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EvilCast Recap - Episode 183: E3 2013 Wrap-Up Special

On the closing day of E3 2013 I was invited once again to guest on the EvilCast podcast at Games Are Evil to discuss the week's big surprises.  Join me as I sit in with Blake Grundman, Ross Polly, and Keri Honea to talk all about our favorite news items of E3 such as sharing Sony PlayStation 4 games, Microsoft Points heading off into the sunset, the rise of the Oculus Rift, the promise of Batman: Arkham Origins, more and more games offering companion apps for tablets, launch prices of the PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One, enhancements to the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass system, and much more.  As a bonus, I also tell the story of my experience at the Nintendo Experience Wii U demo event at Best Buy.  Episode 183 is waiting for you with an hour and a half of conversation!

Weekly Poll: E3 2013 Winners And Losers

There's overwhelming disinterest in Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One console, and considering the higher price and content restrictions that take away rights and privileges that players have enjoyed in previous Xbox consoles, I can certainly understand why.  The Xbox brand has never been for me, and this latest model is no exception.  The company's E3 presentation confirmed for me with a heavy emphasis on shooters, sports, shooters, realistic racers, and more shooters.  I enjoy the occasional shooter, sure, but I need platformers, puzzle games, fighting games, action/adventure titles, and an RPG once in a while to keep my gaming experience part of a balanced breakfast, as it were.  Elsewhere, Microsoft has a brewing image problem on its hands.  I hope it can correct course before it's too late.  Competition brings good things to the market in the end, and without Microsoft's missteps, I don't believe Sony would be as generous with its PlayStation 4 agenda.

Moving on, E3 2013 is behind us now and we've had a chance to digest and process much of the major news and announcements of the week.  Who would you say came out on top at E3?  Who "won" if it's possible to measure these things?  Did Sony steal the show?  Did Microsoft impress?  Has Nintendo signaled a return to form?  Let's hear your thoughts.

Where Are All The Women?, Or, How E3 2013 Has Bothered Me

Nicole has watched all of this year's E3 press conferences and livetweeted commentary with me as news and information was announced.  From Microsoft's Xbox One pricing to Electronic Arts boasting about advances in virtual ball bouncing to Ubisoft threatening the world with tainted cash, she saw it all.  However, something specific about the tone of the conferences and the stars of the announced games aggravates her, so I turn the metaphorical microphone over to her now to explain.

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This was my first E3 experience. Two years ago, I watched a bit of the press conferences, but it was nothing like I did this year. It was an interesting experience to watch unfold over the past few days. However, I did notice something amiss, and I wonder if you did, too.

Out of the countless video games unveiled this year, I saw only three games with female protagonists - Beyond: Two Souls, Bayonetta 2, and the new Mirror's Edge. Three games total. That's a pretty poor showing.

EvilCast Recap - Episode 181: E3 2013 Keynote Analysis Special

The coming of another Electronic Entertainment Expo means another round of press conferences and media briefings from the major video game publishers and hardware manufacturers.  I was called upon to guest on the EvilCast podcast at Games Are Evil once again, this time to discuss the major announcements unveiled by Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo.  Blake Grundman, Ross Polly, Keri Honea and I talk about the highs and low of launch prices for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the free-to-play aspect of Killer Instinct, Sony's hammer-throwing, mic-dropping announcement regarding DRM restrictions, EA's Plants vs Zombies developments, Ubisoft's intimidating doomsday information blasts, and the dozen or so awesome titles that Nintendo directly unveiled.  It's been a while E3 so far and the show has only just begun.  Download Episode 181 and discover just how much more ground we have to cover.

EvilCast Recap - Episode 180: E3 2013 Predictions Special

As the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo prepares to roll into Los Angeles and fill the week with news and events, I've been summoned back to the EvilCast podcast at GamesAreEvil to join Blake Grundman, Ross Polly, and Keri Honea and share some E3 predictions.  Can Microsoft beat back the negative press surrounding the Xbox One?  What will Sony reveal to increase PlayStation 4 hype?  Will Nintendo be able to turn the Wii U's fortunes around?  We also discuss a few news stories from the past week and turn some attention to what we've played recently.  Listen to me go on about Injustice: Gods Among Us, Sleeping Dogs, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons.  Also, we dip into Star Trek discussion for some reason.  Do you think we'll ever see Thomas Riker again?  Episode 180 holds the key.  I'll be back on the EvilCast later this week for two more podcasts to talk about all of the big E3 news, so be sure to watch for those episodes as well.

Plants Vs Zombies Shooter May Be Real After All

PopCap Games and Electronic Arts have already announced the free-to-play Plants vs Zombies 2, but don't think for a minute that the publisher is content to let such a popular and profitable property as Plants vs Zombies stop there.  This series has got to grow.    Kotaku put the pieces together from sites around the Internet such as Polygon and Gamekyo to hypothesize that we're just a day or so away from the announcement of a full-blown shooter set in the Plants vs Zombies world subtitled Garden Warfare.  It would seem that PopCap used some of EA's seed money to branch out into a new genre.  Here's Kotaku:

This afternoon's great PopCap mystery may now be a little less mysterious: a Canadian industry source with ties to Electronic Arts has told Kotaku that a small team at EA's Burnaby campus is working on a new entry in the Plants vs Zombies franchise.

The thing is, it's not another tower defense game. Apparently it's a multiplayer-oriented first-person shooter. For consoles. Seriously.

Ah, that's EA for you; any property can become a first-person shooter if they try hard enough. Not to say that this couldn't work, of course.  Imagine that you and three friends team up as plants or zombies to take on four other players on the opposing team.  Throw in the famous plants from the original tower defense game with their quirky attacks and this game almost designs itself as easy as one, two, tree.  Perhaps Garden Warfare will bear fruit after all.  Big posters for the game are decorating the Los Angeles Convention Center for E3, so expect to hear more about this game (whatever it turns out to be) at EA's press conference tomorrow.  It sounds worth a look based on the concept alone.  I mean, I'm generally zombied out thanks to the glut of the undead in popular culture over the past few years, but the PvZ zombies haven't yet worn out their welcome with me.  They're just clever enough with the right mix of corniness to remain endearing.

I Don't Even Speak Cantonese!

I did something very stupid recently and feel the need to share it with you.  I recently started playing Sleeping Dogs, a third-person action game in the style of Grand Theft Auto IV from Square-Enix and United Front Games.  When I started the game for the first time, I was prompted to set the game's options before anything else: brightness, screen dimensions, volume, etc.  The final option was to enable subtitles with my choices being OFF, ON, and CANTONESE.  Now, when it comes to games like these, I like to leave the subtitles turned off and let the characters speak for themselves.  I want to listen to the voices and watch the action unfold like a movie, so I turned the subtitles off and confirmed my choices.  I did find it admirable that the game offered a setting for Cantonese subtitles, but since I don't speak Cantonese, there's no way I'd ever need that option.

The game began right away after that.  The story is set in Hong Kong and, as one might expect, features largely Chinese characters.  In the opening scene, a pair of security officers watch events on a surveillance camera feed.  They speak to each other in Cantonese... and I have no idea what they're saying.  That's when it hits me — that subtitle option for Cantonese wasn't for subtitles in Cantonese, it was for subtitles for Cantonese presented in English.  I went back into the options menu and turned the proper subtitle setting on and now I can read what the characters say when they speak their native language, but I really hope that nothing important was said in those first few moments of the game because I completely missed it.  After all, I don't speak Cantonese (or understand game option menus, apparently). 

Amazon Offers Big Gaming Sale Again Today

It's Tuesday?  Then it must be time for another of Amazon's major gaming-only Gold Box and Lightning Deal events where items go on and off sale for impressive discounts all day long.  The big game on sale today is Injustice: Gods Among Us for the Nintendo Wii U, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360.  The game is selling for just $34.99 today, while the limited Collector Edition costs just $64.99.  I've been increasingly impressed with Injustice and I highly recommend it (especially at these prices!).  Other games on sale today include Dead Island: Riptide, Tomb Raider, Forza Horizon: Limited Edition, and headsets & carrying cases for a variety of systems.  There's some great deals happening here, so don't miss out.  A portion of every purchase made via the green link above goes to help support Press The Buttons which, as always, is definitely appreciated.  Also, don't forget that we're in the final days of Amazon's other major gaming sale: spectacular deals on hundreds of PC games.

EvilCast Recap - Episode 178

My friends Blake Grundman and Ross Polly at Games Are Evil turned on the Matt-Signal and summoned me to guest on the EvilCast podcast once again, so I arrived in style to discuss some of the week's big news stories and goodness there were some big news stories this week.  We talk about Electronic Arts dancing back and forth across the Nintendo Wii U development line and wonder what is in store for the tablet-based console, then shift gears to Batman: Arkham Origins and what role Kevin Conroy may play in it (if any).  After that we get into a heated discussion about Microsoft's Xbox One and what the new console will mean to the industry, customers, and the used game business.  Finally, we wrap it all up with a discussion of what we've been playing lately.  I talk up God of War: Ascension and Injustice: Gods Among Us.  Lots to talk about, so spend a few hours with us.  Head over to Games Are Evil to download Episode 178.

Power Button Presents Kombo Breaker - Episode 22: Sprinkles and Blood Rain From the Sky

Classic episodes of Kombo Breaker are back this week with an extra 13% more me as panelist Joey Davidson skipped out on us to go on his honeymoon with his new wife when this episode was recorded.  Where's the commitment to the program, huh?  The original airdate of this episode is April 4, 2009.  We decided not to invite a guest to fill his seat, so tune in to hear me discuss my thoughts on Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a tease of the then-embargoed The Godfather II (Electronic Arts sent over an early review copy; I wish I could tell you more, but EA made me an offer I can't refuse), a little about the Toy Cars of Burnout Paradise, Dan's reactions for the latest Call of Duty map pack, Brad's trip to the Game Developers Conference, skepticism of the then-newly announced OnLive service, Nintendo of America's official 2009 statement regarding the non-release of Mother 3 (which may as well be their current statement, too), the unrivaled success of Game Informer magazine, and, for some reason, television talk about Lost and 30 Rock.  Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, or subscribe via iTunes, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach all three of us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow all of us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons, @aubradley84, and @JoeyDavidson or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton.

Power Button Presents Kombo Breaker - Episode 22: Sprinkles and Blood Rain From the Sky