While I know this is a little late, I have finally finalized our E3 awards for this year. While the show had a ton of announcements and some great demos, we have to narrow it down to a few categories. So lets go ahead and get this started!
Biggest Surprise – Prey 2
This game seemingly came out of nowhere! The first game in this series was less than impressive but after watching this trailer, I am super psyched! In Prey 2, you play as a bounty hunter in a futuristic world. I have heard of it described as “sci-fi noire” or more bluntly Blade Runner. The game is going to be a futuristic open world game with a highly vertical environment. Luckily, you will have a really cool gadget to help you get around… hover boots! Really looking forward to hearing more about this game and hopefully it continues to surprise going forward.
Biggest Dissapointment – Lack of New IP
So I guess my biggest disappointment from E3 2011 was there was nothing really surprising. Pretty much all the games were sequels or spin-offs, and I just kind of miss the announcement of unexpected new games. I miss seeing games like the first Assassin’s Creed announced at this show. That feeling of complete surprise and saying “what is this game,” was truly absent from this year’s E3, which was really too bad. The closest we came to a surprise was Halo 4 being announced, but that was ruined by Microsoft announcing it early on their website and by the unmistakable sound of Cortana’s voice early in the teaser.
Most Anticipated – Mass Effect 3
Now I will admit, I am a huge Bioware fan and an even bigger Mass Effect fan. That may have influenced this decision, but this game is definitely my most anticipated. I have already pre-ordered the ultimate collectors edition and am replaying Mass Effect 2 with a second character, just so I will be completely prepared. Now I am not too happy that a good portion of the trailer was a turret on rails, but everything else looks EPIC! Looks like a ton of action, great graphics, and the return of grenades (but this time they are not ridiculous discs). For those, that want an intense RPG experience, I will guarantee you this is not it. Bioware is no longer that company. They still make great games, they are just different types of games. However, if you are looking for a story driven action game, with a lot of RPG elements, this will be the game for you!
Game of the Show – Bioshock Infinite
All I can say is this game looks amazing… I mean just jaw dropping visuals, insane gameplay, and probably one of the most innovative games I have seen in a while. If Irrational games and Ken Levine can keep this game improving and make the gameplay as accessible as their play tester made it look, we are talking about a game that will go down as one of the best of this generation of consoles. However, as this game is so innovative, there is always a risk that it will be to different for gamers to get used to. I will be interested to see how this game evolves as it gets closer to coming out and hope to get a closer look at PAX Prime.
And finally… Worst Presenter Ever – Mr. Caffeine
Ubisoft celebrated their 25th anniversary by having the worst presenter ever… Mr Caffeine!! This guy single handedly took all the attention away from some really interesting games by being just completely corny and amazingly unconnected with the audience. So to Mr. Caffeine, congragulations for being the most awful presenter I have ever seen.
Begun, the great innteret education has.