But the big star of E3 are the games themselves. The most important thing for a company to do at E3 is raise the excitement level for their game and that's what this list is about. Which games most effectively raised my excitement level from where it was before at E3? This is not a list of the games that I'm most excited about as there's a lot more that goes into that than just E3.
Keep in mind that I wasn't at E3 and therefore didn't play any of these. But I did watch as many demos and trailers as I possibly could in order to judge this list. Whether you want to take my thoughts above other peoples' is your choice.
I'll be going into more detail as to what we saw with these games among others throughout the weekend and next week but these are games that most successfully presented themselves. This is my list of the 10 best of E3.
#10. Star Wars: The Old Republic
Two Star Wars games were shown at E3 this year: Kinect Star Wars and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Kinect Star Wars has stayed with the tradition of unfortunately making the player look like a bit of tool and the main character looks sluggish as hell, whereas Star Wars: The Old Republic is being made by BioWare. Guess which one I picked (well you can see it up there).
I criticized this on the first day for just giving another cinematic trailer but they showed quite a bit more gameplay as the days went on, which is one of the reasons I decided to delay E3 "coverage" until now. While we may have seen this kind of gameplay and more quite a bit, I'm a sucker and I got suckered in. I'm very much anticipating seeing what's going to happen in this MMO.
It's low on the list due to the reasons mentioned above. Mainly, they didn't really show us anything new and didn't raise my excitement level much higher than it was but it did to a degree which makes it eligible for this list and I'm eagerly anticipating hearing a release date.
#9. Rayman Origins
It's been nearly a decade since we've had a decent Rayman game. Following in the footsteps of companies like Capcom and Nintendo, Ubisoft seemed to decide that it was time to bring him back to his 2D roots with Rayman Origins. They showed it off at the Ubisoft press conference and it looked excellent.
It looks just like the original Rayman with co-op mixed as well. I wonder if this will be like New Super Mario Bros. where you can screw with them in every way possible. The levels have a big scale to them causing the camera to pull back at points to let you see it all and the graphics are pleasing to look at.
I didn't even know about this until this E3 but apparently it's been in the open for a while. Originally meant to be released as downloadable content in episodes, it was eventually made to be released as one full game at retail. Now that I know it's coming and I saw the demo at the press conference, I can't wait to get a chance to play it.
#8. Batman: Arkham City
My most anticipated game yet to be released this year. So why is it so low? Well, because they really didn't give me any major information that I didn't already know. So why is it on here? Because of the one major thing they did go over that I was still curious about: the Riddler challenges.
In a 20-minute demo that I watched, it was shown that you'll have to work to get the trophies and when you get enough, you get the location to a death trap that the Riddler has put an innocent into. The one that they showed was devious and looked like a trap from Saw. In Arkham Asylum, we got the impression of a threatening villain in the Riddler from the audio tapes. In Arkham City, we're going to get it from the puzzles he sets up.
They also showed off a new gadget: the Double Line Launcher. While in mid-line-launch, you can aim and fire another line to glide on. It appears to require precision but it looks awesome. I'm already crazy excited for the sequel to the best comic-book game ever and while this E3 didn't expand on that enormously, it did a little bit with the Riddler challenge. I can't wait to see more.
#7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I really hadn't seen much gameplay footage for Skyward Sword before this E3, with the exception of very tiny tidbits. What I saw at this E3 definitely upped my excitement for the game and I was already quite excited to see what they were going to do with this game.
I'm not quite sure what the story is but I do know that it's a prequel to Ocarina of Time. It will involve how the Master Sword came to be, but that's all I really know. As for the gameplay, it really looks excellent. The sword really looks like it follows the Wii-mote, which is a very good seeing as that's what they advertised. All the other stuff looks like it's there from ranged weapons to bombs and exploration as well.
Stuttering Craig, the co-founder and owner of Screwattack.com, also gave it his approval and when it comes to Nintendo products, I generally trust his opinion. All of these make it one of the games that I really got excited about after this E3. The game will come out sometime later this year for the series' 25th anniversary and I can't wait to play it.
#6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I still haven't played through the original Deus Ex, although thanks to the power of Steam, I have begun playing through it. Part of the reason was because I loved what I saw from what Eidos Montreal showed of Human Revolution at E3.
A great mix of FPS and RPG gameplay from what I saw (and from what I've played so far with the original) and a story set-up that has me intrigued. It's a prequel for the series and we will not be playing as JC Denton, but Adam Jensen. Where this fits into the overall series, I can't say as I haven't finished the original yet but characters from the first will appear in this prequel.
I saw a few demos and trailers and greatly enjoyed what I saw. I know quite a few of the fans are curious to see what will happen as I know many fans were not pleased with the sequel to the original. So far, I've been enjoying the first and when this comes out, I eagerly await playing it.
#5. Dark Souls
The spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, one of the best games of 2009. That alone is a good sign. For those of you who never played it, Demon's Souls was a PS3 exclusive developed by From Software, known its relentlessly punishing difficulty yet also for being almost 100% fair. If you died, you were playing stupidly. It took a lot of practice.
Well the new game is Dark Souls, and it's no longer a PS3 exclusive as it's also being released on the 360. The demos that I saw showed that From Software is really serious about keeping the controller-destroying difficulty. Seriously, if you don't believe me, find their fight with a giant armored boar. However, the game also looks satisfying as all hell.
The first game was a surprising success that a lot of people didn't expect much from due to its unforgiving difficulty. Now that Demon's Souls is a commercial success, it's going to be very interesting to see where From Software will take it. They've already decided to make the world much more open, but what else are they doing with this successor?
#4. Battlefield 3
If you ask me which military FPS I'm looking forward to in Q4 of this year, Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3, I'm going with Battlefield 3, especially after the E3 demos shown for it. While Modern Warfare 3 looks cool, it doesn't look all that different whereas it's been six years since we've gotten a true numbered sequel to Battlefield 2.
The tank assault shown at the EA press conference kicked ass and I also got a look at some of the other vehicular gameplay as well as a look at the regular infantry gameplay for the single-player campaign and multiplayer. Emphasis in the demos was placed on the quality of the gunplay, the animation (which DICE got help with from the FIFA design team), sound design, and the destructible environment and it all looks excellent.
October is going to be a very difficult month with Arkham City, Dark Souls, Rage (it got delayed yesterday), and this. While I may have my sights set on Arkham City and Dark Souls, this still looks like an incredible FPS and I may have to think about how I'm going to pick things up in October.
#3. Bioshock Infinite
The first Bioshock was an outstanding clone of one of the greatest FPSs in history, System Shock 2. It had an incredibly well developed universe with Rapture which still stands as one of the best gaming worlds ever created. The problem with the second one was that it was too similar to the original. It was a good game but not a modern classic.
But now Ken Levine, one of the main guys behind System Shock 2 and the creative director of the original Bioshock is returning for Bioshock Infinite and changing everything up. The game will not take place in Rapture nor have anything to do with the first two but it will take place in a sky city called Columbia, held up by hot air balloons. The demos that I saw teased at a relationship between a giant bird called the Songbird and Elizabeth, the character you escort throughout the game, as being the driving force and it was very interesting to listen to.
Of course another cool thing is the skyhook system which you will use to navigate through Columbia. A protagonist who will actually speak will change things up. One of the big changes is that rather than seeing the aftermath of the collapse of the utopia, you'll be right in the middle of it happening. I can't wait to see more and I can't wait for it to come out.
#2. Mass Effect 3
We've come a long way since Mass Effect began in 2007. The first game had clunky combat and some poorly implemented RPG mechanics. It was the story, characters and universe that made it a modern classic. Mass Effect 2 had improved shooting with less RPG mechanics and again it was the story, characters, and universe that made it my favorite game of this generation. And now comes the conclusion to this amazing trilogy.
I knew BioWare was going to be improving the shooting again, but I didn't expect them to do it THIS much. It doesn't just look good, it looks phenomenal with a much more refined cover system, better pacing and more intelligent AI. BioWare stated that they wanted to match up with Uncharted and Gears of War. It really looks like they might.
As for the RPG elements, they're back. They're not as complex as in the original but this is a great compromise. Customizable weapons without a ridiculously clunky inventory? Hell yes. Powers that evolve multiple times? Count me in. Add grenades back in with a new class-specific melee system which looks absolutely badass and BioWare's golden.
But of course, it's the story and emotional impact that have these games apart from most other series. The Reaper invasion has begun and I'm expecting a lot of powerful emotion in there. I got a good sense of it as well urgency from the demos and I can't wait to see what BioWare delivers. Add everything up and you're looking at my most anticipated game OF ALL TIME!
#1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
So if Mass Effect 3 is my all-time most anticipated game, why isn't it at #1? Well remember this list is about how much of an impact E3 made on my excitement for a certain game. I was already really looking forward to Mass Effect 3. Skyrim, on the other hand, wasn't really an incredible blip on my radar. I wasn't a big fan of Oblivion, but what I saw from E3 really had me salivating.
While they showed the same demo everytime, it looked absolutely stunning. The entire world looks beautiful and I love the ability to control each hand. You can have a weapon in one and a spell in the other or a spell/weapon in both. The game just looks incredibly fun and the dragons and dragon encounters look amazing.
With over 150 dungeons and a completely open world, this is going to suck so many hours from my life. While Mass Effect 3 may still be my all-time most anticipated game, Skyrim was the game that most benefited from me being at E3 which is why it takes the #1 spot on this list.
Like I said, I'll be going into more detail about what was at E3 as the week goes on. Hope you enjoyed reading and I hope you look at my E3 thoughts this week.
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