E3 is for Video Game Geeks what Comicon has become for Comic/Movie Geeks and another one is on it’s way. Last year saw the announcements and excitement of Next-Gen as the PS4 and Xbox One were announced to thunderous applause. Now that those consoles are out it’s time to show off what they can do and that’s what I’m looking for at this year’s E3.
June 10th-12th will bring E3 back around again and like any other major event, there’s always rumours as to what’s coming up to check out. Here’s some of the rumours that I found most interesting:
New Games!
Half-Life 3 is Coming!… again.
Once again, rumours fly that Half-Life 3 is coming soon. Now previously it’s been very “DaVinci Code” in it’s rumour. “Hey guy, there were 3 pencils on Gabe Newell’s desk!! That means Half-Life 3 is coming!!” It’s always been something to take with a grain of salt, but there may be something behind this current rumour. Counter-Strike creator Minh ‘Gooseman’ Le has been heard to say that he’s seen HL3 in development and that it “looks great”. I’m torn. On one hand, Half-Life came out in 1998 and it was amazing so I’m just as excited as other people. On the other hand, I’ve been burned SO many times since the last installment almost SEVEN YEARS ago, that I’m starting to just not care anymore.
ANOTHER Mortal Kombat with Mortal Kombat X
It’s already been announced, but there’s yet another Mortal Kombat title coming. At this point, I’m really curious just how relevant a fighting game is anymore. Sales for them just don’t seem to be where they were long ago and went I go to GameStop, I see just as many pre-owned fighting games sitting on the shelf as I do last year’s EA Sports titles. Back in the ’90s when they started Mortal Kombat, their fatalities were edgie and new, but in the day and age of Manhunt, Dead Rising, Saw and other gory-ish game titles and movies, it’s no longer as edgie as it once was. I’m going to be watching their announcement with a morbid curiosity because if there’s something new and revolutionary, it’ll be awesome but if it’s more of the same old crap, then they might as well close up shop.
Guerilla Games’ Next
Killzone: Shadow Fall developer Guerilla Games has announced their next offering. It’s said to be completely different from Shadow Fall and open world. This can be a double-edged sword. Open World games are what’s big these days, but if you don’t do it right, it can lead to a frustrating experience.
Sequels
Halo 5
Last E3 announced the existence of Halo 5. This year is supposed to announce that it’s open world. Honestly if every game is going open world, it’s going to ruin it for true storytelling. All sense of urgency or linear storytelling is completely lost when you can run a mission and then spend 15 hours just screwing around.
Dishonoured 2
A picture that’s came about that appears to be some sort of presentation slide announces that Dishonoured 2 will be announced at E3. To be honest, something just felt completely lacking in Dishonoured and it carried over to their next release Thief since it used the same engine and control system. But that’s the point of the sequel: Fix all the broken stuff from the first game.
Uncharted 4
This year we’re going to see actual in-engine gameplay and cutscenes from the next Uncharted. If Naughty Dog can be known for one thing, it’s pushing the graphical capabilities of a console as proven by Uncharted 1-3 and The Last of Us, so to say that I’m excited would be a major understatement.
Now, there’s lots more to be announced including Halo and Mass Effect compilations for the next-gen systems as well as anything non-mainstream that might show up. I’m also curious to see what Star Wars goodies we might get with the dissolution of LucasArts. I’m going to sit down at the end of each day and update with what interesting and cool things have hit during E3 this year.