Best of E3 2013
These are the games I saw at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo which I was most impressed by, and am most keen to play.
List items
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Game of the Show for me is Bungie's Destiny, the game which really, truly sold me on the next generation. Coming into the show, I wasn't sure that the PS4 or the Xbox One had anything to offer me, let alone wow me. Sony spent their entire Presser disabusing me of that notion, and Destiny was the showstopper. My jaw dropped. Destiny, I genuinely believe, is the next big thing.
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I was aware of this game going into E3, as a fan of the Web Series that spawned it, but I hadn't seen much of it. It got a stage demo on the GameSpot E3 show and damn...This game looks amazing. It perfectly translates the Angry Video Game Nerd vibe into a playable form. I was blown away. This indie game, heading to PC and Nintendo Platforms, is sure to be a must.
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Mario Kart, it is no secret, is my favourite franchise. I treat this game with the attention others afford games like Call of Duty. I can talk at length about the differences in balance and play style between every entry in the franchise. Mario Kart 8 is a "Greatest Hits" album of Mario Kart features, with some cool new ones of its own like gravity-defying and automagic highlight reels. And those graphics are beautiful - and they're native 1080p60. Wow. A Wii U System Seller for sure.
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Killzone 2 ate up a lot of my time on the PlayStation 3, and Guerilla's next-gen outing for the franchise looks fantastic. I really liked seeing a totally different environment in the game from the one we saw at Sony's The Future of PlayStation Event. The game looks like an easy choice to own alongside a day one PS4.
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I remember my brother and I finding the Abe's Oddysee demo on the original PlayStation. We were enthralled by its mad sense of humour. We found Abe's novel interactions with his fellow Oddworld inhabitants delightful. When Adam Boyes said they had Lorne Lanning onstage, and I noticed he was playing a remake of Abe's Oddysee...That was it. I was already onboard. I've since seen more of it. It looks even better having learnt more about it. A must-own.
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Supergiant Games, fronted by beloved former GameSpot Editor in Chief Greg Kasavin (The company's Creative Director) has one hit in the approximate style of Transistor under its belt. Transistor looks set to make the lightning strike twice.
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Sony and Evolution's Driveclub didn't grab me at its reveal during Sony's The Future of PlayStation event. They were too busy marvelling over the car models, which I wasn't particularly interested in hearing about. Having now heard more about the actual gameplay, I am totally onboard. Evolution's past work, on the Motorstorm franchise, has met with my approval (Motorstorm: Pacific Rift was my first PlayStation 3 game) and their vision with this game strikes me as intriguing. Throw in the fact that the game will be made available in the Instant Game Collection of PlayStation Plus, which I plan to subscribe to anyway, from launch, and you have a recipe for my interest being more than merely piqued.
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Ubisoft's Watch_Dogs has been intriguing ever since its reveal at last year's E3. But it has also been too shrouded in mystery for me to really decide one way or another how excited I was to play it. The demo at Sony's Presser sold me on it completely.
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I have never played an Assassin's Creed game. I came very close with last year's Assassin's Creed 3, but stopped short after hearing form critics that it had a few problems. Black Flag has me hooked, with an exciting theme (Pirates are always cool) and a great showing at E3. That demo, stalking through the plant life then jumping onto the exploding ships...It looked visually stunning, and something I could really enjoy experiencing for myself.
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inFamous sold me based on its trailer alone. The tone of the game just seems incredibly appealing, and it looks like there's a lot of cool things to do. Definitely going to be worth checking out once the PS4 is released.
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I don't even think I have to explain this, do I? It's a 3D Super Mario game, with four-player co-op and adorable cat costumes for the Mushroom Kingdom gang. And, like its Karting themed stablemate, it runs at native 1080p60. What's not to like?
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I like the Sonic Franchise. Sonic is a great character, and the earlier games are masterpieces. But I haven't really enjoyed a 3D Sonic game...Well, ever. I haven't played the last couple of games admittedly, but that's because they didn't really grab my attention. Lost World, though, has. It reminds me, in a lot of ways, of the recent 3D games starring Sonic's new best friend Mario - the Galaxy games. I'd be completely unsurprised if Nintendo's 3D Mario team consulted with Sonic Team on this Nintendo-exclusive. The changes to speed control, and the stunning level design, make this game a strong candidate for best Sonic game ever - of any number of dimensions!
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As is well-known, I am a die-hard Disney fan. This unlikely nostalgia trip has me hooked with delightful animation, fantastic music and sheer coolness. It's frankly amazing that this game exists - it's a remake of a relatively old tie-in to a long-dormant franchise. It's also absolutely brilliant that it exists. That it also looks utterly brilliant is merely the icing on the cake.
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Another indie game which caught my eye at the show was the inventive Outlast, which puts the player in an asylum associated with the shady MKULTRA program, armed with nothing more than a camcorder. It's this "camcorder" hook which has me intrigued. I think that's a really interesting way of approaching the survival horror genre and - alongside PS4's native video sharing - will allow players to create their very own "Found Footage" horror films.
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It's Pokémon, in 3D. Your ability to catch Pikachu has been restored. It's out the day before my birthday. And they have finally nerfed the comically overpowered Dragon Type by adding the new Fairy Type and making it Super Effective against Dragon. Day One Purchase material right there.
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