This is a script for a youtube video I have created about going to E3, I also have daily recaps for each of my days at E3 if you are more interested in that. Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

Hello once again. I’m Kinglink and I’m here to answer two questions. The one that I keep hearing is “Should I go to E3?” The other question is “What is your favorite game?” So yeah, we’ll tackle both of those as I talk about E3 and crown the game of the show.

You should be seeing images from Borderlands 3, I did get the press kit and I feel like I should show some of their content since I missed out on it the first time. I’ll also put up some Borderlands 2 footage from their new DLC, if you haven’t heard, there’s free DLC, grab it.

So the question will be “Should I go to E3?” And honestly, the answer is very different depending on a lot of factors. Now before we get into anything E3 related, let’s talk about the big problem. The show is in one of my least favorite cities. I lived in LA for about 2 years, it’s easily one of the most expensive cities (I know San Francisco is higher, and New York feels about equal). Traffic is bad, hotels are expensive, and traveling to it costs a lot, parking is like 25 bucks, amenities cost more, food prices are outrageous even outside of the show.

So really if you don’t already live in the LA area, that’s a big problem. Personally, I live about 3 hours south in San Diego, but I have family in Orange County which gives me about an hour commute to the convention center.

The point though is travel is costly, and if you don’t have a support system here, you’re talking about a HUGE expense before we even look at the show.

Now, the cost for the show varies, If you are in the industry in any way, or can get a company to say you are, you can go for free, Media, if you’re a proper size outlet, you also can go for free. Those are obviously the best ways to go. I’ve done Industry for 5 years now, and Media for the last year, no question Media is better, but Industry is nice.

So if you’re not part of the industry, it’s between 150 to 250 for a pass, the first 1000 passes are cheaper for some reason. And we will talk about price in a minute, but if 150 to 250 is a lot of money to you, and it might be, really don’t go.

But if you’re still interested let’s then ask why do you want to go? There are a couple of reasons people say.

The first is to get a job in the industry. I’m not going to say that can’t happen, or won’t, but don’t go to E3 expecting that, because it really doesn’t happen that way, especially if you don’t have an outstanding portfolio, if you do, well apply normally if possible.

The next is to see celebs. Now I’ll be honest, I mean, you’re not going to see celebrities that often, sometimes they’ll be on stage, I once got a photo signed by Ashley Burch that I was thrilled to get, and there can be events, but it’s not really heavily about that.

This year, I did see Andre Meadows, probably better known as the Black Nerd from Black Nerd Comedy, that was awesome. I did run into Jesse Cox and was able to talk to him quickly, also very cool and I did see a wonderful smile on Jirard Khalil’s face, he’s better known as The Completionist and I shook his hand. Facebook.com

Last year, I saw no one, so it’s really random, but it is cool when it happens.

Personally though, I found sitting down at Avengers and looking up and seeing the Producer on the game was a guy I worked with years ago named Tyler. Seeing Tyler was awesome and while I didn’t get to talk much it’s those meetings that make me love E3. I saw a buddy from down in San Diego, I saw a guy named Alex that I worked with at Volition years ago, and moments like those are my favorite reasons. But meeting people is going to be hard.

The third reason, really the big reason people want to go to E3, is to play the newest and greatest games. Oh boy. This is not a bad reason. If you’re in the industry and you just want to play one game, yeah, definitely go. But the problem is unless you have a way around the lines, and honestly, there are not many ways for anyone but media, you’re going to be standing in very long lines. The lines will get capped as well, but even when they’re not, Nintendo’s lines were 2 hours long, Cyberpunk was an hour but capped fast each time, Borderlands I heard about 2 hours, Watch Dogs Legions was 2 hours.

If lines are 2 hours and get 20 minutes of demo per line, you’re talking about spending maybe 10 hours, and only seeing 4 things. In addition, some games were giving away tickets and appointments to everyone, if you get one of those, great, if you don’t, well standby was a thing. In addition, Gamer Passes miss the first three hours of the first and second day. That’s even less time. The point is you might only see 3-4 games per day or less if you even get in lines, and the majority of time is standing around. It’s kind of like Disneyland but the rides are not as unique. You’ll eventually get these experiences at home in under a year.

That’s even if you get to play them. Cyberpunk, Watch Dogs: Legions and Psychonauts were unplayable, so you could get that experience just watching videos from the show floor if there are any.

So let’s talk about the last reason and let me show you some stuff. On the screen is going to be my awesome lewt. This is the stuff I got from the show floor, at least what I haven’t lost already. There’s some decent stuff here, but three months from now it’s just crap taking up space. If you love Watch Dogs, the mask is cool, if you love Borderlands that mask is cool. I do love Sega, and Final Fantasy, those shirts are totally getting worn. 90 percent of my wardrobe is actually shirts from events or given away at work.

But honestly… it’s cool but if someone had asked me for this stuff, I could give it away, I mean.. Cyberpunk Visor… ok? I know they were giving out jackets for the private media show, but most of the stuff on the floor gets nothing or something minor.

There’s much more than I could say about this, about the changes and the fact that gamer badges the first year was… well, most studios seemed not to plan for it, let’s say. But the majority of the coolest giveaways was not on the floor, and the fact is, this stuff is really nice, but really I’m here to look at games and meet up with my friends.

So should you go to E3? Well, if you’re in the industry or Media, especially if you’re in LA or can get there for a day, definitely. I mean it’s one of those things that I think you can’t say you’re in the industry until you experience it. I mean I was a developer for 6 years before I went, but it’s just a rite of passage.

On the other hand, the gamer badge… If you’re well off enough to spend 250 for an unknown experience, then…. Sure, but just realize the experience isn’t that amazing. I did get to play a lot of games, but they’re all alpha and the gamer badge probably would only be able to play 10ish games in the time. But in a year, almost all of them will be out and they’ll cost around 600 dollars total for the full finished games you can enjoy, and play the entire thing.

Also, if you’re going for a specific game… well, let’s say you wanted to see Dying Light 2 that wasn’t on the floor. Control by 505 games? Also behind closed doors. I wanted to check out Planet Zoo and closed door again. I think most people didn’t know Psychonauts 2 was even at the show, it was tucked away behind a huge booth.

The point I’m making is, really, it can be fun but it’s not the best experience, and while I enjoy it every year, it’s usually for reasons that aren’t “playing cool games”. So yeah, I mean… go if you really want but be sensible.

With that said, E3 was exciting with what I did see. Let’s answer that other question? What’s the best thing you saw?

I’ve narrowed the field down quite a bit. The rules that I have are I have to have seen it or played it but I have the 5 games that stood out. Let’s just go for it.

Number 5 is Final Fantasy VII Remake. This was an extremely good demo, though it is what you’ve seen at home, the hands-on is fun. But, there are a lot of questions that they avoided. Like, how many games total, how much is it going to be in the end, still… it’s pretty fun.

Number 4. Doom Eternal. I really like this game, but it is exactly what I expected it to be. It’s going to be a ton of fun, if you’ve played DOOM, and want more DOOM, Doom Eternal is even better than that, but it’s still DOOM.

Number 3 Sniper Elite VR. Honestly, this game impressed me a lot. I think Sniper Elite is a fun game, but dear god, in VR it is so much better. I’m thrilled to have played it, This might be the one game I played that isn’t coming out in a year’s time, but when it comes out, I’ll have to find a way to play it.

Number 2 Borderlands 3. I’m surprised at this but I really liked Borderlands 3’s demo, I laughed which I honestly thought I wasn’t going to after prequel, but I really enjoyed it a lot. The new mecha character is so much fun and the multiple action skills are going to change the game as we know it.

Number 1 Cyberpunk 2077. I didn’t want to give this to a hands-off game, I think that’s not giving an honest look at the game, but Cyberpunk 2077 is really impressive, it’s the game that made me want to spend a hundred dollars or more just to play it now. It’s not done yet, there’s more time of course for it to be worked on, but…. I can’t deny it’s the game I’m still thinking about. Cd Projekt Red delivered something that really stood out and yeah, that’s why it’s getting the game of the show.

That’s my top 5. I will say every game on that list and even a couple of others, are definitely getting picked up when they release, but Cyberpunk is the game that stood out the most, and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

That’s my last piece on E3. I’m working constantly on getting back to reviews, I will be back to talk about Moonlighter before long, but I’m thrilled to have taken this break even if I overdid it.

Until then, I’m Kinglink and thanks for watching.