joe randel's art dump

E3 might not be over just yet, but most of the big things have been announced through the main three conferences from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.  Did you get what you’re wishing for?  I think most people where waiting to see what Nintendo is bringing to the table with the Wii U.  I have to say that I’m interested, but still need more info on date, price and games.

They announced New Super Mario Bros. U which is very cool and sure to be lots of fun, but my favorite game announcement was Pikmin 3.  I loved Pikmin 2 on GameCube so I’m super jazzed about this new one.  They showed lots of third party titles like Aliens, Batman Arkham City, Assassins Creed III, Mass Effect 3, Ninja Gaiden 3 and such.  You know, the games the other two are getting but the Wii misses out on, so it’s nice to see them get ported over.  What I am nervous about is that the Wii U gets some sort of watered down or “special” version of those titles so you still don’t feel like you’re getting what others are.  It’ll also come with NetFlix, Hulu, Amazon and YouTube and it’ll also have this new Miiverse that will serve as some sort of meeting place/social network for your Mii and the games you’ll play.

That is all very cool, but what impressed me the most was seeing two games that won’t be on any Nintendo system.  Watch Dogs and The Last of Us.

I’ve never played games like this before.  I’m not even sure you could call them games at this point, more like interactive movies with some decision making in between story points.  Anyway, they look fantastic and they really make me think that I should invest in a PS3.  Uncharted is another series that I would want to dive into.  Don’t get me wrong.  I still love my Nintendo and they games they provide, but this type of “game” is starting to speak to me more and more.

Nintendo is also doing a mini 3DS conference tomorrow.  I wonder what they’ll show there.