10. Assassin's Creed Syndicate
I was fully ready to leave Assassin’s Creed in the dust after last year’s disappointing Unity. I felt it took a huge step back from everything that Ubisoft did and it had an undercooked vibe to it. However after seeing preliminary footage I am willing to give Syndicate the benefit of the doubt. Multiplayer and companion apps have been cast aside and we can hope that this means there will be a greater emphasis on the story. In addition the presence of a secondary playable character in the form of the protagonist’s sister is a welcome addition. I’m not entirely ready to forgive Ubisoft over Unity but I will admit they’re building some good will. I’m still going to be trepidatious about this though. Fool me once after all.9. Mad Max
Have you seen Fury Road? If you haven’t you should go see it ASAP. With that out of the way let’s move on to the Mad Max game. For the longest time I thought this game was probably going to become vaporware and fade into nonexistence. I was happily surprised to see that the game is alive and well a few months ago. With the success of Fury Road, the Mad Max game is going to be attracting more attention. Avalanche Studios has a notable pedigree with the Just Cause games so while it’s a safe bet that the gameplay will be great I have my doubts that the story will be up to par with Fury Road’s. Also if Avalanche Studios is reading this, please have an alternate skin for Max that allows you to play as Furiosa.
I
admit that I’m bending the rules a little bit by listing two games at once but
I have my reasons. In my personal
opinion both Battleborn and Overwatch are incredibly similar in both style and
gameplay. Let’s do an experiment right
now, I am going to post trailers for both of them following this entry, then I’m going to describe a game and you tell me which one it applies to. A first person shooter that features a
diverse range of colorful characters with an emphasis on multiplayer. You see?
Pretty similar am I right? What
I’m hoping is that maybe E3 will give these two games the opportunity to
distinguish themselves. While both games
have a right to exist and have their own minor differences I’m not going to be
getting both right off the bat and I have to start somewhere. Right now it’s best just to sit back and
observe. Both games are probably going
to be good and hopefully each game will have their own subtle differences. 8. Battleborn & Overwatch
7. Star Wars Battlefront
2015
is shaping up to be a huge year for Star Wars.
Obviously there’s the upcoming release of The Force Awakens but there’s
also the first Star Wars game coming out after a three year absence. I think it’s really appropriate that this
game is a new installment in the Star Wars Battlefront series. While I’m a little excited for the game there
are plenty of concerns to be had.
Compared to previous games the map and vehicle count is remarkably
low. While this can be hand waved by the
fact that EA is choosing to focus on locations from the original trilogy
there’s still a lack of other features as well.
The amount of modes the game has is also lacking and limiting
dogfighting to the planet surface is disappointing to say the least. I’m hoping
the game can prove to be fun regardless of the subtractions but the reasons to
get excited are dwindling.
6. The Legend of Zelda (WiiU)
I don’t even have a Wii U and I’m excited to see this. Early footage makes this look like it can be the biggest Zelda game to date. There’s still a lot of unknowns when it comes to this game though. We don’t even have a subtitle yet. I’m hoping it’s as expansive as some other Fantasy RPG’s like The Witcher and Elder Scrolls games. While I don’t know if I’ll get a Wii U just to play this, I’ll be watching this with curious eyes.Alright. Those games were alright but let's move on to the ones I'm REALLY excited about.
5. Doom
Wolfenstein: The New Order was one of my favorite games from last
year. Bethesda took a dormant franchise
and pumped new life into it. It felt
unique from the usual Call of Duty or Battlefield title. It was fast, chaotic, and most importantly
fun. While only briefly teased last year
and shown in private, the world at large will finally feast their eyes upon
Doom. I’ve heard good things from the
private showing indicating that like Wolfenstein it’s going to be fast,
chaotic, and fun. It sounds like it’s
going to be vastly different though.
There’s no cover mechanic, no reloading, and plenty of ways to finish
off the demons invading Mars. Here’s
hoping lightning can strike twice and resurrect another legendary franchise.
4. Uncharted 4
The first Uncharted game proved to be one of the reasons to own a PS3
back in its earliest days. Now I’m
hoping Naughty Dog can work some of its magic again for the PS4. It’s a little jarring to see them go from the
desolate cities of The Last of Us to the lush jungles that the Uncharted series
is all too familiar with but that’s not a bad thing. While I’m sad that this is most likely going
to be the last Uncharted game I’m hoping Naughty Dog will at least go out with
a bang. If anything I hope they’ll find
a way to top the impressive train chase scene from Uncharted 2.
3. Metal Gear Solid V
It’s bittersweet putting this game on my list. With all the behind the scenes drama
happening at Konami this is probably going to be the last time we see a Hideo
Kojima helmed Metal Gear game on preview at E3.
Even if Konami continues to make Metal Gear games I doubt I’m going to
pay attention to them seeing as Kojima is most likely parting ways with Konami
soon after MGSV is released. Yet I’m
still eagerly anticipating this game.
After getting a brief preview of what we’re in store for with last
year’s Ground Zeroes I’m excited to see the culmination of Big Boss’
story. Everything we’ve seen has been
impressive from the expansive world to the innovative take on the traditional
Metal Gear gameplay. I’m ready to be
excited one last time and see this to the end.
2. Ratchet and Clank
The
upcoming remake of Ratchet and Clank is certainly a curiosity. It’s drawing heavily from the upcoming movie,
itself being based upon the first game.
So is this really a remake or a movie adaptation? Well as long as the game is fun I feel the
question is irrelevant. The Ratchet and
Clank games are certainly fun but the earlier ones are beginning to show their
age, especially the first one. While
Ratchet and Clank managed to cement several ideas such as the focus on
ridiculous weapons the gameplay is not as smooth as later titles and Ratchet’s
characterization is really poor. Ratchet
honestly comes off as a dick in the first game and I’m surprised he managed to
evolve into a better character in the later games. I have my fair share of concerns given some
of the more recent Ratchet and Clank games have tried to unnecessarily update
the status quo such as All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault although thankfully
the series has gotten back on track with Into the Nexus. I’m definitely wondering what’s going to be
different and what will be the same.
1. FALLOUT 4
When Bethesda announced that they were going to be holding an E3 Press Conference
this year for the first time, many people began to wonder what games they would
show. While Doom was almost a certainty
everyone was hoping that Fallout 4 would finally be revealed. Everyone was hoping that Fallout 4 would take
advantage of the many strides that Skyrim made.
There were plenty of hoaxes about the game, so many I even had
reservations about the game even being announced at E3. I have never been so
happy to be wrong. Bethesda finally
announced Fallout 4 just a few days ago and it looks amazing. As speculated the game is taking place in
Boston and there are some familiar assets such as the Brotherhood of Steel
Armor, a Ron Perlman voiceover, and the canine companion Dogmeat. The trailer has already whetted my appetite
and I am eagerly awaiting to see how the game plays at Bethesda’s conference.
