the stretch to give Cleveland a five point win. LeBron was going back to the Finals, but would the Cavs be able to beat a tough team out of the West?
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (1) Seattle Supersonics, 4 to 2
Despite their superior record, the Sonics were simply outmatched by an outstanding Laker team that had a lot more rest and the best player on the court in Anthony Davis. Davis and Durant went back and forth, but it was Davis who outmuscled Durant and made the key plays when he needed to. The Lakers rushed out to a 3 to 1 lead in the series, and though Seattle was able to hold home court and win Game 5, they were crushed in Game 6 by the Lakers and Davis' astounding 47 points, 22 rebounds, and 9 blocks. The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals, where arguably the league's two best players would face off.
2014 NBA Finals:
Los Angeles Lakers over Cleveland Cavaliers, 4 to 2
In the end, the Lakers were just the better team. LeBron played hard and was arguably better than Davis on the floor, but the Lakers' supporting cast, including Dwyane Wade, was too much for one man to overcome. The Cavs played the Lakers a bit closer than Seattle, with Game 6 being close most of the way, but in the end, Davis made the plays he needed to, and the Lakers would win the series and yet another NBA championship. It was Dwyane Wade who would be named Finals MVP for his heroics, but Anthony Davis would likely be back to take another shot at the award next year.
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The 2014 NBA offseason was an eventful one, led by the news that the St. Louis Arches would be moving to Las Vegas in 2016 to become the Aces and also to become the first professional sports team to move to Sin City. Without the OTL Tim Donaghy scandal, the NBA was significantly less averse to gambling ITTL, making the Vegas move a no-brainer after the Arches couldn't gin up enough fan support despite a dynamic rookie in Giannis Antentokoumpo. There would also be significant player movement in free agency, headlined by Russell Westbrook heading to Cleveland in free agency to join LeBron James (generating some criticism after his loss to LeBron's Cavs in the 2014 playoffs, but this was mostly shrugged off). Deron Williams would leave the Knicks, who struggled through a tough 2013-2014 campaign, and would hook up with Kobe Bryant in Golden State. The 2014 draft would be headlined by high school phenoms, including D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor, and an intriguing guard prospect from the Los Angeles area, Arvis Williams, who at one point had been personally mentored by Kobe Bryant, and whose AAU scoring records still stand and have become the stuff of legends, while his high school team finished runner-up in the California state high school basketball tournament in 2013 and 2014. Emmanual Mudiay was also a strong sleeper pick to go first, while high school prospect Karl-Anthony Towns decided to attend college for at least one season, heading to Duke to play for Coach K. Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott were the most intriguing college players in the draft, though it would be the high school kids who would ultimately be the headliners. The Milwaukee Bucks had the first pick, and after agonizing between Russell and Williams, decided to take Russell to anchor them at the point guard position. The Los Angeles Clippers, who'd been rising recently and had the #10 pick, traded quite a lot to move up to #2, banking their future on the phenom Williams, and leaving Okafor to fall to the Orlando Magic at #3. Marcus Smart went fourth to the Sacramento Kings, and Mudiay would go fifth.
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2014's World Cup took place in Brazil, and Brazil was the favorite to take back their title after France blocked them from achieving a three-peat in 2010. France itself was another of the big favorites to win, but had regressed a bit from their 2010 success, while other top contenders such as Italy, Germany, and Argentina were also chomping at the bit for a taste of World Cup glory. The group stage saw some long-time contenders like Sweden get knocked off early, while Chile and Costa Rica also went down after some tough upsets. Meanwhile, Australia once again continued its 2010 fortune, sliding into the knockout round after a pair of gutsy performances, and Crotia and the Ivory Coast also rallied to make the knockout stage.
When the bracket was revealed, many were upset to see Brazil and France paired up in the first round, arguably the top two teams in the world, who met in 2010's semifinal and were expected to meet in the 2014 finals. However, France played their way into the matchup with their performance in the group stage, and at the very least, fans would get to see these two titans clash early on.
Australia scored a major upset, knocking out the United States in a defensive battle that saw the Aussies score late in the second half and the Americans unable to respond. Colombia scored a minor upset over Italy in an exciting 3 to 2 victory, while Spain proved too much for Croatia and Uruguay knocked off Portugal in a 4-0 rout. Japan beat Mexico in a tough clash that went to penalty kicks, while Argentina prevented England from making a second straight final, beating them 3 to 1. Germany knocked off the Cinderella Ivory Coast squad, but it wasn't easy, and ended up going deep into overtime before Germany was able to score the winning goal. Meanwhile, in the clash between France and Brazil, Brazil knocked off France fairly handily, beating them 3 to 1 and sending the Brazilians to the quarterfinals, where they'd almost surely knock off Australia.
And indeed, that's exactly what happened: Brazil smashed Australia, 6 goals to 0, knocking Australia down from the high it had been on since upsetting the United States in the previous round. Colombia got an exciting upset over Spain, beating them early on in the overtime period with an impressive goal, while Japan scored an upset of their own by knocking off Uruguay in a surprising 2-0 finish. Finally, in a knock down, drag out battle between Argentina and Germany that ended up going to penalty kicks, Argentina won in the clutch, scoring on all five of their penalty kicks as Germany only made four.
And so, the semi-finals were set: Brazil vs. Colombia, and Japan vs. Argentina. The expectation was of a familiar Brazil/Argentina final, and Brazil held up their end of the bargain, fending off a feisty Colombia squad 3-1 in a high energy semifinal match. However, Argentina had a much tougher time putting away Japan, and after a back and forth first half of play, the score stood at 1-0, with Argentina ahead but Japan still in striking range. A Japan goal early in the second half tied the score, and then it was back and forth, with Argentina getting plenty of shots on goal but Eiji Kawashima swatting them all down. Finally, the game went into stoppage time, and then sudden death... and about ten minutes in, Japan scored to win the game 2-1. The Japanese TV announcer's call of “YAAAAAATTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” after the game winning goal was scored became a massive meme, and Japan would be headed to the World Cup final...
...where they would lose to Brazil, 3 to 0. The home team dominated their outmatched opponents, and midnight struck for Cinderella. Still, Japan's run was one to remember, while Brazil won their third World Cup in four years and proved that they were still the #1 football team in the world, at least until 2018. Meanwhile, Argentina beat Colombia 2-1 in a highly entertaining third place game.
In the West, the Supersonics, lead by Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul, were dominant yet again, finishing with a league best 65-17 record, but the Lakers, led by young Anthony Davis and veteran Dwyane Wade, were nipping at their heels, and finished 62-20. Eight games back of them were the Utah Jazz, with a mix of young playmakers and cagey veterans. Players like the mercurial Darko Milicic had found a home on the team, along with Vince Carter, looking to make another championship push. The Denver Nuggets fell quite a bit thanks to trading away LeBron, but their nucleus of young stars acquired in the trade, along with rookie sensation Willard Jones, were good enough to earn them the last spot in the conference.
Playoffs:
First Round:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Chicago Bulls over (8) Miami Heat, 4 to 0
Joel Embiid had battled injuries all season, and that was no different here, though he did manage to limp onto the court long enough to make two of these four games competitive. It wasn't enough to stop the Steph Curry-led Bulls, who had a much easier time of things in their opening series than they did last year, and easily advanced to the second round.
(5) Indiana Pacers over (4) Detroit Pistons, 4 to 3
The defending champs got knocked out in the first round by a tough Pacers team, in a rematch from last year that went much differently. Klay Thompson and Gordon Hayward shot the lights out for the Pacers, and their tough defense did the rest, matching Anthony and the Pistons shot for shot in a grinding series that went down to a tough game 7. Carmelo was tired all year, and just didn't have the killer instinct that he had the previous season. Game 7 went down to the wire but in the end, the Pacers won, 96 to 93.
(7) Charlotte Hornets over (2) Philadelphia 76ers, 4 to 2
Russell Westbrook took his Hornets team to a major upset over the Dwight Howard-led 76ers. It wasn't easy, but the Hornets, despite losing some of their edge from the previous season, got things done. They were aided by an untimely injury that limited Howard's effectiveness, and the Hornets being able to guard Philly's James Harden fairly effectively throughout. This year was seen as a lost opportunity for the Sixers, though with Howard and Harden still playing well together, the window was still open.
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (6) Brooklyn Nets, 4 to 1
The Brooklyn Nets got strong play out of their rookie forward Anthony Bennett, though they didn't lean on him too heavily (he was only the fifth pick after all). Greg Oden had trouble staying healthy, but remained a defensive force, with Ian Mahinmi able to give him rest when he needed it. However, despite their strong big men, they were no match for LeBron, the best player in the league and the MVP for dragging an otherwise hapless Cavs team to a three seed. The Cavs would win fairly easily, with LeBron dominating.
Western Conference:
(1) Seattle Supersonics over (8) Denver Nuggets, 4 to 2
The Denver Nuggets didn't make this one easy: this series was a major coming out party for Willard Jones, and Luol Deng was there to help when needed. However, Lob City was too much for Denver, and despite the Nuggets winning a close Game 3 and 4 at home, Seattle was able to close it out easily in Games 5 and 6.
(5) Golden State Warriors over (4) Dallas Mavericks, 4 to 3
This was a ferocious series in which Kobe Bryant played out of his mind and the Mavs' veteran stars played equally hard. Six out of the seven games were close, settled by less than eight points each, but in the end, the Warriors were able to pull out the victory and advance.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (7) Phoenix Suns, 4 to 0
The Suns got absolutely clobbered in this series, losing all four of their games by 13 points or more. They're definitely a team on the rise, but the star-stacked Lakers had momentum and wouldn't be denied, sweeping this series easily with Anthony Davis easily the star of the show. The Lakers were headed to the next round, where they'd be facing an exhausted team.
(3) Utah Jazz over (6) Houston Rockets, 4 to 3
This series was played hard on both ends of the court. The Rockets had regressed a bit, thanks to tension between Kawhi Leonard and Damien Lillard, and while they'd gotten their differences settled enough to make a playoff push, it wasn't quite enough to lead them past the hungry and cagey Jazz, with Milicic proving especially heroic in this series, averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds and keeping Leonard off the rim. The Jazz would advance to face the Lakers, but had a tough series ahead...
Second Round:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Chicago Bulls over (5) Indiana Pacers, 4 to 2
The Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers played a high scoring, hot shooting series, with Curry and Thompson trading threes most of the way. The series was exciting on the scoreboard, but it actually wasn't all that close: four of the six games were decided by 15 points or more, with the Bulls taking two and the Pacers taking two. Game 2 was the closest, with the Bulls winning 118 to 116 to tie things up after a Game 1 Pacers rout, while Game 6 was also fairly exciting, ending in a 134-127 Bulls win. Chicago would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where Curry hoped to win his first conference title.
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (7) Charlotte Hornets, 4 to 0
LeBron proved to be the alpha male in this battle between him and Westbrook, despite Westbrook's stronger supporting cast. This was all LeBron, as the superstar made his teammates look like All Stars, and though the two games played in Charlotte were fairly close, the Hornets were never really in this series.
Western Conference:
(1) Seattle Supersonics over (5) Golden State Warriors, 4 to 3
Another tough series for Seattle, which struggled to contain Kobe and his young supporting cast, in a series that went down to the wire. Game 7 saw Golden State pull out to a 44-30 lead before Seattle finally stopped the bleeding, and eventually went ahead 81-74 in the third before Golden State came back. The final score in Game 7 was 116-114, giving Seattle the win and its second straight showdown with the Lakers in the conference finals.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (3) Utah Jazz, 4 to 0
The exhausted Jazz were no match for the young and fresh Lakers, who utterly demolished them for their second straight year of sweeps in their first two playoff series. Davis and Wade couldn't be stopped, and Milicic found himself once again losing his temper, punching at Anthony Davis in Game 3 to earn a suspension for Game 4. The Lakers would once again advance to the Conference Finals, and this time, they hoped to take down Seattle.
Conference Finals:
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers over (1) Chicago Bulls, 4 to 3
The highly anticipated showdown between LeBron James and Stephen Curry didn't disappoint, with the Cavs coming out on top in a fiercely competitive series. Cleveland stole Game 1, with a 106-97 victory, before Stephen Curry made a game winning shot in overtime to guide the Bulls past the Cavs in Game 2. Curry's heroics continued into Game 3, where he led his team to a 106-104 victory. The Cavs roared back in Game 4, winning 140 to 115, but Chicago took a close Game 5, putting LeBron's back against the wall. The Cavs were excellent in Game 6, taking a 127 to 111 win, but Game 7 was much closer, going back and forth between these two tough teams, until finally LeBron made some crucial plays down the stretch to give Cleveland a five point win. LeBron was going back to the Finals, but would the Cavs be able to beat a tough team out of the West?
(2) Los Angeles Lakers over (1) Seattle Supersonics, 4 to 2
Despite their superior record, the Sonics were simply outmatched by an outstanding Laker team that had a lot more rest and the best player on the court in Anthony Davis. Davis and Durant went back and forth, but it was Davis who outmuscled Durant and made the key plays when he needed to. The Lakers rushed out to a 3 to 1 lead in the series, and though Seattle was able to hold home court and win Game 5, they were crushed in Game 6 by the Lakers and Davis' astounding 47 points, 22 rebounds, and 9 blocks. The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals, where arguably the league's two best players would face off.
2014 NBA Finals:
Los Angeles Lakers over Cleveland Cavaliers, 4 to 2
In the end, the Lakers were just the better team. LeBron played hard and was arguably better than Davis on the floor, but the Lakers' supporting cast, including Dwyane Wade, was too much for one man to overcome. The Cavs played the Lakers a bit closer than Seattle, with Game 6 being close most of the way, but in the end, Davis made the plays he needed to, and the Lakers would win the series and yet another NBA championship. It was Dwyane Wade who would be named Finals MVP for his heroics, but Anthony Davis would likely be back to take another shot at the award next year.
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The 2014 NBA offseason was an eventful one, led by the news that the St. Louis Arches would be moving to Las Vegas in 2016 to become the Aces and also to become the first professional sports team to move to Sin City. Without the OTL Tim Donaghy scandal, the NBA was significantly less averse to gambling ITTL, making the Vegas move a no-brainer after the Arches couldn't gin up enough fan support despite a dynamic rookie in Giannis Antentokoumpo. There would also be significant player movement in free agency, headlined by Russell Westbrook heading to Cleveland in free agency to join LeBron James (generating some criticism after his loss to LeBron's Cavs in the 2014 playoffs, but this was mostly shrugged off). Deron Williams would leave the Knicks, who struggled through a tough 2013-2014 campaign, and would hook up with Kobe Bryant in Golden State. The 2014 draft would be headlined by high school phenoms, including D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor, and an intriguing guard prospect from the Los Angeles area, Arvis Williams, who at one point had been personally mentored by Kobe Bryant, and whose AAU scoring records still stand and have become the stuff of legends, while his high school team finished runner-up in the California state high school basketball tournament in 2013 and 2014. Emmanual Mudiay was also a strong sleeper pick to go first, while high school prospect Karl-Anthony Towns decided to attend college for at least one season, heading to Duke to play for Coach K. Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott were the most intriguing college players in the draft, though it would be the high school kids who would ultimately be the headliners. The Milwaukee Bucks had the first pick, and after agonizing between Russell and Williams, decided to take Russell to anchor them at the point guard position. The Los Angeles Clippers, who'd been rising recently and had the #10 pick, traded quite a lot to move up to #2, banking their future on the phenom Williams, and leaving Okafor to fall to the Orlando Magic at #3. Marcus Smart went fourth to the Sacramento Kings, and Mudiay would go fifth.
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2014's World Cup took place in Brazil, and Brazil was the favorite to take back their title after France blocked them from achieving a three-peat in 2010. France itself was another of the big favorites to win, but had regressed a bit from their 2010 success, while other top contenders such as Italy, Germany, and Argentina were also chomping at the bit for a taste of World Cup glory. The group stage saw some long-time contenders like Sweden get knocked off early, while Chile and Costa Rica also went down after some tough upsets. Meanwhile, Australia once again continued its 2010 fortune, sliding into the knockout round after a pair of gutsy performances, and Crotia and the Ivory Coast also rallied to make the knockout stage.
When the bracket was revealed, many were upset to see Brazil and France paired up in the first round, arguably the top two teams in the world, who met in 2010's semifinal and were expected to meet in the 2014 finals. However, France played their way into the matchup with their performance in the group stage, and at the very least, fans would get to see these two titans clash early on.
Australia scored a major upset, knocking out the United States in a defensive battle that saw the Aussies score late in the second half and the Americans unable to respond. Colombia scored a minor upset over Italy in an exciting 3 to 2 victory, while Spain proved too much for Croatia and Uruguay knocked off Portugal in a 4-0 rout. Japan beat Mexico in a tough clash that went to penalty kicks, while Argentina prevented England from making a second straight final, beating them 3 to 1. Germany knocked off the Cinderella Ivory Coast squad, but it wasn't easy, and ended up going deep into overtime before Germany was able to score the winning goal. Meanwhile, in the clash between France and Brazil, Brazil knocked off France fairly handily, beating them 3 to 1 and sending the Brazilians to the quarterfinals, where they'd almost surely knock off Australia.
And indeed, that's exactly what happened: Brazil smashed Australia, 6 goals to 0, knocking Australia down from the high it had been on since upsetting the United States in the previous round. Colombia got an exciting upset over Spain, beating them early on in the overtime period with an impressive goal, while Japan scored an upset of their own by knocking off Uruguay in a surprising 2-0 finish. Finally, in a knock down, drag out battle between Argentina and Germany that ended up going to penalty kicks, Argentina won in the clutch, scoring on all five of their penalty kicks as Germany only made four.
And so, the semi-finals were set: Brazil vs. Colombia, and Japan vs. Argentina. The expectation was of a familiar Brazil/Argentina final, and Brazil held up their end of the bargain, fending off a feisty Colombia squad 3-1 in a high energy semifinal match. However, Argentina had a much tougher time putting away Japan, and after a back and forth first half of play, the score stood at 1-0, with Argentina ahead but Japan still in striking range. A Japan goal early in the second half tied the score, and then it was back and forth, with Argentina getting plenty of shots on goal but Eiji Kawashima swatting them all down. Finally, the game went into stoppage time, and then sudden death... and about ten minutes in, Japan scored to win the game 2-1. The Japanese TV announcer's call of “YAAAAAATTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” after the game winning goal was scored became a massive meme, and Japan would be headed to the World Cup final...
...where they would lose to Brazil, 3 to 0. The home team dominated their outmatched opponents, and midnight struck for Cinderella. Still, Japan's run was one to remember, while Brazil won their third World Cup in four years and proved that they were still the #1 football team in the world, at least until 2018. Meanwhile, Argentina beat Colombia 2-1 in a highly entertaining third place game.