E3 2009

I don’t freebase video game news like a lot of my comrades do; I pretty much just absorb the stuff I like and let the rest roll off my back. So when E3 comes around I tend to focus just on the stuff I’m excited about and not dwell so much on the stuff that doesn’t matter. So here’s the stuff I’m excited about:

New New Super Mario Bros. A lot of people didn’t like the DS game, but those people are stupid. As far as I’m concerned they could just release that same game again with new levels and I’d call it a rousing success. Instead they went and added crazy multiplayer, a penguin suit and something like 80 levels, which is more than just about any Mario game has had ever. This would seriously have to come with AIDS to get me to complain about it.

Super Mario Galaxy 2. See above comments. For serious, you’d need a pack mule and a sherpa to reach the summit of the boner I have for Mario’s showing at E3 this year.

Metroid: Other M. I’ve never played a game by Team Ninja, but I can appreciate that they were technically great. This looks to me like a story-heavy 2d/3d hybrid action game, which is a great new direction for the series. Let’s face it, when you put Super/Fusion/ZM in one pile and the Prime trilogy in another, it’s about time for Samus to branch out. My only reservation is that I hope it doesn’t turn out to be as brutally hard as the Ninja Gaiden games were (the reason I avoided them).

The Beatles: Rock Band. My puny earthling brain cannot comprehend the decision to make this incredible-looking game incompatible with my existing Rock Band playlist, despite several people attempting to explain it to me using very small words. Whether or not I get this will depend a lot on how much spare money I’ve got laying around on September 9th, and judging by my current account balances and the broken computer on my desk it’s not looking good for Harmonix.

Scribblenauts. Have you seen this? How is this game’s praise not being screamed from the mountaintops? This looks like one of the most amazing sandbox games the human mind could possibly concoct. I see myself killing hours just making things fight. We’re gonna get that whole pirates vs. ninjas thing solved.

Crackdown 2. Crackdown was an intensely fun game with exactly zero substance. I need a game like that every now and again, so they win.

Zelda. There is going to be a new Zelda game someday. Right on bro.

And finally, the game I’m looking most forward to…

Final Fantasy 14. The idea of an online Final Fantasy filled me with joy. Unfortunately the current online Final Fantasy, FF11, came out before Blizzard stomped everyone’s nuts and taught us how online RPGs were supposed to work. So when I first heard FF14 was going online as well, I was hoping we’d get that good core FF gameplay with the modern MMO sensibilities I’ve come to expect. What I’ve heard has been encouraging! Buzzwords like “more solo-friendly” and “no EXP” and “made for casuals” fills me with hope that I could sink years into this game the way I did with World of Warcraft.