The video-game industry is huge, and our quest for entertainment is unending. At E3 this year, there was lot to show, but we can't all be winners all the time. Finishing up our E3 coverage, here's what a few of our staff members were taking out their wallets for.
Cyberpunk 2077
I've been following the development of Cyberpunk 2077 since it was first announced, in May 2012. My excitement escalated after that legendary teaser dropped, in January 2013. Then, it went quiet. With no real news about the project and the developer CD Projekt Red seemingly preoccupied with their other title, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (which is another amazing game, by the way), I began to fear Cyberpunk 2077 was going to join Half-Life 3 in becoming vaporware. My faith in the game was restored when we got a surprise trailer at the end of last year's Xbox E3 Briefing, followed by the jaw-dropping hour-long gameplay demo that was posted on CD Projekt Red's YouTube channel shortly afterwards. At this year's Xbox E3 Briefing, Microsoft cranked the hype to astronomical levels by having Keanu Reeves make a breathtaking appearance to show off a new trailer and give everyone what they wanted: a release date. In the era of social media leaks, it's pretty impressive that CD Projekt Red managed to keep Keanu Reeves's involvement a secret. While it was already announced that Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be an open-world, first-person shooter with RPG elements, some new story details have been revealed, like how the protagonist, V, is looking for a one-of-a-kind implant that holds the key to immortality. I'm excited to customize my character's cyberware, skill set, and play style, as well as explore the vast megalopolis known as Night City. Now with an official April 16, 2020 release date, the only decision left for me is which platform do I want to play the game on, Xbox One or PC (why not both?).
Halo Infinite
I grew up playing Halo, and hearing that the next installment is a launch title for the upcoming Project Scarlett just may be enough to convince me the next Xbox is worth picking up. It has the Chief, a Halo, and a cinematic trailer that shows just enough to get me intrigued. And it's Halo! Halo 3 is the entire reason I went with the Xbox 360 and, now, having seen in-engine footage from Halo Infinite, I got excited again, just like when I was younger. Also, I love seeing new tech, and Project Scarlett being tied into the latest reveal of Halo Infinite to close out Microsoft's press conference made this one of the best parts of E3 2019 in my opinion.
Collection of Mana
There was a lot of great announcements at this year's E3, but if I'm being 100-percent honest, the biggest pop from me was for the Mana Collection. One of the best JRPGs of all time, the Secret of Mana remains one of my fondest video-game memories 20 years after the fact. It's so inventive, so chaotic, such a great story, and the fact it was co-op meant I could play it with my little brother, which was a huge selling point for me. When I saw Nintendo is bringing it back—with multiplayer—and they're combining it with the never-before-released Trials of Mana (or Seiken Densetus 3) and Final Fantasy Adventure, I literally jumped up in my seat. So excited!
GhostWire: Tokyo
Bethesda at E3 is always a treat for me, and this year, GhostWire: Tokyo feels like it was gift-wrapped for gamers. Not a lot of info given, but this half-live, half-CGI teaser trailer is beautifully done. Seems like a normal Tokyo setting, life happening and, then, everyone starts vanishing! Thanos is at it again? Anyway. There is a supernatural evil lurking, and paranormal enemies with mysteries powers walking the streets, some of whom are in suits, of course. Then a hero appears with mysterious powers of their own, ready to take on the urban legend. This action adventure game is from the studios that made The Evil Within series, Tango Gameworks. If the trailer is any indication of a story, and gameplay, we are heading for a great time.
Breath of the Wild Sequel
As Nintendo's E3 Direct drew to a close, we got one last trailer, which showed the familiar art style of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild accompanied with an almost Twilight Princess-like chanting. I thought, "Surprise Zelda DLC?" The fact that it's not and we're getting a full-blown sequel is just awesome and the biggest surprise that came out of E3 for me. Sure, of course Nintendo is working on a new Zelda. It was never a question of if but, rather, when. However, a direct sequel that continues the story isn't typical of Zelda games and I am ecstatic at the idea of possibly running around Hyrule with Link AND Zelda (Also is that Ganondorf?)
It has been more than two years since Breath of the Wild and, to this day, I'll still load up my save file and get lost paragliding around its lovingly crafted and incredibly dense world. It's just so easy to fall back into. The first game came at a time when I was on the verge of phasing out gaming from my life; seldom do I have the time to sink hundreds of hours into something anymore, but it was truly unlike anything I had played before and I spent the better part of a year playing it everywhere. Also, Banjo-Kazooie is in Smash Guys. Maybe one day we'll get Banjo-Threeie—I can dream.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII was my first encounter with the FF series, and nothing hits harder than a big can of nostalgia. I mostly want to play it again to relive the times when life was easy and I was happy, but how can you say no to this classic masterpiece? (Who's cutting onions in here? I'm not crying, you're crying.) Anyway, the original game probably wololo-ed a quarter of the population into weebs, and I can't blame them. Who doesn't enjoy a cool sword-wielding protagonist/antagonist duo? Square Enix mentioned that there was so much content, this game would need two Blu-ray discs. It's an ambitious project, but I hope they pull it off. Here's to you, Square Enix.
No More Heroes 3 and Astral Chain
I didn't think E3 could possibly get better than watching Keanu Reeves, the co-star of Netflix's romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe, introduce the previously discussed Cyberpunk 2077, using his incredible charm to make hundreds of video game players act like seven-year-olds watching their favorite YouTuber in concert. When he shouted back at the crowd, "You're breathtaking," the fact that everything was just a corporate exercise seemed immaterial, because it meant we got more time with our buddy. But somehow, there were higher highs yet to reach.
When the first frame of the first-ever trailer for the previously unannounced No More Heroes 3 came up on my cellular telephone, while I sat enraptured at the jam-packed Nintendo Direct: E3 Edition, I was gobsmacked: "Was this a Goichi Suda game?" The art style looked very familiar, like the kind of thing I would have tried to force my high school girlfriend to play because I was a bad boyfriend. And then… someone put on a robot suit, and I was like, "Oh, I guess it's not a Goichi Suda game. Is this that Astral Chain game from Platinum that I'm also very excited for?" And then, the Travis Touchdown—the star of No More Heroes (a [the?] Goichi Suda game)—showed his face and I literally stood up at my desk, walked over to one of my esteemed B&H colleagues, and whisper-screamed, "ohmygoshdidyouseenomoreheroesthreeeeeeee" and he was like, "I mean, okay, but Astral Chain looks so much cooler," so I called that one too, because he's mean and I'm petty.
But seriously, No More Heroes 3 is a game I have been wanting for nearly a decade, a real follow-up to 2010's sequel to 2007's not-financially-successful-but-still-the-best hack and slash game. This year's Travis Strikes Again was a nice teaser, but I need some real vegetarian meat: Give me an Impossible Burger, Suda 51, not some weak sauce Tofurkey nonsense. But even though I have to wait until 2020 for that, I won't be starving for some sweet Switch combat: Platinum Games is on it. I don't understand the mechanics of Astral Chain, nor is it even somewhat clear to me what the game is about. But, if we're being honest, that's pretty par for the course with Platinum's games. What matters is that once I get my hands on it (which will be the very day it releases), it will feel as natural as breathing through an oxygen mask in an airplane losing cabin pressure. No one makes action like Platinum Games, and any console they see fit to grace with their games is made better for it. The fact that the Switch has this, No More Heroes 3, and Platinum's Bayonetta 3, as well as all coming up proves that it is the best place for action video games right now. And I couldn't be happier.
Which game was your favorite at E3 2019? Feel free to comment below and let us know!
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