Hey there!
I went to E3 for the first time and in short, it was amazing! I have a very fun story to share about it, but I’ll keep it brief. While there, I visited the Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation booths, along with Sega’s.
Much of the show’s news has been shared online already. However, I will offer my impressions of my experiences and some great pics I took of each booth I visited. So without further ado, let’s get started!
Nintendo:
Like last year with Breath of the Wild, Nintendo put you into the world of Super Mario Odyssey for this year’s E3 booth. You walked into New Donk City as a Nintendo player, and were surrounded with friendly New Donk citizens (Nintendo employees), as well as many fans eager to try all the latest Nintendo games. Nintendo had a great range of titles to play, from Super Mario Odyssey to Splatoon 2 to ARMS to Pokken Tournament DX, as well as third party titles, such as Mario + Rabbids, FIFA 18, and Sonic Forces.
I got to play Splatoon 2 (both Turf War and Salmon Run modes) and Super Mario Odyssey. I played Odyssey several times and had a blast. I even got to try it in portable mode and do both stages! I love how it feels similar to Sunshine and 64 as a sandbox Mario game is my favorite type of Mario game. There was a lot to do in New Donk City and many hidden areas, which I really enjoyed. This was also something I live about Sunshine that was brought back, so it made me happy. The wall jumps and triple jumps were also a welcome return, and Mario and Cappy felt great to control with the JoyCons.
Splatoon 2 Turf War was also very fun, and I enjoyed playing with all the new weapons available. It felt great to play with the new Splatoon 2 Pro Controller on a TV, and I enjoyed winning with my team and getting a Splatoon 2 shirt and pin! I was most eager to play Salmon Run and finally got to on my third day (the systems kept glitching out at the end of day 2, so they told us to come back the next day.) Salmon Run was very fun, and we got a different Splatoon 2 pin for playing! It was played exclusively in portable mode. I enjoy the concept of Salmon Run and it feels like teamwork and communication is even more necessary to succeed in this one. It is longer than an average Splatoon match with employees saying each round would last 15 minutes. It still breezed by, however, and it was very fun and well balanced. It was worth the 2.5 hour wait.
Sonic Forces felt great on the Switch and the graphics weren’t too much worse than it’s counterparts on other systems. Did not notice a huge difference at 30fps. It was great switching from 2D to 3D and I found it surprising how much it felt like 2D Sonic but also was relieved that it felt there was a bit more to do in the 3D environment coming from a Sonic Adventure fan like myself. It is great on the Switch, and you can play it portably, which is the point.
Also played FIFA 18 with my friend, and it was a blast. The graphics were not too great, I could not see any detail on the characters faces. However, the gameplay was sharp and very responsive. It is a great GAME for Switch, even if the graphics aren’t as up to par as the other versions. Again, it’s also portable.
Booth pics:
Sega:
I went to the SEGA booth and tried out both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania. I played on a PlayStation 4 console both times. Both were super fun, and I got to try out new levels and take home posters for both games! I played as Tails on the Saloon level in Sonic Mania and found it great to be able to nearly constantly fly everywhere. Great level design with a lot to explore. In Sonic Forces I played the second level and had a blast switching from 2D to 3D. The game is better than it looks once you play it! Also saw the other half of GameXplain in line!
Booth pics:
PlayStation:
The booth was blue as you’d expect. Gran Turismo Sport looked stunning on a 4K HDR TV. I did not get to play anything, though. I didn’t have the chance to take as many pics here, but here is what I have:
Booth pics:
Xbox:
Xbox had one of the best shows of E3 in my opinion (alongside Nintendo and Ubisoft) where they showed off the new 4K Xbox One X, and a ton of new games coming to the system! I got invited to a VIP after-hours party at the booth for ExpertZone members, and was able to try nearly all the games I wanted to! I played Dragonball FighterZ (super fun and a deep fighting game with beautiful hand-drawn art style), Forza 7 (looks sharp in 4K, but the detail looked about the same to me as Forza 6), Need For Speed Payback (graphics were beautiful, enjoyed how the game felt and played. Played a mission where we had to take down a truck and some cars), and Sonic Forces (tried custom hero level, Park Avenue. Could not beat it! Very difficult platforming.) I also got to hold the Xbox One X!
Here are my booth pics:
So there you have it! My first E3 was super fun, and I have to thank my friends Daniel and Juan for helping me go with them. It wouldn’t have happened this year, otherwise!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVgl7mkFKPq/?taken-by=noahsanchezofficial
Can’t wait to cover E3 next year in an even larger capacity!
Till next time,
-Noah Sanchez, Gamer Splash
Gamer Splash! 