Flags on E3
I feel as though I will be filing for bankruptcy next March. With all the games slated for the opening three months of the year I feel that this fall will be devoid of originality. Sure there’s Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. I’m probably going to buy Fifa 13 so I cannot get really upset at that. But when I think about the games that excited me this E3 that ARE coming out this year I’m thinking about Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Far Cry 3, and Assassin’s Creed III. Which between the three franchises have a twenty plus game pedigree. I admit the majority there belongs to good old Need for Speed there. The crazy thing is though that this E3 has made me excited for those three games but has completely deflated me on other games that I would have been more excited for by ignoring this week. Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 6, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Dead Space 3 are the main examples of this. The trailer released last week for Hitman: Absolution took the wind right out of my sails for that game. It has become so clear that this console cycle has gone on for too long, they are started to burn the pancake and I have to pry games like Journey and Bastion out of the still safe middle but how much longer will even the original DLC titles have before they are being limited. I have put up a list for my favourites of E3 so I will not talk about them here. Instead I just wanted to quickly vent the games that I’m disappointed in.
Also quickly I’d like to mention the games that I’m interested in seeing more of but did not see enough of. The Unfinished Swan is a game that I love the sound of in concept and hear good things of but have not seen hide nor hair of. Dishonored is coming out relatively soon and I’ve seen some stuff about it but the E3 buzz has rejuvenated my excitement for it. At this point I’ve given up on Rainbow Six: Patriots. I think that game has the same destiny of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. With rumours that Ubisoft is rebuilding that game after the initial reception and announcement of Splinter Cell: Blacklist at E3 I have to doubt that games development cycle. Now I’ll run down the personal let downs:
Tomb Raider: This was my favourite game of last years E3 (with Bioshock: Infinite) but seeing it this year makes me think that this isn’t the game I wanted it to be. I hoped for a game based on pure survival (think The Last of Us but less guns more animals) and instead I got third person Far Cry 3.
Resident Evil 6: They told us that Leon would play survival and Chris would play action but they both play action and considering Wesker’s son can punch peoples heads off I can’t imagine he’s must different. I wondered how Capcom would revive Wesker and all I can imagine is how clever they think they are when Wesker’s ghost takes over the body of his son in their great “twist”.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist: I love Michael Ironside, his exclusion from the game is not what takes my excitement out of the game. It just looks like Ubisoft’s test of modern day Assassin’s Creed with Sam Fisher skin. Why does it have to be Sam Fisher? Isn’t Sam Fisher sixty now? Shouldn’t he be the new Lambert character and then bring in the new young blood which they have done anyway to voice and portray Sam who has been getting younger in every game since Double Agent.
Dead Space 3: I love the aesthetic of Dead Space, and enjoyed Dead Space 2 all the way to the ending. But as someone who never wanted to hear Isaac speak I can’t really say I like the idea of hearing him constantly curse with his new best friend. Dead Space 2 was never scary and only rarely reached the atmosphere of the first game, and now it just feels like they’re straying even further from the original formula. At one point Dead Space didn’t even have a pause menu, I miss those days.
Any game that I haven’t mentioned in this post is not done deliberately but instead should show my interest of the game. Either the game is still a bit young or it is even more formula than the previously mentioned shooters. Except for Forza: Horizon which is just a game I feel does not need to exist only a little less than Gears of War: Judgment. “It’s slightly better.” “Oh…..great.” “Sixty dollars better?” “We aren’t currently discussing price.” “Right.” Again though, probably gonna buy Fifa 13.
Here is my top ten (which is also in better list form with links on Giant Bomb). Again I haven’t written much because I will talk in detail on the podcast and because I want to hear from y’all:
This easily won for me. It helps that there is so little known and so much subject to change. It takes place between III and IV and even the characters are not set in stone. They have confirmed that the two characters in the demo are not the actual main characters. Removing the Jedi is the best move a Star Wars game could make and if you boil a game down to comparisons and get “Uncharted Star Wars/Best Looking Game Ever” I’m pretty sure you’re doing something right.
This is the game I wanted Tomb Raider to be. The survival aspect and concentration is something that games aren’t willing to risk in this day and age. You have to be careful at all times. Also games that have characters with emotional connections like this are always incredible rides. Naughty Dog has proven this in some of the more intense sections of Uncharted.
3. Watch_Dogs
I will admit that the surprise of this game does it a great service and I can only hope that it lives up to its potential. The multiplayer implications and hacking possibilities make this game feel incredibly open yet (hopefully) unscripted.
4. South Park: The Stick of Truth
Everyone has said it but it just looks like South Park. I love the idea of becoming the fifth boy among these characters that I’ve loved for over a decade now. Who knows how this game turns out with Obsidian’s track record but the writing and the style is there. I’m just going to have to trust that Obsidian will bring some great gameplay to the table.
The natural place to take Assassin’s Creed to. I liked the look of the Naval combat though I think it should be a little harder. I love the new revamping of old systems like climbing, travelling, and hiding in plain sight. The improvements and changes to the combat are exciting too and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.
6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Combining my two favourite racing games of this generation is a very good decision. Burnout: Paradise and Need for Speed: Most Wanted were great in very different ways. However I worry about the lack of story which I enjoyed in Most Wanted. The story was terrible in following games and I can’t imagine Criterion would delve into a story mode. But I play for the driving, duh.
I love Devil May Cry, I love Devil May Cry 3, I hate Devil May Cry 2, I’m okay with Devil May Cry 4. Rebooting was a good idea, big changes was a good idea. With a game like this though the gameplay has to be as tight as a fighting game as well as have a compelling story and characters. Also, taking a loveable ass like Dante and making him younger and thus naiver could prove problematic in keeping Dante as loved as he is.
8. Dishonored
There is a variable nature to the gameplay of Dishonored that reminds me of my favourite part of RPGs. It is as though the Dark Brotherhood quest line has become a full game with better combat, better story, cool aesthetic, and more options. So really not that much like Dark Brotherhood at all, but I still get the feeling. The style and story really interest me too so I can only hope everything comes together for its release in early October. Also, name me another game when you can fully possess a fish.
9. Far Cry 3
I am excited for this game purely because of the absolutely crazy story beats. I’m still unsure about the combat and different paths you can take. It feels as though they have one best path and then five harder ones over even just having three equal and different paths (Deus Ex). However, this game HAS to live up to its story hype. I feel as though a disappointing ending or twist could break the game for people, myself included.
This game scratches on the bottom of this list because not a lot was shown and I have a grain of salt after Heavy Rain. Also, that’s a really bad title. The graphics are incredible but Ellen Page didn’t impress me. I don’t mean during the non-talk scene, I mean during the following trailer where she talked more. The line delivery on “I’ll kill everyone.” was terrible. At least all the American characters didn’t sound European though.
No Valve or Irrational makes Adrian a dull boy.
Was the girls character design inspired by Ellen Page as well for The Last of Us?
Putting that aside, there’s the big brands which I had expected to look good like Assasins Creed 3 but what really surprised me at E3 were two games mainly: The Last of Us and Watch Dogs.
You can say they’re like the surprises of E3 for me since I’m very limited with my knowledge and never knew what those games were until I saw their respective trailers and a title to label what I saw. Though I’ll save the rest for the podcast ^^
I can’t wait for next generation reading with Wonderbook.