I round up the standout games at this year’s E3 2013. Jump on in to find out which future titles were the home run hitters of the show.
So many games make their debut annually at E3, and it would be pretty insane of me to try and cover them all. Like not a good idea – at all. Instead, I thought I would go the more useful route of spotlight some of the more splashy titles that turned heads – well, mostly my own.
Don’t worry though, I made darn sure to be fair in my selections and listen to the Internet grapevine to find other favorites from the show that are listed below. So without further ado friends, let us speed through this list of awesome games coming to a console platform near you.
Below – Xbox One
The next game by indie studio Capybara Games kicks off today’s E3 2013 watch list, and yes, it looks just as stunning as their previous effort, the award winning iOS title Sword and Sworcery EP. And much like that game, this Xbox One exclusive invites the player not with flash and sizzle, but with a quiet, ambient flow that feels like no other game.
Crimson Dragon – Xbox One
Crimson Dragon is undeniably a soul successor to Sega’s Panzer Dragoon. Of course, once you know that the creator of Panzer Dragoon is also Crimson Dragon’s head developer, it makes perfect sense why.
And while it was announced as a Kinect-only title for the Xbox 360 (so much for that now that its being ported to the X1), Crimson Dragon will also feature controller support the way nature intended.
D4 – Xbox One
I’m not sure if Swery65 – a.k.a. Hidetaka Suehiro – can ever top the videogame absurdity of 2010’s Deadly Premonition (now on the PS3), but so long as he makes games – such as the episodic murder mystery using the Xbox One’s Kinect camera that is the promising looking D4 – the state of Japanese games will be in very good hands.
Final Fantasy XV – PS4/X1
Square Enix will most likely never live down the development hell that was Final Fantasy versus XIII, a Japanese role-playing game that was supposed to be a Sony exclusive… for the PlayStation 3. Maybe time – and a rebranding as Final Fantasy XV – will heal all wounds, oh and being better than Final Fantasy XIII – that should help too.
Mirror’s Edge – PS4/X1
You begged and pleaded for a sequel. Probably more times than the amount of copies this stylish first-person platformer original sold when first released in 2008, but despite that, Electronic Arts is bring back Faith and her parkour ways with Mirror’s Edge 2, a reboot that apparently will be open-world.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch – PS4
I was super tempted to fill up this whole list with almost all of the amazing indie games previewed at Sony’s presser on Monday, but I’d it best to just choose one for the sake of time (although seriously, you should really check them all out.
And that one would be Octodad: Dadliest Catch, a sequel to a well-praised, and well wacky freeware game developed by a group of DePaul University students – now known as Young Horses Inc – which if you haven’t guessed from the title, centers around a octopus trying not to tip off his non-human identity. Looks to be a dead sure laugh riot is this trailer is any indication.
Quantum Break – Xbox One
Where does live-action end and real gameplay begin in Quantum Break? Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind the suspenseful Alan Wake series, is doing its absolute best to walk that line while expanding the interaction players will have not only in the game, but interestingly enough, a Quantum Break television show where both forms of media amazingly affect each other.
Sonic Lost World – Wii U/3DS
The likes of Sonic the Hedgehog do kinda seem out of place here on this list what with scant Nintendo representation, but heck, who cares when a Sonic games looks this pretty. Sonic Team has really outdone themselves in drawing up a splendid 3D world using nostalgia hooks from Sonic games of old. Let’s hope its redesigned gameplay matches in quality – so far, not bad at all.
With Sonic Lost World, Super Mario 3D World, and a future host of other similar type games, it looks quite apparent that Nintendo is building a great home for platformers. Me gusto.
Sunset Overdrive – Xbox One
Ah, so that’s where all the charm and bright spirit – typically found in most of Insomniac’s games – went from Fuse! Somehow it got magically sucked out and put in to Sunset Overdrive, an open-world shooter centered on eliminating hordes of nasty mutants using acrobatic skills and agile combat, which seems to resemble the best of what Insomniac Games can produce without the dark hands of focusing testing f–king it all up.
The Crew – PS4/X1
A new challenger to the racing scene, Ubisoft’s The Crew tries to gracefully unify single player and multiplayer into one cohesive, enjoyable experience. Users can race all over the country, upgrade and customize their vehicles (there’s both supercars and off-roaders to suit the terrain), and then form racing crews with online friends to help complete missions in tandem.
The Evil Within – PS3/360 & PS4/X1
The master of the survival horror genre is back. Shinji Mikami, known best for the title that ignited the survival horror craze in the gaming industry with 1996’s Resident Evil, is behind the grusome gears of The Evil Within, the first game produced from his own Tango Gameworks studio. Personally, and even though I hate scary games, I’m certainly hyped it.
Titanfall – Xbox One/360/PC
When I first saw Titanfall I wasn’t too impressed. Then again, first-person shooters aren’t really my in my gaming wheelhouse. Oh, but when I saw mechs grabbing dudes and carefully placing them inside their cockpit like a mother cradling a newborn babe, I felt the sprouting of awesomeness beginning to grow in my heart for this Xbox One exclusive.
Made by Respawn Entertainment – founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella, formerly responsible for the development of the Call of Duty franchise – Titanfall is a futuristic-looking shooter focused on team-based objectives. It’s primarily a multiplayer game, but contains story and character-building elements throughout its matches – an interesting touch.
Tom Clancy’s The Division – PS4/X1
Post-apocalyptic settings seem to be all the rage these days, and that’s definitely the case with Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division, coming to next gen platforms like the PS4 and Xbox One. But what sets this game – a massively multiplayer online title I should add – apart from the others is a unique blend of tactical shooter and action role-playing mechanics that looks pretty darn cool.
Transistor – PS4/PC
I didn’t get to mention many PlayStation 4 exclusives in this list (I know, but I can’t keep you hear all day), but I would be doing you a great disservice without talking about Transistor, the next game from the creators of Bastion. Also an isometric action role-playing game, Transistor strikes both beauty and precision gameplay Supergiant Games have remarkably shown.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z – PS3/360
Ninja Gaiden on acid. Nope, not an exaggeration at all with this action game, featuring the involvement of Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune and Team Ninja. Here you’ll play the resurrected ninja Yaiba Kamikaze, who must seek revenge from Ninja Gaiden’s Ryu Hayabusa in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. If that insane description alone doesn’t sell you on this game, well I can’t help you bub.
Thanks for coming along for the ride as I presented some of the more interesting titles at this year’s E3. Hopefully, they all deliver on the promise each hold. Please be sure to keep it here on Walyou for more E3 2013 news like info on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
