The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

"Open your eyes. Open your eyes! Wake up Link!"

~Princess Zelda

I have to admit Nintendo has a hit coming with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Finally we have an adult link game which means there will be some hardcore action going down for our protagonist Link.

From the trailer, looks like there will be a lot of opportunity to take advantage of the open world environment to slay enemies such as dropping rocks, setting grasslands on fire and hang gliding to new areas.  I also so a mysterious stone called the Sheikah Slate on Link's side that looks like it has magical properties to create blocks and entrances.  In the past, Link made use of words and magic but this time the developer wanted to add a new wrinkle in the Zelda franchise with the use of technology.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is really a change in pace from what the franchise was known for, but I feel this time around Nintendo is really trying to adapt to the new expectations gamers have for top performing games.

Features:

• Explore the wilds of Hyrule any way you like - Climb up towers and mountain peaks in search of new destinations, then set your own path to get there and plunge into the wilderness. Along the way, you'll battle towering enemies, hunt wild beasts and gather ingredients for the food and elixirs you'll need to sustain you on your journey.
• More than 100 Shrines of Trials to discover and explore - Shrines dot the landscape, waiting to be discovered in any order you want. Search for them in various ways, and solve a variety of puzzles inside. Work your way through the traps and devices inside to earn special items and other rewards that will help you on your adventure.
• Be prepared and properly equipped - With an entire world waiting to be explored, you'll need a variety of outfits and gear to reach every corner. You may need to bundle up with warmer clothes or change into something better suited to the desert heat. Some clothing even has special effects that, for example, can make you faster and stealthier.
• Battling enemies requires strategy - The world is inhabited with enemies of all shapes and sizes. Each one has its own attack method and weaponry, so you must think quickly and develop the right strategies to defeat them.
• amiibo compatibility - Tap the Wolf Link amiibo (sold separately) to make Wolf Link appear in game. Wolf Link will attack enemies on his own and help you find items you're searching for. We will also introduce new The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild series of amiibo at E3 this year.

Resident Evil 7: The Beginning Hour E3

In honor of Resident Evil 20th year anniversary, Capcom treated us to a like teaser gameplay for Resident Evil 7: The Beginning Hour. 

Seems like this installment will center around some cult called the "The Family". In the trailer, you will have to escape imprisonment in their abandoned home.  In the beginning, you are watching a video of the previous victims/prisoners, and now you are the new prisoner.  

A first for Resident Evil, you play in first-person and as a character who is absolutely weaponless. Comparisons will definitely be made to survival horror franchises likeAmnesia or Outlast, although the overall feel of the demo was definitely more akin to Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro’s P.T. demo. In fact, that demo is The Beginning Hour’s most obvious influence, which would normally put it in sort of an awkward position if it weren’t for the fact that both Silent Hills and Allison Road have been canceled. Resident Evil 7, on the other hand, has the best chance of finally delivering the experience teased in P.T.

There seems like there will be a lot of puzzle solving and jump scares to keep you on your toes. I fell like the days of the hack and slash or Hollywood run and gun resident evils are done. Seem like developers took note of the fans saying the game got too cheesy and copied too much of MW 3rd person zombie stuff.  Resident Evil 7 will be out for XBO, PS4, and PC, and will be fully playable in VR on Jan. 24, 2017.

Nintendo E3 2015

I'm looking forward to seeing what Nintendo has to offer.  It's struggling compared to Xbox and Playstation.  Some of the legends like Zelda and Mario have underperformed.

Nintendo has tried to recruit different franchise to overhaul its brand and stay relevant, but in my opinion anything short of a big day full of surprises...Nintendo will be dead in the water like Sega and or systems that aren't around.

E3 2015 Fallout 4 news!

We have an official release date for Fallout 4 which is November 10, 2015. Also, this post will reveal details about the game I know you will find interesting.

"One of the great things about fallout is the world that existed before the war and that's where our game starts".

Fallout 4 will take place in 2077 a few years before the war.  

The game has you take control of the mom and dad of the main character. You can sculpt the face to your liking by merely by click and drag a feature.  

The characters talk to each other as you change features saying things like "what do you think Hun, bread or no bread?" 

You can change the race as well which always you to control the race of their child. 

And of course you can play as the female character as well. Whoever you leave the menu as will be the character you play as.  It's a dynamic creation system that will also effect the NPC's you encounter.  

At one point a vault representative comes to you to verify your information. 

The amount of thought put into the seamless weaving of the storyline with the characteristics and perks selection is genius. 

Soon diaster strikes and you must exit to the vault with your family.  

The action takes place real time allowing you to see the game engine and play through the diaster not just viewing a cut scene.

The developers end the preview with an explosion and the cliff hanger of not knowing the fate of the family.  

None of the storyline was revealed past this event.  We learn the family survives, events transpire and you emerge 200 years from the vault as the soul survivor.  

This is an interesting world full of dynamics where you can create any player you want, go anywhere you want, and player freedom is the number one goal of the game development.  

The lighting and graphics reflect what you expect from a next generation gaming engine.

Even the dialogue is dynamic.  You can switch from first to third person during conversation, walk away while someone is talking or shoot the person in the face if you want.  The possibilities are limitless.

The interaction with pets and NPC's has changed.  You can point at objects and give pets directions to fetch items for you.

The combat utilizes an ambitious combat system with drastic improvements.  I was floored when I saw the dog attacking, switching back and forth between 1st person combat and the VATS.  The game ends there but other features of Fallout 4 were showcased. 

Weapon modifications were introduced.  No longer will items like staplers and globes serve as useless junk.  Those items will be use as one of the 700+ modifications you can make to the 50+ weapons in the game. 

The build feature allows you to scrap environments and items then rebuild structures the way you want them to look like or for feasibility.  

There is an emphasis on you being able to build, create and decorate for yourself and your friend to make this feel like a world you are making the you want it to be. 

There is an interesting dynamic that allows you to create a settlement.  At the settlement traders and people will arrive to live in your camp.  You need to provide water and farms for food.

You can build generators to light the town or build turrets to guard against raiders or monster attacks. In order to have certain machinery function you have to use wires to connect components and operations terminals. 

That's all the news I have for Fallout 4. A reminder the game will be released on 11/10/2015.  Also in the next post there will be a free downloadable game.