Guest contributor Lanceheart returns once again to share with us his thoughts on the 2013 E3 presentations of the big three, beginning with Microsoft.

Here we are, E3 2013 has just come to a close. With that entire festival out of the way, it’s time for me to keep my promise and deliver my opinion of each press conference. Well, two press conferences and one pre-packaged video.

Microsoft is first up, with all eyes on their conference to find out what is going on. In my last article, I didn’t shy away from lashing out at Microsoft for adding a ton of restrictions on the Xbox One and muddying what was known of its used games policy. Just one day prior to their conference, they announced the policy in full and it was just as bad as I feared: Used games are a thing of the past on the Xbox One. Resale is essentially dead and lending games is now impossible.

First there was Microsoft’s press conference, then there was Sony’s, and now Nintendo’s… sort of. For the first time ever, rather than host a press conference at E3, the company opted to instead deliver its big announcements through a Nintendo Direct broadcast– and a relatively short one, at that, weighing in at only 41 minutes and some change versus the 90-minute to 2-hours the other guys brought.

And to be quite frank, I hope they never do this again. Or at the very least, are better prepared for it– I and many others who tried to view it live (well, “live,” given it was pre-recorded) found great difficulty with the streaming, no matter where we went. I had to view most of it on Nintendo UK’s website, and missed their second announcement in the process, while only gathering glimpses of the first. If you must do this again, Nintendo, please go with Twitch or YouTube or– better still– both.

Of course, the funny part is that while they had the shortest showing, I’ll probably have the most I have to say about anything here, though that’s likely no surprise. If you’d like to compare this to my thoughts from last year, here you go. Now, without further ado…

Last year, I felt that while Sony had a pretty good E3 press conference, they didn’t really show much that compelled me to want a PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita. That isn’t to say that neither system has games I want, merely that most of what they were showing wasn’t.

This year, of course, is a whole new console and a whole new ballgame. And with Microsoft stinking up the joint before they even got there, will Sony pull off a double-header in my book and outdo their rivals at this year’s E3? Let’s fine out.

One thing before we get started: Unlike the MS conference earlier, I’m pulling all of my reference from this single video. And as it’s around two or so hours long and simply packed with stuff, I hope to be a little more brief here as well. So, without further ado…

Last year, after the big three gave their press conferences, I shared my thoughts on what they had to show. This year, I’m just taking them as they come, starting with Microsoft. They didn’t do much for me last year, and with their Xbox One reveal last month, they drove my interest in the new platform straight into the negative.

The simple fact of the matter is, I’ve already been anti-Xbox One. This isn’t about bias against Microsoft, as I still own, enjoy, and intend to continue playing my Xbox 360 for as long as it holds out. This is about the business practices they’re employing to basically invade and control every facet of the user’s experience, from how they enjoy the games to requiring a camera, online check-ins, and the whole used game rigamarole. I might be able to forgive one, or even two of these slights, but all together? It’s just too much.

So was there anything at their E3 2013 press conference today that would change my mind? Short of a retraction of some of these stupid policies, of course not. Some of these games may pain me to miss, but so it goes sometimes. That said, let’s see how they fared this year.

And by “PMO,” I mean “I need your help.” Same difference.

For a while, I’ve built up something of a backlog of different topics I’ve been wanting to write about here. Between trying to decide on which ones to do and all of my other responsibilities, they’ve largely just kind of built up into one big queue, and this is where I figured you come in. Simply put: Here’s a list of topics I’ve been intending to write about– you tell me which one you’d like me to take on, and I can focus on that!

I just hope there are enough votes to help make things definitive. On that note, I ask that you only name one for now– we’ll come back to the others later. If I’m having to decide between several, then it kind of renders the process moot. Then, once one is done, we start the process over again fresh. Sound good? I hope so!

Here’s what I’ve got:

I don’t get to go out shopping for fun stuff very often, and even when I do, the hauls aren’t always great. But I recently had the opportunity to hit several places in Toronto, and found that I had a pretty good haul, so I decided to share here. Starting from least to greatest…

I managed to procure a few toys while I was out. The bear Transformer-like “Beast King” figure came from Dollarama, and I decided to go for it because a) I’d heard good things about these, and b) bears rock, and there aren’t enough transforming bears. Quality-wise, it’s not great, but better than some knock-offs. Transformation was a bit stiff at first, and his arms are a bit loose. Not bad, not great, might look good on display.

This is a review I didn’t plan to write and wasn’t going to write when I decided to try the latest addition to KFC’s menu. However, my experience with this particular item was so far below par that it honestly felt like I wouldn’t be doing others justice by not warning them about the product in question, and so here we are.

I should be very clear on one regard: Yes, I do like KFC, even Canadian KFC, which is so far removed from American KFC that it’s another article altogether. Furthermore, it pains me to some degree that my first-ever KFC review on this site is negative; in fact, I had a fantastic sandwich there just earlier this month: The “Big Crunch Tower,” which basically puts a big hash brown potato on top of their Big Crunch sandwich and adds a few toppings. The only reason I didn’t review that was because I was unable to try it until the very last day it was available; there didn’t seem to be a point to it then.

Following his views on the E3 2012 press conferences of the “Big Three,” Lanceheart joins us again one year later to share his views on how things have moved along.

Here we are, on the verge of E3 2013. Gaming has changed quite a bit since this time in 2012 and promises to change even more in the year ahead. From Nintendo launching its “next generation” console to Sony and Microsoft announcing their own, 2013 will be the most intriguing year in gaming since 2006.

This is a bit overdue, even though I can’t tell whether anyone really reads these things (there are never any comments, at any rate), but better late than never. Here’s some of what I’ve been up to, and check back soon, as I’d like to be a little more active here, and I’ll be looking for your opinion moving forward.

Nintendo Land – What is “Nintendo Land?” Is it a theme park? A toy box? An arcade? Or perhaps it’s a masterful blend of all three, combining the strengths of their parts into one satisfying whole.

Last night, The Wife and I decided to putt putt to the Pizza Hut for dinner to try out a recent addition to their menu: The Crown Crust pizza, seen above. As a matter of full disclosure, I had inquired how long the limited-time promotion would be available, as I wanted to do this review before they stopped serving them and I’m still waiting for my paycheck to come in. In response, the folks running their Twitter account offered me a gift card which handily covered the cost of the meal for this review.