The Best and Worst of E3 2021!

 Another E3 is wrapping up as I write this and the new online formula was tested.  There was much to see despite Covid-19 limiting what developers had ready to show, and things ran the gamut from great to awful this year.  E3 is full of things for different gamers, and now it's time to look back at everything we've seen these last 4 days and sort out what fell where, starting with the more lackluster and moving upwards!

The Worst:



Ubisoft Forward: The Ubisoft presentation was pretty standard for them.  We got a new Rainbow Six announcement with Rainbow Six Extraction, which sees players go up against an alien parasite foe.  Players found more Farcry 6 news as well as Blood Dragon and a new thing that sees players take on the roles of Vaas and other villains.  We got a new dance game and some sports titles, but the highlight had to be the reveal of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which gave us a glimpse into the more free moving gameplay and a new character: Rabbid Rosalina.  Ubisoft's presentation was rather standard and expected, and their pre-show, featuring small company segments bordered by snippets of characters walking or flyng away from the screen did not help how long it all felt.  The presentation just didn't provide many big moments and felt lackluster for a big E3 showcase.  We also got a game based off James Cameron's Avatar which i was surprised was still a thing.



Gearbox Showcase: There's not overly much to say when it comes to Gearbox's presentation, which is part of the issue.  Randy Pitchford showed off Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a new DnD/ Borderlands type game, and also glimpses at Tribes of Midgard and Godfall.  The rest of that presentation saw Rany speak with Kevin Hart, who stars as Roland in the upcoming Borderlands movie.  Gearbox really played it safe, with little to show and not much to get people excited.  Itmakes the Worst of list because there was very little substance and it was mostly things we'd been teased on before.



Square Enix Presents: It makes me sad to be putting this on this list but given everything, this was the decision.  Square did have new things to show us, but unfortunately they were bogged down.  Way too much of the initial presentation was spent on the Marvel games people seem unhappy with, and an overabundance of their new Guardians of the Galaxy game, which only lets you play as Star-Lord.  We got a glimpse of a small snippet of pixel remasters of Final Fantasy 1-6. and also got shown mobile titles like Hitman: Sniper and a mobile Nier game.  The big guns appeared near the end of the presentation when Godfall made a surprise return, and fans got a new FF title in the super edgy Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, described as "The story of an angry man".  Square Enix makes this list because while it picked up at the end, the presentation spent it's time plodding through Marvel to get there, and it left many feeling unimpressed.

Verizon: The Verizon spot makes the list because I still have no idea why they had a spot.  They didn't show anything except to brag about their network and mention that they were partnering with a few places in the gaming world.  It was rather baffling they even addressed people watching, and that is why they make this list.

Capcom: Capcom's presentation left most people feeling very disappointed.  While there was an extended look at The Great Ace Attorney, most of what they showed was something people had already seen many times over and no surprises either.

Bandai Namco: This had potential until it was revealed that the company was only there to discuss just one game- House of Ashes.  Lots of people were excited for news about games like Tekken or SoulCalibur VI, but they focused only on this.  The fact that this was only revealed when the day of the presentation arrived doesn't help any, and they make this list for it.

The Best:



Xbox and Bethesda Showcase: One of the good presentations of the event, Xbox and Bethesda went right into it, showing off game after game, and we got some interesting looks.  We got a look at Halo Infinite again, and saw its multiplayer, and we got to see Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Theives get a new movie themed expansion.  While not all the games shown were for everyone, it can't be denied that this presentation came with bigger guns than most before them, and they did a good job this year.





PC Gaming Show: I really was not sure where to put this one, but in the end, the number of great looking titles shown off pushed it in this category.  The skits that the PC Gaming Show uses between reveals really tend to fall flat and aren't very funny, however, the games definitely save it.  We got looks at Dying Light 2, a Splatoon-style game called Rawmen, and interesting titles like Next Space Rebels.  We also got looks at Chivalry 2, a new Vampire: The Masquerade title, the Kaiju brawler Gigabash.  The interesting titles just kept happening this show, and it was one of the best shows at the event if not for the skits.



Nintendo: The memes about Nintendo saving E3 certainly came true this year in force.  Nintendo brought their A-game to this event.  Nintendo focused mostly on games releasing this year, but did have a few for next one as well.  Starting with a bang, we learned that Tekken's Kazuya Mishima would be joining the roster as a DLC fighter, and that Sakurai has a presentation planned for the 28th.  Nintendo continued right along, showing us Shin Megami Tensai V, Advance Wars 1 & 2: Re-Boot Camp, and WarioWare: Get it Together!  A personal highlight for me was a dream f mine coming true with the announcement of Mario Party Superstars which features 100 minigames from across the series as well as 5 boards from the Nintendo 64 games, with Peach's Birthday Cake and Space Land shown off.  Nintendo also made big news by announcing the first new 2-D Metroid title in 19 years, Metroid: Dread, which seems to be a callback to a cancelled sequel to Metroid: Fusion.  We also got looks at Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Worms, and a new game called Strange Brigade.  Nintendo ended things by switching to Eiji Aonuma who had some last announcements in the form of Skyward Sword HD and a small new glimpse at the untitled sequel to Breath of the Wild.  Nintendo's presentation really did end up stealing the show, and there was jo chance they were anywhere but on this list.

In the end, there were big presentations and there were small presentations, and this is my personal ranking of the one I saw.  Some came with heavier guns than others but they all had things to show off.  What are your personal likes or dislikes of the show?

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