E3: Star Wars The Old Republic: Hope

Like I said before, LucasArts knows how to do trailers when it comes to this Star Wars thing. In what is the Yin to the original The Old Republic trailer's Yang, this cinematic entitled Hope is gorgeous. And this time, the good guys win!

E3: Metal Gear Solid: Rising

I haven't played a Metal Gear Solid game since the first half of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Go ahead and hate on that little fact. I enjoyed the hell out of the first MGS, but to me, they just seemed to tail off after that. I was underwhelmed with the first half of MGS2, and decided not to continue for two reasons; 1, because I played it at my friend's house, and 2, because I felt like I had better things to play. I had become disenchanted with the stealth action genre when the action aspect of it took a back seat. That's why I'm so excited for MGS: Rising.

Kojima will do with this game what he does for his other games. Involved story, great cinematics (though hopefully more gameplay than cinematic this time around,) meticulous attention to detail. Add to the Kojima formula for success a few touches of awesome: swords, destructible environments, gore, bullet time. Yes, if Tomonobu Itagaki and Hideo Kojima made love, their child would look something like this.

E3: Tomonobu Itagaki and Devil's Third

I was deeply saddened when Tomonobu Itagaki was released from Tecmo. It meant that he was no longer helming favorite franchises of mine Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Will Tecmo continue his tradition of hyper-violence, gore, and obscenely busty women in his absence?! Who knows. But for the boozin', gamblin', Yakuza lookin' and all around handsome man Itagaki, life continues. That life is his new studio, Valhalla, and his latest game, Devil's Third.

The game looks good. That's it. It's not wowing me like Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2 did when those trailers were released, but it looks like he's on the right track at least. Violence? Check. Stylized action? Check. Sexy women? Check. Okay Itagaki-san, color me intrigued. We'll see how this title continues to shape up.

E3: Halo Reach, In Space!

Say what you will about the Halo series.. The story sucks. The improvements from game to game are marginal. The multiplayer isn't as good as Modern Warfare. Blah blah blah. Some of these detracting facts I have no choice but to agree with. Others, I'll argue with you until you're out of breath. 2010 brings another Halo game, and with it, it brings hype and excitement for some, cautious optimism or straight up doubt for others.

Consider me in the latter. I'm ready for Reach! I've always been a supporter of the Halo Series.. Except for Halo Wars, fuck that game. And maybe ODST, that was kinda disappointing. But Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 were sick. And now, the series expands with.. Ready for this? Wait for it.. SPACE BATTLES! Hell yeah.

E3: Star Wars The Force Unleashed II

It's been a few weeks since we've last heard from Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2. Previously, the reveal trailer showed Starkiller, alive and well, unleashing a world of pain on the biggest freaking Rancor I've ever seen. No gameplay. But OH HEY, Starkiller has dual sabers now. AND Yoda got his back.

Now, a few weeks later, we have another TFU2 trailer. Still no gameplay, but I'll be damned if LucasArts doesn't make some kickass cinematics. I can't imagine the game mechanics for TFU2 being much of a departure from the first. Some new powers, and power combinations, some new melee moves and combos. That's it? The first game got a lot of shit for having a lot of hype and not really delivering, but I will admit I enjoyed it. You can't tell me you didn't get a kick out of charging a storm trooper with force lightning, and flinging him off a bridge into a TIE fighter that's trying to shoot you down. Fuck yeah. Aside from that though, I actually liked the story, call me crazy.

If nothing else, at least The Force Unleashed 2 is giving us an awesome trailer. Oh and by the way, Vader, if you're reading this.. Why would you leave it to stormtroopers to kill a Sith? Idiot.

E3: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: a movie, based on a comic book, that features Michael Cera doing martial arts.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: an old styled side scrolling beat 'em up which looks to be two player, with awesome pixel graphics, a sick chiptune soundtrack, and an underlying story of chivalry and love.

When I first heard about the game, I immediately wrote it off. How good could a game with tie ins to a Michael Cera movie be? Then I saw the E3 trailer.

Whoa.

This thing looks good, folks. It's not the most cutting edge in terms of graphics and technology, but it doesn't need to be. In the vein of Castle Crashers, good beat 'em up gameplay, retro styled graphics, and a slamming soundtrack will get you places. And yes, being an XBLA/PSN title, it will cost under $10. UPDATE: Yes, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has 4-player co-op. Can it get any better?

I'm sold, and you should be too.

E3 and OBG

Today is a big day for gamers. First and foremost, it's the opening day of E3 (more on that to come.) But more importantly, it's Otaku But Gangsta's first day of existence. If you're a wide-eyed, impressionable geek, gamer, otaku, and/or tech nerd, let OBG be where you come to have hard hitting, unbiased, opinionated news and reviews crammed down your throat. In these days of interwebs and RSS feeds, you need a loudmouth like me to tell you what and what not to like. Stick around, and let me show you why I am the loudmouth for you! And after that, let me show you my pokemans. My pokemans. Let me show you them.

Stay tuned for my impressions on day 1 of E3.