The biggest event in gaming is upon us, with E3 arriving with a whizz and a bang and a whole bucket-load of gaming goodness. So, naturally, Geekyly was flown first class, complete with strippers and champagne, to witness first hand all the console coolness that E3 had to offer…
… or at least we would have, if I hadn’t gambled the tickets away on Full House Poker. Hubris, thy name is you.
So instead I’m here to look at the highlights, at time of press, of E3. In fact we here at Geekyly have already touched upon some of the titles that appeared, including Crysis 3 (with a new trailer above), Assassins Creed 3, Skyrim: Dawnguard (now with a tentative release of June 26th), Dishonoured, Sim City, Hitman Absolution (complete with fetish nuns), Star Wars 1313, Resident Evil 6 AND Aliens: Colonial Marines (far better than Prometheus, which the Ed is telling me was completely awesome and I am wrong in thinking otherwise).
So now, let’s kick off things with the first conference to make a splash, the Microsoft one…
First and foremost, like the conferences before them, the main focus here was Kinect. From the new fitness game Nike+ Kinect Training, to the introduction of voice commands in games such as Splinter Cell: Blacklight and FIFA 13. God only knows what chaos it will cause in the later, with the general FIFA player not being the most, ahem, verbally articulate gamer. Maybe there will be a feature for swearing at the ref…
Otherwise it was all about the big franchises coming out to play. Halo 4 was given centre stage, with a thrilling trailer (see above) that showed us that Master Chief was back and as badass as ever. Forza also saw a sideways sequel in the form of Forza Horizon, a more action orientated racer that combines a more arcade-like feel with the authentic physics and look that Forza has become known for.
Gears of War also had it’s own sideways sequel in the form of Gears of War: Judgement. Instead of the beefy brawn of Marcus Fenix, you will instead become the beefy brawn of series staple Baird. Don’t worry though, as we’re sure there will still be enough testosterone-pumping run and gun for series fans. Less running, more gunning comes in the form of the latest instalment of the highly popular Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 2. Taking over the numericals from Modern Warfare, Black Ops 2 promises more of the shooty-bang-bang warfare in both single and multiplayer forms that fans expect, but with a futuristic twist…
But it’s not all grim greys, bloody browns and guns to make sports car owners jealous… Tomb Raider is being revived to bring Lara Croft and her archaeological funbags into a grittier, more modern arena. But if you don’t want anymore grit, then you turn to one of the greatest cartoons of our time: South Park. Stick of Truth is… well… it’s a South Park game, expect much madness, foul language, underpants gnomes and fart jokes all the way from Canada. Seriously you guys, just watch the trailer…
So with all this seriousness gaming-wise coming from Microsoft, you need some joy in your life… Thank God for family friendly Nintendo! Who were showcasing their new console the Wii U with such kiddie-friendly titles as Assassins Creed 3! Mass Effect 3! Arkham City: Armoured Edition? ZombiU?!?
Yes the Wii U is coming, and it’s more hardcore dagnabbit! With ported favourites like Arkham City and Mass Effect 3 utilizing the new touch screen controller that is Nintendo’s latest innovation, as well as the new Assassins Creed title. As well as this is new IP ZombiU, which from the suicidally grim trailer looks to be an Anglo-tinged survival horror, with the key word being survival. Much like the Dead Island trailer of the past though, this may be a sense of a cool trailer hiding a very different game. Suffice to say though, the intrigue is piqued…
But it wouldn’t be Nintendo without some dips into the old franchises. Sure enough, the comfortable-as-a-pair-of-slippers Italian Plumber Brothers popped up in the form of New Super Mario Bros U, but the more pleasant surprise was Pikmin 3. With the last Pikmin being on the Gamecube many moons ago, this new entry looks to recapture the cute factor that Nintendo do so damn well. Finally, Wii Fit added a U to it’s title as well, with the popular fitness game adding a touchpad controller to your regimes.
There were also other intriguing announcements, such as the Rockstar via your kids toy chest Lego City Undercover. It’s essentially Grand Theft Auto, FOR KIDS!, but by golly gosh does it look kinda fun… Also adding to the fluffy factor is Scribblenauts Unlimited, which brings the expansive and creative world of Scribblenauts from the DS to where the big boys play.
Finally, there’s Nintendoland which… well I don’t know. On first look it seems to be a social network thing for Nintendo’s system, much like they’ve done with the Mii’s and the (3)DS wi-fi link-ups, but with added mini games. Reaction was mixed for this one, but as always with Nintendo it is an eye-catching announcement that could go either way…
But of course, it’s not all just Microsoft and Nintendo. Although Sony’s conference is taking place as I type this (so expect something tomorrow… lucky buggers, getting a column of it’s own!) there were a few more titles announced that caught the eye…
Dead Space returns, as nerve-shredding as usual for a third dip into the adventures of Isaac Clarke. With a trailer showcasing Clarke crashing on a frozen looking planet (maybe… a LOST Planet? [puts on shades to The Who]), facing more giant necromorphs and teaming up with a sassy black man (possibly suggesting co-op?), it looks more of the same and then some. See also: Medal of Honour: Warfighter. More war, more guns, and more attempts to beat the mighty CoD franchise. More beards? We can only hope so…
But it was in the world of new IP’s that got people excited. More of Hong Kong hardhitter Sleeping Dogs was shown, including a new trailer which showed us that this is a seriously bloody action thrill-fest. But what REALLY got people talking was Ubisoft’s open world action-adventure game, Watch Dogs. With a 9 minute gameplay trailer which saw you hacking into phones, shutting down tech, switching traffic lights off before having a massive gun-fight, it ticked a lot of gamers boxes and, dare I say it, could be the Next Big Thing.
Overall, with Sony still to come, E3 was it’s usual big self. While thrills were moderate in places, there was still a lot to chew on and get excited about in the next few months to a year. As always readers, it’s never been better to get your game on…
