Top 5 Games of E3 2012
The opinions of a dude seeking something fresh
The press conferences have come and gone and it feels like all Major announcements are done and over with. However, there are still 2 days left for the glorious gaming convention, but even given that and the possibility of new games coming out to suprise us, I’d like to take this time to give my top 5 games of E3. We’ll start from the bottom and work our way up. Best not to waste time, so let’s jump into it.
5
Title: ZombiU
System: Wii U
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release date: TBA
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ZombiU was the one title being presented on the Wii U that really did suprise me and actually make me want to play the WiiU and one day even buy one. Presented in a post apocalyptic world, you’re thrust into the life of a survivor at his/her safe house and must fight your way through objectives and other similar situations that shooters have thrown at us before. It’s not this that makes the game so interesting, but everything else that the game just does right. The main thing the game does right is how it’s handling not the main FPS Genre, but the sub-genre: Zombie Survival.
We’ve all played a plethora of zombie games where we are unstoppable killing machines and death isn’t a threat beyond where our last checkpoint was. ZombiU walks away from that typical feeling with the fact that it is all too real: One bite will kill you and turn you to an infected, there are no game overs, once you die, that character is dead, and you start a new character. The game is almost like a roguelike in it’s seemingly unforgivable attitude. On top of that, whenever you die, your new character has the option (though the option almost seems like a necessity) to go find your old body and get your gear and backpack back from your corpse. One hitch though, your corpse is up and walking as part of the enemy now.
The game also handles controls well and takes perfect advantage of the Wii U’s new peripheral. Your backpack is your life it seem sin this game and the Wii U’s screen will serve as it’s contents. However, just like in real life, the action won’t pause whenever you go to dig into your backpack, so when and where you choose to dig through your stuff will be an important thing to consider. The controller takes the lead in actions such as inputs on keypads, binoculars, scanners, and scopes on rifles.
Overall the game looks very polished in it’s early stages and I look forward to playing this much desired take on the Zombie Genre.
4
Title: Halo 4
System: Xbox 360
Publisher: 343 Industries
Release date: November 6, 2012
Links:
Halo is a franchise that many know and love. The game earns a spot, partially for being one of my favorite franchises, and also because this trailer (in my personal opinion) really does show that 343 industries isn’t forsaking the name of halo and can truly make it feel like the games we’ve known and loved while at the same time giving us something new and fresh.
What was presented to us at E3 was at first a trailer/live actoin cinematic that set the mood for the story ready to unfurl before us. Beautifully rendered and wonderfully written, it set the tone for what was to follow: The first gameplay footage for the game many have been waiting for since its reveal. We’re treated with a new HUD that sticks mostly to the formula we’d expect from Halo while still managing to feel new. Chief runs and performs like you’d expect him to, we’re treated with lush, beautiful scenery, and introduced to new weaponry and enemies.
The trailer ends with chief switching visor modes and being swarmed by our new enemies. On top of refreshing things we’re familiar with, the trailer shows plenty of new additions that are sure to change and manipulate a familiar and fun experience.
343 was also kind enough to share with us a trailer for the infinity wargames multiplayer and the spartan ops co-op experience they’ve created. The wargames seem to focus on the Halo multi-player that we know and love, story wise based on simulations that spartans on the Infinity ship use to train, but all in all this will end up being our standard fair matchmaking multiplayer. With promises of newly reworked loadouts, faster gameplay, armor customization and the like, it’ll be sure to feel familiar and fun to veterans of the franchise. Meanwhile, with Spartan-Ops, we’re introduce to a brand new type of Co-op experience in the form of weekly episodic content. Every week, a new ‘episode’ will be available to players where they can watch the story on the infinity unfold, and inside every episode will be five ‘chapters’ for players to to play mission based co-operative combat with their friends or random matchups. This new unique way of delivering content not only offers a fun way to play with your friends (instead of against them) but also promises to extend the life of the game beyond when you finish the campaign. Sure you’ll have the infinity multiplayer to play whenever you want, but the Spartan-Ops offer new content weekly that will keep you interested in the game long past the point that you finish
Overall the game looks very polished and like it will be an excellent edition to the franchise. I can’t wait to follow the game as more content is made available for it and look forward to everything 343 has to show us.
3
Title: Assassin’s Creed III
System: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release date: October 30th, 2012
Links:
Assassin’s Creed III is another one of my personal favorites in a line of games I’ve loved, but today it earns a spot not for my love of the series, but for the raw and pure upgrade this game seems to be over its predecessors. Everything about this game seems ramped up and revitalized from its past versions and it’s shaping up to be one of the best games this year. From the Beautifully crafted and choreographed cinematic trailer to the flawless gameplay, ACIII is shaping up to be the best game in Ubisoft’s franchise.
The game has been built from the ground up (as compared to brotherhood and revelations being simple remaps of an existing pool of resources) and it shows. The visuals are more defined and stunning, the animations are smoother and more lifelike, the scenery is more believable, and not a single animation feels rehashed from the last games. Connor moves through trees easier and with more fluidity than Ezio ever hoped to maneuver a building, and Connor’s skill doesn’t stop there as he races through enemies, quickly dispatching men in succession one right after the other. The action never stops and it leaves you tense in your seat as every moment unfolds around you.
It doesn’t stop there as we were also presented with an amazing look into a new feature the game presents with it’s “Sea Warfare”, where you play connor who is now captain of a ship. As the captain you must pilot the ship and fire cannons at enemy ships. It sounds really simple, but the way Ubisoft pulls it off is simply stunning and looks like an absolute blast (as compared to the less than fun segments we were forced through in revelations and brotherhood. I’m looking at you towers. I’m looking at you.) Visually you’re on the sea and it truly feels like it, with the potential for terrible storms to stir up and make your seafaring all that more exciting. Firing your cannons along the port or starboard side feels absolutely satisfying and visceral as pieces of ship scatter across your deck, embers of burning wood littering the surface around you.
With its release just a few months away, Ubisoft has delivered what is sure to be one of the most captivating Assassin’s Creed experiences yet, with changing dynamic weather to give familiar scenery a new look, and new gameplay models that are sure to keep you glued to your seat.
2
Title: The Last of Us
System: PS3
Publisher: NaughtyDog
Release Date: TBA
Links:
The Last of Us was Sony’s big surprise at the end of their conference Monday night, and it was indeed a big surprise. As one of Sony’s most hushed titles with very little known about it, this first glimpse of gameplay has wetted many people’s palates and people are begging for more. The game is taking on the “survival” aspect very seriously (much like ZombiU, but in a completely different flavor) and the trailer made sure to emphasize that you will not be the king of the world, but simply a small player in a big game. From the extreme lack of ammo to no regenerating health, the requirement to bandage your own wounds, and a realtime menu-system, all of your moves must be carefully planned.
The game also focuses on a relationship between you and a young girl. Developers state that a focus of the game's story will be not that of horror so much as a relationship, a love story akin to the relationship of father-and-daughter. From a gameplay standpoint though, this immediately scares people though. A game-long escort quest is something many hear and immediately fear. However, those fears are quickly put at ease as Ellie either stays out of the way for the most part, or actually helps you (by beaning that dude with a brick. good arm girl.)
The game is sure to deliver a fun, visceral, and definitely brutal gaming experience as shown in the gameplay we were sampled this week, but on top of that, we’re sure to experience a beautiful world and an amazing story, things NaughtyDog has never failed to deliver.
1
Title: Watch Dogs
System: PC, PS3, 360 (and possibly Wii U [unconfirmed])
Prublisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: TBA
Links:
Watch Dogs is by far the biggest and greatest surprise to come out of E3. No one was expecting it, everyone was pleased by it, and it looked absolutely amazing. We’re first introduced to an interesting looking trailer describing a world interconnected digitally, where nothing is secret and everything is known or connected to the digital world. And it can all be hacked. The next thing we get is an amazing concept that is followed with an even more amazing gameplay video that presents so many possibilities that it’s hard to truly understand what all can truly be done with it.
The game introduces a character that has the ability to hack anything in the city, all from the convenience of his portable phone like device. He uses it to create a distraction when he interrupts an area’s ability to receive phone calls, gathers personal information on anyone helooks at, intercepts a phone call to gather information on a target’s whereabouts, and more (you’ll have to watch the trailer to get the full scope). it goes on to an action scene that features some really tight and beautiful looking gunplay, and wraps up with a suggestion of multiplayer that I will get into directly.
The game looks impressive not only in it’s gameplay, but it’s immersive world that you’re immediately brought into without any effort at all. The game’s visuals (being displayed on a high-end PC) are absolutely stunning and reach realisms we’ve yet to discover in gaming yet, but are definitely being developed on current gen hardware. The possibilities that exist in the ability to hack everything are near boundless and give you a huge variety of options to deal with any problems presented to you. Do you go in full action and use the hacking to stop your enemies as you proceed, or do you forgo contact completely and use it as a means to avoid contact all together. All together it proves to be a very successful formula for what’ll hopefully be an amazing game.
But it doesn’t stop there. At the end of the trailer in their conference, We’re teased with the camera panning out to another character with a name (I can’t remember exactly but it was something like “Alex_55”) that highly suggests a user’s xbox live tag or PSN handle. The character is prompted to help the main character escape and the camera then pans out to a city map and artistic rendering that shows three additional names similar to the one previous.
The type of multiplayer this suggests is one that sounds absolutely refreshing and something (should it come to fruition) I will DEFINITELY be looking forward to. Imagine a game where you’re playing through a single player experience, but any one of the hundreds of NPCs out there could be an actual player. They could be enemies or allies, but you’ll never know. From a single player experience this creates brand new difficulties for you to overcome, AI being no match for the quick wits and reflexes of a human player. From the players playing in this other person’s single player campaign, you have the challenge to co-operate or possibly work against a player who may or may not have greater abilities than you. Either way, it’s a premise that compels me to want to know more and I can’t wait till we hear more from this game in the (hopefully) near future.
There you have it, my top five for this year’s E3, but let’s not forget that this is only day 2, and there’s the potential for so much more in the next couple of days. Should I find more to write about I’ll let you know, Till next time~
Ten