E3 is upon us! The Electronic Entertainment Expo is a little less than two weeks away, and Dan and I can barely contain all our geeky excitement for the event. There's new games this year, amazing trailers, sick demos...and a new console!
Here's our TOP3!
Jake's Pick
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| Eat your heart out, Jones. |
Uncharted 3 takes the cake as my most anticipated title at E3 2011. Why, you ask? Let me answer your question with a question: DID YOU PLAY UNCHARTED 2?!
Uncharted 2 is one of the best games of this generation; insane graphics (even by next gen console's standards), gameplay that was smooth as butter, some of the best voice acting ever, and the a story Indiana Jones wouldn't mind cracking his whip at. And
developer Naughty Dog has said that they have vamped everything up for Uncharted 3. *squeal*
We're gonna have more buddy action movie moments now that Naughty Dog has put Sully back in the frontlines with Drake. The combat has been tweaked so that you can take out goons simultaneously (Naughty Dog has apparently been taking notes from Rocksteady, the developers behind Arkham City). And multiplayer has been completely overhauled. That's right, Uncharted 3 will have amazing multiplayer featuring fully customizable player card, avatars, 3-team deathmatch, perks and other stuff that makes me drool.
Uncharted 3 is going to be an amazing game with an amazing demo at E3.
Dan's Pick
Dan's Pick
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| It's all smiles in Joker's new city! |
1. Batman: Arkham City PS3/XBOX360/PC
It should come as no surprise that I am a massive Bat-fan. My fascination spreads as far as toddler-dom, when I got a fast food Batmobile toy replica based off of those laughable Tim Burton movies. I had always aspired to be a real-life Batman, but have been horribly disappointed by my agonizing lack of financial boon. I have since been wallowing away in misery of long abandoned aspiration—that is, until a miraculous game turned my life upside down. Arkham Asylum. Now, two years after gamers got to play out their Batman fantasies and wring Joker’s neck with their own hands, Batman has returned to gaming in a bigger, better than ever, action-packed adventure set within the gates of Gotham itself. Mysterious storyline and plethora of fan favorite rogues gallery aside, this game is everything the Bat inside me has ever hoped for, and promises to deliver an epic journey through the crime riddled alleys and sewers of the world’s most dangerous city like never before. And, com’on. It’s the gorram BATMAN!
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| Batman has never looked so pretty. |
Jake's Pick
2. Batman: Arkham City PS3/XBOX 360/PC
2. Batman: Arkham City PS3/XBOX 360/PC
If you truly know me, than you know that I am a ginormous Batman fan. I mean it. I even wrote a Batman screenplay and directed a Batman film for cripes sake! And that's exactly why I adored British developer Rocksteady's 2009 Bat-game Arkham Asylum. I've beaten it three times (but who's counting...oh, and one of those was on hard) and each time I found myself engaged into the dark world Rocksteady had brought to life. In Asylum, you were confined to an island that was a spot on depiction of Arkham Asylum, and now we're taking the fight to Gotham.
There's literally so much to get excited about in this game, that it's hard to pinpoint something to start on. But I'll start with the expanded roster of villains. Two-Face, Penguin, Hugo Strange, Bane, Solomon Grundy, Mr. Freeze (who looks pretty awesome), Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Black Mask and, wait for it, Catwoman! All of these great characters from the comics are getting facelifts and pivotal parts in the plot for Arkham City. The game will be close to 30 hours to beat, thanks to the fact that there are RPG-styled miniquests you can go on as Batman that will include everything from teaming up with an old foe (*cough* Bane! *cough*) and beating up goons for stealing an old lady's purse. The story is being kept top secret, but we know that Hugo Strange is now running Arkham Asylum. Whose bright idea was that?
If the above trailer means anything, than we'll at least be getting a more ruthless Batman this time around. He's got new gadgets and can burst through wall, and isn't that all we really want from a Batman game? Arkham City will finally be playable at this year's E3 and more villains will be revealed. There's also the fact that we'll finally get to see firsthand how big Arkham City is and if it lives up to Rocksteady Game Manager Dax Ginn's lofty statement that the game world is five times larger than the first game. Holy macaroons, Batman! This game's E3 booth is gonna be awesome!
Dan's Pick
There's literally so much to get excited about in this game, that it's hard to pinpoint something to start on. But I'll start with the expanded roster of villains. Two-Face, Penguin, Hugo Strange, Bane, Solomon Grundy, Mr. Freeze (who looks pretty awesome), Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Black Mask and, wait for it, Catwoman! All of these great characters from the comics are getting facelifts and pivotal parts in the plot for Arkham City. The game will be close to 30 hours to beat, thanks to the fact that there are RPG-styled miniquests you can go on as Batman that will include everything from teaming up with an old foe (*cough* Bane! *cough*) and beating up goons for stealing an old lady's purse. The story is being kept top secret, but we know that Hugo Strange is now running Arkham Asylum. Whose bright idea was that?
If the above trailer means anything, than we'll at least be getting a more ruthless Batman this time around. He's got new gadgets and can burst through wall, and isn't that all we really want from a Batman game? Arkham City will finally be playable at this year's E3 and more villains will be revealed. There's also the fact that we'll finally get to see firsthand how big Arkham City is and if it lives up to Rocksteady Game Manager Dax Ginn's lofty statement that the game world is five times larger than the first game. Holy macaroons, Batman! This game's E3 booth is gonna be awesome!
Dan's Pick
2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii
Jake's Pick
3. Rage PS3/XBOX 360/PC
Do you like first-person shooters? Well, do ya? You're in luck then with E3 2011; id Software, the company that created the first-person shooter with Doom, returns to its created genre with a game that truly dominated last year's E3. And with good reason.
Rage is unlike anything you've ever seen before. id is using a brand new engine called Tech 5, and it is pretty mind blowing. Characters move with unbelievable fluidity, sharp textures abound and there's an amazing lack of pop-in for an open world game. Besides the cool engine, there is a story. The idea is that years ago a meteorite collided with the earth, but some of the population survived via underground Arks. Notice that I said some.
Those who were less fortunate than their Ark-protected counterparts, were transformed into horrible mutants. Cuz you you know there will never be a post-apocalyptic game/movie with perfectly normal people going through the wasteland. You must fight your way through the mutants and uncover the deeper mysteries hidden in the story, or just goof around and race dune buggys. It's your choice. Similar to Arkham City's story layout, you can either follow the main narrative immediately, or mess around with side missions to your hearts content.
And I haven't even mentioned the cool guns yet. You have an electric crossbow...Oh, and a metal boomerang that automatically comes back to you after decapitating any nearby enemies. We should be able to shoot mutants using these weapons of mass fun for the first time at this E3 (and race dune buggys!). We'll get our first real taste of Rage multiplayer. And learn more about this secretive story. If all of this doesn't get you excited about Rage's E3 booth, then I don't know what will.
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| Another fantastic opportunity to NOT throw your Wii remote through the TV screen! |
Potentially the only modern fantasy series that can come close to my Batman obsession is Nintendo’s own Legend of Zelda. Though the series has been somewhat lacking ever since Gamecube’s Wind Waker, I have never been disappointed with any of Link’s outings (horrible CDi games aside), and will most definitely be picking this game up on day one. Apart from being a Legend of Zelda game, however, this could also be Nintendo’s last chance to save a console that—very frankly—does not cut it. The Wii has been plagued with a barren release schedule for years now, and prior to Skyward Sword’s announcement, I had honestly considered selling this poorly-nourished pup in favor of a PS3. But as was the case for Twilight Princess, a single Zelda game has the potential to revitalize a console singlehandedly. It is, after all, one of the most well respected video game franchises of all time. If you don’t believe me, just watch this:
Aside from giving the Wii a breath of fresh air, Skyward Sword also looks to take advantage of an underused peripheral known as the WiiMotion+, a device that was originally built into the Wii controller but was released late into the console’s life cycle to compete with Sony’s Move and Microsoft’s Kinect. This means that, for the first time ever, players will be able to control Link’s sword as if it were their own, and have sword fights not unsimilar to those you would encounter in real life (y’know, with people who actually have swords). If that isn’t enough to get you salivating, Nintendo has also announced that this game will take place chronologically before Nintendo’s legendary classic Ocarina of Time, making it the genesis of the series while also explaining the origins of the Master Sword. Get your fairy ocarinas ready, gamers!
Jake's Pick
3. Rage PS3/XBOX 360/PC
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| I think we should hold hands. |
Rage is unlike anything you've ever seen before. id is using a brand new engine called Tech 5, and it is pretty mind blowing. Characters move with unbelievable fluidity, sharp textures abound and there's an amazing lack of pop-in for an open world game. Besides the cool engine, there is a story. The idea is that years ago a meteorite collided with the earth, but some of the population survived via underground Arks. Notice that I said some.
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| Hey, it's Sloth from the Goonies! |
And I haven't even mentioned the cool guns yet. You have an electric crossbow...Oh, and a metal boomerang that automatically comes back to you after decapitating any nearby enemies. We should be able to shoot mutants using these weapons of mass fun for the first time at this E3 (and race dune buggys!). We'll get our first real taste of Rage multiplayer. And learn more about this secretive story. If all of this doesn't get you excited about Rage's E3 booth, then I don't know what will.
Dan's Pick
3. Project Cafe Nintendo Press Conference
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| Featuring new Starbucks order-in app! |
Speaking of Wii disappointments, Nintendo looks to fix this problem in a big way with the debut of a brand new console, ushering in the eighth generation of the console wars. In a surprise move that will no doubt leave many a Nintendo critic with their jaws getting snug on the floor, Nintendo has announced their new console to be fully HD compatible, with graphical prowess superior to that of Microsoft’s 360 and Sony’s PS3. In addition to a revamped online system (rumored to dispose of long hated friend codes), Nintendo hopes to replace Wii’s remote style controller with a new, comfortable design that is fully touch enabled—taking a cue from its widely successful DS counterpart. Rumors are circulating across the interwebs like angry, foaming piranhas as to the exact nature of this closely concealed controller, but you can expect fireworks when Reggie brings out the big guns. Naturally, with the announcement of a new console comes the announcement of a game lineup to join it. If Nintendo has learned anything from the 3DS's launch lineup, you can expect to see a host of all-star titles with the likes of Mario, Star Fox, Pikmin and many more. And assuming the 3DS is also any indication about where Nintendo would like to head with its future consoles, I’m game with them for another generation. Make my inner fanboy squeal, Ninty!
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