Stu_the_great: Hello, and welcome to another (hopefully) splendiferous instalment of Admintendo! Admintendo VI, no less. Yes! We're being all classy and using Roman numerals now. Right here is your hairless host: Stu_the_great, returning after being graciously covered by our very own beemoh last time around.
It's a beautiful, sunny day here in West Yorkshire, so I'm Skyping from the Jones' household's back garden. (Virtually) With me this time are... Well, I'll let them do the typing. Introduce yourselves, fellow admin. plus guests!
Balladeer: Hello there! I'm Balladeer, and I'm just waiting for the long line of
Dark Souls-related comments from our special guests...
The_Jaster: Alrighty folks! I'm Jaster & I'm using motion controls!
Praise the sun!
Drunkalilly: I'm the artist formally known as Buskalilly and I'm severely hungover, sat on my sofa in my dressing gown with all the windows open. I do not praise the sun.
Stu_the_great: Splendid! Welcome all. And without further ado, we shall begin. This here be a special Admintendo as, once again, E3 has just been and gone. Nintendo had quite a lot up its sleeve as it happens, without the worry of a live presentation hampering things. What did we all make of the show? What were your personal highlight/lowlights? Starting with Drunkalilly: over to you!
Drunkalilly: Maybe not in terms of the announcements but in terms of the overall experience, this was the best E3 I can remember. From the brilliant opening presentation, through the constant coverage, it felt much more like something for everyone rather than exclusively for journalists in LA.
Having a constant Skype open with the GNamer lads helped as well. I didn't sleep for more or less the whole week but it was excellent and helped really get me excited for games like Splatoon and Captain Toad which I might not have appreciated had it just been Reggie on a stage introducing a pre-rendered trailer.
My highlight, not counting the Zelda announcement, which is a bit too far away, was Xenoblade Chronicles X. The original is the only JRPG I've managed to play all the way through and this looks like more of that amazing gameplay, with the music and the graphics. The monster looked so big! I can't wait to have it in my hands.
If I was going to call anything a lowlight, it would be the fact that everything's so far away. It's all 2015, Starfox wasn't even properly shown and there's no way that Zelda isn't getting delayed twelve times.
The_Jaster: First off pre-e3 I felt Nintendo had to knock it out the park & to me they’ve done that and more, loved the new format compared to the stale stage presentation.
People say the digital event video was too short but I thought they judged it just right especially with them doing the daily Treehouse streams & I have to say that was my highlight seeing those new games getting played & folk just have a blast with them.
Speaking of the games loved the look of Splatoon which was a total surprise, Devil’s Third looked insanely fun in multiplayer & I'm so happy Captain Toad has his own game.
Balladeer: Don't have huge amounts to add really. Nintendo won E3, Treehouse great, nah nah nah.
My game of show was the same as Drunka's - XCX, as I shall now refer to it, looked magnificent. Oddly, though, my favourite bits of the show weren't the games, but things like the Reggiwata fight, Clay-Reggie flaming a hater, and of course talking to most of youse during the conferences to foster more of a sense of community. (Where were you, Stu?
)
I did think that the NDE was seemed a bit short, but I'll agree with Jas that it seemed much more reasonable after a few days of Treehouse-ness. The 3DS got slightly short shrift, but since I'm not too keen about STEAM that may be just me (and
Fantasy Life looks better than I'd hoped). Still not sure why
Pokémon ORAS was announced before the event, though.
The_Jaster: I totally forgot about Fantasy Life!
Balladeer: Did you like the look of it, Jas? I know you're quite sceptical about your JRPGs.
The_Jaster: Yep I really did as I’ve been following it for a long time so glad we finally get a hold of it this year.
Balladeer: I'd forgotten about it until Treehouse if I'm honest, but that really brought it onto my radar. Same with
Splatoon and
Captain Toad, actually: wouldn't have been too interested, but I've seen the gameplay and I'm much keener on both now!
I'd love to actually see another presentation in the same format next year, despite wanting a press conference beforehand: they've convinced me otherwise! The only things I'd change next year would be one less day of Treehouse, because if I'm honest I was sick of
Splatoon by the end; cut out Reggie's tedious "morality and friendship" speech in the middle of the NDE, that could have come out of a Hollywood film; and LESS BLOODY AUDREY DRAKE.
That's me done! What did you think, Stu, having watched it this morning?
Stu_the_great: The highlight for me was the actual presentation itself. The Robot Chicken(?) skits were genuinely amusing. I particularly liked the moaning fanboy in the audience, asking for
Mother 3 and
StarFox. Can't imagine any other company poking fun at itself in the same way, and it was a pleasing thing to behold.
Balladeer: I do have to admit to being gutted about the lack of Mother announcement after that. Nintendo trolling its fans.
Stu_the_great: I'll let them off for actually teasing
StarFox there. Who knows what may happen in the future!
On the games front,
Splatoon was my personal highlight, even if it's not a game I'm actually interested in myself (up to now). It's great that we finally have a brand new IP that nobody expected, and (I guess) it's good that Nintendo is acknowledging the multiplayer online shooter in its own way.
Drunkalilly: It's funny you say they're acknowledging the online shooter as it feels like they've done that very Nintendo thing of stepping into an existing genre and just utterly reinventing it. I love that.
Balladeer: One in the eye from those who say that Nintendo don't release any new IPs, too! They'll still say that, of course.
Stu_the_great: Acknowledging the online shooter, yes, and as you say, in its own way. I hope the typical cutesiness doesn't turn certain players off. Though I can't see it being a system-shifter (though I'd love it to prove me wrong!).
Lowlights for me were seeing the Pokémon remakes in action. I personally think the new 3D outings are hideous, and it just won't feel like a lovingly-made retread of the original games. And I'm also slightly worried about
Yoshi's Woolly World, now that we've seen it in action. It seems to be going down the re-skinned Yoshi's Island route, rather than the
Kirby's Epic Yarn route which reinvented the Kirby gameplay in rather drastic ways. It's too early to be too worried, though.
I'm done! Does anyone have anything to add before we move on?
Balladeer: Just that you're wrong on all your lowlights.
Stu_the_great: I'm still hugely looking forward to
Yoshi. I just hope that it doesn't play it too safe...
Alright, then! Moving on?
Of course, Nintendo wasn't the only big gun at E3 this year. We have the Other Formats to consider. Did anyone check out the other presentations, and what were your thoughts? Jaster?
The_Jaster: I watched the Sony one live & I really wish that I hadn't as it was beyond boring, its only saving grace was
Bloodborne (look Balla I'm not talking about
Dark Souls).
Balladeer: Not quite.
The_Jaster: Now before Masofdas jumps onto that on the forum later, yes they did have other games but how they presented them wasn't great & as good as
No Man's Sky looks I have trouble believing it will play like it does in the video that was shown.
Stu_the_great: Did anyone else catch the other presentations? I confess that I'm still busily burying my head in the sand when it comes to the other consoles. I really couldn't care less about them.
Balladeer: Nintendo fanboy's view, then - a couple of nice games, but both of the other two had some funny moments. MS went on and on about exclusive DLC, and Sony, curiously, chose to focus on TV for a bit. TV! At E3! Because that's worked so well in the past, hasn't it?
MS had a better show out of the two for me.
Sunset Overdrive looks much more fun than your average shootybang game, and
Ori and the Blind Forest looked gorgeous. Ghibli-esque. Sony… just had their indies, really, and while the Internet went mad about
No Man's Sky, I'm sceptical about procedural design, especially since not getting on with
Steamworld Dig.
Ubisoft had nothing for me, and EA SPORTS GUNS GUNS SPORTS GUNS didn't either. As I said above, as far as winners exist, Nintendo won E3 for me, and wiped the floor with the others in the process. Drunka?
Drunkalilly: I'd definitely agree that Nintendo won, but I'm not quite the one-console-colin that Balla is. In fact, this was the first E3 ever where I watched anything other than the Nintendo conference. In fact, I watched everything; Ubi, EA, Microsoft and Sony.
The_Jaster: I did catch the MS show even though it was good it didn't change my mind about the system, there's just something I don't like about MS.
Drunkalilly: I'd had it in my head for a while that I'll be picking up one of the other two big black boxes of power. I thought it would be the PS4 but now I'm thinking it will be the XBox.
All the games I want on the PS4 are multiformat games, whereas XBox has Sunset, Scalebound and the Halo Legacy collection.
The_Jaster: What about
Bloodborne? You're right about MS having more exclusives than Sony though.
Drunkalilly: Well, as I've said a couple of times, I'm not in any rush to pick up another From game. It's going to take me the rest of my natural life to play through the two
Dark Souls games.
The Ubisoft one was mostly forgettable, although the Rainbow Six game looks really, really good. EA I barely paid attention to, but just knowing Bioware are working on a gorgeous-looking new Mass Effect is enough for me.
Balladeer: Did you watch the others, Stu?
Stu_the_great: I didn't! As I said a little while back, I've got little interest in what the other players are up to at the moment, despite the fact that my brother has a PS4 in the house.
Balladeer: Fair enough! Showing a rare example of good taste in games.
Last topic, then?
Drunkalilly: Make it so!
Stu_the_great: Moving on!
That's the E3 gubbins covered! Thank you, gentlemen. It's been three whole months since the last Admintendo, so what's been occupying everyone's gaming time during this period, and what's been keeping you amused on the forum? Take the floor, Balladeer.
Balladeer: There's been the small matter of
Mario Kart 8, although I haven't been able to go online due to my filthy connection. Then I've polished off
Kirby 3D, which was lightweight but fun, and
Child of Light, which would have been my favourite Wii U game before MK8 zoomed in and stole its thunder. Utterly charming.
And of course there's been
Picross e4. I always feel a bit guilty about liking the series, because they put so little effort into each new game, but I just can't. Stop. Plaaaaaaaaaayiiiiiiiiing.
And I started off
Pikmin 3 last night, so we'll see whether I can get over my dislike of the series and the genre.
As for the forum, I've loved all the E3 talk, although certain people will persist in talking about non-Nintendo formats. Sigh. Sad to come to the end of my Music Weeks, but Drunka's done a fine job. And I enjoyed recording The Podcast That Shall Never Be, too, even if it shall never be and if I copped some abuse from the host…
The_Jaster: Surprise surprise most of my gaming time has been with
Dark Souls II.
Balladeer:
The_Jaster: Lol not done yet.
Even though I'm loving it as it’s the same core experience, I'm not a fan of the new world (Drangliec), most areas don’t feel very
Dark Souls-y & a lot of the bosses have been disappointing. 50+ hours in & I've put it to the side to play other things but most of that is old stuff like
MH3U,
Most Wanted U &
Tappingo on 3DS.
Forum-wise? Getting back into reading the music threads & plan to post some in the non-Nintendo thread & like seeing people's thoughts on games they didn't finish.
Balladeer: Getting back into the music threads just as I stop doing it? Ouch…
Drunkalilly: I'd imagine that's what got him into them.
The_Jaster: I've been reading/listening here & there just not posting a lot
Anyhow my mind has gone blank on other forum shenanigans so I'm done.
Drunkalilly: Nintendo-wise, it’s primarily been
Mario Kart 8, the same as everyone else. I'm working my way through quite a list of games I need to play, so
Dark Souls is still sat on my shelf mocking me. I recently completed the Mass Effect trilogy for the first time which was an unforgettable experience. It took me a while to feel like playing anything else. I've just fired up
Little King's Story, so that'll be next.
Stu_the_great: Good luck with
Little King's Story, Drunka! It's a lovely little game, but it's completely brutal.
Drunkalilly: Forum-wise, I'm really enjoying my new job as music man, and I always enjoy writing up reviews and talking about the games I finish. And as me and Balla both mentioned earlier, having the forum and the guys on Twitter and Skype made E3 so much better.
With Mario Kart now upon us, and the likes of
Splatoon coming up, I hope we'll do more GNamer multiplayer sessions soon as well.
Balladeer:
(weeps for his connection)Stu, what have you enjoyed on the forum over the last three months?
Oh wait.
Stu_the_great: A-
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. But seriously, you're right. Anyone will notice that I've not been around much lately, but that extends to the internet in general. Real life seems to have taken over greatly over the last year for me.
Drunkalilly: I had noticed you weren't about so much, so I shaved my head, grew a goatee and gave up on my real life to slip in and take your place
Stu_the_great: So
*that's* what you were up to, you scallywag!
Drunkalilly: I'm not the Stu GNamer deserves, just the one it needed right now.
Stu_the_great: On the gaming front, the longest I've spent on any game since March is
*drumroll* the almighty
Pokémon Yellow Version! I stumbled upon my old Game Boy Colo(u)r a while back and got sucked back into the best Pokémon game during lunch breaks. Some part of me wants to check out
Mario Kart 8, but I think that might have to wait 'til Christmas, sadly.
Balladeer: "The best Pokémon game"? We've had this discussion already, but I'm getting a distinct sense of nostalgia interfering with rationality here!
Stu_the_great: I've come to the conclusion that modern Pokémon games have enough excess baggage to bring down an airliner, but that's a different topic.
The_Jaster: Now who's losing the will to live? (Pokémon? Blech!)
Drunkalilly: Pokémon's better when they're huge and you get to kill them with swords, hey Jas?
The_Jaster: Yep indeed it is & you get to wear said animal on your head afterwards.
Stu_the_great: Eww! Monster Hunter!
Balladeer: Agreed!
The_Jaster: I've said this before I'd quite like an MH x Pokémon game.
Stu_the_great: Can't see animal slaughter making it into the Pokémon universe anytime soon. Unless you count Slowpoketails.
The_Jaster: There's that theory that MH is a result of an apocalypse in the Pokemon universe.
Drunkalilly: It would be fun to travel around with Pokémon hunting the MH monsters
Balladeer: I'd buy that, to be fair!
Stu_the_great: And with that, another titillating edition of Admintendo draws to a close. As always, it's been my very great pleasure to join everyone, and I thank everyone for taking time out of their Sunday to sit here and talk nonsense for well over the allotted time
. I hope everyone enjoys reading as much as I've/we've enjoyed participating. Say your goodbyes, gents!
Balladeer: Pleasure as always. Here's to another three months of… well, not all that many games, to be honest. Bye-bye!
Drunkalilly: Later skaters! This was funsies.
The_Jaster: This was fun to be a part of, I've been using motion controls this entire time.
See ya.
Out-takesDrunkalilly: (Fire away stud)
The_Jaster: (Stu the stud
)
Stu_the_great: (Thanks! I didn't know you cared.
)
Drunkalilly: (That was deliberate, not just pulling a buska)
Stu_the_great: (carry on)
The_Jaster: (Oh matron)
The_Jaster: (Carry on.....get it?)
Stu_the_great: (rolls eyes
)
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Sun 22 Jun 2014 - 20:08
