Why I’m excited for E3

E3 is less than a week away and like every year I am incredibly excited to see what the gaming industry has in store for us. Of all the things that could be shown off at E3 these are what I am personally most interested in. I’ve split it into two sections the first is about the games or projects that could be talked about or shown off at E3 but could be absent from the convention entirely.  I don’t consider them to be long shots with no real chance like Kingdom Hearts 3 or Half-Life 2 Episode 3/Half-Life 3, but they aren’t guaranteed to be there or at least we have no idea to what capacity they will be there.

5 Unknowns:

Ryse

Last year Microsoft showed a small video of a ‘hardcore’ Kinect game that was in development called “Ryse”. Nothing has really been said of it since, but Microsoft will most likely be pushing the Kinect again this year and they need some compelling exclusives so if they can make this an intuitive and deep experience meant for the hardcore audience on Kinect, then it could be one of the conference’s highlights.

Bungie & Activision Destiny

Bungie & Activision announced their partnership two years ago and in that time we have seen very little of what they are working on. The project is currently called Destiny and thanks to files revealed in Activision’s legal case we know that the first game was, and quite possibly still is, planned to be released in the fall of 2013.

Respawn Entertainment’s game

Respawn Entertainment was also formed around two years ago by the former heads of Infinity Ward and creators of Modern Warfare, Jason West and Vince Zampella. Since then all we have to go on about their project is a blurry image that could be of anything. Say what you will about Call of Duty but it is the largest series in gaming right now and whatever the guys who propelled it to such a standing do next is worth keeping an eye on.

A Fox Engine game

Kojima Productions has a new engine called the Fox Engine, which looks gorgeous, but so far they haven’t said what it will be used in. Kojima has said that he will probably do MGS5 somewhere down the line, but it won’t be the studio’s next game. They are no longer working on MGR: Revengence so they must have moved on to something else. Zone of Enders 3 was just announced as a project that they are considering depending on whether or not it is feasible. So maybe that is the 1^st and only Fox Engine game in the works and we won’t see anything using it at E3 or maybe something else occupied their time causing them to hand off MGR and delay Zone of Enders HD.

Fortnite

Last year at Spike TV’s Video Game Awards Epic debuted their new project, Fortnite. All we saw was a small cutscene that had a colorful, childish look that is incredibly different from what we are used to seeing from the studio. Despite this, the fact that this is coming from a company like Epic and not one of its subsidiaries like People Can Fly or Chair, but from the main studio has me pumped to see more.

The second section is a list of games that I know will be at the conference and that I am really looking forward to seeing more of either because of what I’ve already seen or what I’ve played in past iterations that has impressed me.

5 Games I’m excited to see more of: 

Tomb Raider

This is a franchise that had never interested me throughout its over 15 year run, but when I saw the more gritty and emotional turn the franchise had taken with its reboot last year at E3 I was finally ready to give it a shot. I don’t really care what they show off this year, as long as it is as engaging as last year’s footage then I will be more than satisfied. Unfortunately the game has been delayed until next year, so I’ll have to wait a little longer to jump into this iconic series, which is another reason why I’m so pumped for t at E3, I need something to hold me over.

RE6

I loved Resident Evil 4 & 5 so this is one of the games that I am looking forward to the most this year. I’m still unclear as to whether 6 will be fully cooperative like 5 was because the original trailer seemed to be trying, at least in the Leon sections, to go for the scary atmosphere that the series is known for and that was missing from 5. I don’t know how they can make this game scary if you have someone with you the whole time so hopefully E3 will give me a clearer sense of the experience that this game is trying to create.

Halo 4

As a big fan of shooters and a huge fan of Halo I am both really excited and a little concerned about the latest in this series, since it is no longer being developed by Bungie. Aside from wanting to hear about the new story that is set to span an additional two games and wanting to see the new enemies, I’m really interested in learning about the co-op campaign. 343 Industries is supposedly going to be releasing a new mission every week that builds a co-op story mode that is around as long as the main campaign. It sounds like a great new addition and a huge challenge for their team, so I hope to either hear more about it or see some of it in action at E3.

Assassin`s Creed 3

A lot of people have gotten really excited about Assassin’s Creed 3 because of its setting in the American Revolution. I’m much more interested in how this game will wrap up the series or at least its main story line. Assassin’s Creed 3 has been set for a while to be the final chapter in Desmond’s story and while they have said that it will feature more of Desmond than any of the previous instalments, they haven’t shown any of his sections off or even spoken about them. I’m hoping that they are just waiting until E3 to show us this since it needs to be a huge part of AC3.

DMC

The new take on Devil May Cry looks great so far and seems like it could do a lot of cool things with the story. Aside from learning more about said story I’m excited to see the combat and maybe some cutscenes because the action in this game is just so much fun to watch.

There are a lot of things to look forward to and be excited about when it comes to E3, the biggest convention in gaming, so I couldn’t fit them all in. However there is plenty of room in the comments section to list the things you are most looking forward to at E3, so sound off below.

I agree, Dishonored is looking pretty great.

Shaeib Alhasi Sunday, 3rd June, 2012 at 18:35 (Log in to Reply)