E3, Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the expo which has the entire video game industry talking and with it coming on the 10th June, very soon we’ll find ourselves up to our eyeballs in gaming news, previews and reveals. In celebration of the coming of E3 in this article I’m going to highlight the games to keep an eye out for during the expo.
At last year’s E3 Sony, without a doubt, took home the award for best of show. The company showed off more of their next-gen console, the Playstation 4, as well as explaining some of the consoles systems and going more in-depth about what gamers could expect when they got the console in their hands.
Final Fantasy XV
Now that the Playstation 4 has launched and the console is now in gamer’s hands, what is Sony going to show off? A plethora of games we hope. Expect a look at the Mad Max Video Game, as well as a whole host of other Sony exclusive’s. David Cage, the creator of Beyond: Two Souls, will (probably) be showing off the new game his team has been working on, as well as fans being shown more of The Order: 1886 and a new Uncharted game.
Last year Square Enix showed off both Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV at Sony’s Press Event, so we can probably expect to see more of those two games. If there is indeed an expansion for Final Fantasy XIV then this is the place we’ll be seeing it. Sony always keeps a load of game reveals for E3, so we can’t expect this to be any different.
At last year’s E3, Sony killed the dragon that was Microsoft, with the company picking up on their competitors many weaknesses and exploiting them, so we can expect to see Sony bashing its competitor a few more times.
Generally Sony always gives a good press conference, and I have no doubt that this year will be any different. Maybe this year we’ll finally see more of the The Last Guardian.
Legend of Zelda Wii U Tech Demo
Like last year, Nintendo won’t be doing another live press conference, opting for a digital one instead. I’ve always found Nintendo’s digital events to be a bit dry and a tad boring, and last year’s was just that. Let’s hope that Nintendo have refined their digital press conference formula to create something a bit more exciting.
Having said that, if there is any company who has the ability to surprise and amazed its Nintendo. With the company showing off games such as a new Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U, as well as more of Super Smash Bros, and potentially a new 3D Mario game for the Wii U, this year is bound to be full of excitement. We can also expect to see more of X, as well as Bayonetta 2, as well as the Fire Emblem and Persona crossover, there will be a plethora of titles for fans who don’t love traditional Nintendo.
Unfortunately, Nintendo also have the ability to disappoint. The company will be live-streaming a Super Smash Brothers tournament, as well as doing many other Smash Bros related events. This does make one worry that maybe that’s all the company has to show, and nothing new and original. Hopefully that won’t be the case.
Halo 5
Microsoft had an awful year at E3 last year. The company’s message about the Xbox One was confusing and anti-consumer, and the company moved from one blunder to the next with its next-gen home console. Sony took advantage of it, and promptly went about beating the company over the head with its own blunders.
Honestly, this is just from a personal perspective, there is absolutely nothing to get excited for with the Xbox One. Microsoft has promised a new Halo entry, as well as some sort of Gears of War game, however the question has to be asked “Who cares?”. The Halo series has become incredibly stale, with this also being the case for Gears of War, and Microsoft doesn’t have any first party exclusives which are original or intriguing.
Of course things could change this year. With the Xbox One set to launch in Japan, maybe Microsoft has managed to score some sweet exclusives from Japanese developers, however with the company’s blasé approaching to selling the console in Japan, I doubt this to be the case. Of course, we haven’t heard anything from Hironobu Sakaguchi (the creator of the Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Odessy) in a while, however with his last game being on the Wii one would assume that he’s working on a Wii U game.
All in all, unless you like exclusively like shooters, don’t expect much from the company.
Kingdom Hearts 3
There’s a lot of third party games on the show floor, however here are just a few of my personal favourites:
I really enjoyed Witcher 2, and I can’t wait to see what the developers do with the third entry in the series. Set to be a “truly” open world RPG, with a deep and immersive storyline, I can’t wait to see what the developers show off.
Whilst the series personally isn’t my cup of tea, I understand the following the series gets and I can see why so many gamers are exciting for the first next-gen game in the Metal Gear saga.
Dragon Quest X has been out in Japan for over a year now, and I can’t help but wonder when the MMORPG will make its way over to the West. Not only that but there is talk of a new (single player) Dragon Quest game coming out soon.
With Sega purchasing Atlus last year, I’m sure we’ll get to see some more of Persona 5, as well as some of the other niche games the publisher has up their sleeves.
Games from independent developers of various shapes and sizes have gained a lot of traction in the industry with most of them constantly creating works of high art and intellect, games which a lot of triple A developers can’t afford to make. Indie games were featured at Playstation and Mircosoft’s press conferences last year, so I’m sure they’ll turn up once again.
That’s about it for this look at non-MMORPG games to keep an eye on at E3 2014. Check out the MMO focused E3 article, where we look at the MMOs to keep an eye on. As always, keep coming back to MMOGames.com to get all the latest news, as well as all the news from E3!
