Ah, E3. The time for us gamers to get new info on upcoming titles, figure out how to ration out our wallets for the coming year, and--most importantly – get hyped! It’s no secret that when the month of June rolls around, every gamer’s eyes are on this important expo.

This year’s E3 wasn’t too mind-blowing – save for two announcements in particular – but nevertheless, I have some thoughts on the expo this year. I won’t be going into extensive detail about every press conference, as there are already videos online showing each press conference in its unedited entirety, but I am going to talk about the topics that I have been closely following since before E3. So without further ado, let’s jump into some of my personal highlights from this year’s E3.

Destiny 2

Sony’s press conference gave us a new trailer plus some gameplay for Bungie’s sequel to the wildly popular sci-fi shooter-RPG Destiny. Now, I have been in love with Destiny ever since starting with the Taken King expansion last summer; all this announcement did was just bolster my excitement for the sequel and what Bungie’s going to do to refine the formula established in the first game. With that said, though…

It is more of the same, so far. Which means that if you don’t like Destiny or skipped it, this one probably won’t win you over. Plus, given the content drought that was Year One of Destiny, we can’t really be 100% certain whether Bungie is going to knock it out of the park or not come launch day. With that said, however, the material we have seen thus far appears to suggest that Bungie wants to make good on its promises instead of breaking them like they did with the first Destiny’s launch. Here’s hoping we’re right on that.

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

I enjoy fighting games, though I’m one of those button-masher players, and I certainly love Marvel vs Capcom. What’s not to like? Popular comic book characters beating up popular Capcom video game characters? Sign me up!

But this game...I’m conflicted about. Don’t get me wrong, I was a fan of Marvel vs Capcom 2 back in the day, but Infinite looks to be a mixed bag for me. The combat hasn’t strayed away from the tag-team-based, Street Fighter-esque fighting formula we know and love, but visually, it feels like a letdown. The character models seem somewhat inadequate for current generation standards; when we have fighting games that look like Tekken 7 or even Capcom’s own Street Fighter V, one has to acknowledge that the graphical standard is higher than it used to be.

And then there’s the story mode. From what we’ve seen of it, it is at least on the right track by trying to be more lighthearted and not too serious, but line delivery and the lines themselves seem less “epic story” and more “Power Rangers.” I think the level of hammy needs to be dialed down if I’m going to sit through this presumably 10-12 hour story mode without rolling my eyes and facepalming every two seconds.

In any case, I will likely play it. For now, I’m just cautiously optimistic, more or less.

Spider-Man

When this was announced at last year’s E3, I was caught completely by surprise. A Spider-Man game made for Spider-fans and not to cash in on a new movie!? Inconceivable!

Which brings us to the demo developer Insomniac gave us during the Sony conference. It’s pretty darn great; New York City and all the character models look absolutely stunning on the PS4. In terms of gameplay, I’m happy to see agile combat that suits the web-based and athletic fighting style of the wall-crawler. One gripe I have to mention is the presence of quick-time events--you know, those “cutscenes” where you have to press a button and your character automatically does something. The “cutscenes” that really break up gameplay.

Given Insomniac’s pedigree with the Ratchet and Clank franchise and other engaging, original titles, I don’t believe that QTEs are going to be that much of an issue, but it’s still something Insomniac needs to watch out for. They have shown that their game has the potential to be the best Spider-Man game of all time and maybe even one of the best superhero games ever.

Super Mario Odyssey

Oh boy, it feels like it’s 2007 again: when Super Mario Galaxy was the latest, greatest Nintendo production. Over ten years later, we have what is likely to be the best Mario title since Galaxy. The game is oozing originality, creativity, fun, and that Mario brand of action and adventure we’ve come to expect.

I never thought I’d have a really really good reason to get a Nintendo Switch, but this magnificent beast of a game sure changed my mind this year. I think that the new mechanics are innovative and exciting, and am eagerly awaiting its October 27^th release date with high expectations.

Plus, THIS THEME SONG. Can’t stop listening to it.

Metroid: Samus Returns/Metroid Prime 4

Title says it all, folks. Fans of Metroid were given the bombshell of the century when it was revealed that not one, but TWO new entries in the Metroid franchise are headed our way.

The first is Metroid: Samus Returns, a 3DS remake of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus. It’s looking really neat so far, with its updated environments, new gameplay mechanics, and a classic Metroid feel; I’ll be buying it in a heartbeat when it comes out this September. But the real surprise was the reveal for the logo of Metroid Prime 4, which was stated to be in development right now at Nintendo with no known release date yet.

Frankly, Nintendo didn’t need gameplay to get people hyped for this, given that the critically-acclaimed fan favorite Metroid Prime 3: Corruption came out over ten years ago. People like the Prime series’ blend of classic Metroid exploration and adventure with a first-person perspective, and I think that this fourth entry will continue that. Beyond that, what we have is confirmation that Nintendo does indeed care about Metroid, a series has needed a new installment for so very long.