Here’s a summary of the big announcements from Sony’s E3 2014 press conference.
Destiny
If last year was about showing off Destiny gameplay and co op, this year’s trailer is showing off its story and enemy variety. Though it doesn’t look like the most graphically intensive game, the environments look interesting and if the gameplay is still intact from last year, it’ll be a formidable title. PS4 owners get to alpha test it starting this Thursday through the weekend with an open beta in July.
The Order 1886
This trailer looks awesome. The graphics are intensely good, but the 20 seconds of gameplay we saw in the press conference makes me sad. Is it not good enough to show yet? What’s goin on? Either way, the video is still a great watch, but I’m a little less hyped for The Order since there’s been no new information and suspiciously little gameplay. Also, I find it strange that the official trailer isn’t what they showed at the conference. Seriously, what is up with this game?
Infamous First Light
Infamous Second Son now has a DLC/companion game called Infamous First Light. In the same way that Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was companion content that also functioned as a standalone title, you can play Infamous First Light without owning Second Son. The trailer starts us in the snow level from Goldeneye with a voice talking to a girl. It flashes to the city where she’s some sort of power corresponding to purple (not sure what that would be), and then it ends. Definitely interesting, even if you haven’t played Second Son yet.
LittleBigPlanet 3
Never enough LittleBigPlanet. This time, instead of just adding a few more things, Media Molecule has actually added new playable characters, each with their own unique moves to help them through the game. Oddsock is a sockdog who can walljump. Toggle is a big guy who can turn into a little guy, letting him squeeze in tight places, or move heavy blocks. And Swoop is a bird that can pick stuff up. All pretty useful characters that, when combined, can produce some new, interesting puzzles for the LBP franchise. Oh and you can still play all the previously created content in LBP and LBP2 in the new title! Available this November.
ABZU
The creative director and music director of Journey have gotten together once again to produce what I can only assume will be a work of art. It looks like Journey in the ocean, which is totally okay. Give it a peek
No Man’s Sky
Ever wanted to explore infinite space, taking in the sights of an endless worlds, and flying about in a cool space ship? HelloGames has you covered with their new title No Man’s Sky. Space is procedurally generated and each new planet offers something new to explore. The project sounds awfully ambitious for such a small dev studio, but the trailer looks incredible. Keep a close eye on this one.
Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End
We got a wee peek at Uncharted 4! It sounds like Nate Drake has been out of the plundering game for some time now, but for some reason, he’s had to come out of retirement and drag Sully along for the ride. The graphics are absolutely stellar, but still no gameplay. We should see something more concrete next year, since the game’s release date on Amazon is December 31, 2015. That doesn’t mean much other than they’re hoping it’ll be out by the end of next year, but it can serve as a nice guideline.
Bloodborne
Like Dark Souls? The guy behind that game is now behind this game. It looks like lightly a less fantasy and slightly more violent version of Dark Souls and I can get behind that.
Far Cry 4
Sony’s presser showed up some actual gameplay from the title. It looks a lot like a graphically beefier Far Cry 3, but has some cool extra features like a grappling hook and weaponized elephant. You can still expect the same bloody action and intense shootout combat from Far Cry 3, just a little bit better, from the looks of it. Also, drop in drop out coop has been added that transitions from single player to multiplayer missions without having to exit the game, a feature that should come standard with mixed-mode games, I think. In this way, you’re never really out of the game and don’t have to view multiplayer as a hassle. Nice job, Far Cry.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The new trailer for MGS5 leaked already, but it’s still excellent, showing off the power of the Fox engine. Phantom Pain is the best looking Metal Gear yet, and though this trailer, again, doesn’t show any gameplay, the story just keeps getting more intriguing. And why does Big Boss have something in his head? No but seriously, why?
Batman Arkham Knight
This trailer really just showed off how cool the Batmobile is. And it is really cool. It plows through concrete at high speeds, it can be converted into battle mode to shoot missles and guns at enemy vehicles, then converted back to speed away. Flying with Batman seems better than driving, but it’s nto a bad alternative.
Playstation TV
The semi-popular Vita home console, Playstation TV, will be making its debut in North America later this year for $99. It plays most Vita games, does remote play to your PS4, and also plays PS1 and PSP games. You can also get Playstation TV built in to certain Sony TVs. Pretty neat, though I doubt it’ll take off.
Magicka 2
The sequel to the humorous co-op magic blasting game has officially been announced! I want to know moooooore!
Grim Fandango
Cult classic Grim Fandango now officially has a remaster in the works! And the crowd went wild
Here’s a summary of the biggest announcements at Ubisoft’s E3 2014 press conference.
Far Cry 4
Though this trailer was all cinema, it showed off some of the character of Pagan Min, a ruthless eccentric who seems to have some sort of connection with the main character. The graphics on display in the trailer were rather impressive and the land of Kyrat is beautiful, but what’s even cooler is Mr. Min and his insane personality. A charismatic guy, as all good self-obsessed villains are, I can’t wait to tear ass around the jungle looking for him
The Division
I was excited about The Division’s gameplay, but after this trailer, I’m really invested in the story too. It’s really easy to gloss over the personal impact of widespread disease in stories like Resident Evil, but this trailer really hit you where it hurts. Without even showing people, a family is ripped down to nothingness by a sudden epidemic and the brutal work around them. If the gameplay made you like the game, this trailer will make you love it.
Assassin’s Creed 4
We now know a little bit more about AC4. The protagonist’s name is Arno Dorian and the game takes place around 1789. He’s Austrian and French and seems to enjoy the color blue. The freerunning capabilities in this title look much smoother than we’ve seen before and the interface is far less cluttered. Combine that with the four player co op shown off in Microsoft’s presser and this is shaping up to be the best AC title yet.
Shape Up
Ever wanted to play a game that actually makes you exercise and isn’t DDR? Shape Up looks like that game. The exercises/games it has actually look fun and when you throw competitive play into the mix, it looks like the most appealing exercise game coming out.
Rainbow Six: Seige
Remember how Battlefield Hardline was cops vs robbers on a huge scale? Think there’s room in your brainspace for cops vs robbers on a small scale? If so, Rainbow Six: Seige is right up your alley. The trailer features 5v5 competitive play with tons of tools on each side from drones to baracades, breach bombs to shield stands, it looks like a more strategic, better coordinated cops vs robbers game. With a smaller map and smaller teams, everyone must be on high alert and communicating if they hope to get the advantage, something that sounds incredibly fun.
Valiant Hearts
Just watch this trailer. Warning: likely to make you cry.
Here’s a rundown of the top announcements at EA’s E3 2014 press conference.
Star Wars Battlefront 3
It exists and the 2 images we saw from it look good, but THEY SHOWED NOTHING ELSE. AGAIN, EA? AGAIN? AND THEY SAY WE’LL SEE MORE IN SPRING 2015?!
I’m so mad right now.
Dragon Age Inquisition
The environments look good and combat seemed smooth. The dragon your party was fighting seems to react like an animal would if you injure it, like hiding its hurt spot and not using legs that are hurt. They also mentioned doing some mode that was less action and more strategy, like a turn-based RPG, but they didn’t show it off, so that’s strange.
Also they boasted that your companions have narratives. Like that’s a feature in a story-driven game.
Mass Effect
Well, it’s in development! And they say people want to see new places and expand the universe. That’s about it though. ENOUGH WITH THE STUPID TEASING, EA.
Sims
The new Sims looks hilarious. Now Sims have distinct, amplified personalities, like willingness to get in fights, short temper, situation diffusal, all that good, human stuff. In the demo, a young man was beaten up by an old lady. He then worked out to get buff and threw a party to get his confidence back. When the old lady showed up, the presenter downloaded a character from the internet to play some music and diffuse the high tension. Then the guy died of laughter.
The Sims, everyone.
They really emphasized how every Sim will have their own personality and if you download a Sim from the net, they’ll come with their own too. So if I build my version of Groose from Skyward Sword in my game, then you download my Groose, you’re not just getting his skin, you’re getting his dumb-hearted personality too. Which is actually really cool.
Battlefield Hardline
Do you like Battlefield? Do you like Payday? Ever wish you could play as the cops in Payday and fly around in helicopters? Battlefield Hardline is here for you.
In a game of cops vs robbers, you can take control of either a member of the police squad or the criminal band trying to commit a heist. The combat and gameplay looks like Battlefield, but with the objectives and settings of Payday (minus the stealth component). It looks like a really neat, fresh take on the Battlefield franchise.
The closed beta is up for submission right now at http://www.battlefield.com/hardline, and PS4 owners who have BF4 can play the demo right now, so get out there and get robbing!
Mirror’s Edge
There were some more stages and the devs talked about making the combat quicker, adding more flow to the game, and selecting a color palette that was simple, but stark. They also mentioned delving in to Faith’s backstory and the world a little more. THEN THEY STOPPED TALKING ABOUT IT. NO DEMO, NO RELEASE DATE, NO HINTS.
DAMMIT, EA, I’M DONE WITH YOU. I’M JUST DONE.
Here’s a run down of the big announcements from Microsoft at E3 2014.
Call of Duty: Advance Warfare
Microsoft started off with one of the staples people expect at a Microsoft presser, the new Call of Duty. And of course it started with something going wrong, explosions, and the protagonist’s vision going blurry.
So it’s basically the same thing as last year.
You now have rockets in your boots to slow your descent when falling and provide a double jump, your allies drop in large bods, and there’s a battle mech walking around. Are we sure this isn’t Call of Duty: Titanfall?
Drones are swarming about and it looks really cool, especially if you’ve researched swarm theory.
Other than that, it’s just a standard Call of Duty.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Assassin’s Creed Unity takes place during the French Revolution. Before today, that’s about all we knew about the game. We still know very little about the story, but huge new feature was revealed at the Microsoft presser – four player co op. That’s right, you and three friends/strangers can take control of a group of assassins to take down targets as a group. You can easily tell your assassin friends by the icons over their heads, and it seems like a fresh opportunity to have a fun, group experience with Assassin’s Creed without having to kill each other.
Of course, that is if your friends are intelligent enough to not ruin it for you (not likely).
Sunset Overdrive
And just when you thought new life couldn’t be breathed into much more, Sunset Overdrive comes in and skewers modern warfare games while delivering fun, cartoony gameplay all at the same time. In this game, you take control of one of the last surviving humans after a disastrous energy drink transforms millions into monsters. You’ll be fighting off bandits and hoards of monsters while grinding on rails, bouncing off roofs, and looking good while you do it.
Remember how fresh TF2 felt when it was first introduced ten years ago? Think that and you’re on the right path. Though the movement looks a little slower than I’d like and it seems nowhere near close to done, it looks interesting enough to keep a close eye on.
Dead Rising DLC
Though there isn’t much to tell here, I just thought this was hilarious. The new Dead Rising DLC allows you to take control of all the Dead Rising protags who cosplay as other characters doing arcade-style minigames. The name of the DLC?
Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha.
Glad to see a self-referential skewer at their money grab expansions.
Fable Legends
A new Fable game is coming and it seems to be abandoning the narrative structure of previous entries. This time, instead of building a character from the ground up, you’ll take control of one of four heroes that are questing together. You can also play as a “dungeon master” type character who throws monsters and traps at the adventurers. It’s a wild departure from the traditional structure, but it looks interesting. Think Dungeonland, but expanded.
Project Spark
Project Spark showed off a plethora of creators and worlds. Nothing terribly new, except that they’re adding space stuff and Conker from Conker’s Bad Fur Day, which is bittersweet. Why not just a new game instead of making him promote another title out of nowhere? Bleh.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Child of Light enchanted gamers with its visuals and this game looks to follow in step with that. Looks like two creature friends who meet by chance and help each other out, so maybe a platformer/puzzle game? It also looks like it’ll make you cry. I teared up in the trailer alone. Very excited about this one.
Halo: Master Chief Collection
Well are you happy now, Halo fans? You complain long and loudly enough and 343 Studios will listen. They’re now releasing the four numbered Halo games all on one disk! Halo 1-4 including their multiplayer components is coming to Xbox One. Halo 2 is also getting the anniversary edition-treatment that Halo 1 got. They’re also claiming 1080p and 60fps for the games and their multiplayer plus dedicated servers. Also there will be a Halo 5: Guardians demo later this year, so that’s neat.
Inside
Limbo developer Playdead is working on a new titled called Inside. It looks to be in the same exploration/platformer genre, but this time with color. Color me interested.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The new Tomb Raider game seems to explore the PTSD and road to recovery for Lara after what happened in the previous game. Also she shot a dude with a bow and arrow, which is pretty badass. Also I distinctly remember seeing some tombs.
The Division
I’ve been anxiously awaiting new details about this game since last year. It still looks great and though they didn’t show off many new features, the gameplay looks to be in tact since last year’s demonstration. A team of 4, one person being on a drone, made their way across a city, showing off drop in/drop out coop, and the interesting drone features. At one point our player 1 shot a guy through some paint cans and the paint splashed pretty realistically, which I thought was a nice touch.
No real details on it yet, but the demo is still looking promising.
Scalebound
Platinum games is making a game which looks kinda like monster hunter, but with a mount and the main character acted like Dante from the new DMC. Very little detail beyond a prerendered cinematic, but I’ll be watching with wary hesitation.
Crackdown
It’s been a long while since Crackdown was on the scene, but diehard fans got their wish today when a new iteration in the series was revealed. Did it consist of putting a vehicle full of bombs into a building, blowing it up, and making the top of the building hit another building just to kill a guy on the top floor, causing millions of dollars in collateral damage and injuring/killing thousands? Yes. That’s Crackdown. Prepare yourselves.