E3 is admittedly the most highly anticipated event for core gamers. It sparks conversations and debates about which conferences have the best performance and which have the best games lineup.
This weekend, Jaggy's corner will compact the news into two articles. The conferences covered in today's article are: Square Enix, Ubisoft, PC, and Sony. I wanted to even out the sheer number of titles announced during the conference which means reducing over 100 games into two articles. Bear with me and PY's random comments. It's going to be quite the ride.
Square Enix
Although this conference didn't announce a ton of titles, it showcased several games that I'm excited about. Starting with a full trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider which releases September 14th. It's no secret I've been a fan of the series since I was a child, so this game is a must on my list. (Shut up and take my money! As long as you release it on PC. K. Thx. Bai!)
Monster Hunter World and Dragon Quest both had announcements. While I know the Monster Hunter series spawned the game Dauntless, I have never played it but it and FF XIV will have a cross over event. Dragon Quest is on it's eleventh title in the series, which many fans are excited about. (PY: You had better believe it. I'm looking VERY forward to DQXI! September can't come fast enough. I'm also on vacation for the week it releases. I coudln't have timed it better had I actually tried!)
Dontnod Entertainment didn't announce anything related to Life is Strange 2, but they did announce a cute side story with a child protagonist that lives in a fantasy world. It's called Captain Spirit and will be free to play on June 26th of this year. I'm probably going to play this one. Not gonna lie about that!
Octopath Traveller and Just Cause 4 were also announced. I'm not really a fan of either and therefore have nothing exciting to contribute. (PY: I'm looking forward to Octopath Traveler. Having an old schooled JRPG for the Switch is going to be nice) Nier: Automata is being ported to Xbox on June 26 so those of you that are console warriors will get a chance to play the title.
Two new IP's were also showcased. One is called Babylon's Fall which is set to come out next year. Another title called The Quiet Man will be explained more in August. I'm interested to see what this will bring to the table of Square Enix.
Talk about hardcore fandom... (PY: Ugh... I'm honestly... and seriously HONEST... not believe in any release date until it's in my hands. I'm also worried that it won't live up to the development time like FF XV.)
I mean, do you remember this? DO YOU?
Ubisoft
Despite their interesting approach to presentation, Ubisoft had several titles that I'm excited for like: Beyond Good and Evil 2, Trials: Rising, Skull & Bones, and Transference VR. Beyond Good and Evil has an excellent reputation and I'm really hyped for this sequel. Trials reminds me of the old Tony Hawk games but done on a racing bike. It seems mindless and fun, so I might give this title a shot. Skull & Bones should need no explanation. It's naval ship strategy and includes pirates, therefore, I'm in! Transference VR looks interesting in concept since the point is to escape a broken mind. As a first person psychological thriller and exploration game, I'm genuinely intrigued and terrified of this game.Outside of those titles, Ubisoft announced a few other games that gamers are thrilled to see. Games like like Just Dance 2019, an updated Division 2, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Starlink, and The Crew 2 have fanbases that will gobble these titles up.Make sure you stop by the Ubisoft booth to get a first look at Assassin's Creed Odyssey! #UbiE3 #E32018 pic.twitter.com/JYxanolesL— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) June 13, 2018
The two most interesting titles out of the whole lineup are For Honor's changes and Assassins Creed: Odyssey. Both titles have caused quite the ruckus on social media as of late. In the case of For Honor, I felt it was clunky and not what I wanted out of the game. However, with the new updates , it might be more appealing to me now. Assassins Creed: Odyssey was announced last in the lineup. The game is set in Greece and features both male and female protagonists. It will also have new dialogue options unlike previous games in the franchise. It seems to me that the company is diversifying its universe. Assassins Creed: Odyssey comes out on October 5th.
PC Gaming show
The PC gaming show is the heaviest list in today's article, so I'll attempt to keep things brief.I personally am excited to see what happens with Satisfactory and I've already signed up for the newsletter (which can be done on their website). Another is Star Control Origins which reminds me of Endless Space or Stars! - if you want to go back much further in video gaming history. The Forgotten City looks like an interesting concept where if one person commits a sin, everyone dies. I don't know how that is going to turn out but I'm intrigued.
As we should know by now, I'm a fan of mysteries. I am on board for a new title called The Sinking City which is a lovecraftian mystery game. That said, these guys did The Devil's Daughter which has earned this game a negative initial response. Despite that fact, I'm willing to give The Sinking City a shot before jumping to conclusions.(PY: I've been waiting on this since it's original reveal. The only issue with the long wait was because they had to finish their Sherlock game first!)
Ooblets, a game by Double Fine Productions, is inspired by Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. It's a cute looking game that I might try out. The graphics style is different than what I expected but it definitely has its appeal. It almost looks like a pseudo 3D version of Stardew which fascinates me. This title has my attention.Attention Citizens!— The Sinking City (@thesinkingcity) June 13, 2018
If you are attending #E32018 , keep an eye out for a couple of wanted Innsmouthers! They were sighted near #TheSinkingCity booth! Those who have courage to encounter Deep Ones and submit a proof of their deed will have a chance to get a reward! pic.twitter.com/nlUVwrX7yt
Jurassic World: Evolution was announced during the conference and many Twitch gamers have jumped in. Players get to create safe habitats for various dinosaurs. The dig sites that are used in the game are based on legitimate real world sites. Essentially, it's a city builder but with dinosaurs, and I have to say that Jurassic World: Evolution also has my attention.
Star Citizen received an announcement about its ongoing developments. This game is the only one to receive the highest amount of kickstarted money in the history of the platform. Not only does that set a supremely high bar, it also means release of the game will take much longer than expected. There is no official release date on the mammoth project, but E3 showcased the alpha version 3.2 for fans to ogle over. We'll see what the future holds for this title, but so far its development progression is impressive.
Three new Battle Royale games were announced and as we know, I'm not a huge fan of these games. They include the titles: Maverick's Proving Grounds, Rapture Rejects, and Realm Royale. Of the three, one of them caught my attention because of Cyanide and Happiness. I'm definitely going to play Rapture Rejects because I enjoy the idea that only the bad people have to face off in this last man standing style of game. Plus, I have always enjoyed the comics and the art style.
Hitman 2 will be releasing this year as well. Your mission is to eliminate some highly competitive racers at a Miami track. The graphics are fantastic and has a lot of options in terms of fulfilling the contract. If you preorder the game, a special mode becomes available called Sniper Assassin.
Another title called Two Point Hospital will release later this year. It is a game that looks well polished and intriguing in principle, but I won't touch it. In this game, players will get to manage every aspect of a hospital. They will research cures and deal with patients ailments. If any player was interested in a game like that, then this would be the title to play!
Finally, let's talk about the Warframe DLC titled The Sacrifice. This game is a free to play grind-fest shooter which has a certain appeal, but has frustrated me all to hell. It's a long story as to why I don't play Warframe anymore, but suffice it to say the cons outweigh the pros in my case. Many streamers are excited for its release (which came out a couple of days ago) and I don't blame them. Once the developers started to focus on the story in The Second Dream, fans became more interested in the game. And as much as I want to know what happened after The Second Dream story line, I won't be joining the Tenno ranks in Warframe: The Sacrifice.
Unfortunately, there were too many titles included during the PC gaming conference that I decided to omit for brevity reasons. The whole conference is linked below. Unfortunately, I could not find a public list for each conference.
Sony Conference
Sony was a much smaller conference but announced some bonkers titles. For example, we received trailers for Ghost of Tsushima, Resident Evil 2, Nioh 2. (PY: YEAH! Nioh 2. The first was fantastic. If you don't believe me... Alpha, Beta, Last Chance Trial, Review)Ghost of Tsushima look amazing and reminds me a little of both Tomb Raider and Assassins Creed game styles. It's beautiful and I want it. We shall see what happens with this one.
They mentioned a couple of different games like Spiderman, Days Gone, Twin Mirror, Ghost Giant VR, and Beat Saber VR – which I've heard is quite fun. Another title which is very science fiction and inception styled game is titled Control will release in 2019.
Most people were super excited for more Death Stranding information, as much as it still warped people's minds. I have a theory about it. In the trailer, we are told a couple of interesting lines like "I make deliveries. That's all." and it makes us wonder if this takes place in the land of the dead. There is one screenshot where the package that Norman Reedus is carrying looks like a body bag.
Furthermore, there are lines like, "Give me your hand in life" and "give me your hand in spirit", which leads to the idea that this character is capable of holding those particular hands – like a god or something equivalent. During the course of the trailer, Norman Reedus 'dies' but yet is reborn as a baby. The only time that could be true is either a) if they are stuck in Limbo or b) believe in life after death.
And finally, the title everyone was waiting for, The Last of Us 2. I'm saving this for last because I want to say something about it.
Some of you may have read my content when I wrote for another website. On there, I published an opinion piece about video game violence in relation to The Last of Us 2 and Detroit: Become Human. My thoughts revolved around the trailers shown at the time, which reflected polarizing opinions about the two games. Detroit looks like a game that I would play because it forces players to think and to feel about decisions – tough decisions – and the trailer did enough to showcase that different things will occur based on a players choice.
By contrast, The Last of Us 2's teaser trailer immediately turned me away from the series. For context, I did not play the first game. However after that brutal teaser trailer, many games websites were upset. It showed very little and explained even less about the game. I knew at the time that the video was tailored for the already invested fans. And at E3, with a full length trailer, I was beginning to like the new approach but still found myself uninterested in the end. I'm sure that hardcore fans of the series will be quite pleased with the direction of the title, but it isn't meant for people like me.
Final Thoughts
I'm most excited for a few titles from the PC Gaming conference and definitely hyped for Square Enix because of Tomb Raider. I'm also intrigued by some of the new IP's like The Sinking City. And as with most people, I'm still curious to see what comes out of Hideo Kojima in Death Stranding. My theory could be totally off base, after all.Out of Square Enix, Ubisoft, PC, and Sony, what titles are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
Until next time.
Article by Susan N.
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