E3 2012, Exclusive Coverage
Show: E3 2012, Electronic Entertainment Expo
Date: June 5-7, 2012
Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center
City: Los Angeles, CA
E3 2012, Exclusive Coverage
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Nothing is as big in the gaming universe as the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Held annually in Los Angeles, the heaviest hitters and scrawniest underdogs pack into a convention center to showcase the next wave of consumer electronics and specifically, video games. Franchises are born and legacies are crowned during press conferences, often indicating how the rest of the year will turn out. This year, we were shown a mix of some new ideas and uncountable amounts of sequels, but managed to sneak in enough surprises to satisfy both investors and casual gamers.
E3 was Nintendo’s big chance to re-debut the Wii U, their new console that ushers in their next-generation of gaming. The biggest draw for the Wii U is its new controller strategy, in which a 7-inch screen is housed between two thumbsticks and a few buttons. Each game offers gameplay on both the screen and via the buttons. Think of it as a life-sized DS, with your TV acting as the top screen. All of the classic Nintendo characters will make their Wii U debuts over the next few years. The newest Super Mario and Pikmin games were demoed, showing off level-building for the former and troop controls for the latter. Imagine a Zelda or Metroidgame using the screen to scan the environment or having your dungeon map handy at all times, allowing you to take notes and quick-select items. The console is still not graphically superior as Sony or Microsoft’s consoles, but they are an upgrade form the Wii and features more useful online access.
Activision had a ton of new games to show off, from the next Call of Duty game to their three biggest tie-ins: James Bond, Spider-Man, and Transformers. All three games are looking better than their recent titles. The Amazing Spider-Man takes place right after the film, but the real story is the return to open-world traversal and a retooled combat system that feature classic Spidey moves. 007 Legends stars six classic films as backdrops for a single-player first-person shooter. A focus on spy gadgetry and authentic film moments made for an awesome demo. Call of Duty: Black Ops ditches overdone historic warzones for 2025, a time where drone warfare has reached its deadliest peak. It’s up to gamers to don some semi-futuristic weaponry and traverse a shattered American future in the next big game in one of the world’s great selling franchises.
The biggest story was the presumed lack of information from Sony and Microsoft’s next hardware. Both companies wanted to keep things a wrap until they absolutely have to, but both companies have already started sending out dev kits to studios. Some games like Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs and LucasArts Star Wars 1313 showed off graphics too good to be true, and both lack definite release dates to indicate what system they will eventually launch for. Gears of War: Judgement was given little love, with just a brief cinematic trailer shown during Microsoft’s press conference. The prequel gives gamers a chance to get their Gears of War fix while waiting for the next big Epic game. Next year is looking to be one of the biggest in industry history, with two new consoles being announced and the graphics and capabilities are taken to a (hopefully) whole new level.
The Elder Scrolls is one of the biggest Western RPG’s of all-time, and their first foray into the MMO space should be an interesting one. The team showed off The Elder Scrolls Online at E3 to a group of folks whose collective dreams was to play a game like Morrowind or Skyrim with a buddy or two or 100. While questing, armor, weaponry, and traversal looks almost exactly like the dozens of other games on the market, the dedication to fantasy and active battle system might be enough to peel away a few layers of World of Warcraft fandom. One example of the lore showed a time-traveling side-mission that changed the landscape after the player went back to the future.
Werewolves, elves, and the rest of the non-human characters are back in the gigantic landscape that does include the playable worlds of their prior games. This is a PC-only product, so those that have found console bliss in Bethesda’s massive RPG’s are going to need a gaming rig, persistent internet connection, and (probably, not yet confirmed) a monthly subscription. But with the failure of the Star Wars MMO and the shutdown of 38 Studios, the MMORPG market looks extremely grim. We’ll have to wait and see if this franchise has what it takes to become successful and sustainable.
Dishonored is a brand new property from Arkane Studios, previously of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic fame. Their new Steampunk assassination game is astoudnignly refreshing, offering the mix of stealth, exploration, and super-powers that has yet to be done correctly by another studio. You play as a vengeful bodyguard, framed for an assassination and now has to use his powers of death to dispatch multiple targets in a myriad of ways. The creators showed us two run-throughs: one stealthy and one quite murderous.
The stealth approach saw protagonist Corvo Atano pickpocketing, eavesdropping, and teleporting around various rooms in order to find and eliminate his target. When the time came to make a kill, the player inhabited the target’s body, took him to a secluded place outdoors, hopped back out his body and force pushed him over a cliff, all while remaining undetected and creating the appearance of suicide. The balls-out action approach works just as well, but much more violently. The player used various knives, guns, and powers in combination with one another to take down dozens of guards and even innocents that managed to get in the way. One section saw the player slow time, equip and fire a cross bow, before resuming time to its normal speed and watching three guards become bullseye’d instantaneously.
The era of Xbox 360 is nearing a close, with Microsoft focused heavily on non-gamers that enjoy Netflix or HBO, but some big titles are keeping the faithful interested up until the next console’s eventual launch. With Bungie out of the picture, 343 Studios is tasked with carrying one particular banner high for Microsoft.
Halo 4 is being made by former Bungie staff and many others and is proving to be just what the franchise needs. The revamped multiplayer gives context to the mode while also balancing loadouts and equipment options. The weapons feature fantastic audio fidelity and the character animations have been given an overhaul. New enemy races and variants spice up your constant battle with the Covenant. The new baddies play rough, like throwing your grenades back and resurrecting fallen enemies. Some even teleport, all of which new to the possibly last Halo title on the Xbox 360.
The talk of the first day of press conferences was definitely South Park: The Stick of Truth. The game’s graphics mimic that of the television inspiration, include in-game footage that feels like you’re playing the show. Matt Parker and Trey Stone are helping write the game, while developers Obsidian are using titles like Super Paper Mario as an inspiration for the battle system. The team at Obsidian has been mostly known for their high-profile sequels, such as the second Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Fallout. This is their breakout game that could be a crossover hit.
Nintendo has a big problem on their hands and it involves the making of money. After dominating a good portion of the past decade with incredible sales of the Wii and DS, they now find themselves with a dramatic drop-off in Wii purchases and lack of enthusiasm around their newest 3DS device. In an attempt to recapture the market and gamers’ imagination, they have announced the Wii U: a next-generation console that will act as a successor to their current console.
Everything old is new again with Nintendo. The Japanese forefathers are showcasing their new hardware with prior franchises in a way to recapture games’ imagination, much like they did with Super Mario World over 20 years ago. New Super Mario Bros. U is the sequel to the extremely popular Wii title and offers the same co-operative four-player action, but a fifth member can use the new device to create boxes in the game or taking on enemies from the touchscreen. Nintendo is throwing in some new powers and suits, like going back to the Super Mario 3 way of flying around the level. While not yet announced for launch, as the system has yet to be given a price point or release date, expect this to be the hottest title this holiday season.
Some of the third-party titles have their own Wii U spin-offs, such as the ports of both Batman: Arkham City and Assassin’s Creed III. Both feature extensive menus and inventory screens that can be accessed much easier with an always-on touchpad than being buried behind a pause screen like they are on current-gen consoles. You definitely feel a bit more like Bruce Wayne when you’re using a gadget fit for his utility belt. Navigating his remote controlled batarang with the controller gyroscope is similar to Playstation’s “sixaxis” technology, but with an added visual element. If other publishers use the gamepad in inventive ways, double-dip purchases may occur, but those that can create something undeniably unique to the Wii U will make purchasing more appealing.
With declining Vita sales, stagnant PS3 movement, and a decision not to announce the Playstation 4 until next year, Sony had to use the one thing it has lacked in recent years: software. Their big franchises are over (Killzone, Resistance, Twisted Metal, Jak, Ratchet, etc.) and it’s up to new IP’s, 3rd-party support, and odd sequels to fill the void their AAA titles once filled. Luckily, developers Naughty Dog and Quantic Souls showcased two brand new titles to follow-up their prior award-winning and console-defining work.
The Last of Us is Naughty Dog’s offering, taking a step back from the overblown violence in the Uncharted series and focusing more on in-your-face survival gameplay. You play as Joel and Ellie, the former being your playable character and the latter your companion, assisting in the experience with dialogue and occasional violence. This game won multiple “game of E3” awards and is extremely high on the radar, but no release date and a lack of non-scripted footage left gamers wanting a little more.
What viewers and attendees did get was a slice of some brutal action. The player was charged with exploring and navigating an abandoned apartment complex, filled with looters and lacking an abundance of supplies. One method of tackling this is to stick to the shadows and time your move from floor to floor, avoiding dangerous circumstances like unarmed combat or low-ammo standoffs. When you do get to a shooting battle, the click from your empty chamber will make your enemies brave enough to charge in, but players can fake an empty chamber by just liming bullets in order to draw someone in to a false sense of security before going all Dirty Harry on them. This combination of environmental subtlety and mature moments of shock is a step in the right direction for videogames.
Beyond: Two Souls showed off the exact same things its predecessor, Heavy Rain, did at E3 2009: realistic character models mixed with motion-capture acting made for those who enjoy slow-paced and engrossing narratives. Ellen Page stars in the main role; wielding the ability to potentially cross between dimensions and talk to ghosts while also dismantling various foes, as the action-heavy final sequence of the trailer showed. The story seems to follow a quest for understanding what happens after death. The studio is showing ambition by presenting a single-player campaign that covers 15 years of the main character’s life. This game surprised just about everyone, as it was never mentioned in the rumors leading up to the event, and ended up being one of the most anticipated games of 2013.
BEST OF E3
Dishonored
Games like Bioshock and Deus Ex make for a sublime gaming experience, and Dishonored feels like the next game in a lineage of quality products from Bethesda and Arkane Studios. The first-person assassinations were rewarding and the combination opportunities with time-bending super powers make battle more strategically satisfying.
Hitman: Absolution
The next outing for Agent 47 looks to be his most refined, with various levels designed for the demented at heart. All of the missions are filled with savy and often gruesome death traps, from leaky gas lines to deadly falling cars. The new crowd physics make social situations even more immersive than the high benchmark set by Hitman: Blood Money.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Sam Fisher is back, this time bringing an array of new moves with which to take down evil around the world. His sneaking is needed more than ever while traversing through sunny Iraq, but enhanced on-the-fly killing sprees allow Sam to dispatch five or six guys within seconds using a mixture of takedowns and the “mark and execute” maneuver.
Tony Hawk ‘s Pro Skater HD
Some of the best sports games exist in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise. This digital download offers the best tracks from the first games and brings along all of the quests and some of the original soundtrack. The game will also have DLC with fan-voted stages from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 while retaining the revert from the same game. This thing runs on Unreal Engine, so the graphics are much more refined than most so-called “HD” upgrades.
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
This was a wacky shot from Sony, but it might just pay off. Battle Royale felt exactly like Super Smash Brothers, even down to the lack of combos and complexity, but the sheer silliness of the product and potential roster (it already includes some fairly awesome fighters) might make it an unpredictable swan song for the platform. Every company eventually releases love letters to their fans, so why not make it as crazy as possible?
God of War: Ascension
The combat is much smoother, offering better combo animations and a new ability that allows Kratos to slow time. This effect has tons of implications, from combat and boss battles to puzzle-solving and traversal. The multiplayer offered the joy of the solo experience, and featured much tougher enemies and compadres as each solider is human-controlled and as powerful as you.