It's been busy
down here at E3. I've been running myself ragged, whipping from one
side of the L.A. Convention Center to the other and back trying get
the latest on what publishers and developers are going to release in
the next year. While I couldn't hit everything, I got quite a bit,
as well as talking shop with other industry professionals. Here's a
taste of what I found this year, much of which I'll go into further detail in upcoming previews.
- Natsume wants you to take over the family business that doesn't involve making somebody an offer they can't refuse. Their upcoming HomeTown Story puts you in the role of a young boy or girl who has to take over your grandma's general store after she dies. Making an attractive shopping experience is only part of the gameplay, however. If you can make your customers happy enough, you'll open up all sorts of new experiences.
- It sucks to be Dracula. Pesky heroes trying to smash your castle to bits. Annoying relatives who want to kill you just because you're an unholy abomination in the sight of God and Heaven. But Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 at least makes unlife gorgeous to look at, and beating aforementioned pesky heroes to death with a whip made of blood is certainly a good way to pass eternity.
- Attention metalheads, crooners, pickers, grinners, lovers, and sinners: there is renewed hope for those who wish to rock out with real instruments on the console. Realta's Bandfuse is offering the multiplayer goodness of Rock Band with the real instrument connections of Rocksmith, and doing so with the assistance of some notable talent, such as Slash, Zak Wylde, and Bootsy Collins. At present, “Free Bird” does not appear to be one of the tracks available at launch.
- While there's a lot of buzz about Kiefer Sutherland taking over the role of Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, there's another story related to the title from a technical perspective. The same engine that will allow you to sneak, peek, shoot, stab, and run around a fictionalized Afghanistan will be running Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2014. The team behind the soccer simulator (and really, there's no better term to describe it) has taken the Fox engine and used it to create ultra-detailed stadiums, players, and soccer physics. Even a naif like myself enjoyed it, and I hate soccer.
- One of the exhibits at E3 is “Into The Pixel,” an art show featuring the guys who make the games we love look good, producing pieces relating to or directly from game titles. What's curious about this year's show is an entry from Daniel Dociu, the insanely talented lead artist from Arena.Net who's worked on the Guild Wars series. The entry depicts a very Blade Runner-esque city street, lots of neon lights, signs in different languages, etc. The title the piece is from simply says “Unannounced.” Could Arena.Net be working on a sci-fi or cyberpunk themed MMO?
- It's been a bad day for Ronan O'Connell, a plainclothes cop in Salem who had the bad luck to get tossed out a window and shot with his own piece, and the main character in Murdered: Soul Suspect. He's dead in a town that regularly consecrates the foundations of buildings to ward against evil spirits, which also works against shades like himself. The guy who killed him is a complete unknown, the other cops on the force aren't really crying too hard over his corpse, and the only leads he has are what he can pull out of people's minds or reconstruct from psychometric impressions. But hey, at least he can't die again, right? Right?
- Geralt of Rivia is back in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and while he's not an errand boy for the besieged potentates in the Northern Kingdoms, he's still available for hire. A monster hunter has to eat, after all. This time, though, he's got his own personal project to deal with: The Wild Hunt has returned and they're ravaging every village, town, and citadel they come across. Given Geralt's history with the Wild Hunt, it's pretty clear that he's not looking for anything resembling polite conversation or diplomatic arrangements. And once Geralt starts to hunt something down, he doesn't stop till he gets it. Pity the Wild Hunt.
- Special E3 “WTF?!” moment came from Don Mattrick, Xbox chief and soon-to-be-favorite- dartboard-target aboard US naval vessels the world over. He basically told people who didn't have a broadband connection that they could still buy an Xbox 360, then doubled down on his idiocy by declaring that while he had never served on a nuclear sub, he could understand why those who were currently on subs might be “disappointed.” One can only wonder the size of the fruit basket Kaz Hirai sent over to thank Mattrick for handing Sony the definitive E3 win.
- I had the pleasure of being introduced to Shinji Mikami at Bethesda's presentation for The Evil Within. I was then quickly reminded that it really is always the quiet ones. Just to give you an idea, Mikami-san showed up in a plaid shirt, trucker hat, and blue jeans. Completely unassuming. After watching the live demo, which to be fair doubtlessly involved a lot of very talented and possibly psychologically scarred human beings, I'm convinced Mikami-san doesn't straddle the line between genius and insanity. He rides right down the middle of that sucker with a one-off chopper from the blackest custom shop in the lowest level of Hell built by Satan's pet gearhead.
- For all of our readers who obtain Wolfenstein: The New Order: Every one of you has incurred a debt with us. I expect each and every gamer out there to provide me with one hundred Nazi scalps, and I want my scalps. Bullet riddled corpses and laser-blasted limbs will also suffice. Sound good?
- A lot of attention was directed towards Disney and their upcoming Disney Infinity line of interactive toys. It might be forgiven that folks overlooked the next chapter in the Skylanders series, which is a shame because the series just got more interesting. Skylanders Swap Force gives us 16 new characters to start, then adds another 16 “swap” characters with separate tops and bottoms, each with their own advancement scheme. The mind boggles at the possibilities.
- It was worth two guys going to jail for a result like ARMA III. The engine looks even better than before, combined arms are now a full on feature instead of expansion pack fodder, and the shooting is still heavy and intense.
- Finally got a chance to try out Elder Scrolls Online. A half hour is simply not enough time to fully appreciate the work the team has put in on this thing. It's a work of art, and I'm fully prepared to sink a thousand or so hours into studying its intricacies in exacting detail. Seriously, Bethesda. Approve my damned beta application already!
Keep
watching this site for previews. E3 may be over for this year, but
the games continue to roll on.
--Axel Cushing
