E3 late post

Hey everyone, sorry for the late post. Having a kid really changes around my schedule. I planned on releasing this post two Fridays ago but got behind with kid stuff that I didn't have a chance. This post was also supposed to debut last Friday but again, got caught up on baby situation. Now the post is ready to go up and man am I excited for the stuff I want to talk about.

First up, I think Microsoft killed it at their conference. I love both consoles...and Nintendo but wit the "FREE" backwards capabilities Sony just can't compete when they make me buy/rent their older games. It's a good idea and worked until Microsoft unleashed their hailmary.

A few things I am excited for from E3 are many upon many games that were unleashed and unveiled. Fallout 4 Pipboy edition is a must have. I think they are sold out at the moment but do periodic sales. Follow Bethesda on twitter for updates on when they are selling pre-orders again. The gameplay that they showed really brought the wow factor and a bit of "oh man". The "oh man" is up first, why did we change the VAT system from freeze time to slow down time? I loved being able to use VATS, pause and  analyze the situation I was in and determine what I needed to do next. Slowing down time won't let me have the time needed to choose my next moves out in advance.

Plus side? Dog, yay, we get a dog. Hopefully this "Companion" does better than many games ave tried in the past...i.e. getting stuck in a wall, can't go around an obstacle or just plain getting lost and are lost forever. I have high hopes though because Bethesda makes really good games and Fallout is one of the best series they have running.

We are finally getting a release for The Last Guardian. Now I can finally stop hearing the internet rave about this game that never came to be.

Kingdom Hearts 3. Wow, this game just looks stunning and is in the top 5 games I loved from E3.

Yet....another Call of Duty. I do have to say I like Activision COD a ton better than Infinity Wards version.

This has been a very successful year at E3, so many good things came out of there and I can't wait to get my hands on some of them. A few are even coming out this year. /squeee

I was at work mostly for the broadcasting so I am not up to speed on many of the other items coming from E3.

That's it for now folks. Follow me on twitter to get updates on what's going on. @the_gaming_dad

The Affordable Daddy Gamer

I am a guy who likes to find the most bang for my buck. Playing video games is a field where I can drop a large quantity of money without seeing much of my investment returned money wise. What I do get back is precious moments playing a video game where I get emotionally attached to a character, hate an NPC (non-player character), even have a good belly laugh that could last minutes.

As it stands we have next-generation consoles that are a little over a year old. I currently have an Xbox One and a Playstation 4 hooked up to my tv. I also have a Nintendo 3DS close by where ever I go for the quick gaming sessions. The Playstation 3 is also close by because a large amount of my games are on the PS3 and with the PS4 not being backwards compatible. That leaves me having to reconnect my PS3 to play the last-gen games I love.

PRICING

Lets talk about pricing.

Xbox One: $349.99 WITHOUT the Kinect Assassins Creed Xbox One Bundle

The Xbox One is my main console I play on when I get a few hours to play. It is where I stream mostly because my laptop does not like streaming with two graphics cards. This console is something I use for EVERYTHING. I have my media, video services (Netflix, Amazon TV, etc.), and of course, my gaming. This is the go-to console for all of my needs. There are a few glitches with party chat, but hopefully they will have a patch out to fix that soon. During the launch of the Xbox 360 and the PS3 I started out as a Xbox 360 fan but soon switched over to the PS3 due to free online play. Mainly because I was a kid/teen who didn't have any income and I didn't want to burden my parents with buying a console AND paying for a monthly subscription. With the next-generation launch I have a flexible income (for now until the baby is born) and can afford to pay a monthly subscription. Luckily, I have an amazing wife who bought me this bundle for Christmas WITH a year subscription to Xbox Live. For the price since they first came out, you can't get much better on pricing than here. For a little over $350 with tax it is still a little high for the affordable Dad but a must if you can swing it financially. This bundle also comes with Assassins Creed: Black Flag and Assassins Creed Unity. The series have been around for a while and this iteration has only been polished since their earlier games in the series.

Playstation 4: $399.00 WITHOUT the PS Eye The Last of Us Remasterd PS4 Bundle

At launch, Sony's Playstation 4 had the upper hand on pricing against Microsoft's Xbox One but after a year Playstation has fell behind with their least expensive bundle being $399. Playstation has always boasted being a gaming console more-so than Xbox One where they promote being an all-in-one entertainment system. In the category of just gaming, I would say that Playstation 4 comes away on top. The last generation for Playstation didn't see many exclusive games and privileges which was Microsoft's forte. This generation however we are seeing titles exclusive to Playstation and games like Destiny showing favor to the PS4 console with exclusive content. With this bundle, you are getting the remastered version of The Last of Us which is a great single player game, set to give your emotions a virtual roller coaster ride. For the affordable dad, the PS4 is still out of reach unless financially flexible.

Wii U: $269.99 Wii U Bundle with 3 Games

The Wii U, Nintendo's upgraded version of the Wii. Currently, I have a Wii and not a Wii U but it is a purchase that will be made in the future. For dads, this is a console you will want to look at when you play games with the kids. Nintendo has a good reputation for making decent kid friendly games.

Nintendo 3DS: $199.99 Nintendo 3DS XL with Mario Party

Next up is the Nintendo 3DS, a hand-held system that gets many hours of use for the price. It comes with Mario Party. Mario has been around for a very long time and Nintendo keep making ways to bring his endeavors to fruition every year. Almost all of the Mario games are enjoyable from Mario Tennis, to Mario Kart, and Mario Party. Other games I would recommend for this system include Pokemon, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and The Legend of Zelda. The current Pokemon games out are Omega Ruby and Alpha Saphire which are remakes of the 3rd generation Ruby and Sapphire. There has been no announcement if or when the next Pokemon game will be. Pokemon is family oriented with parts that can interest adults as well. Pokemon isn't just for kids but is a complex system of numbers and charts for people to do battle with one another. Priced at $39.99

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is a game that is more geared towards teens to adults as there is an extensive customization and heavy slope learning curve to the game. It brings a fantasy game to life without the magic but focuses on melee and ranged weapons. There is no player level or stats to upgrade like traditional RPG but relies heavily on the customization of weapons and armor. Priced at $39.99

The Nintendo 3DS is a system I would highly recommend for the fathers and daddies to be. It is priced at a point where it doesn't hurt as much as a TV console and can be taken anywhere. There are many versions of the system that if you chop around you can find a better priced system or a 2DS which doesn't offer 3D capabilities at a better price. Owning the original Silver DS for many years I was finally able to convince my wife to let me purchase the 3DS and it came at the perfect time. I snagged a limited edition Pokemon Red X version see below and love every minute I spend on it. For the money, I have recouped it with the amount of time I have spent on the 3DS.

Altogether, I am looking at $1,218.97 plus tax for JUST the console bundles without shelling out $60 a pop per game that releases in the future. That is a lot of diapers. I own all but the Wii U and was able to purchase them over time and with a loving wife who understands my passion for gaming.