Just a few hours ago, the biggest publishers in the world showed their upcoming games at the respective E3 conferences. There were some absolutely amazing games on display, which is good news for each gamer out there, and I believe it’s safe to say that this generation already looks better than the last one, at least when compared to the lackluster first year of Xbox 360/PlayStation 3.
However, it is doubtless that the spotlight was pointed at Microsoft and Sony, since both giants are releasing a next-generation console this year and the real match is Xbox One vs PS4. After the announcements of both, the latter had a clear advantage in the minds of hardcore gamers as it seemed to focus more on games, not to mention that it looked like it did not feature any excessive DRM policy; which Sony just confirmed yesterday to a cheering public.
Xbox One and PlayStation 4 both had their prices announced yesterday as well, with the former priced at 499$/€ vs 399$/€ of the latter, probably because of the mandatory Kinect integration. Clearly these two are easy scores for Sony, and I’ll add that personally I was already leaning more towards PlayStation 4. Does that mean that PlayStation 4 is already the winner to me and that I’m convinced to buy one at launch? Not exactly.
You see, consoles are after all about games, and Microsoft delivered completely on that regard yesterday. They had an impressive showing, with Ryse from Crytek, Forza Motorsport 5 from Turn 10 and Dead Rising 3 from Capcom all looking great, plus quite a few surprises as well, such as Sunset Overdrive from Insomniac Games (the makers of Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series, which is a direct blow to Sony), Crimson Dragon from Panzer Dragoon/Phantom Dust creator, and most of all the comeback of Killer Instinct from Rare. There were also a couple of teasers for Halo 5 and the new Black Tusk game, plus Quantum Break which is still a mystery to me, but I can’t really fault Remedy’s track record: I have faith the game will deliver.
Unfortunately, Sony couldn’t quite match the surprise. They had a quick montage of Killzone: Shadow Fall, Drive Club, Knack and Infamous: Second Son, confirming that the first three will be launching with the console later this year, but Infamous was perhaps the most interesting of them and it got delayed to Q1 2014. Sure, there was some great Square Enix stuff for those who love JRPGs with the Kingdom Hearts 3 announcement, but I was never much of a genre fan to be honest.
What was left, then? The Order 1886, developed by Ready at Dawn. This looks like it could be really interesting, but it was just teased. Overall, I am much more confused after the conferences than I thought I could be; Microsoft and Sony traded blows like fighters in a death-like match, but it is far from over, unlike some may think. In fact, expect many more announcements and surprises in the upcoming months, especially during Gamescom.
Speaking of multiplatform titles, I’ve seen some pretty great stuff yesterday. On Electronic Arts‘s front, Battlefield 4 looked exceptionally strong in the unexpected live multiplayer 64-player match; Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare was announced for Xbox 360 and Xbox One; Mirror’s Edge 2, Star Wars: Battlefront and Dragon Age 3: Inquisition short trailers filled gamers with hope although they are still a way off, but Respawn’s Titanfall rose amongst all, if not for graphics (it’s using Source Engine), at least for the great multiplayer action shown, with parkour moves, mech fights and solid gunplay. The game will be available this Spring for Xbox One, PC and Xbox 360.
Ubisoft didn’t hold back either, focusing on quality over quantity. Watch Dogs was demonstrated once again and it’s always a pleasure, but then the rumored racing game by Reflections was announced: it’s The Crew, a MMO-like game with the entire USA as the playable map. Racers will be able to collaborate and compete seamlessly. It looked and sounded good. But the real surprise, just like Watch Dogs last year, was without a doubt The Division, which is also my Game of the Show so far.
With some incredible graphics to boot, this is an online third person shooter with RPG elements set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world. Players will be able to fight seamlessly AI and enemy players. Needlessly to say, I can’t wait to hear more about this even though no date was announced, so my guess is that we won’t be playing it any soon.
Finally, there was one game whispered and talked about since years now: Destiny. Bungie’s creation revealed itself for the first time with a full blown gameplay demo and it looked simply awesome, both visually and in terms of gameplay. The player on stage was joined by a friend in his mission to infiltrate a facility, but then all of a sudden a public event appeared and many other players swarmed in. Destiny, published by Activision, will release in 2014.
My Top #3 so far:
- The Division
- Destiny
- Titanfall
