Once again this lovely bunch of miscreants will be on the floor at E3 causing all sort of mischief. Before the show starts in a just over a weeks time, let’s go over some of the announced games that have peaked our interest. It should be noted that you need to take all of these games with a grain of salt as the demos we get to see will all be heavily edited to show only the best possible things. It isn’t uncommon –I’m looking at you Witcher 3– for a game to look out of this world only to have the graphics toned down when it comes to market. Another disturbing trend that we have begun seeing more and more of is the use of the “In Game Footage” tag on demos. While those do indeed use the game’s engine, they are still so heavily edited and scripted that it’s hard to say what the game will really be like. I point to the teaser for Star Wars Battlefront for my example as that game looks great, but the footage we saw isn’t representative of the actually gameplay we will most likely get. Anyways, enough with the complaining and let’s get to our picks for the games we are most excited about seeing at the show.
DOOM
Bethesda has been on a roll over the past few years, and with the impending release of DOOM (Reboot? Sequel? Are numbers just not cool anymore?) the company will be a major force at this years show. DOOM was already shown off during QuakeCon last year, although in a private closed session, but at E3 we expect to be able to see more of the game in action, as well as some hands-on time with it. The game has been in development for a little while now, so fingers crossed that we can pick this one up this holiday season.
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars fans are some of the most interesting people on the planet. The Battlefront sequel is one of those games that fans have been dying to get their hands on, and while I have both entries in the series –I liked like a great deal– it just seems that Battlefront is getting too much hype for its own good. It’s a solid series, but not one that I feel deserves the praise it seems to get. Still, this new iteration looks pretty fantastic –in-game footage aside– and we can’t wait to see it in action as a Battlefield style game in the Star Wars universe is something hard to mess up. EA will no doubt be pushing the title quite hard at this years show.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The Assassins Creed franchise has gotten a little long in the tooth over the years, which is strange since the series only began last generation! Still, Assassin’s Creed 3 was a dud and Unity was a mess of epic proportions that is lead to UbiSoft stock price taking a minor hit. But just when I have written off the series they pull me back in with another installment. Syndicate is based in London during the industrial revolution and finally allows us to take control of a female character in a main series game. I’m excited to see this one in action, but UbiSoft has to know that this game has to be a big hit to justify the series’ continued existence.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Another years means another Call of Duty, but this one is a little different this time around. Aside from being from the much better Black Ops series, this iteration brings some cool features along for the ride. Four-player co-op for the games campaign mode has me giddy with excitement as I care very little for the generic online multiplayer that the game is known for. Black Ops 3 will also implement a whooping twelve specialist classes for online play, so finding the one you like should be fun and mix up the standard deathmatch. While Advanced Warfare and Black Ops may seem to be merging in style, this one will no doubt big a huge game on the floor.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
This new console generation has a series problem with a distinct lack of games in favor of Super EX Plus Ultra HD Remixes of whatever franchise that made a company money last generation. Uncharted is no exception, but it’s good to know that we will be seeing a new installment in the series at E3. Sure, we got so see some of it last year, but with the game pushed back we can be sure to see it have a bigger presence on the floor. Putting aside that Nathan Drake is a terrible human being, and essentially the games villain, the gameplay with Uncharted has always been a lot of fun. He’s like Indiana Jones minus the whole, “It belongs in a museum” shtick. Also, why the forced multiplayer? This is a game that never needed that crap and only takes away from development.
Halo 5
Terrible and sub-par remakes and HD upgrades are getting dangerously close to taking away from proper next installments of whatever series they are based on. Bungie leaving the Halo series was the best thing that ever happened to the series, as they have a distinct lack of talent when it comes to crafting a solid single-player story. 343 Industries have done good things with the series, but with the release of the terrible Master Chief Collection, my love for Halo has waned as of late. Still, everything about Halo 5 has my interest, especially when it comes to the story of Master Chief and his now out of date Spartan II class and the newer Spartan IV’s lead by Nightfall’s Jameson Locke. but even with all that we are also getting an OSDT remake… Ugh.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
“I never asked for this.” While I may never have asked for more Deus Ex, I am oh so glad that we are getting some. The last Deus Ex was some of the most fun I had in a long time, so I am extremely excited about getting some more cyberpunk goodness. The game takes place two years after Human Revolution and once again features our very monotone protagonist, Adam Jensen. The game will be shown at E3 and Square Enix will no doubt be pushing it hard as it is one of their only franchises that isn’t about running down very linear endless hallways. I just hope they nix the forced “must kill” boss fights that left a foul taste in many mouths.
XCOM 2
XCOM was a blast from top to bottom and was one of the few games that I actually went out of my way to play with people online. While I can recall the XCOM from a dozen years ago, the reboot was wildly praised for its tactical and strategic gameplay. XCOM 2 looks to shake things up by placing the game in the further future and putting the XCOM on the other side of the fight. This time you are the invaders to a world now long since conjured and are fighting to liberate the human race. Placing you on the side that is out manned and out gunned sets things up for some really interesting gameplay. I am more than ready to join the resistance this November when the game drops.
Yoshi’s Wooly World
Come on now people. Just take one look at Yoshi’s Wooly World from Nintendo and tell me you don’t want to get your hands on this utterly charming looking title. Say what you will about Nintendo, but at least they are putting out games that are flat out gorgeous and loads on fun, and on a platform that many consider last generation. Aside for the knitted atheistic that makes the game supper cuddly, the game offers up two-player co-op and support for amiibo’s that look to crate woolly versions of Yoshi based on the characters scanned. Nintendo may not be having a big presence at E3, but we hope at least this one will be playable.
Fallout 4
Fallout 3 was a game bigger than the sum of its parts. It was buggy and broken at times, but the world it let us explore and the story it gave us was some of the most engaging of the last generation. I’ve been a fan since the orignal game graced the PC in my youth, so it’s safe to assume that Fallout 4 is my most anticipated game of this years E3. Fallout 4 heads back east after a stint on the West Coast and we once again take the role of a former Vault Dweller, this time from Vault 111. War never changes, and sometimes that’s a good thing and makes Fallout 4 our most anticipated title of this years E3.
Will any of these games win our Best of E3 award at this years show? You’ll have to follow along with our live e3 coverage and find out. One never knows if a game will come out and surprise the industry, or if one of those indie games that I love so much goes home with some GAMbiT award love.
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