In the ashes of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, amid the bloat and pretense of the games industry, always must there be a presentation... always must there be game trailers... and always must there be those who commentate. So it is we find ourselves in the aftermath of this year's collected summer showcases, a cavalcade of announcements and information to parse in its wake. For my part, I set forth to once again note the games (and, occasionally, people or moments) that stood out - for good or ill. Today, we tackle that which was displayed at Sony's State of Play, the OTK Games Expo, and the Summer Game Fest... Sony State of Play The High Point: Astro Bot Is it nakedly playing off of lingering nostalgia for various Sony properties, current and forgotten? Yes. Is it unmistakably taking cues from other more successful platformer series? Absolutely. Nevertheless, the team at Sony seem to have nailed the charm when it comes to their robot mascot, which is half the battle for cr...
Some Background, First Much like a lot of folks I know, and I imagine a significant portion of the populace, I grew up with Star Wars. I distinctly recall being in the theatre as a toddler, back in 1999, seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time. I also remember being woken up in the car by my mother, having (apparently) fallen asleep while watching The Phantom Menace, soooooo… yeah. The prospect of a Sequel Trilogy excited and thrilled me in a way I’d not felt in a long while - seeing that first teaser of The Force Awakens, where the Millenium Falcon comes swooping into frame over the deserts of Jakku, was nothing short of breathtaking. I’d loved the Original Trilogy, I had a certain abiding fondness for the Prequels, I adored the games, I liked the spin-off books I’d read (Tales of the Bounty Hunters and the early Rogue Squadron books, primarily). Point is, I cheer at the mere thought of new Star Wars. The Force Awakens was quite pleasant, all told; not quite EMPIRE-leve...