MSFT E3 2014 Impressions

Well, I was right that a lot of stuff wouldn't be announced at E3.  So what did I think about the actual E3 this year?


I think last year's E3 was better (the actual presentation except the price announcement, not the lead up to the presentation).  Last year saw games like Ryse, Forza 5, Quatum Break, D4, etc.  This year's presentation just wasn't as interesting to me.  Maybe it's because what I would like to see is not what others want.  I guess i'll just have to win a very, very large lottery jackpot to make that happen

Deals With Gold. And Stuff That Maybe You Shouldn't Read (Cause it's boring and listy)

Along with the June Update came Deals with Gold (DWG) - I guess there were already deals on Xbox One games, but this is kind of like rebranding.  There supposedly will be a new deal weekly.  They awkwardly phrase the savings as "Up to 50-75% off" (the bolded part is mine).  It is really strange to phrase it this way.  Saying "up to" and then giving a range also.  They should have said up to 75% off.  I would guess retail games will probably be limited to 33% off the first time through the line-up. 




This week's deal is Crimson Dragon at 50% off.  I am considering this though I know at some point this is likely to show up on Games With Gold.  I would guess the rest of the Deals with Gold this month would be: Ryse, Forza 5, and LocoCycle (which is destined for Games With Gold in the not too distant future). 

Games With Gold

Well, the June update has finally landed - adding support for external USB 3.0 hard drives and beginning Games With Gold on the Xbox One.  I have a feeling it will probably be 2 games a month (with some potential repeats - since it's still too early to start adding retail titles to the program, outside Zoo Tycoon).


This Month (June)
* Max The Curse of Brotherhood - I have a post on this somewhere
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6514613432369960413#editor/target=post;postID=36973205634780801;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=17;src=postname


* Halo: Spartan Assault


Xbox 360
* Dead Souls (through June 15th) - I wonder if I can insanely grind levels in this game or if they have the stupid "enemies level with you" paradigm


* Charlie Murder (June 16th-30th)
* Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (June 16th-30th)

MSFT E3 2014: What Won't Happen

MSFT's E3 presentation is slated for next Monday (at 9:30AM PST or PDT whatever it is).  The internet has been pretty bad with rumors (could it be that people are actually honoring their NDAs like they should). 


So, what won't be at MSFT's E3 (because I want it to happen, which pretty much assures it won't).  Think of these as anti-rumors.  This is sort of "past" heavy, but then again the past was passable and the future will suck. 

Child of Light

Child of Light is a downloadable ($15, roughly 2.31 GB) game available on multiple platforms.  I played it on the Xbox One.


Child of Light puts you in the roll of a princess of light trying to return light back to the land of Lemuria.  The gameplay is sort of reminiscent of Grandia, with a semi turn-based action bar battle system.  You can gain advantages by interrupting enemy attacks (if you're lucky enough).  You are paired up with one other character at a time and usually face 2-3 enemies.  Some enemies have weaknesses to certain elements.  Certain attacks are slower than others (a good chance to use your firefly buddy to either heal yourself in battle or slow the enemy down a little).  There is also a crafting system (adding bonuses to weapon, armor and/or accessory slot).


Overall, I spent about 11 hours on this game playing on Normal (and dying more than I would like to admit, but I hate using items - on Normal, there isn't really a "death penalty").  I wish it would have been a little less expensive, but overall it isn't that bad of a deal.  I'm not sure what replay value there is, but there is a Game + mode after you beat it and at least one other difficulty.  


I kind of hope that this generation will have more of these types of games (I could go for some full turn-based JRPG style games at about this price point).   

My First 1,000 GamerScore Xbox One Game

i never thought that I would actually ever get a 1,000/1,000 GamerScore game on the Xbox One, but last night I finally did.


So, what was the lucky game? 
Nutjistu. 


It took me 9 hours (according to SmartGlass) to do it, I kind of suck at that game.  You only need to get to level 23 not level 25 to unlock the last achievement.  The 1K isn't hard, it's just a little time consuming. 

Nutjitsu

What is Nutjitsu? 


Nutjitsu is the second (i think) ID@Xbox release (and the first by developer Ninja Bee on the Xbox One).  If you have Windows 8, this is available from the Windows Store for Free (pay-to-play type game).  i didn't like how you had to "draw" on the screen to move in that version. 


In this game you play as a squirrel trying to save acorns from a pack of fox interlopers.  In some ways this plays a little like Pac-Man where you go through mazes collecting acorns and completing "missions" - like collect 15 acorns, etc.  Unlike traditional Pac-Man there are power ups(nothing as good as power pellets though, at least that i have access to) - like a freeze bomb (freezes the "ghosts" in their place for a few seconds), smoke bomb (you can evade enemies), speed boost, etc.  There isn't a coherent story here... you just take it level by level attempting missions (usually a single mission doesn't last that long).  There is also a Survival mode (which i haven't attempted yet).  


Unfortunately, like Pac-Man this game has control issues.  It is not always a smooth path around the mazes (especially with the thumbstick), i think the d-pad is a little better (it never got "stuck" on me).  The controls feel a little sluggish. 


If you want the full GamerScore, it is going to take a lot of grinding to get up to level 25 (relatively low XP rewards for completing missions).


This is the cheapest game currently available for the Xbox One ($6.49 US).  It doesn't have the Game DVR option.