E3 2011: Square Enix and THQ

Well E3's been over for a while and I'm still writing articles on it. I want to get this over with, so I'm going to write two more blogposts on it. The first will go over Square Enix and THQ and the second will go over Ubisoft and conclude my coverage. I'll be doing a selection of games rather than all of them.

So let's start with Square Enix.

DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION

I'm currently in the middle of the original Deus Ex and loving so far. I do know that the second game was definitely not as loved by people with its more limiting style and so Eidos Montreal is trying to make this one much more like the original in that regard.

So far, this one looks fantastic and also looks like its sticking to the original style of very open-ended choice in how you tackle each obstacle. It's also a prequel designed to allow new players to jump into the story while still having characters from the original. It looks very promising and I can't wait to try it out.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION

Another controversial game among fans of the series, Hitman is returning after six years in hiding. A lot of people have been comparing this to Splinter Cell: Conviction and based on what I've seen, it's not hard to see why. I'm not saying that's a bad thing as I enjoyed Splinter Cell: Conviction though it was a big and somewhat unasked for departure from the series and taking that route here would be the same thing. Graphically it looks gorgeous though.

TOMB RAIDER

This did not make my Top 10 of E3 because I'm a little divided on what I've seen. Storywise it looks excellent and they really seem to be trying to drive the survival aspect home. However, the amount of QTEs that I saw in the demo still worries me. This is definitely a game that I'm anticipating and I will definitely check it out when it's released but I'm still a little worried.

Hopefully next year, they'll bring a little bit more gameplay wise to really sell me on this.

SAINTS ROW: THE THIRD

Saints Row may be a clone of the GTA series, but it's a damn good clone with a style of its own that keeps it feeling fresh. Saints Row: The Third looks awesomely over-the-top. Sure it rips an enormous amount of elements from San Andreas but is that really a bad thing?

Just watching the demo made me laugh my ass off, whether it be the purple dildo, the description of the jet have laser beams (JETS WITH FREAKIN LASER BEAMS), the Apocofists, or the Manapult. It's releasing in November of this year making November that much more difficult in terms of purchase choices.