Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, blah, blah, blah. Let’s face it, in the end consoles are just expensive, giants blocks of hardware taking up space on our entertainment center. Let’s not bicker and argue about who kill who–points if you picked up the Monty Python reference–instead, let’s focus on the thing that really matters: Games! After three days of watching trailers, demos, and developer interviews, here are the top ten games from this year’s E3. This does not mean these games will be the biggest and best of the future, but these games grabbed attention during the conference through unique ideas and cool presentations.
10. Murdered: Soul Suspect
It is odd, but the phrase supernatural detective thriller, is not often thrown around the video game world. So many games are desperately trying to push the excitement level or become abstract ideas, they kind of miss obvious niches, rich with material. This new take on the detective action adventure genre features detective Ronan O’Connor who is killed within the opening minutes of the game. Ronan is the son of thieves, but chose a different path and found himself on the right side of the law. After death, Ronan comes back as a spirit with unfinished business–finding his killer– though he can’t interact with the living world, he can possess people to look through their eyes, hear through their ears, and affect their thoughts. Using powers players can analyze and come to conclusions through observations. The idea is to inspire players to search for clues by rewarding success over punishing failure, good investigations will earn players badges that contribute to their experience and earns better skills. There is a terrifying side to Murdered: Soul Suspect in the game’s demonic enemies. These red demons will hunt you down and try to devour your soul, they are overpowering and taking them on directly is not an option. These demons are only part of a ghostly world where you will interact with other ghosts and learn their history. People who stay in this other-world with unfinished business become these demons, and Ronan must solve his case fast or risk becoming the very thing hunting him. The game has a very classic, noir art style, perfect for its detective world. Look for Murdered: Soul Suspect in early 2014.
9. Lococycle
The recent purchase of Twisted Pixel Games is one of the smarter moves Microsoft made coming into the next generation. The creators of ‘Splosion Man and The Gunstringer continue their inventive style with Lococycle. In the game, players control a military hardware motorcycle called Iris, who decides she done being subjugated by her South American military makers. Kidnapping her mechanic, the unfortunate spanish-speaking Pablo, she goes on the lam. The military tries to recapture Iris, who fights back using guns, melee combat, and her determination to never go the speed limit, always staying one step ahead. In case you haven’t noticed, the game faithfully keeps the humor of Twisted Pixel alive as Iris drags her poor mechanic behind her, all the while he laments his situation in spanish begrudgingly helping Iris in order to save his own skin. After each mission, players can upgrade Iris and Pablo based on letter-grades given at the end of the level. The game also features online leaderboards to track players scores. The game stars the voices of Lisa Foiles and Freddie Rodriguez from Six Feet Under. Lococycle will be available at launch for Xbox one.
8. Walking Dead: 400 Days
Last year over 17 million episodes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead were downloaded. The game touched many audience members of varying demographics. So before we look too far ahead to Season Two, Telltale has one final episode to cap off Season One, bridging the gap between the present and future seasons. Some of the choices made in Season One will roll into 400 Days and, in turn, the DLC save will roll into Season Two. The episode features five characters, each with their own story, in a Pulp Fiction-type of narrative. Each chapter of the episode moves through the titular 400 hundred days, beginning with day 2 of the outbreak and telling the story of an escaped inmate. Players can choose any of the five stories in whatever desired order. The episode will last about two hours and cost the same as previous entries in the series. Telltale and Sony also announced The Walking Dead Vita bundle, which will release in August, but current players can look for 400 Days to launch in July. We also got the tease that Season Two will be starting in the Fall of 2013.
7. Thief
The next-gen stealth franchise returns, not with a sequel, but a reinvention of the cult-classic. Thief is published by the stealth-loving Ubisoft and features a mechanic that dims the edges of the players vision to show that they are hidden. A new–totally optional–element to the series is focus, which increases aim or allows players see things they might have missed. The geographical paths and players approach can change the level, offering different challenges and objectives. Different arrow abilities will assist players sneaking through undetected, shattering on impact to hide evidence. Pickpocketing can bring in money that can be used to purchase upgrades, players can also collect experience to show off their skill level. The game still aims to retain the hardcore audience with no automatic health regeneration. Players will have to rely on their wits, watching alerted guards go through a search pattern, using rope arrows can gain access to hard-to-reach places, and a crowbar to breach windows and doors. Only partial information is given at the start of the mission so players will have to gather clues to find where items are and how to get to them. The game will be available 2014 on PS4, Xbox One, and high-end PC.
6. Warframe
When you say the phrase, “space ninja game”, the product almost sells itself, but there is more to Warframe than that. Inspired by the Left 4 Dead cooperative experience, Warframe was funded on Kickstarter, and previously a PC exclusive. Self described as “Mass Effect multiplayer meets Ninja Gaiden”, Warframe is a wall running, sliding, fast-paced cooperative shooter that scratches the proverbial Phantasy Star Online itch. The game is free-to-play, which Digital Extremes found be the only way to independently make Warframe. The response has been huge as the game already has 2 ½ million accounts, thus the game’s design team has grown and so has the scope. Instead of making the stereotypical PvP experience, Digital Extremes offers cooperative play akin to Borderlands, but the game is not all about getting along, world events are held where clans compete with each other, to quell player’s competitive hunger. New features coming to Warframe include dojo building, where players within clans cooperate and design their own sparring room, then compete against each other in the space to train and advance their experience. Digital Extremes boats a system with no paywalls, the game takes in money through a crafting system for players who want better objects quickly. The diversity is impressive with a wealth of races and classes all with unique abilities and modifications. You can play Warframe currently on PC or at the launch of the PS4.
5. Transistor
Super Giant Games created one of the most beloved indie classics with their breakout success, Bastion. Now, they look to replicate their success with a new world and their new protagonist named Red. After surviving an attempt on her life, Red discovers the weapon that tried to kill her, called The Transistor, contains the voice of the last life it took. The Transistor guides Red forward and is used to defend Red from creatures called The Process. After slaying The Process, they turn into cells that will respawn more enemies unless player’s absorb them using The Transistor. While the ground does not appear, like in Bastion, cover rises in the form of large rectangular, white, walls. Gameplay is decidedly different as now players use the Turn ability. This ability stops the world and allows players to plan their next set of actions, creating more strategy, and a much more dramatic ebb and flow to the combat. The Turn can help players flip the tables against impossible odds, but the weapon has to recharge, again showing the game’s more strategic focus. New powers are acquired from people consumed by The Process. The narrative is also different as the omnipotent Narrator is replaced by The Transistor, who is piecing together the narrative as it unfolds. Red can’t communicate back to The Transistor as her voice has been lost, creating an interesting dynamic between the two central characters. The game takes place in the city of Cloudbank, a vibrant city being destroyed by the process, creating another wonderful world where exploration rewards players. Through and through Transistor hopes to another fantastic creation, boasting the exact same team from Bastion. Transistor will arrive on PC and PS4 in early 2014.
4. Rayman Legends
After the exuberant and charming Rayman Origins, gamers have been hungry for more challenging and wacky platforming. Originally it looked like only Nintendo fans would be sated as Rayman Legends was a WiiU exclusive, but recent changes have led to the announced release on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PS Vita. Rayman Legends takes players to a plethora of diverse settings and myths. Based on real-world legends, Rayman will journey from Vahalla to Under the Sea, and each level has two princesses for Rayman to save. The game supports large couch cooperative play with up to four players on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, up to five players on the WiiU, and up to 2 players on the PS Vita. While the game starts a bit easier in the beginning than the notoriously challenging Rayman Origins, the difficulty ramps up what players would expect. The game is a bit easier when played with friends as dead players turn into a bubble and friends can revive them. Origins fans may be disheartened to learn that Treasure Chases have been axed, but they have been replaced with Musical Levels, when players breathlessly speed-run through a level with creative notable music covers playing in the background. Due in September, Rayman Legends looks to be more fast-paced fun.
3. Outlast
Horror is hard, especially at large gaming conference like E3. Tension is often broken by having pulsing noise resounding through a small building, PR reps talking over suspenseful moments, and the fact that most survival horror games have turned into action-filled shooters. Getting you hands on Outlast, no matter where you are, is a purely terrifying experience. Watch the trailer, watch video of people demoing the game, this is the stuff of nightmares. Outlast leaves its protagonist, a reporter investigating an abandoned insane asylum on a strange island, helpless against his enemies, the only way for him to survive is to run and hide. Players will discover things on the island are worse than they thought as Outlast offers a cast of disturbing characters to terrify you. One such character is the strange man who calls himself The Priest and follows our protagonist through the asylum, players have also gotten a taste of The Soldier, the terrifying monster that chases the reporter in the early demo. Each character has a backstory players will learn through files, reports, and what is recorded on the players camcorder. Developer, Red Barrel, is hoping to add DLC, and is already thinking of sequels or prequels to flesh out the Outlast world of terrors. Outlast will tell its story in about five hours, however their first walkthrough was a little bit longer. The game will be available this summer for the PC and port is in the works for the PS4.
2. The Crew
During its press conference Monday afternoon, Ubisoft announced a new racing game for players, titled The Crew. The Crew featured a fully explorable map of the United States, allowing players to road trip coast to coast. The developer, Reflections–the same team behind the much anticipated Watch Dogs–didn’t think it was enough for The Crew to offer a large world, but more to offer a world that was all about variety. They wanted a world where driving around with a friend and finding skill challenges would hook players for hours, where customization was important, and where the world came to life around the players. When driving around the US highways, players will be racing against AI and other players alike. While exploring, players can “crew up” to tackle challenges cooperatively. Players aren’t simply picking colors or minute changes, they can strip cars completely away and start from the ground up. The titular crews are a set group of people who can participate cooperatively. When entering the game players choose from five factions that determines who you can crew up with. Whoever contributes the most to crew missions gets the best rewards, so even within your team there are levels of competition. Make no mistake, The Crew is an action driving game, not a sim. While it is not twitchy, the game delivers speed and thrills with precision control. When entering the game players choose from five factions that determines who you can crew up with. The game’s New York is about the size of Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City, and driving coast-to-coast takes about an hour and 45 minutes sticking to highways. But while zipping from the Carolinas to the Pacific players are bound to get distracted. Skills are little challenges hidden throughout the world, numbering in the thousands, and will be one of seven types of gameplay, including slalom, jumps, gates, collectibles. These Skill challenges will last only a couple seconds, and earn players cash and parts. As mentioned before the key is diversity in the game as all terrains have different handling properties. There will also be dynamic night and day cycles, but weather is locked to distinct areas. The map is divided into five areas and each has their own story based campaign which is more or less a tutorial of the multiplayer (a tutorial of about 20 hours). The Crew is exclusive to next-generation consoles and is scheduled for release early 2014.
1. Elder Scrolls Online
When I sat down with Elder Scrolls Online during PAX East, I was already surprised at how much ZeniMax and Bethesda had already packed into their MMO experience. The worlds were already gorgeously detailed, the stories seemed to recapture the intrigue and depth associated with their Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. I thought I saw how Bethesda could turn their deep action-RPG into a ready-made MMO, but they had only scratched the surface. Now coming to Xbox One and PS4, Elder Scrolls looks like the most promising MMO in ages. Tamriel is split into three faction and the central nation of Cyrodiil is where players can all run into each other, as the three factions fight to name one of their nobles as emperor. As Elder Scrolls Online is an MMO it is a little different than previous entries as certain area are gated by skill level, less open-worldly than Skyrim. However, the size of the world should make it easy to explore, and a megaserver technology allows with players to play with everyone, eliminating server boundaries. If players have a friend in a different version of the game they can jump in and join them at any time, the only exclusion is between CPU and the consoles. Speaking of the recently announced, console version, players can expect a different user interface to be a little more controller friendly. For PCs, immersion is still the name of the game as the shortcut bar is related to context, keeping the interface limited and helping to engage players in the world. Stealth is still a big part of Elder Scrolls, and is relatively the same from previous entries. The game boasts nine different races, three per alliance, and each race has their own skill line. Further carry-overs from the single player experience is NPCs which can become followers, a mount system where every player starts with a horse and can change their horses skills based on what they feed it. As players do more things in PvP they will get more alliance points, which can buy new gear or new abilities. Crafting has been reworked to foster more discovery, the discoveries you make can add you to your armor-craft, weaponcraft, cooking, alchemy, and enchanting. While there are no homes, guilds can take over and control their own keep, and while there are no marriages players can do a ceremony to commit to questing with one player. Players can look to jump back into the world of Tamriel Spring of 2014.
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