The 5 Best Games of E3 According to Some Guy

 Now that E3 is done and over with, you've no doubt been overwhelmed by the amount of games on display. What was good? What was bad? It's all too chaotic to tell, surely.

That's why I'm here. No need to form an opinion of your own, just take mine.

 #5: Halo 4

Halo? Halo?
Halo. While many are quick to hand wave this game away as just another FPS, the footage shown of this game has only piqued my interest. Historically, I only play Halo games for their campaigns. And I maintain that the series contains the best "pure" FPS gameplay out there (and I only make that distinction so I don't have to compare it with the likes of Bioshock and Deus Ex). The direction the new developer has taken the story is interesting indeed, with plenty of active Forerunner technology and enemies. And I've always wanted to see how the series handles Cortana's inevitable waltz with Rampancy.

 #4: Assassin's Creed III

 Honestly, I'd given this series up for dead. Assassin's Creed was a great game, and I placed Assassin's Creed II among my favorites of all time after I beat it. But after Brotherhood I was already starting to feel series fatigued, and I never even bothered to play Revelations. I told myself I didn't even care about Assassin's Creed III, and even after the time period was revealed and information started trickling out, I was apathetic at best.

But then E3 came, and damn it, I want to play it now.

Where this series always digs its claws into me is its setting. As something of a history buff, I can never not be excited to run through these wonderfully rendered depictions of life in the past. And even though the series can get a little crazy with the Forrest Gump style "I'm in that time period so I have to interact with anybody significant" storytelling, if I can't punch George Washington in the face in this game, MISSION FAILED.

Also, there's Naval battles, and they put anything from any Pirates of the Caribbean movie to shame.

#3: Star Wars 1313

We haven't seen a huge amount of footage from this game, but what we have seen is breathtaking. Working closely with Industrial Light and Magic, the developers have achieved a visual fidelity on high end PC's that genuinely looks a generation ahead. It is, so far, the best argument for a new batch of consoles I have seen.

But the game doesn't just interest me because of its sexiness. Before the prequel trilogy came out, we were graced with all sorts of Star Wars games that explored the different kinds of people that roamed the galaxy. We got to play as X-Wing pilots, Tie Fighter pilots, Bounty Hunters. Since then it's been Jedi this, Sith that. I'm sick of lightsabers, give me a blaster! And better yet, this game is rated M, so it will depict the seedy world of  Coruscant the way you always imagined it would be.

Probably still far less Twi'lek boobs though. 

 

#2: Watch Dogs

Until this game was revealed, I was expecting a very predictable E3. We got a new entry in all of our favorite franchises, that's all well and good. But what's there to surprise us, what's actually new? Watch Dogs came out of nowhere to show us a near future where our technology can easily be exploited and used against us. As Aiden Pierce, you can manipulate all kinds of gizmos for your personal gain. But I'm sure that all comes at a terrible price (spoilers, maybe). 


And like Star Wars 1313, it is quite a treat for the peepers. The city of Chicago depicted in the demo feels alive, and there's plenty of action to showcase advanced lighting and particle effects and the like.


More than anything though, the hype already surrounding this game is a clear message to the industry that we do want new things, thank you very much.

#1: The Last of Us

Detractors (read: Xbox 360 only owners) are quick to call this Uncharted 4, and-oh-by-the-way they hate Uncharted.

While it shares some similarities in gameplay and animation (it is developed by the same folks who made Uncharted after all), it's clear this is an entirely different beast. Focusing more on survival, and the close relationship between main characters Joel and Ellie, this game takes what Naughty Dog has learned in the past and applied it to something new. 


As alive as Chicago looked in Watch Dogs, the city of The Last of Us looked the opposite. Taking place after some sort of viral pandemic, the world is quite shitty looking (but in the best way possible). The demo has Joel confronting some other survivors, and the way the characters interact is a highlight, typical of Naughty Dog's recent efforts. It's a lot more brutal in its depiction of violence than Uncharted ever was, but you gotta do what you gotta do in those situations right?

Annual Fuck You Gabe Newell Award

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