{"id":17644,"date":"2015-06-21T20:51:26","date_gmt":"2015-06-21T10:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=17644"},"modified":"2015-06-21T21:04:40","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T11:04:40","slug":"e3-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=17644","title":{"rendered":"E3 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ff7e3remake\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Conferences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

E3 2015 will go down as one for the ages thanks to Sony’s all-conquering stage show in which they dropped not one but three bombshell announcements that made them the\u00a0talk of the town. \u00a0The triple whammy of\u00a0Final Fantasy VII Remake<\/em>,\u00a0The Last Guardian<\/em> and\u00a0Shenmue 3<\/em> was the sort of stuff that video game fans have dreamed of and talked about for years. \u00a0All three games have been anticipated, rumoured or briefly shown in the past. \u00a0To have all three officially announced in such rapid succession was the sort of hype and spectacle that not only helps ensure that Sony will absolutely dominate this generation of consoles (Nintendo is practically bowing out already) but its the wonderful sort of theatre that ensures E3’s relevance on the video game calendar.<\/p>\n

After the initial thrill of the Sony conference abated, questions remain about all three major titles. \u00a0The Last Guardian<\/em> has been in development for over six years and although its exciting to see it resurface, we are\u00a0still<\/em> without a release date and in the plain light of day, there wasn’t actually a whole lot shown in the gameplay demonstration that showed much progression from the last time the game was shown. \u00a0Although the animation looks superb and fans rightly hold creator Famito Ueda to a high standard, graphically it looks like a PS3 game running on a PS4 and we have seen the same single environment devoid of any other NPCs since 2009. \u00a0Is the game genuinely going to see a release in the near future and does it stand a hope of living up the hype after such a prolonged development cycle?<\/p>\n

Shenmue 3<\/em> was probably the most unexpected announcement of the show. \u00a0The series has been dormant for over fifteen years (not counting a lousy mobile game spin off). \u00a0Creator Yu Suzuki was brought on stage to announce a Kickstarter campaign which probably broke the Kickstarter website before eventually setting a new record – $2 million dollars funded in 12 hours. \u00a0Now we wait. \u00a0No one really knows what a low budget\u00a0Shenmue<\/em> title will play like and its been over a decade since Yu Suzuki had a high profile game release. \u00a0It’s an exciting proposition but I’m not sure what we’ll end up with.<\/p>\n

As for Final Fantasy VII Remake<\/em>, I count myself amongst the millions of fans who craved a modern day remake. \u00a0I don’t think the original Final Fantasy VII<\/em> is necessarily my favourite iteration of the series (it would be in the mix with VI, IX and XII) but there’s plenty of reason to get excited about a big budget remake. \u00a0There are countless scenes in FFVII<\/em> that would look spectacular with contemporary graphics and its intriguing to think about how Square would tackle some of the quirkier content in the game like the infamous cross dressing scenes.<\/p>\n

But Square Enix has been a company riddled with mismanagement in recent years and like Team Ico before them, they have taken\u00a0years<\/em> to output games, often with disappointing results. \u00a0Final Fantasy VII Remake<\/em> is a thrilling proposition on paper but who the hell knows when we will see this thing? \u00a0I wouldn’t be surprised if its three years away, probably longer. \u00a0With\u00a0Final Fantasy XV<\/em> and\u00a0Kingdom Hearts 3<\/em> also in the works (and both games that have been in development for an eternity), it could be a long time before\u00a0Final Fantasy VII Remake<\/em>\u00a0sees the light of day.<\/p>\n

A couple of other notes from the Sony conference. \u00a0Firstly, they have secured timed exclusivity for the downloadable content to some of the biggest third party games in the market including\u00a0Destiny<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>. \u00a0More noteworthy I thought was the complete and utter indifference of the enthusiast crowd to the announcement of\u00a0Call of Duty Black Ops III<\/em>. \u00a0After so many years of being the kingpin of blockbuster game titles, I feel like the video game zeitgeist is finally leaving the military franchise behind. \u00a0Surely\u00a0Assassin’s Creed<\/em> can’t be far behind.<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, I had expected this to be the E3 where VR headsets had their big coming out party but as far as Sony was concerned, Project Morpheus took a back seat to everything else. \u00a0Will the VR headset be a factor in the video game landscape in 2016? \u00a0I thought for sure it would be but after that E3 show, maybe I was wrong.<\/p>\n

As for Microsoft, they had a respectable E3 show where they predictably plugged their biggest upcoming titles of 2015 – Halo 5: Guardians<\/em> and Rise of the Tomb Raider<\/em>. \u00a0Both games look solid, if not a little uninspired. \u00a0Microsoft’s indy portfolio on Xbox One looks pretty impressive with\u00a0Tacoma<\/em>,\u00a0Cuphead, Beyond Eyes<\/em> and\u00a0Ashen<\/em> all offering the type of creativity that their triple A games seem bereft of having.<\/p>\n

Lastly, poor old Nintendo. \u00a0The once mighty Japanese developer had a middling E3 presence as they used their show to unveil spin-off games for the Zelda, Metroid<\/em> and Animal Crossing<\/em> franchises. \u00a0The lack of any genuine new instalments to these series struck a nerve with fans and in a typically over the top reaction from die hard fans, a petition requesting the cancellation of the\u00a0Metroid<\/em>\u00a0Prime Federation Force<\/em> received over 17,000 signatures. \u00a0The lack of news games was reflective of a company in a period of transition with most of the significant development efforts presumably being focussed on next year’s Zelda game as well as their new Project NX console which will be unveiled in 2016. \u00a0With the 3DS approaching the end of its life cycle and the Wii U failing to find an audience, who knows what direction Nintendo will take in the future. \u00a0A lone bright spark from E3 was\u00a0Super Mario Maker<\/em> which looks better every time we see it.<\/p>\n

In general, 2015 was a year that saw the industry steep itself in nostalgia. \u00a0Some of the most hotly anticipated games of the future are the latest instalments of\u00a0Doom, Rock Band, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII<\/em> and\u00a0Need For Speed<\/em>. \u00a0What’s old is new again.<\/p>\n

The Best Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n