E3 2013 has come and gone. I've been impressed, disappointed, surprised and feasted on visually magnificent, next-gen graphics and gameplay. At the end of it all I'm left with a shopping list that's much, much too big for my bank account. The PS4 and Xbox One were naturally big news and there are some really good-looking games coming out in the long and short term future.
The Consoles
I was expecting a tough, gritty fight between Microsoft and Sony with Nintendo just hanging out in the background. What I got was a one sided, easy, first round knock-out. As usual, the press conferences kicked things off at the start of the week and Microsoft was up first.
After their terrible Xbox One reveal I was hoping they would come out swinging with a huge focus on games, big exclusives and maybe even some positive news, for gamers, regarding DRM and "always connected". They managed two out of three, which isn't bad. As promised, there was no TV talk and Microsoft showed off lots of games with plenty of exclusive goodies for Xbox fans. There was no backtracking on the used game DRM or "always connected" though, Microsoft sticking to their guns and not backing down in the face of public pressure. In an interview with Gametrailer's Geoff Keighley, Microsoft's Don Mattrick said people with no internet should just stick to the Xbox 360. There's a good sales pitch for your new product.
Sony ended the fight at their press conference by taking everything the Xbox One had been criticised for and saying they would do the opposite with the PS4. You can share your PS4 games with anyone you want and you don't have to be connected to the internet to play a game (not counting multiplayer online obviously). In addition, the PS4 will retail at $100 less than the Xbox One in the US. I don't think I've seen and heard that much excitement at a press conference before. There were some cool Playstation exclusives, but I think that was one point where Microsoft had Sony beat. Until I can play Halo and Gears of War on my PS, I won't be satisfied.
Nintendo simply went along, minding their own business and tried to pinch the fence sitters in the Xbox One/PS4 war. Although fun and exciting, their press conference and games felt like more of the same, and just playing it safe. New Mario and Mario Kart games, a new Zelda game and new Super Smash Bros. games for the 3DS and Wii U. Super Smash Bros. will feature new characters Megaman, Villager from Animal Crossing and.....the Wii Fit trainer?! I'm still not entirely sure if that last one is just Nintendo trolling or not, but Megaman is certainly a welcome addition.
The Games
Sooooo many great games to look forward to. At the moment I'm probably most excited about Watch Dogs because it ticks all the right boxes for me. Awesome, action-packed gameplay and visually stunning graphics, there's no wonder this game took home a whole heap of awards at E3.
Square Enix ended the pain and suffering for Kingdom Hearts fans by announcing Kingdom Hearts III, the first numbered sequel in eight years. Apparently there's still a long time to wait before KH3 will hit the shelves, but it's good to know that the wheels are finally in motion. We also learned, from Square, that Final Fantasy versus XIII was not cancelled. It is indeed coming and its new name will be Final Fantasy XV.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag showed off its seamless transitions from land to naval combat before it all went horribly wrong and the live demo crashed. Hopefully this one will turn out a bit better than AC3 did.
Ready at Dawn's The Order: 1886, a PS4 exclusive, grabbed the attention of many with its "what-the-hell-is-that,-a-demon?"-hunting set in an alternate universe during the industrial revolution. It looked great and I can't wait to see more of it.
A pleasant surprise was the announcement of a Mirror's Edge game. There had been rumours and suggestions about it after an EA help page was created for the game before being quickly removed again. This second game of the series will be a prequel to the first one, presumably telling the story of how Faith became a runner. According to the trailer the game will come out "When its ready".
A pleasant surprise was the announcement of a Mirror's Edge game. There had been rumours and suggestions about it after an EA help page was created for the game before being quickly removed again. This second game of the series will be a prequel to the first one, presumably telling the story of how Faith became a runner. According to the trailer the game will come out "When its ready".
And it wouldn't be E3 without a few post-apocalyptic games. The Last of Us, released yesterday, is already a big winner with incredibly good reviews. Ubisoft also revealed The Division, a tactical shooter MMO set in modern day USA where players will fight to "save what remains".
All that and heaps more, (The Witcher 3, Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain, Star Wars Battlefront, Destiny, Infamous: Second Son, DayZ standalone, Gran Turismo 6, Forza Motorsport 5, Crew, FIFA 14, Madden 25, NBA Live 14, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts.... I could go on forever) will make the coming year a really great one for gamers.
All the trailers for these games, and tonnes more from this year's E3, are available at IGN.
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