Tanner's E3 Hype Post Leaving The Station!

CHOO CHOO!

Ok, so E3 is two days away, so by now everyone should be on the hype train. I have honestly been excited for about six weeks, with each little announcement the industry has given us over these past few weeks, my excitement has just been growing. Let's be honest, this E3 should have something for everyone; the casual, the retro, the hardcore, even the guys that are mostly interested in hardware. Please note that these are only my speculations and should be taken with a grain of salt, as I know nothing about closed door meetings and what games will be at what conferences. So, without further ado, here is my list of hype for E3.

Side note: this color green is my jam

A plethora of people have been at Microsoft's throat since E3 last year, and honestly Microsoft is the one to blame. However, this year may be their year, as they show off games that will definitely take the Xbox One into next year. I know many consumers who do not own a Xbox One, including myself, will be giving this presser some serious attention, now here we go.

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Call me whatever you please, but with a group of your friends, Call of Duty games can be a blast to play. Plus, I am probably in the 15% of Call of Duty fans that beat the campaign before touching multiplayer. Add in the fact that this game has Kevin Spacey in for a leading role, I am all ears. This will also be Sledgehammer's time to shine, as we are now on a three year developer cycle, it could truly be a unique experience, we will just have to wait and see.
• Fable Legends - I am a huge fan of Fable and all of its lore, as Fable II was one of my favorite games of the last generation. This game is going to have two extremes, it'll either be really good or really bad, and that will vary depending on the person you ask. To me, a Left 4 Dead esque Fable game seems interesting with the whole 4v1 aspect,  and I will definitely keep my eyes open for this.
• Gears of War 4 - Come on, we all know it is coming, the question is what will we see of it? Personally, I believe this has probably been in the works for a while, and if we do not see it Fall of this year, it is definitely Q1 next year. Gears of War 2 was also a fantastic game, and the quality of Gears of War 3 was just under that. Will be interesting to see all that GRIT on next gen though!

That sand, that not reflection, oh man I am getting hyped right now as I am typing this!

• Halo 5: Guardians - Most hyped Microsoft title, not even close. Halo has always been a special series to me, I have spent several hundred hours playing the games throughout the years, Halo 3 I thought was a masterpiece (I was also a child but I can still believe!) and even the singular teaser image has gotten me excited for it, may be what pushes myself and some others over the edge to purchase the Xbox One.
• Project Spark - I feel like this game has been quiet after all the beta stuff (besides the dev team constantly streaming!). When I saw this "game" last year, it nearly pushed me to get the Xbox One, not only because of the user's creativity effects the game, but the fluid motions of the rock giant surfing on land like he was a geo Silver Surfer was awesome. This game has probably been knocked off a few radars, but it has a lot of ground to build upon from last year (oh god that joke I apologize).
• Sunset Overdrive - This game is pretty, very pretty. My nine year old self has already bought this game one hundred times, and all I can really say about it is that I am interested to see what it has in store for E3.

That about sums it up for me regarding Microsoft, and for someone who yet again does not own a Xbox One, I'd say that is very solid groundwork for Microsoft to build upon. Do not let all this excitement around you dissipate, show me this and give me surprises and you will be good!

EA may be a dark horse this year for Conference of the Show, or it could be terrible.

Electronic Arts, better known as EA, gets a lot of shit thrown at them.  The unsuccessful launches of Battlefield 4 on multiple platforms has left a bad taste in people's mouth. This year, EA has several games ready to be shown, or they should, as they said they will be showing SIX unannounced titles, so lets dive right into it.

• Dragon Age: Inquisition - Ok, this game has to be good. With the announcement earlier in the year that The Witcher 3 was getting pushed back until February 2015, this leaves Inquisition in an awesome position. I am excited for this game because I love RPG's, give me an RPG and I'll play it, I don't even care about what sub-genre it falls under. I fully expect this game to get some proper treatment at the show, as it release in just four months.
• EA Sports UFC - This game looks beautiful, the fluid motions of the fighters, just everything is absolutely stunning. Now, the game comes out in just ten short days, but you know EA will produce one more trailer for the game to get everyone ready to be in the Octagon, and I could not be more excited.
• Madden NFL 15 - I am a sports' fanatic, I love them. However, football has to be one of my biggest passions. The stats, fantasy leagues, the pure adrenaline of being there live to witness it, it is a truly amazing spectacle. The reason I am more excited about Madden this year than I usually am is because there are no more NCAA games, so Madden is the only AMERICAN football game on consoles now. Hopefully the online will be fixed and we have a proper next gen Madden experience.

Totally not official or anything, but man "4" gets to me.

• Mass Effect 4 - I have no clue how many times I am going to say this, but Mass Effect 2 was definitely one of the defining games of the generation, it did everything right and so much more. Mass Effect 4 will have huge shoes to fill, as this will SPOILER presumably be the start of a brand new story line, so this game can go in 100 different directions. I can not wait to see what the series comes up with next.
• The Sims 4 - Come on, we all need the satisfaction of knowing that we hold the power of a whole world in our hands. Sims 4 probably has the least likely chance showing up at this conference than any other game on this list, but if it does make an appearance, it is time to get ready!
• Star Wars Battlefront III - Here it is, the beauty that is known as the Star Wars Battlefront franchise. I nearly shed a tear at the preview we got for it last year, and I have been eagerly anticipating this moment since. Both Battlefront I and II was my real first taste of multiplayer, I played it all the time when I was younger and to this day sometimes I want to go back. Whatever is shown of this game will be fantastic, 10/10 will watch 100 times.

I went with some serious safe bets from EA, as I have no idea what else they might have up their sleeve. I do know that is somehow all six of these games were shown and MORE, EA will have redeemed itself in a lot of people's eyes.

Delays are the name of the game, and this year Ubisoft should bring their all.

Ubisoft, in my eyes, have always been an exciting, unpredictable company. One never knows what will they come up with next, but you know it will be good. This year is no different, with Watch Dogs just releasing, Ubisoft has some wiggle room to show the world what they are bringing to the table next.

• Assassin's Creed Unity -  I will be the first person to admit, the lackluster gameplay of Assassin's Creed III threw me off this franchise's wagon, but Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag brought me right back in. From what little we have seen of this project, it looks good, simple as that. Not only will I expect it to be shown off quite a bit, but gameplay will be everywhere due to the 99% chance it will have a playable demo, hype.
• The Crew - Besides the very cartoony racing games, such as the Mario Kart and Sonic & Friends franchises, I have never been one for racing games, in fact I was annoyed by them. That was until last year, when the The Crew made its debut. Being dubbed as a "MMOCARPG" is what makes this fascinating. Oh, and the map size is decent, because it is the ENTIRE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA, how awesome is that? The fact that my friends and I can road trip from Miami to Los Angeles while leveling up some bad ass cars, what more could I possibly ask for?

The rainbow smoke, man.

• Far Cry 4 - So we know nothing about this game, besides that the cover had a lot of controversy surrounding it. The reason I am looking forward to this installment is because it can go anywhere it wants to go and that is a really exciting prospect for an innovative franchise.
• Tom Clancy's The Division - A huge fan of the aspect of playing MMO-esque games, and The Division looks fantastic. Nothing more can be said about this game, but I hope it is raining in the footage they show this year.

Ubisoft has a lot to offer this year, the simple fact is, they need to step it up. Show us something we haven't seen and that isn't announced, that will get the people talking.

My most hyped conference, let's go!

Sony, we have had a very weird relationship. Truth be told, I have not ever owned a PS3 after growing up with the PS2, and I was this close to buying a Xbox One last year. That all changed when Sony took the stage, I experienced more emotions during their press conference than I have in a long time. They had me laughing, screaming, and legitimate tears when Kingdom Hearts III graced the stage. I am looking forward to see what they will offer us this year, but here is what I am hyped for.

• Destiny - Man, I have been excited for this one for a long time. The exciting aspect of just going around the solar system with my friends like an intergalatic Borderlands more than satisfies what I want in a video game. That added in with the confirmation of this being playable at E3 and we will get a beta release date, that more than solidifies my hype.
• Final Fantasy XV - This game looks absolutely stunning. I feel this game will pull the Final Fantasy franchise out of the slandering it has been under after the XIII trilogy. Nothing more I can say about this until after E3, but this one should definitely be kept on our radars.

The tear inducing, Kingdom Hearts III

• Kingdom Hearts III - This game franchise is fantastic, everything about it is perfect. The quirkiness of the many Disney characters, the seriousness brought forth with Final Fantasy characters, the music ("Simple and Clean" is still the best song I will associate with a video game, it is PHENOMENAL), level design, and I could go on and on, trust me, everyone else associated with The Paper Cloud knows I am obsessed with Kingdom Hearts. If they announce a release date at this year's E3, all I can say is that I hope someone is recording it, because it could rival the best reaction videos on the entire Internet. I expect we will get perhaps one or two minutes of in game footage, maybe a new trailer, and please Square Enix a release date. This is without a doubt my most hyped game for E3.
• The Last Guardian - This year is it for me, I strongly believe if we do not see The Last Guardian at E3 this year, then the title can be officially categorized as vaporware. However, if it does make an appearance after FIVE YEARS, then yes all aboard the hype train let's do this.

Going in to this not knowing what happens puts me in the 10% of gamers.

• The Last of Us Remastered - My biggest regret of the last generation and perhaps my entire time of being a gamer is never playing The Last of Us. This game has gotten perfect scores and everything, several well respected people in gaming has called it the "Citizen Kane of gaming" which is a pretty big title to hold. I am excited not only because of the enhanced graphics and overall improvements this game will have, but also because I will be playing it for the first time.
• Project Morpheus - Wow, a piece of hardware on the list, YEA YOU KNOW IT! I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to possibly play huge open world games as if I am in said huge open world game. I am interested to see where Sony takes this one.
• Uncharted 4 - My second biggest regret of last generation was never playing any of the Uncharted games (besides Golden Abyss on Vita, but does that REALLY count?). I am excited to see what Naughty Dog is bringing to the table with this one, and I am sure it will appeal to gamers everywhere.

Sony is a company I am excited for their overall future, the reason being is that I did not mention one thing that is not practically a given, AND DO YOU SEE THAT LINE UP? We will have to see if Sony can live up to the expectations set by themselves last year.

This year could be a landmark year for Nintendo, do they capitalize?

Nintendo has to come out guns blazing, or else this could be disastrous. With this potentially amazing line up, they should be able to win the hearts of millions

• Bayonetta 2 - Come on, it's Bayonetta. I know a lot of people were disappointed that this was announced as a WiiU exclusive, but I feel like it has potential out the wazoo (WAZOO). The game looks gorgeous and I am looking forward to this getting a release date.
• Hyrule Warriors - I didn't catch the Nintendo Direct this was announced at live, so I thought this was just some weird joke made by Twitter. I was both pleased and surprised to see that it was actually a real game. I expect for us to get a western release date come Tuesday.

THREE GAMES WHAT!?

• NFP Figurines - This has potential to rise Nintendo out of the ashes back to their former glory on top. There are nearly unlimited ways for Nintendo to handle what these do, what games they work with, etc. The fact that they will be available this year? My wallet is already weeping.
• Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire - I can honestly say I was surprised when this was announced for this year. This game will have me sucked in just like it did years ago with the originals. Add in those sexy 3D models, more Mega Evolutions and GEN 3 TRUMPETS YES GIVE IT TO ME NOW!

HYPE LEVELS OVERCHARGED 

• Super Smash Bros. WiiU/3DS - Man oh man, this game will be great. Considering the two versions are coming out at different times (guessing August for 3DS, December for WiiU) I will have plenty of things to play before this and Pokemon consumes my life. Also, I am in the "No way Ridley will be in Smash" party.
• X - This game looks too good to be on WiiU, it looks like some real next gen shit, and that was last year. I am fairly positive it will get a full title this E3 as well as a release date, but this has had my attention since day one.

There you have it, my Nintendo hype list. The fact that all of that is coming out this year is fantastic, I will be playing my 3DS/WiiU like crazy.

You really thought I wouldn't throw in any surprises?

Yes, now here is my bold predictions section. I have limited myself to five games to talk about that did not fall under a specific category or they simply have not been announced, otherwise we would be here all day. This list will be in descending order, from least hype to MOST HYPE. Let's go!

• Hotline Miami 2 - Hotline Miami was not only a classic in its own right right, but everything about it was just spot on. The art style, the top-down view to perfection, THE BEST SOUNDTRACK EVER and everything in between. Hotline Miami 2 will probably be more of the same, which is exactly what I am signing up for.
• Pokemon Snap U - This has to happen, the GamePad is BEGGING to be a camera. Add the 600+ new Pokemon that has come out since the first game, and this has potential to be a huge success in today's age. This would have me burst into tears.
• No Man's Sky - Easily the best part of the VGX presentation was No Man's Sky. The art direction it is going for is simply out of the world. Hello Games has had a few setbacks with this game, most notably their office getting flooded, but I feel like this could be something awesome.
• Civilization: Beyond Earth - Firaxis announced this at PAX East this year to everyone's surprise. I fell in love with the Civilization series with Civilization V, and have clocked countless hours to that game. This game coming out this Fall means more money to be spent, and everyone loves that, right?
• Something Exciting - Come on, I couldn't pick one! Remember the Assassin's Creed II trailer from E3 2009? What about Watch Dogs in 2012? Or last year with the first glimpse of Kingdom Hearts III? That is what I want, something that will completely knock me down, pick me back up just only to knock me down again. One of these five companies have something up their sleeve, and I can not wait to see what it is.

Well, there you have it, my most hyped games and two pieces of hardware at E3 this year. This year's E3 has potential to be one of the greatest of all time, I feel like everyone has some sort of surprise. With the wait dwindling down to mere hours, I can say I am ready to get this show on the road! HYPE TRAIN LEAVING THE STATION!