All I ask for as a Final Fantasy fan...

   Dear Tabata-san and the rest of the development team behind Final Fantasy XV, good evening (or good morning, depending on the time of day that this letter reaches you). Congratulations on completing your long journey of creating such a marvelous game! Believe me when I say that there are a lot of us out there that cannot wait to see and experience the world of Eos for ourselves, and take countless hours to explore every single part of it and discover what it is that you made for us!
   Allow me to bother you and take up some of your time with a personal complaint. I myself have been along for the ride with this title since the beginning and the "Versus XIII" days back in 2006. I spent many days and nights imagining what it would be like to finally get my hand on this game. I followed through anxiously with every new bit of information, every live-stream and Active Time Report, even going so far as to take time off work or stay up till early morning hours depending on when those were so that I wouldn't miss them. Of course, I'm no exception, I know of many other fans that have done the same as me.
   Then the announcements of the release dates finally arrived. I don't live a luxurious life (quite the contrary one might say), however I had made arrangements and put a little money to the side every month since I was prepared to go all out for this title. I had purchased a PS3 for when "Versus XIII" was supposed to come out, but when it was re-announced as "XV", I bought a PS4 as well, specifically for that title. However, the few pieces of Collector's Editions you released were not made available to my country, which made me feel quite disheartened. 
   Then, a few months later, you announced that you would be releasing a FFXV-themed PS4 Slim Edition. That was something so beautiful and elegant that it immediately caught my attention, so I went ahead and pre-ordered it online from the UK since you made it available to a few retailers there. However, since it was quite expensive (for me at least), I was forced to sell my original PS4. I thought that, since my pre-order was confirmed, it was alright to do so since I would have a brand new PS4 in my hands anyway. Yesterday however, 6 days before the game's release and after my pre-order had been as aforementioned confirmed, the company that I ordered from suddenly informed me that "they do not ship large packages internationally". So now I am left without a PS4 and without a FFXV game.
   I am a Greek-Australian that happens to live in Greece. Greece is a part of the EU as far as I know, so I should be able to get anything that Germany, Italy, Spain, or any other EU-based country gets. I worked hard, I put money to the side every month, I even had my pre-order confirmed only for it to be cancelled a few days before launch. I cannot purchase this in my country and I don't know why. I wanted to go the extra mile, not just for the collectibles themselves, but as a token of my appreciation and acknowledgement towards all the hard work you and the development team put in towards creating this game. But I feel rejected by Square Enix. Like my money has absolutely no value to you.
   I am not asking for anything unreasonable here, I just want what's fair. A fair chance to be able to express my own love for a franchise that helped me get through some very difficult times in my life. Why must you shut me out just because of where I live? 
   Please start paying more attention to the rest of the world, as there is a whole lot of Final Fantasy love out there.
   Arigato gozaimasu.

My 8 reasons for being a Final Fantasy enthusiast...

   I'm pretty sure that by this point, I've made more than one article already with "Final Fantasy" in the headline. In fact, it might be the most common thing you'll see in this blog, which was supposed to be about "human relationships" (in fact, if you look somewhere to the right, that description remains). As if I was trying to fool myself from thinking I could hold back from writing about possibly one of the few things that can get still get me excited and full of anticipation, like an 8-year-old boy thinking about Christmas Day. For anyone out there reading this blog, I thought it might be high time I explained why I personally have this sort of "affection" when it comes to this series. What made me not be able to get enough of it?? Well, there's quite a few reasons actually. Here are most of them...
   1.Final Fantasy has been with me ever since I was a child. Ever since i can remember myself, I enjoyed video games. In fact, it was thanks to a boring flight to Sydney and my sister's Game Boy that I got into them in the first place. Mario was my first adventure, but his worlds just seemed void and empty. It wasn't until FF VII came along that I was truly able to understand what sort of experiences video games have to offer.

   2.Final Fantasy helped me create some true friends. I've already mentioned this story in a previous post, but thanks to FF VII I was able to create some true friends and thanks to FF VIII I was able to solidify those friendships. Eventually we all did move on with our lives, but I know that even if I were to meet those people again today, we would eventually get to talking about "that new FF game".
   3.Thanks to Final Fantasy, I've been able to travel to new worlds and see incredible locations. The artists behind most FF titles draw inspiration from real world locations and they use them to create their own places. From steampunk towns to exotic beaches to futuristic cities in which everything is controlled by AI to jungles to castles, deserts, ice caverns, ancient ruins, post-apocalyptic areas, even dreamworlds. I don't think there's been a certain type of location that hasn't been covered in these games. Heck, one of them even had a portable school!!

   4.I was introduced to some of the most intriguing (artificial) people. And I got to learn their life stories. People in the real world might carry a lot of baggage, but they don't open up easy. And these guys n'gals weren't all sugar and rainbows either. Some of them were test subjects, others had their memories tampered with, some were already dead and others wanted to become death itself. There were a few that seemed so cheerful on the outside but only because they were trying to run away from their past. Others were brave and courageous, willing to throw it all away if it meant everyone else can have a future. Then there were some that didn't even know what they were, but stumbled along and found the answers as they went. This series has the best character development ever. And no matter what they look like on the outside, eventually you come to appreciate these characters for their actions. Huge life lesson right there!

   5. The plot twists! Oh, Lord, those plot twists!! Most of these experiences (I refrain from using the word "game" when it comes to Final Fantasy because I feel like that limits its capacity) have twists and turns like a good novel. The unexpected almost always happens. People you would least expect end up stabbing you in the back and enemies become allies. Secrets well-hidden emerge out of nowhere and you're left there, scratching your head, trying to deal with everything while even the entire world could be going down the drain. This is one of my favorite elements. The surprise. The head-scratcher. The "WTF" moment. That is what defines a good title from a masterpiece. And pretty much all FF titles have this element.
   6.Through Final Fantasy I was able to comprehend opera music and understand its value. There are truly wonderful orchestral pieces within all FF titles, and thanks to that there's even been a worldwide tour of concerts dubbed "A New World". Pieces that form a strong emotional bond with players, such as "Aerith's Theme" or "JENOVA" from FF VII and more from other entries, are adored even to this day.
   7.The fun of it. This factor isn't as significant of course as the others, but most Final Fantasy titles are addictive. They provide the motive necessary in order for players to push themselves and level up so they can find out and experience what happens further ahead in the story (although nowadays thanks to the internet, that's not really much of a factor anymore), but there's also so much more going on besides the story alone that gives people incentive to not put down their controllers. Mini-games, for one. Whether it's fishing, snowboarding, Chocobo (these big, ostrich-looking creatures) racing, hunting, betting, scavenging, playing cards, playing pinball, playing blitzball (underwater soccer -sorta-), catching frogs, cooking... there are heaps of new things to keep players occupied even after the story's done (or even during, why not?). I remember I had spent over 120 hours on FF XII and near 150 on (the original) FF X. I have no idea how many hours I spent on IX and VII, but it was a lot more than that! The point being, these things are so addictive and fun, they can end up taking a lot of people's time!
   8.Replayability. Some (most) of these stories are so inventive, that it's interesting to go back and replay them once in a while. It's like seeing an old friend whom you haven't seen in some time. You get to reminisce about the past and how simpler things were back then. 
   So you can imagine, when you combine all these things together, how exciting it is to have a new addition to the series! And you can realize why most Final Fantasy fans, such as myself, won't shut up about XV. We wanna feel that exhiliration again! That intrigue. And meet new and interesting people who wanna tell us their stories! And visit new places! Sure, the real world's good. But it's nice to escape into a fantasy world full of life-changing events once in a while...

"Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" Review

   (This review does not incorporate the multiplayer elements of the game, as the reviewer is not a Playstation Plus subscriber and is not really interested in MMO Shooter games.)
  "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" is a game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive. I realize this review is about a title that was released several months back, but I was lucky enough to win "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" at a local gaming event that was being held in my area and so I played and finished it within a week's time. All I can say is, even though I myself am not a big fan of the Hollywood-style Action-Adventure title, this game was a great experience! Specifically:
  The story threw me into action immediately as Nathan Drake and his brother Sam are driving on a boat during a heavy storm and while being chased and shot at by several military-like crafts. Eventually they see an island which Sam points out to Nathan. They try to get to it until eventually, not having clear vision, they crash into one of the pursuing boats. The scene cuts to Nathan underwater, searching for treasure. Eventually and after some transitions and cutscenes, the player learns that Nathan had thought his older brother Sam dead in Cuba but he had survived but was imprissoned, and now some drug lord helped him get out. In return, he wants Sam to bring him the treasure of pirate Henry Avery, one of the greatest treasures of all time. And that's why Sam turns to Nathan.
  It's a great story full of emotional cutscenes throughout, to the point of feeling like you're watching a movie at a cinema or on TV. This could just as easily have been a great Hollywood production, it's THAT good! The actors are great as well, especially the chemistry between Nathan (acted by Nolan North) and Sam (Troy Baker) is incredible. Serious at times, full of sarcasm and irony at others, they never feel awkward or off point with one another. The scenario has some great twists as you reach the end and this is a great final chapter for all those who have stuck with this franchise since the first title (unlike me!).
  The graphics are also yet another point on which Naughty Dog nailed it with this game! Whether you're looking at character expressions, lip-syncing, or the magnificent views of Madagascar or Libertalia, there is nothing that doesn't look incredible in this game. These are the kind of enhanced graphics that developers need to look at when they think "next-gen".

  Gameplay-wise, this may just be another shooter title, however there are more than plenty sequences that demand a player be on-his-toes and even more that demand quick thinking. And what's great about them is that they make the player FEEL like he's part of the action, like this is almost happening to him and not Nathan Drake; that's the level of involvement this game delivers to the player. Those moments are what really upped the gameplay experience.
  In the music department, it's not really anything special, however there are a few tracks that set the tone when you're entering a new area that's great to gaze upon, or when you're going through some action sequence. And the music plays its part quite well here. Nothing too extraordinary, just right.
  There's also the backstory that's really interesting in this game as well. There's the mainstory that goes on between Nate, Sam, Rafe, etc, but there's also the story of what they're researching: Avery's treasure. You discover as you're going along that there's a lot behind this treasure and how it got where it is, and figuring it all out is also very enticing. Yet another area in which this game succeeds.
  All in all, I had a fantastic week with this game and I would strongly recommend it to all PS4 holders, no matter what type of games they like. It's a fantastic adventure that closes the story of Nathan Drake on the highest note possible and a piece of art that all game developers should look up to when they begin developing their own titles. Truly magnificent!
  

"I Am Setsuna" ανασκόπηση

   Το "I Am Setsuna" ("Είμαι η Setsuna") είναι ένα νέο Ιαπωνικό παιχνίδι ρόλων (JRPG), με δημιουργούς το νεοσύστατο στούντιο Tokyo RPG και εκδότρια την Square Enix. Το παιχνίδι είναι αφιερωμένο σε όλους τους οπαδούς των παλιών στυλ JRPG μιας και συνδυάζει πολλά στοιχεία από εκείνα τα παιχνίδια, όπως το σύστημα μάχης ενεργού χρόνου (ΑΤΒ) και τους σιωπηλούς πρωταγωνιστές.
   Η ιστορία παίρνει μέρος σε ένα χιονισμένο χωριό και ο παίκτης παίρνει τον έλεγχο ενός πληρωμένου δολοφόνου ονόματι Endir. Του δίνεται μία αποστολή να ταξιδέψει στο χωριό Nive και να εκτελέσει την "θυσία". Ο Endir, όντας ο σιωπηλός πρωταγωνιστής που είναι, δέχεται την αποστολή χωρίς πολλές ερωτήσεις. Ωστόσο, μόλις φτάνει στο χωριό Nive και γνωρίζει τον στόχο του, τη Setsuna ( και την προστάτιδά της, Aeterna, της οποίας η παρουσία αποδεικνύεται καθοριστική για την εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης), ανακαλύπτει πως ούτως ή άλλως θα δώσει τη ζωή της για να διατηρηθεί η ειρήνη του πλανήτη, εξ ου και ο τίτλος "θυσία". Οπότε αποφασίζει να την ακολουθήσει στο ταξίδι που θα κάνει μέχρι τα "Χαμένα Εδάφη" ("Lost Lands") όπου θα θυσιαστεί, για να φροντίσει να ολοκληρώσει την αποστολή του. Στο δρόμο, γνωρίζουν περισσότερους χαρακτήρες, ορισμένοι από τους οποίους θα ταξιδέψουν μαζί τους. Υπάρχει ποικιλία στους ρόλους (μέχρι το τέλος του παιχνιδιού η ομάδα θα αποτελείται από 7 χαρακτήρες), ωστόσο οι περισσότεροι είναι μονοδιάστατοι. Η υπόθεση έχει μερικές επιπλοκές, ειδικά προς το τέλος, όχι όμως τίποτα που δεν θα το περίμενε κανείς.
   Το σύστημα μάχης είναι παραδοσιακό ΑΤΒ, ωστόσο προσφέρει τη δική του αίσθηση ποικιλίας. Ο παίκτης μπορεί να εξοπλίσει τους χαρακτήρες του (3 στην ομάδα, χωρίς εναλλαγές κατά τη διάρκεια της μάχης) με ορισμένα talisman (φυλαχτά). και πάνω σε αυτά τα talisman μπορούν να τοποθετηθούν ορισμένοι λίθοι με όνομα spiritnite. Υπάρχουν 2 ειδών spiritnite: command και support. Τα command spiritnite δίνουν στους χαρακτήρες τη δυνατότητα να χρησιμοποιήσουν ορισμένες τεχνικές ("techs") κατά τη διάρκεια της μάχης (μαγεία, skills, κ.ά.). Τα support spiritnite δίνουν υποστηρικτικές ικανότητες στους χαρακτήρες, π.χ. ανεβάζουν τους πόντους ζωής (ΗΡ), ανεβάζουν την άμυνα ή την επίθεση, προστατεύουν εναντίον επιθέσεις ενός στοιχείου (φωτιά) ή στις αλλαγές του status. Ανάλογα με το ποιο spiritnite χρησιμοποιούν 2 ή 3 χαρακτήρες (και αν αυτοί οι χαρακτήρες βρίσκονται στην ενεργή ομάδα μάχης), ο παίκτης μπορεί να εξαπολύσει ορισμένες συνδυασμένες επιθέσεις. Ωστόσο, για να μπορέσει να τις χρησιμοποιήσει, ο παίκτης θα πρέπει να περιμένει να γεμίσουν οι μπάρες ΑΤΒ και των δύο (ή τριών) χαρακτήρων. Μόλις οι παίκτες αρχίσουν να συνηθίζουν το σύστημα μάχης, μπορούν να αρχίσουν να το εκμεταλλεύονται, κάνοντας τις μάχες πολύ εύκολες από πολύ νωρίς. Κι έτσι έρχεται το πρόβλημα της επαναληπτικότητας, κάτι από το οποίο υπέφεραν πολλά παλιά JRPG. Ωστόσο οι μάχες με τα boss είναι έντονα προκλητικές και πολύ διασκεδαστικές.
   Η μουσική είναι απίθανη και ταιριάζει απόλυτα με το στυλ του παιχνιδιού! Κατά τη διάρκεια όλου του παιχνιδιού ακούγεται ένας απλός ήχος πιάνου, ωστόσο η απλότητά του και ορισμένες φορές η γαλήνη του είναι μια διαρκής υπενθύμιση για το τι υπόθεση έχει αυτό το παιχνίδι: την ιστορία μιας θυσίας. Τα γραφικά σε καμία περίπτωση δεν είναι άξια θαυμασμού και υπάρχει και το θέμα με το διαρκές χιόνι. Υπάρχει λευκό σχεδόν παντού εκτός από τον περιστασιακό πύργο, με αποτέλεσμα να καταντά κουραστικό.
   Εν κατακλείδι, αυτό το παιχνίδι είχε ενδιαφέρουσα υπόθεση και ωραία μουσική και... αυτά! Μιας και είναι ένα RPG που εκδίδεται από την Square Enix, έχω να σημειώσω πως με βοήθησε να δω πόσο σωστή κίνηση κάνουν που εγκαταλείπουν αυτό το στυλ συστήματος μάχης με το επερχόμενο παιχνίδι της σημαντικότερης σειράς τους, το Final Fantasy XV. Μερικές μάχες ήταν τόσο βαρετές που με έκαναν να θέλω να τις αποφύγω εντελώς αλλά ήξερα πως αν το έκανα αυτό οι χαρακτήρες μου δεν θα ήταν στο απαραίτητο level για να αντιμετωπίσουν το επόμενο boss. Οπότε αναγκάστηκα. Κι έτσι λειτουργούσαν τα παλιά RPG. Καιρός να πάμε παρακάτω...

"I Am Setsuna" review

   "I Am Setsuna" is a new Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG), developed by newly-founded studio Tokyo RPG and published by Square Enix. The game is a love-letter to all fans of old-style RPG's as it combines many elements of those games, most notably the Active Time Battle (ATB) system and the silent characters.
   The story takes place in a snowy village and the player is in charge of a hitman of sorts named Endir. He is given a mission to travel to Nive Village and murder the "sacrifice". Endir, as the silent protagonist that he is, accepts this mission without much question. However, once he arrives at Nive Village and meets with his target, Setsuna (and her guardian, Aeterna, who's presence proves pivotal to the story), he finds out that she is to be killed anyway in order to maintain the world's peace, thus the title "sacrifice". So he decides to tag along on her pilgrimage to the "Lost Lands" where she is to give up her life, so that he can see his mission through. On the way, they meet more characters, some of which decide to join the ride. There is some variety in the main cast (by the time the game is over it consists of 7 characters), however most seem one-dimensional. The story itself has a few twists, especially towards the end, but nothing too unexpected.
   The battle system is traditional ATB, yet offers its own sense of variety. The player can equip his characters (3 per party, not replacable during battle) with certain talismans (think accessories) and on those talismans certain stones known as spiritnites can be placed. There are 2 types of spiritnite: command and support. Command spiritnite gives the characters the ability to use certain "techs" in battle (abilities, magic, etc) and support spiritnite does exactly what the word implies. It can raise max HP, raise attack power, raise defense, protect against a specific element/status condition, etc. Depending on which spiritnite which 2 or 3 characters are wearing (and if those characters are in the active party), the player can execute certain combination attacks. However, in order to use them, the player must wait for both those characters' ATB bars to be full. Once players get the hang of the battle system, they can begin to exploit it, making battles very easy from very early on. Thus comes the problem of repetitiveness, something a lot of old-style RPG's used to suffer from. The boss battles are highly challenging and entertaining though.
   The music is incredible and it suits the style of the game completely! There is a simple piano sound heard throughout the game, but it's simplicity and sometimes serenity is a constant reminder of what this game is all about: a tale of sacrifice. The graphics are really nothing to marvel at and there is the matter of the constant snow. There's white pretty much everywhere apart from the occasional tower exploration. It does get pretty tiresome.
   Overall, this game had an interesting story and nice music and that's about it. Since it's an RPG being published by Square Enix, I have to say it helped me to see how much of a great move they are making abandoning this type of battle system with their flagship series' upcoming title, Final Fantasy XV. Some of the battles were so boring they made me want to just skip them but I knew that if I would, my characters would be underleveled for the next boss fights. So I was kinda forced into it. And that's how old RPG's worked. Time to move on...

World War III... is now!

   (That title might seem a little bit creepy, I know.) Today was a relatively good day. Nothing negative has been posted on the news websites about people dying anywhere in the world, so we don't need to take to Twitter to put up a "#Prayfor..." status, in order to feel like we're making a contribution and that we're not empty, hollow shells of people (which we totally are, but that's a converstation for a different time). But, hang on, what am I even talking about? I need to re-read that sentence... "Today has been a relatively good day."? Why? Because people aren't killing each other? Have we really become so accustomed to this type of thing happening on a daily basis?
   Something like that is easy to happen once someone takes a look at the current global events: failed coup d'etat in Turkey, truck driver running over people at a parade in Nice during Bastille Day celebrations, constant shootings in the U.S., people out in the streets rioting in Greece, Venezuela and Brazil, terrorist attacks in Paris, Belgium, Germany, Sydney, financial humiliation for people in Europe and Latin America, Syrian refugee crisis, ISIL attacks in the middle-east, people starving to death or dying from diseases in central Africa, constant war in the Gaza and Egypt, financial problems in Brazil due to the Olympic Games, and that's just the icing on the cake. I remembered these WITHOUT looking at any news websites. They've been written into my memory.
   One might take a look at the world and say "what is wrong with us..?" in a sigh of exhaustion. Well, the first thing to remember is that this is a "dog eat dog" world. Those with more power will inevitably attempt to use that power in order to dominate those that stand beneath them, whether it's financially, politically or even religiously (though that last one stands to one's own beliefs really). And this comes from a primal instinct that is within all living creatures as they fight to dominate one another and prove who is leader of the pack. For a prime example, you need not look much further than a group of male, heterosexual friends accompanying a nice young girl on a night out. The weaker ones may sit quietly and not speak much as the rest of the group tries to dominate the situation so as to show themselves off as the "pack leader" to the potential mate. And that's pretty much how the world works. Ever heard of the phrase "dogs of war"?
   Another thing to keep in mind is that, the world has never exactly been entirely "out of war". Maybe a long, long time ago, but not anytime recently. The only thing that changes is the opponents and/or the intensity of the wars themselves. There will always be war, no matter the era. However humanity itself probably knows when they cross a certain line (see Hiroshima/Nagasaki) so that they can stop themselves before it's too late for the planet.
   In our day and age, however, wars are fought a little bit differently and with different opponents than they used to. It's not exactly nations that are at war against each other (that would actually make things a lot simpler!), but religions and social poistions. The war against religious extremists is delicate because a) you don't want to offend anybody by telling them "Hey! My God's better than yours!" (when none of them even exist but again, that's another story) and b) you don't even know where they're gonna hit you from. We're talking about people that have been trained (brainwashed) from a very young age to sacrifice their life for (what they believe is) a just cause in order to punish the evil that is the rest of the world (in their eyes). And in doing this (they believe that) they will be rewarded in the after-life. It is incredibly hard to even argue with these people, let alone stop them from their "righteous cause". All they're doing is killing themselves to serve someone else's cause. Their deaths are meaningless. But it's easy to see how they would be easily brainwashed after the difficult life they have. They grab on to any single piece of hope that they can so, what they're doing, it's understandable.
   The war between social positions, on the other hand is NOT understandable at all. It's a war fought, not with guns, but with dirty, greedy money. Back in the late 2000's, there used to be a middle class between the rich and those earning average money, but making ends meet. Ever since the financial crisis began, that gap just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger... This is mainly due to the fact that the wealthy are mercilessly taking advantage of the inability of the middle class to make ends meet with what little they earn. The people in charge (politicians, bankers, corporate heads) impose unbelievable taxes to the small and middle classes (rather than taking it from the upper clasees which, surprisingly, are rarely affected), to the point of there not even being a middle class anymore! It's just those struggling to survive and those that don't know what to do with their money! Imagine this for example: you live in a household in which the average monthly income is $1300. Up until that point your expenses would come up to $800, and the rest would be put to the side (which is still too little to survive a whole month, but anyway). Then the government and corporate heads come and put extra taxes on your head, reduce your incomes by $100, so now you have $1200 and have to dish out $1000 of that, which means you're practically living to pay bills. Meanwhile people with properties are just getting richer, personnel is getting cheaper, the market is also getting cheaper because most people don't even have money to shop so that means the upper classes just get more and more money. And that's how the gap widens and how financial warfare is waged. It is without doubt, the most sickening form of modern warfare.
   There's really nothing to do about the global situation. As I've previously stated many times in this blog, this planet is sufferring from a disease called the "human race" and it's just a matter of time to see whether the planet itself develops antibodies to get rid of us (i.e. earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamies, etc) or whether we eventually kill it off along with ourselves. However, for us peace-loving, out-of-the-pack wolves, we can only live our lives like we normally do and just stay away from any news whatsoever. Because, as I said, wars have been going on forever. it's the fact that we're getting constantly bombarded with all these reports about said wars that make us feel "responsible", like we have to "change the world". The world's been like this for centuries. Nothing's ever gonna change. Just live.

E3 2016 Review - The norms, the shocks and everything else

 

   This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (a.k.a. E3) is almost over, so it's time to go back and see what each of the gaming companies brought with them, what new products we have to look forward to and how it all stacks up to last year's phenomenal show. There certainly were a lot of highlights this year that the gaming community will be discussing for a long, long time, that's for sure!
   Starting the show this time around was EA, although not officially part of E3. The California-based developer had chosen this year to occupy the area across the road from where E3 is being held so that they could better showcase their games. Their conference on the other hand was performed at two venues at once; one in L.A. and another in London. EA had a lot of the same and pretty much showed what everyone had anticipated: Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Mass Effect: Andromeda and a couple of new sports titles like Madden '17 and FIFA 17. The highlights of show were three. Firstly the sudden appearance of newly-appointed Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho during the FIFA 17 presentation. Second, the announcement of not one, but 3 new Star Wars projects (an expansion to Battlefront, a new Adventure game with new characters and a mobile game) and the third and final moment was the 64-on-64 Battlefront 1 online match that included stars like Zac Efron, Jamie Foxx, Terry Crews and Snoop Dogg.
   A few hours later, Bethesda attempted to bedazzle audiences with their own line up of games. They opened their conference with the announcement of a new Quake game, and continued with a lot of impressive, yet predictable, announcements, such as the remastering of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, new DLC for Fallout 4/Shelter and Doom, including VR versions for both titles. The news continued with a trailer for Dishonored 2 and the reveal of a brand new game called Prey. That was pretty much it for a rather poor Bethesda showing. However news did poor in afterwards that the company is working on 2 brand new next-gen IP's and a The Elder Scrolls 6, but all of these should be expected at future venues.
   The next day was the big day of the conferences and Microsoft opened with a bang. Having already confirmed the rumors of a XBox One S, a smaller, more compact version (but equally powerful) of the original console, the price makes this machine a lot more attractive: only $299! After that, the games began to come out and MS didn't hold back any punches! It was already known that Gears Of War 4 would be in this year's line up, but the trailer just left audiences craving for more. And thankfully, with an October release date, they won't be left waiting too long. MS showed off a few brand new titles such as Forca Horizon 3, Recore, Scalebound, We Happy Few (which made a great first impression to the audience!), Tekken 7, Dead Rising 4, State Of Decay 2 and Halo Wars 2, and also gave an extra look to some previously shown games like Final Fantasy XV and Battlefield 1. Then they announced some DLC for games like Killer Instinct, The Division and Minecraft, and gave the indies some time to shine (Cuphead especially looked great!). Finally, before closing the show, MS announced that they would be releasing a more powerful version of the XBox One. It is currently titled "Project Scorpio".
   Ubisoft took to the floor next as they celebrated their 30 years since establishment. Their showing was much more impressive than either EA or Bethesda and a lot more entertaining with Aisha Tyler as the host. An expansion to The Division (that was briefly shown during Microsoft's conference) was officially announced. Also a new Tom Clancy's title was shown called Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Then Watch Dogs 2 came out to play and it really shone, captivating audiences with its smart gameplay. Hilariousness ensued when South Park: The Fractured But Whole was finally given more info and a release date! Trey Parker and Matt Stone were present and so was their celebrity-slandering humor. New titles For Honor and Steep were also announced, as were VR projects Eagle Flight and Star Trek VR crew with LeVar Burton on stage to talk about the experience. All-in-all, Ubisoft had yet another great conference this year with promising new IP's, solid sequels to their existing titles like Watch Dogs and South Park and a nice take on VR.
   Finally Sony's conference was to wrap up day two of the E3 pressers. With a live orchestra performing during each of the trailers, this year the Japanese giants had absolutely no hardware to show off, despite rumors going around about a potential "Playstation Neo" (something that Adam Boyes had earlier confirmed is a thing, but would not yet be making an appearance). This conference was dedicated to games and those alone. The first grand announcement was the return of the God of War franchise with its protagonist kratos heading over to the north to tackle the Norse mythology. Next was a small playthrough of the delayed Horizon: Zero Dawn and another trailer for Detroit: Become Human. Then, at last, the release date was given for the long-awaited The Last Guardian, accompanied by a spectacular trailer. Afterwards a brand new Spiderman game was announced published by Activision. And speaking of Activision, the Santa Monica studio announced the remastering of Crash Bandicoot 1 through 3 and also the inclusion of the popular hero in Skylanders. Yet another original IP that was announced was Days Gone, a survival adventure game that strongly resembles The Last Of Us. The shock of the evening however occured when former Metal Gear Solid creator and developer Hideo Kojima appeared to announce his brand new IP (exclusive to Sony) titled Death Stranding. Sony then dedicated some time to their VR-enhanced titles like Batman: Arkham VR, Final Fantasy XV VR and Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing Mission. The show closed with some gameplay footage of Days Gone.
   Nintendo both opened and closed Day 3 with their livecast of their Nintendo Treehouse show, where they only showcased 3 games. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of Wind, Pokemon Sun and Moon and Pokemon Go. Yet the Zelda title was enough to get the whole gaming world talking about it and create endless lines of people wanting to try it out at the show. It proved to be an excellent idea as this didn't steal any of the thunder from any other games and it gave the game the necessary time to shine. After all, this is the biggest game in the history of Nintendo!
   All in all, a great E3 with some nice surprises like the return of Hideo Kojima, the God Of War and The Legend of Zelda franchises, some nice sequels to IP's like Battlefield, Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Dishonored, Gears of War, Dead Rising and new ideas like Detroit: Become Human, Days Gone, We Happy Few and a great first look at exciting VR prospects like working in the Enterprise with Star Trek VR or piloting your own X-Wing in Star War: Battlefront X-Wing Mission.
   However, especially for Sony, this year wasn't as impactful as last year, where the announcements of long awaited titles that had either gone missing for years (to the point of being considered vaporware) or weren't ever expected by even the most optimistic of gamers like The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Shenmue 3, Persona 5 and others sent fans on a frenzy. Or even for Microsoft, with their impressive hololens that transformed Minecraft into legoland. Or even for Nintendo who held an amazing event last year with Mario Maker before the conference began, making it feel like a big party. This year gave the impression that companies and studios were beginning to run out of ideas.
   If we were to talk about the most controversial game of the expo, that title would undoubtebly have to go to Final Fantasy XV. With not one, but two disappointing showings at both the MS and Sony conferences, Square Enix began to show signs of desparation to reach those less acquainted with the franchise. Having one poor gameplay trailer in a battle versus Titan that didn't show off the battle system's strong points at MS and another at Sony that showed that VR would be included in the game (with music by Afrojack from all people!), the negative comments began pooring in. However, after the show floors opened up, Square Enix showed more videos of the game including an in-game city, a wait mode for the battle system, a new airship and much more that quickly turned those frowns upside down. What damage had been done was quickly restored. However, the question remains: have Square Enix spoiled too much of this game before it even comes out? 
   Once again, the gaming industry gave a strong presence at this year's biggest show. Here's to an even better and more pleasantly shocking next year! Happy gaming!!