E3 2014 starts on Tuesday of next week. Obviously tons of games have been announced to appear at E3 and many of them are ones that I'm really anticipating hearing about. I plan to watch all of the press conferences as well as give as much coverage as I possibly can with my time and resources. It may not be up to the minute, but I still plan on doing it and enjoying the hell out of it.
(Also before anyone questions the lack of Kingdom Hearts III, I just never got into the series that much. I'll still try to give some thoughts on what I see, though it will be somewhat ignorant).
#10. Star Wars: Battlefront
It's been nearly 10 years since the release of Star Wars: Battlefront II and many thought that the series was pretty much dead, especially after the dissolution of LucasArts. After the buyout by Disney, a deal was made with Electronic Arts for a 10 year deal. Now much can be said about EA's business practices and ethics (I've said a bit myself), but they still publish a lot of damn fine games.
So who better to give the reins of Battlefront to than the developer behind the franchise that pretty much made Battlefront possible: DICE. Battlefront is essentially a Battlefield game with Star Wars slapped on and that's not meant to be a bad thing.
Last year we got a little teaser for the new Battlefront, showing what appears to be Hoth with T-47 Airspeeders and AT-ATs. The new game is scheduled to be at E3 this year, so with luck, we'll get to see some gameplay footage this time around and maybe a (projected) release window.
#9. Mirror's Edge 2
Yes, another DICE game. While it hasn't been quite as long since the first Mirror's Edge came out as Battlefront 2, it's still been long enough to have left doubts in the minds of people as to whether or not it would continue as a series.
The first Mirror's Edge has some creative ideas for a first-person game and did a solid job of experimenting with them throughout its campaign, despite its short length. The parkour was very enjoyable to play around with. If they can give this one a more open feel to it, then it will the make experimentation of the first game feel paid off in full.
As for the story, Mirror's Edge 2 is not a sequel to the original, but a prequel. I have not seen any complete details about the story yet, other than that. The only other thing that I know is that it will not be written by the same writer as the first game.
I am looking forward to seeing more and how they broaden the concepts brought to the table by the first game.
#8. Destiny
Bungie's first game since Halo: Reach, Destiny is billed as an MMO FPS RPG. Quite a few acronyms but the gameplay footage from last year did not look too shabby. It, of course, had a Borderlands feel to it, but also had it's own distinct feel from Bungie's own history.
The environments and visuals also look beautiful, which is one of the things that I've always praised Bungie for, especially in comparison to many other FPS developers who have far less creativity in their art styles. We've already seen a good amount of gameplay footage to get a feel for how it will play, and if we get some more, I'm not complaining.
The game is currently set for a release date of September 9, 2014. And in addition to all of that, we've got Paul McCartney doing some music for it, as well as Peter Dinklage (a.k.a. Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones) as Ghost.
#7. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
This is probably a little bit lower on my list than it should be for a couple of reasons. One, I just started getting into The Witcher about a month ago. Two, I have doubts about whether my PC will be able to handle it.
Considered one of the premier Western RPG franchises of the last 10 years, The Witcher is based off a popular series of novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. Not having read the stories yet, I can tell you some about the games. They follow the character Geralt, a witcher (monster-hunter). It's a series that has become known for its far-reaching choice-system and gray morality.
Wild Hunt is the final game of the trilogy, following the original and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. A new, excellent trailer was released for it yesterday, which I will post below.
And continuing the Game of Thrones theme this post has going for it, The Witcher 3 will also contain the voice acting talent of Charles Dance, who is probably now best known as Tywin Lannister, voicing Emperor Emhyr var Emreis.
#6. Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were among the finest and most polished games released for the last console generation. They have already spawned a number of imitators with their simple-but-effective combat system. Yet the games also had a clear love for the source, making them among the greatest licensed games ever made.
Batman: Arkham Origins was definitely inferior and incredibly buggy, but it was made by a different developer and was still a good game with a number of positive points including the excellent boss fights and Troy Baker's show-stealing performance as a young Joker.
Rocksteady has returned though and while we've only seen a cinematic trailer and screenshots so far, it's nice for the king to be back on the throne. A direct continuation of Arkham City, Gotham is still reeling from the aftermath, with a number of criminals attempting to fill in the vacuum left by a certain death.
So far we've gotten a look at Two-Face, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and heard Scarecrow (finally returning). Whether the Batmobile will be a gameplay element, I have not yet seen. But I hope that we see more gameplay in the next week.
#5. Alien: Isolation
After the colossal fuck-job that was Aliens: Colonial Marines, Sega is already trying again but with a different developer and a completely different approach. Whereas Colonial Marines "tried" and failed to capture the action atmosphere of Aliens, this one is attempting to capture the claustrophobic and slower paced atmosphere of Alien, the original.
Taking obvious influence from recent horror classic, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Isolation gives you no weapons and forces you to flee and hide from the xenomorph if it spots you. The trailers and gameplay footage released so far have been very promising and give me hope for a truly good Alien game.
The story will star the daughter of Ellen Ripley, Amanda Ripley, and will be taking place between Alien and Aliens. We will have to overlook the massive coincidence of Amanda encountering an alien while her mother is still in cryo-sleep waiting to be picked, but that's a minor issue.
This game does call for some caution due to the false marketing that was done Colonial Marines, though that could probably be applied to any game. No matter what, the stuff that has been released for it so far has been damn impressive and I am eagerly anticipating more.
#4. Bayonetta 2
Four years later and the original Bayonetta still holds up as the single greatest 3D hack-n-slash I've ever played. Its gameplay was fast-paced and had a lot of options filled with numerous combos, challenging but not overly-so, and had a surprisingly likable protagonist with Bayonetta herself.
I loved it so much that I'm pretty much planning on getting a Wii-U in the future for Bayonetta 2 ALONE!
The footage released for Bayonetta 2 is showing it attempting to take it up a notch. Sometimes bigger is better and it appears that's what Platinum Games is going for here. I have not heard much about the game since E3 last year, but I have not forgotten it.
From what I have read in the last week, Bayonetta 2 has been rated by Australia and is scheduled to come out in Japan later this summer, and has a later release date for the west. Unless it's Christmas time, I likely will not have a Wii-U yet, but that is one of my highest priorities as a gamer.
#3. Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Origins was an excellent fantasy RPG for BioWare, with a good storyline, memorable characters and enjoyable gameplay (at least on PC). Dragon Age II was a game with a great storyline and memorable characters, that was inferior to the original in every single other way. A good game but definitely a disappointment.
BioWare has the opportunity to make up for it this year with Dragon Age: Inquisition, and while I am remaining cautiously optimistic, the optimistic part grows with each new piece of footage. The scope of the game looks massive with obvious influence pulled from The Elder Scrolls, while still feeling like its own.
Storywise, the game looks to be attempting to, in some way, bring the narratives of Origins and 2 together. You play as a Chantry Inquisitor whose race and backstory you'll be able to pick from. Morrigan and Varric are both returning, as well as Cassandra Pentaghast, along with a few new characters already announced.
Visually, the game looks absolutely gorgeous, using the Frostbite Engine from the Battlefield games for its fantasy setting to wonderful effect. Far more visually appealing and colorful than DA2.
The gameplay shown in the trailer looks far more enjoyable and tactical than its predecessor. Overall, it feels like BioWare has been taking the best of Origins and 2 and fusing them together into what looks like a potentially awesome product.
I can't wait to see more and it's (obviously) one of my most anticipated games from E3.
#2. Game of Thrones
What is with me and Game of Thrones today? This is the third mention of it in one post. And Dragon Age itself pulled massive influence from A Song of Ice and Fire, the books Game of Thrones adapts.
Anyway, back in 2012, Telltale released one my two favorite games of that year (the other being Mass Effect 3). I think most people were taken by surprise by the monumental success that they saw and earned with The Walking Dead, one of the greatest emotional roller coasters in video game history and one of the few games to ever move me to actual tears (ME3 also being one of them).
While I have not started playing Season 2 of The Walking Dead yet (it's on my list), Telltale won my attention and respect for what they accomplished, as they did with many gamers.
As a far bigger fan of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones than either The Walking Dead comic and its incredibly inconsistent TV adaptation, I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard that they got the rights to make an episodic story for Game of Thrones.
Not many details have been given other than that it is primarily going to be using the television show's continuity. Game of Thrones has already had an RPG released for it, which I heard was quite mediocre. But Telltale has a good track record of emotionally involving narratives and characters. Having George R.R. Martin's personal assistant involved is also a good sign.
Where will it fit in the show's timeline? Which characters will be involved? When might Episode 1 see the light of day? I am extremely eager to hear more about the project and even the smallest details will likely make my day better. The lack of details so far is part of why I am so excited about it.
#1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Seriously, what else could I put as my #1 pick here?
Earlier this year, we were treated to Ground Zeroes, a prologue (a.k.a. glorified demo) to the real game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
While I may have just made a jab at Ground Zeroes, I still enjoyed the hell out of it. It has some of the finest open-world stealth gameplay that I've ever experienced, with the game actively encouraging the player to think outside of the box for solutions that the developers themselves may not have fully thought of.
And it only took place in a single prison camp. The Phantom Pain will have open-world environments in a couple of countries with different enemy patterns and activities depending on a number of factors such as the time of day, the location and your prior actions. I am also really anticipating seeing how those factor into boss fights.
Visually, the game looks to be one of the most impressive looking console titles ever released. Its lighting simply must be seen to be believed and both the environments and character models look marvelous.
As for the story, the game is meant to essentially be the grand finale for Big Boss, showing his final descent from the idealistic and patriotic soldier he was in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater to the bitter, vengeful, and well-intentioned villain that he was in the original Metal Gear games. Ground Zeroes did a superb job, as short as it was, of setting the groundwork.
Kojima really seems to want to player, not to observe Big Boss' descent into hell, but to go along with him in that descent. The disturbing imagery and footage from the trailers shows extremely heavy and taboo subject matter and I am curious to see its implementation. We got a preview of that in Ground Zeroes, which quickly came near the top of the list of the most unsettling games I've ever played.
As for Kiefer Sutherland, while I am still sad about the departure of David Hayter from his classic role, I remain optimistic about Sutherland for his portrayal.
Hideo Kojima announced that we will see more gameplay of The Phantom Pain so you can bet that if there's one game that I focus on next week, it will definitely be this one.
