Well E3 has come to an end for 2012 so what better way to end the biggest week of the gaming industry then a quick best of. We saw and played LOTs of games this week and here are our top game’s in no particular order.
Watch Dogs
This new IP from Ubisoft was a great surprise. As of late we have become so accustom to sequels or spin-offs. It was great to see Ubisoft hit the stage Monday with a new title, and a title that intrigued us and looked amazing. Watch Dogs finds a hacker, or group of hacker who have been able to break into all our systems. They can hear our conversations through our phones, watch us through cameras, and control all electronic devices. For those that watch CBS’s Persons of Interest, it’s pretty much the shows big brother concept put into a game. Oh and did I mention it looked AMAZING. The demo we saw was running on PC but rumor is it could be a title launching the next-gen Xbox and Playstation, only time will tell. Needless to say it was an impressive title, and we look forward to hearing more about it.
Star Wars 1313
LucasArts is heading into a new area of games, Star Wars 1313 will follow a Bounty Hunter through an adventure placed in the ruthless level 1313 of Coruscant. But the real story behind 1313 is that it will be the first M-Rated Star Wars title. This lots of action and blood! The demo we saw was just jaw dropping as far as graphics and cinematic story goes, but it also looked like a really fun and exciting game to play. Cinematics blend seamlessly with gameplay and the action will get our heart pumping. This is going to be a must buy for any Star Wars fan!
Assassin’s Creed 3
It was no surprise that AC3 would be impressive. We saw an amazing reveal trailer and the gameplay has lived up to the hype. Set in the revolutionary war period AC3 is set to give Assassin’s Creed fans a new experience as you’ll be out in the wild and not have tall lots of tall buildings to scale. But what really surprised us is that the game will feature full on naval warfare, not only can you direct a ship but you can also take that ship into naval combat. And liek the past AC games it all looks stunning. AC3 is set to be a game of the year contender.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Ubisoft surprised us during the Microsoft Media Briefing by showing off the next chapter of Sam Fishers epic story. Splinter Cell: Blacklist sees Third Echelon going dark and Sam Fisher and team on their own to fight for our protection from terrorist. What really jumped out about this game is the new and improved combat. It’s obvious the team has been influenced by their Assassin’s Creed counterparts, as the combat and movement seems very similar to AC titles. Sam is able to smoothly transition from shooting targets to hand to hand combat and back with symphonic ease.
Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is back for a new adventure and this looks to be her most brutal one yet. We saw the gameplay during Microsoft’s Media Briefing but that doesn’t do the game justice. The longer demo we had a chance to see really show’s off the game brutality and open world action. Unlike Tomb Raider games past this one has a very open feel. At times you’ll be faced with the normal franchise platform puzzles but you’ll also have open world tasks like finding items or hunting. Plus the game looks phenomenal, by far the best look Tomb Raider title yet.
WiiU
Last year the WiiU seemed gimmicky, this year we were much more happier with it. While yes a handful of the games are very kiddie and very simple, some of the titles like Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition look great and use the WiiU controller display perfectly. FOr Batman you have direct access to your gadgets on the second screen, plus it doubles as a scanner when in detective mode. Obviously it’s up to the developers to create uses for the second display but it seems at this stage the wheels are turning in the correct direction. The WiiU isn’t perfect, the controller display falls short in image quality, it falls in-between the PSP and the PS Vita, it will work when playing games without the TV on, but it isn’t great. Also while the console pumps out a great image to your TV, for instance Assassin’s Creed 3 looked great and comparable to the XBox 360 and PS3 versions, if you think about it those consoles are at end of life. So once Microsoft and Sony release next-gen consoles, Nintendo will be again behind the power curve.
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
EA is rebooting the racer that launched the Xbox 360 and they are doing it in style. Most Wanted takes all the fast pace action of the Need For Speed franchise and creates an amazing looking open world racer. Gamers will be able to spend countless hours just tearing up the world going from event to event and causing havoc. We had a blast playing the game and it will be a must for any racing fans.
Forza: Horizon
While Forza Horizon is vastly different from the NFS carnage fest racer, it is a great new direction for the franchise. Forza Horizon is a much easier to pick-up and race game then previous Forza titles. While the cars are still incredibly realistic and the focus of the game is on driving with style, the action is much more fast pace and exciting like Need For Speed. Plus all the customizing you;ve enjoyed with Forza is found in the game.
Last of Us
The newest action adventure game from Naughty Dog is shaping of nicely. We’ve seen jaw dropping trailers and now we witnessed the first gameplay of this post apocalyptic adventure. The game seems to have a very similar feel to Uncharted, but with a lot more brutality, heck any demo that ends with an enemy getting their head shotguned off at point-blank range is brutal. Last of Us will be an epic adventure and the main characters lead me to think the game will be rather emotional at times.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Yeah I know we will catch some flack from some gamers, but the fact is Black Ops 2 looked great and was choke full of what more games need, and that’s ACTION. Call of Duty has always been the Michael Bay game of videogames, the action just never stops but the story has been shallow. While we still don’t know much about how the story will unfold, we do know that gamers will get an arsenal of new weapons, a slew of new drone based assistance and of course new zombie shooting action. Oh and the team is working on new modes such as Strike Force which will be the game’s pick-up and play game mode.
Battlefield Premium/Battlefield 3: Armored Kill
Going into E3 the rumors of Battlefield Premium service gave me a bad taste in my mouth. But the truth is the marketing team picked the wrong word, it’s really not a “Service” but more of a kickass bundle deal. Battlefield Premium gives you all 5 of BF3′s DLC packages plus a few extras, for $49.99 saving you about $25 if purchased separately. Armored Kill will be the third DLC package and is all about vehicles. With Armored Kill you’ll get new vehicles ranging in size and also some of the largest maps in Battlefield history. The map we played is the largest and was such a blast to pay on land and air, the only downside to the mode is if you get out of your vehicle and try to go at it on foot, this DLC is truly about mechanized warfare.
Those are pretty much the titles that standout in our minds, and that is the best way in our book to gauge what was best this year, but there are a bunch of honorable mentions that we really enjoyed playing/seeing this week:
DUST 514, Defiance, The Elder Scrolls Online, Madden NFL 13, Crysis 3, Dead Space 3, Sim City, FarCry 3, Halo 4, Epic Mickey 2, The Walking Dead Episode 2, Jet Set Radio,
