E3 Day 2 - Nintendo Direct

Oh, boy. Here we go, folks! Joe Hogan here, back with some new E3 coverage for you on The Missing Linc. Nintendo has been doing their own thing for years, and declining to host a press conference on the main stage in the first time in E3 existence is no exception. While all the main players are going about their usual press conferences, Nintendo will be broadcasting their biggest news via their popular Nintendo Directs, a series of announcement videos broadcasted throughout the year, in all corners of the world. So, strange decisions aside, where did they leave us Nintendo faithful fans with? The games touched on today during the E3 Nintendo Direct:

3DS:

• Pokemon X/Y
• Batman: Arkham Origins
• Scribblenauts Unmasked
• Shin Megami Tensei IV
• Skylanders SWAP Force
• Sonic: Lost World
• Super Smash Bros 3DS (2014)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds
• Yoshi's New Island
• Mario and Luigi: Dream Team

Wii U:

• Super Mario 3D World U
• MarioKart 8 (Spring 2014)
• Wii Party U
• Wii Fit U (Delay notice)
• Art Academy
• AC Black Flag
• Batman Arkham Origins
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
• Disney Infinity
• Just Dance 2014
• Rayman Legends
• Scribblenauts Unmasked
• Disney Planes
• Skylanders SWAP Force
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
• Sonic Lost World
• Watch Dogs
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (October 2013)
• The Wonderful 101 (August 23rd)
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
• Bayonetta 2
• Monolith's mystery game
• Super Smash Bros U (2014)
• Pikmin 3
• New Super Luigi U

Nintendo eShop:

• Ballpoint Universe
• Cloudberry Kingdom
• Coaster Crazy Deluxe
• Ducktales Remastered
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Mutant Mudds Deluxe
• Oddworld: New 'n Tasty
• Scam Kitty and His Buddy on Rails
• Shovel Knight
• Spin the bottle Bumpie's Party
• A World of Keflings

Mega Man joins Smash Bros! Fanboys rejoice!

First of all, I think the Nintendo Direct was a smart choice on paper, but did have quite a few hiccups. There were some streaming issues but jumping to a different stream was an easy fix. Nintendo knew they couldn't compete with Sony and Microsoft for attention, especially with both releasing new consoles this year. All eyes are on those two, while Nintendo kicks back and just showed off the games the 1st party fans have been clamoring over. And while the ship that is the Xbox One begins to collapse in on itself like a dying star, I bet the Wii U is suddenly looking a lot more appealing to some folks. While Sony clearly has the graphical superiority over Wii U, the Wii U still has no used game fee, does not need to be connected to the internet to play games, does not need to register software to the console before playing, and, unlike Playstation 4, has backwards compatibility.

All aboard the Nintendo Hype Train! Next stop: YOUR WALLET!

Nintendo knows what their fans want on Wii U. Today's lineup is clearly proof of that! Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros., and more.  I mean, just look at the list. The twin releases of the Smash Bros series, one on 3DS and the other on Wii U, look absolutely stellar. I can't wait to get my hands on both and to see how they interact with one another. Mario Kart 8's gravity-defying courses are another reason to return to your colorful go-karts as well! The Wind Waker HD also looks GORGEOUS.

Come at me, bro.

I'm a bit concerned that the new Mario, Super Mario 3D World, might be a little too safe of a gamble in terms of a new 3D Mario. It doesn't seem to be pushing any bounds like Mario 64 or Mario Galaxy dared to do. Even Super Mario Sunshine took a big risk with the entire water mechanic, but this game really just looks like a Wii U version of Super Mario 3D Land with one new power-up. A bit of a disappointment!

The Nintendo 3DS also surprisingly had a strong showing. The next installment in the handheld Zelda series has been given a name -- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds. A little long but it works!

Come on, we all wanted a full 3D Wii U Pokemon. This guy most of all.

Today proved the first party titles are coming, even if there weren't a few that I personally have been hoping for. Long have I prayed for Majora's Mask 3D, but was given Wind Waker HD. While I'm still excited to relive that game in glorious HD, I can't help but feel like that wasn't the game people were asking for. Just look at Operation Moonfall. But at the same time, we're getting three Zelda games soon, so that is pretty badass. I also feel like the Wii U's potential for a full Pokemon game is not yet realized either. That tablet controller is begging to battle Pokemon in HD. And Joe Sorbera would've liked a Star Fox installment! COME ON, BIG N.

What else is in store for today? I'm going to be making some rounds to cover any games not mentioned in the big press conferences, and bring you all the new news that might've fallen between the cracks, as well as a thorough look at the PS4/Xbox One battle! Check back soon!

E3 Day 1 - Introductions

Ah! Salaam and good morning/afternoon/evening/night to you, worthy friends! Please, please, come closer!

Too close!

Now that you know what kind of sass and terrible humor you're in for, we can get started. As my gracious host and your beloved Linc'ing writer Joe Sorbera has already mentioned, my name is Joe Hogan and I'll be your tour guide through the wonderful world of gaming news for the next few days. I have zero qualifications for video game journalism, but beggars can't be choosers! Regardless, here at The Missing Linc, we'll be providing you with all the biggest gaming news to come straight out of Los Angeles' annual gaming expo, E3, and it all begins today. Fanboys will rejoice and rage, franchises will rise and fall, and Reggie Fils-Aime will bless the internet with the gift of meme ammunition.

Day 1 is always the most hectic, so expect the bulk of the info to be dropped right here today. Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Ubisoft will all be holding their huge press conferences today, with TONS of reveals and announcements. Tomorrow, Nintendo will be joining the fray with their slew of game reveals as well. Not to mention, publishers and developers will be dropping news like nobody's business throughout the convention, so be sure to keep it locked here! Our first order of business will be covering Microsoft's 9:30 AM PDT conference, so you can be sure to read a slew of info immediately afterwards! Can they redeem the already-tarnished view most of the gaming world has of the Xbox One!? Check back soon and we'll find out together! And just for anyone having trouble keeping track, here's a nifty timetable of the conferences:

In the meantime, feast your eyes on some of these awesome early morning photos of the convention center, courtesy of redbootz on Reddit! You can see the entire photo collection here.

 

E3 Day One: Joe Hogan Takes Over The Missing Linc

Happy Monday everyone, and what a day it is! The eyes and ears of the gaming community are turned intently on the Los Angeles Convention Center was we kick off E3 2013!

It's going to be a really exciting expo this year. Microsoft will try to prove that it's not trying to ruin gaming as we know it, Sony will be revealing the answer to the question "What else can we make one system do?" and Nintendo will be happily humming its own tune while the other two duke it out. And who better to cover this three day game-a-palooza than my friend, Star Wars artist, and lifelong gamer, Mr. Joe Hogan.

Literally the best picture he's taken in 10 years

Joe will be taking over The Missing Linc for the next three days, updating you all on what's new, exciting, shocking, and head-scratching in the gaming industry. When he's not doing my work for me, he's busy putting his own unique touch on familiar franchises like Star Wars and Marvel Comics (heard of 'em?) You can check out his work on his blog, www.iwillbeastarwarsartist.blogspot.com, his DeviantArt page, and his first motion comic, The Siren of Dathomir. Take it away, Hogatron!

Your Linc at Lunch: Star Wars Every Year, Doctor Who 50th News, New Zelda Game for 3DS, and Heroes May Be Revived

It's time once again for a little digestivo, Missing Linc style!

1. Star Wars Updates: Sequels/Spinoff Alternating Every Year, May the 4th History, And Patton Oswalt is a Genius

Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, announced today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas that Disney will release one Star Wars movie every summer beginning in 2015. After Episode VII's release in 2015, the movies will alternate between spinoffs and Episodes VIII and IX. Ooh, just typing those Roman numerals gives me goosebumps! Perhaps each spinoff will be affected by, and then lead into, the next Sequel movie? If there's ever a time to be a Star Wars fan, it's during the buildup to a new movie. There's so much excitement every time a new shred of information is revealed. More details to come as this unfolds!

Also be sure to head over to Star Wars.com for a great, brief history of "May the 4th Be With You" in preparation for Star Wars Day in a few weeks. And if you haven't seen actor and mega-geek Patton Oswalt's completely improvised Star Wars-inspired filibuster, which will be featured on tonight's on Parks & Recreation, do yourself a favor and check it out below. The man is an absolute genius....and frankly I'd love to see the movie he proposes.

 

I can also 100% forgive all the mispronunciations and errors since this was a completely off-the-cuff speech. Hopefully we'll hear more of his ideas in the future.

2. Doctor Who 50th: Tennant Speaks, Doctors Unite, and More Monsters to Be Featured

David Tennant, the man behind the beloved Tenth Doctor, turns 42 today. Happy Birthday, Doctor! He recently spoke to the Radio Times about his return to Doctor Who:

“It is strange being back in the same suit, but it also feels very familiar and comfortable," (Tennant said.) "There’s nothing quite like Doctor Who. It has a wonderful excitement about it. I always had happy times there and it’s lovely to be around Billie again, even though I see her all the time anyway.”

And while we can't wait to see Ten and Rose back together again, here are a few shots on location of David Tennant and Matt Smith outside what looks to be Ten's TARDIS:

10 and 11

A wider shot. Check out that Zygon strutting his stuff (Ladies?)

Ten running with Queen Elizbaeth I

Allons-y!

And it won't just be the Zygons that the (at least) two Doctors will be facing. According to writer Robert Banks Stewart in an interview with Digital Spy, we will see Daleks, Cybermen, and more! Will the villains team up in an effort to destroy the Doctor once and for all? Who knows! (Pun aside...Moffat and only Moffat knows.)

3. Time To Update Your Hyrule Historia: Nintendo Announces "A Link to the Past" Sequel for 3DS

Oh you read that right! Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that they will be releasing a direct sequel to 1991's "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past"! According to NBC:

"The new "Link to the Past" will follow directly in the footsteps of the original SNES classic, featuring everything from the iconic top-down perspective and cartoonish art style of early nineties-era Zelda games and the same Hyrule that series protagonist Link explored more than a decade ago."

Since it's being released for the 3DS, developers have utilized that feature to use the height of platforms in new and exciting ways. And there will apparently be a feature that will allow Link to become a drawing, flattening him against walls and making him able to get around tight spaces and obstacles. Check out the video below and see the first glimpse of what looks to be a visually stunning and incredibly fun game.

 


4. NBC's Heroes May Find New Life on X-Box Live

Let's be honest here: When Heroes debuted in 2006 it was incredible. Characters like Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Matt Parkman, Claire and Noah Bennett, and the evil Sylar took hold of our imaginations as the super-hero genre went mainstream. I really enjoyed it because it presented every day people being thrust into extraordinary circumstances. It asked the question "just what would happen if suddenly you woke up and had super powers?" and did so in a believable and intriguing way. It also had, for the first time, a truly international cast and we were taken from New York to India and Japan as the good guys tried to stop Sylar and "the bomb". The ubiquitous catchphrase "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" was whispered among my friends all year!

Also, if you didn't squeal like a little girl when he showed up, I can't help you.

And then...I don't know what happened. Convoluted plots, more characters than a Simpson's collage, and just the overall poor quality of the show in its last two seasons spelled the end for the show. But, it looks like the show might heal quicker than Claire after a fall off a water tower, with a new cast and stories possibly to be downloadable from XBox Live. Hopefully during this interregnum Heroes' house was put back in order and we will see fresh, exciting content (with of course some cameos) soon.

Yatta! \(^0^)/


And that's all for today! Well, one more thing. In honor of David Tennant's birthday, here's a clip of every time he uttered his famous catchphrase.

 

Allons-y!

- Joe

Your Saturday Morning Linc: Nintendo 64 Kid Remake, Agent Smith for GE, Jayne Cobb Hat Scandal, and More!

Congratulations, everyone, you made it to the weekend! I think you deserve some pretty cool Lincs:

1. Nintendo 64 Kid: The Darker Side of Christmas

We all remember that great video of the young boy and his sister opening up a Nintendo 64 one special Christmas in 1996. Hell, I can remember being that kid! I was beyond excited to get mine from Santa, and I'll never forget making my dad come upstairs to watch the opening scene with Princess Peach's letter and Mario coming out of the pipe in all his 64-bit glory. Well, YouTube user TerminalMontage has posted a video detailing a very...different version of events:

 

Thank you, TerminalMontage, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, check out his amazing Zubatman: The Animated Series Trailer!

2. Agent Smith Wants You To Know That Machines Are Good

As I was entering my fifth consecutive minute of belly-laughing from the last video, I noticed the fine people at GE posted this video featuring a certain agent of the Matrix.

 

Surprised to see him? Me too! That is the man himself, Hugo Weaving, reprising his role as Agent Smith for this very cool commercial. Not only does he explain the life-saving and time-reducing products of GE, he makes me want plug myself back into the Matrix! I know I'd take that blue lollipop in a heartbeat.

3. You Can Sing the Legend of the Hero of Canton, But You Can't Sell His Hat

Firefly fans (or Browncoats) can instantly recognize one of their own by one very simple, stylish, and practical piece of headgear.

"A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything."

Now, everyone knows fans can get pretty creative, so over the past 11 years since Firefly's cancellation (yeah...that's right...feel old), people have been making their very own Jayne Cobb hats and selling them. The orange dome-topper has acted as a symbol for all Firefly fans who still want to connect to the beloved series long after its undeserved and abrupt end. Even creator Joss Whedon knows its true value:

"Joss Whedon: Here's the thing about the hat. It's tangible, it's DIY, it's not wearing an entire costume. You can have the hat and go to your day job. It's everything that should work for cult... it's the specificity and the fact that it's got that homemade feel. People can make it themselves. Also, it's very flattering.

Adam Baldwin: It does. And it's cozy in the wintertime." 

But, sadly, you can only infringe on a loose copyright for so long. The people at Fox (you know, the ones who has the brilliant insights to cancel both Futurama and Family Guy....well....when Family Guy was good anyway) have put the kibosh on that and given all vendors on Etsy a firm cease and desist letter. But, clever geeks that that they are, the fans found a workaround. One even created a hilarious backstory for their hat. Check it all out here at Buzzfeed.

4. The Internet As Told By Memes

A million years from now, when some alien archaeologist is trying to compile the history of the 21st century, he (or she...or it) will have to look no further than this picture. College Humor has compiled some of the most popular memes of the last decade (or has it only been 2 weeks?) into one great graphic.

Behold: Your Life....Wasted.

Head on over to their site to see an interactive picture and enjoy spending some more time with the memes we all know, love, and can never forget....until the next one comes along

That's all for now, people. Have a great weekend!

-Joe