E3 2014 Highlights

Last year E3 focused on the upcoming release of the consoles and the launch window games that would be paired with them. Now that the consoles are already here, E3 got back to focusing on what actually mattered, the games. Both Microsoft and Sony presented a new sheath of games and what was to come in the next year. We also got our standard EA and Ubisoft presentations as both studios are so massive that they produce enough games to merit entire one hour pressers. With all the conferences from yesterday over, it’s time to recap a bit. And yes, I know that I’m not including Nintendo because they didn’t have a standard presser, but had their direct this morning.

Microsoft

Herker

Microsoft kicked off the day with a bang. After the disaster of their press conference last year, they brought it back to basics and focused on the games. They brought out game after game showing that gaming really is their focus. One of the most exciting and beautiful displays was Mirror’s Edge. While it isn’t even close to being ready, it was exciting to see how wonderful it looked already. Of course, being Microsoft, they had a big reveal involving Halo, which was the Master Chief Collection. Microsoft was allowed to unveil ingame demo footage of The Division which leaves me excited to see more, and happy that it isn’t coming out for a while so they can really make it the best they possibly can. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare opened the game and it was fairly interesting to see. It feels a little different while mostly the same. They showed off Forza Horizon 2, which is a return to the more arcade style of racing that was popular in the first Horizon. There was a funny, campy cheesy new DLC for Dead Rising 3 which merged classic Capcom characters. The game that left me the most excited and antsy from the presser was the upcoming Sunset Overdrive. There’s something about the light humor of Sunset Overdrive that has me sold. There is also a real fluidity within the game that was highlighted in the demo. I know, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. The only thing that could have got me more excited was the announcement of the Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Sony

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Do I need to say anymore? Probably not. Sure, there were other things going on, but seeing Nate Drake in engine, even if it was just a cut scene animatic was great. And did you see his face, it looked absolutely amazing. While, we didn’t get any game play and the scene was rather short, it set a very dark tone for what seems like the final game in the series. We also received a release window, 2015. It will likely be holiday 2015, but it’s nice to know that there is a goal in sight and it’s not quite as far away as I thought it would be. The Sony presser also gave us a good look at Arkham Knight which was recently pushed back from it’s 2014 date to early 2015. Rocksteady is presenting some high quality Batman content in what looks like an absolutely massive, true open world. It was also revealed that the Destiny beta will be coming to Playstation first. Also Destiny will feature a unique character class and stage that will be exclusive to Playstation. It is exciting news for Playstation owners as it means that of people who have both systems Playstation will likely get those sales.

Nate looks so good

There was a swath of indie games in the show many of which looked absolutely gorgeous. The game that actually sparked the most interest in me was No Man’s Sky which looks like a great game to get lost in and absolutely beautiful at that. Playstation did also announce a number of things about PSN, including that the new show Powers will be free to Playstation Plus users and will air in December. Playstation Now is going into open beta on July 31st. The Sony conference also demoed in game footage of Mortal Kombat X (pronounced X rather than 10) and it introduced 2 of the new playable characters. And finally, while it wasn’t the last thing in the presser, but the one that is one of the most exciting to me. Sackboy is getting three new friends in Little Big Planet 3 out in November of this year.

EA

Star Wars Battlefront

Sometimes, you forget how massive a company EA actually is. There are a ton of smaller studios working under the EA umbrella. As always, they introduced the new years sports games including Madden, Hockey, and PGA. PGA in particular featured some really interesting modes as the standard golf game was mixed in with some other EA classics. Madden looks particularly good as it has been optimized for the new consoles this go around. Some of the more interesting games mentioned during the presser included the return of Mass Effect, which seems like it will focus on a new place in the galaxy with new characters. The Sims 4 was also introduced with a very odd video about a hothead named Chuck who was beaten by a crazy old woman and ended up dying of laughter. Another high of the EA conference was the footage of Star Wars Battlefront, which looked absolutely amazing from the short conceptual pieces that were shown.

Ubisoft

Far Cry 4

For the third year in a row, Aisha Tyler hosted the E3 presser with her Lady Boner tee and infused the show with a bit of excitement. The presser opened with the first 5 minutes of Far Cry 4. While I’ve never played Far Cry before, this had my attention fully (maybe it was because of Troy Baker putting on another stellar performance). The rest of the Ubisoft presser went off without a hitch. There was a demonstration of new Just Dance and more demo of Assassin’s Creed Unity. One of the most interesting things about Unity is the focus they placed on co-op, and from the demo it appeared that there’s a number of ways to have your friend’s play with you. Another highlight of the Ubisoft presser was Rainbow Six, which presented game play. It was a highly elaborate capture the flag with a hostage as the flag. That said, the demo came off extremely engaging, even if it is a game I will probably never play. I almost forgot to mention the amazing trailer for The Division that they showed during the presser. It’s a dark grim world that looked really intriguing.

I know I left a lot of stuff out, but what were you most excited for?