My E3 2016 Highlights!

So another E3 has come and gone and I am sad. To me there’s always a bit of a hollow/melancholy feeling when the biggest convention in gaming ends, that being said at least we have all these awesome gaming experiences to look forward to in the future. I have to say going into this E3 I was interested, but my hype levels weren’t nearly as high as previous years, but my god I was not prepared for all the awesomeness I was going to experience. This year E3 2016 wasn’t playing around, for the most part everyone brought their A-game and it was just a treat to watch. There’s so much that happened that I’m not even sure where to start but hopefully I’ll be able to cover everything that I saw.

The Press Conferences

I skipped EA because I don’t watch their conferences anymore and since I haven’t played any Bethesda games I skipped their show too. So it was down to Microsoft, Sony and Ubisoft, and while Ubisoft impressed me to a degree, it was Microsoft and Sony that really surprised me. Microsoft’s conference was straightforward and full of a lot of games I never knew I wanted, especially with the VR material, and Ubisoft as usual had some memorable moments with Aisha Tyler, the featurette on the Assassin’s Creed film and those colourful dancing people at the beginning of the show. But it was Sony that won E3 for me, their presentation was slick, moved at a swift pace, always showing new games and even had a live orchestra. You don’t get cooler than that.

But what’s E3 without talking about the games? While there were some games we’d seen before there were plenty that were new that I hadn’t seen which was great, so now I’m gonna talk about all of my favourites.

Forza Horizon 3

This was a game I wasn’t expecting to like because you know after you’ve seen one fancy-looking racing game, you’ve seen them all right? However I have to say the Forza series always has me coming back because the advances the developers make in graphics, gameplay, the types of cars, tracks and weather effects. And this game just looks gorgeous, I’m not even that big into racing games and yet I feel like I need tis game in my life.

Sea of Thieves

This was a big surprise for me as I didn’t know I wanted a game like this until I saw it. At first seeing all the people talking while playing the game was super cringey, but as the trailer went on I saw a game that I’d love to dive into and get lost in. Co-op gameplay in the world of pirates? Looks awesome, from the drinking and blurry vision, to sailing across the sea, to engaging in boat combat and having to make repairs once your boat start to sink. Sign me up yo!

Horizon Zero Dawn

I was really impressed when I saw this game revealed at last year’s E3 with the world, main character and robot enemy designs, but this year we got to see more of the world and some specific gameplay and I have to say I’m loving it. This game looks pretty unique in terms of its approach to combat, enemy behaviour and sense style with the art direction and animation which all looking pretty slick.

God of War PS4

This was the game that proved that you can never truly be sure what expect from a new game in a franchise. I’d heard rumours of a God War game for PS4 but I didn’t care, at this point I was over the franchise and didn’t care if it was revealed or not, but as soon as I saw the gameplay trailer I was sold. This game from a graphical standpoint looks great, but it is the way the game is framed with the third-person perspective and more cinematic camera shots that make it feel more intimate. From what we’ve seen here this will be a more story-driven adventure and the whole fact that Kratos is a father, is rocking a sweet beard and is teaching his son to hunt while also trying to keep him safe, that just feels strange considering what has come before in this series, but it is a very welcome addition. Kratos needs some humanizing and a reason for the players to care about him and this looks like a good start.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

As much as I’d like another season of South Park at the same time, if we’re getting another RPG game from Matt Stone and Trey Parker and Ubisoft, then screw it I can wait for the TV material as Fracture But Whole looks insanely fun. I’m liking the expanding game mechanics and the theme of superheroes being in a South Park game works so well that its ridiculous. The jokes about the current state of superhero genre and the specific references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phases of film or the whole Marvel vs DC film material was hilarious. I’m looking forward to this game a lot.

Spider-Man PS4

This game came out of nowhere, frigging nowhere. I saw this and I’m like what th fuck!?! Where has this game been hiding? A new Spider-Man game made by Insomniac Games? Gimme! Gimme dammit! The game looks incredibly detailed, versatile in terms of the combat and very over-the-top with the kinetic movement and overall presentation. Most Spidey games have sucked since Spider-Man 2 or at least Shattered Dimensions, if the developers can get the combat, open world and main campaign and mission structure right, then we’ll have the best Spidey game ever. 🙂

Death Stranding

Another game I didn’t expect to see this year. I guess we have no idea what this game is without further information or a gameplay trailer, but so see Hideo Kojima back in the spotlight at E3 and see Norman Reedus was just delightful! I have no clue what this game will entail but I’m as intrigued as hell!

Tekken 7

Now the main reason I’m including this is not because I’m looking forward to the game a great deal, I mean I am, but I’m more interested in the way it was presented. This was Akuma from Street Fighter versus Heihachi from Tekken, I thought at first that this was the Tekken x Street Fighter game fans were promised 6 years ago. It just felt like such a big troll to people who knew about the planned crossover, only for it to be revealed that Akuma had just to be a guest appearance in a new Tekken game, weak. Sorry if I’m a optimistic idiot, but the Street Fighter crossover came out years ago and the Tekken game has yet to be made, I think it’s about time that game came out.

Final Fantasy XV

What can I say bout FFXV that hasn’t been said already? The game looks damn good, very action-packed, with super kinetic combat and large-scale boss fights and most importantly it looks like fun too. I just need September to hurry up so I can grab this game already.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew

Never expected to be interested a VR game, let alone a Star Trek game, however during the Microsoft conference this game stood out and really got me in the mood to step into virtual world of the Enterprise and do some cool Star Trek bridge related activity with some friends. It looks like a very fun, interactive and nostalgic experience and I’m very curious to see more.

Resident Evil 7

I was not expecting this game to be the game that it ended up being once the trailer got to the end, I mean the trailer was very scary, atmospheric and like a real film. The limited view, lighting and lack of sound made me feel so unsettled, and to find out it was a new Resident Evil game? Bloody hell that shocked me, but in the best possible way.

Detroit: Become Human

I liked the trailer for this a lot, it had a great sense of style, art direction and tone, and to see this scenario of an android trying to talk another android from killing a human girl had my attention, but to then be able to play out that scenario several different ways depending on how you approach the situation was what really hooked me. It felt just like Heavy rain when I watched the trailer and my friend told me it was made by Quantic Dream, I was like “That makes so much sense.” I just hope the in-game graphics, story and choices are as captivating as this trailer.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

And finally there’s the game that stole my heart, Zelda Wii U/NX, now dubbed Breath of the Wild. Damn, this game had all nervous going in, I mean I knew it’d be good but I wasn’t expecting to be blown away… How foolish was I? That trailer hit straight away on Nintendo live stream and I was completely taken back by the amount of changes there was the basic Zelda formula. I mean where to start? The looked like a combination of Skyrim, Monster Hunter and Xenoblade Chronicles X. The environments are so much larger and varied, there’s wildlife inhabiting the area, the enemies has a little more variety and everything feels so new, mysterious and compelling in a way I haven’t seen since Zelda on NES or Ocarina of Time. also let’s talk about Link for a second, he has different weapons and armour, he can climb, he can hunt, collect and cook, and he can frigging jump! Oh and that voice over in the beginning, does that confirm full voice acting throughout the game? I really hope so. There’s a lot of ways this new game could suck or be a let down, but for now I’m choosing to believe it’ll be badass. 😀

Other Games Worth Mentioning

Firstly there’s Battlefield 1 which I didn’t think I’d be excited for, but the trailer and gameplay footage from everyone playing during stream looked so incredible and fun that I want to jump in (also shout out to Snoop Dogg haha). Seeing The Last Guardian in action again was great and to have a release date set October made me smile so much! Dead Rising 4 also looked cool with the new graphics and variety of weapons, also Scalebound once again proved to be a game worth playing with the crazy creature designs, interesting combat and multiplayer possibilities.

Conclusion

In the end E3 2016 was an awesome experience, I did not expect to love the games so much this year and now I’m so stupidly giddy about the future. I pray that my wallet will be able to take it and that I’ll have the free time to be playing these games between now and next year. 🙂

So did you watch E3 this year and if so what games are you excited about? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next post, laters! 😀