A few Weeks ago, E3 (or the Electronic Entertainment Expo), one of gamings biggest expos landed and everyone from Microsoft to Ubisoft was there to present the latest and greatest in the industry. While everyone agrees that this year they all appeared to be treading water (no doubt Microsoft and Sony are busy preparing the next generation of home consoles) that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't anything worthwhile on display. In fact, a few of this years titles have got me extremely pumped, which I wasn't really expecting since all of my most anticipated games have been released with the exception of Bioshock Infinite (which has been delayed to 2013). Here is a selection of the ones I'm most interested in:
The Walking Dead Episode 2:
By now you're probably well aware that I loved the first instalment of The Walking Dead video game. Episode 2, which is set three months after Episode 1, is set to come out at the end of the month and I can't be more excited. 'Starved For Help' has the advantage over it's predecessor mainly because the company behind it, Telltale, has been able to look at the feedback and choices made by the players in the first episode and further improve and iron out a few of the graphical bugs. The episode-by-episode approach should pay off in the long run, and I can't wait to play Lee again. GO WALKING DEAD!
Assassins Creed 3:
I haven't really gotten into the whole Assassins Creed craze, I guess the Series has never really piqued my interest until now. You can't blame me though, there have been so many good games coming out in the past few years at such regularity that I only choose those that I think I'll get the most enjoyment from, and as a result I've been missing out on a few major franchises like Gears Of War, Halo and Assassins Creed simply because I don't have the time or resources to play all of them. Assassins Creed 3 however, has really gone up in my estimations after this year's E3. Ubisoft showed off some amazing naval combat (very reminiscent of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise) that made me scream at the top of my voice: I WANT THIS NOOOOW! I've been hoping for a great Pirate video game for some time now, and Assassins Creed 3 (while not a fully fledged battle-on-the-high-seas adventure), aims to cater to my tastes. And that's just the naval combat, let's not forget all the other things the game has got going for it like the great setting (American revolution), an expansive and detailed open-world akin to Red Dead Redemption and some really nifty new combat mechanics that look very similar to the Arkham games from afar. So yes, the game has a lot of good things going for it. The demo at E3 looked so good that I think I might the buy the other Assassins Creed games beforehand just to see if I've been missing out on one of gamings great franchises.
The Last Of Us & Beyond: Two Souls:
These two games almost broke my heart. Both of them look fantastic, and yet I can't play them when they come out in 2013 because I don't have a FRIGGING PS3! F*CK YOU SONY, for making some of the best games ever (I would buy Uncharted 3 in a heartbeat if I could) and then make them bloody exclusive to your console. Why I would buy a PS3 just to get my hands on one of these beauties! Oh wait, I think that's the point. Anyway, both of these games are driven by a strong narrative, and in the case of The Last Of Us, a graphical fidelity that is borderline scary. All we've seen from Beyond so far is a selection of cool, tension-filled cut-scenes, but the motion capture performance of Ellen Page is really striking. To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if getting a 360 was the right choice, because when you look the exclusives on the Xbox (Gears Of War, Halo) vs the exclusives on the PS3 (Uncharted, Beyond, Last Of Us, God Of War etc...) it's clear who the winner is.
Tomb Raider:
Finally, a game that looks and plays amazing that isn't a Sony exclusive. The new Tomb Raider is essentially a grittier version of Uncharted, with the focus primarily being on Story as well as tense action packed set-pieces. Having played previous Tomb Raider games (which I thought were frustrating piles of crap) I can safely say that this looks so much better and is definitely a step in the right direction. The demo they showed off felt very, very polished and the lack of puzzles (which in previous entries were very frustrating for me personally) is most definitely a plus. 2013 you say? CAN'T. FRIGGING. WAIT.
Watch Dogs:
The game that caught everyone by surprise is also the best game shown at E3 2012, and it came from Ubisoft, of all people. Watch Dogs looks stunning, and features some truly innovative gameplay mechanics not to mention a graphical fidelity that is borderline insane (more-so than The Last Of Us). In fact, the graphics are so good that a lot of people are speculating that it's coming out on the new generation of consoles, not on the 360 or PS3. It's essentially the big open world environment of Grand Theft Auto with a dash of Assassins Creed thrown in for good measure. The story doesn't look good at all though, in the demo everyone's (highly-detailed) faces look ugly and they mainly just spew curse words all over the place. But to be fair, I am basing everything off of a 9 minute Demo. Ubisoft seems to have a lot going for it on the software side, so colour me intrigued indeed.
Star Wars 1313:
There's not a lot to say about this game other than it's a mature, narrative driven Star Wars game that is all about the seedy underbelly of Coruscant in the Star Wars Universe. Think Uncharted in space, really. Is it just me or does all the games this year look a bit like Uncharted 3? It's just they all seem to show off how big their set-pieces and graphics are and most of them boast 'complex' narratives as well. Still I'm not complaining, a good game is a good game I guess.
Resident Evil 6:
I picked this one just because the trailer for it looked was awesome. Don't believe me? Look for yourself:
That's more more 'splosions and melodramatic characters than all three Transformers movies put together! And yet I feel weirdly drawn to it, like a moth to a light.
Well that's pretty much all of the games that I'm excited for in the near future. They all look amazing, and I think Ubisoft have really brought their A game this year. Next year looks to be even better however, because the next generation of consoles are just around the corner....
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