Standing at the station, awaiting the train wreck.
E3 has something of a strange reputation within the gaming community. It's simultaneously one of the most anticipated events, and one of the most reviled. It's a massive festival of disappointment and wonderment, where we see what games we should look forward to hating in the next year.
Regardless of how you feel about E3, there's no denying the excitement over seeing what's to come in the next year or two of gaming. I've put off writing this for as long as possible, but the show technically opens tomorrow night with the Bethesda conference, so here it is: my predictions, hopes, and thoughts on E3 2015.
I'll be doing wrap-ups of all the shows as I can, but for live updates be sure to check out my twitter feed @The_Vandersteen
Bethesda
Bethesda is the first of the new comers at this year's E3, along with Square Enix and a dedicated PC gaming show hosted by PC Gamer.
I've always had a soft spot for Bethesda, mainly because they've produced a lot of games that I really like, such as the Elder Scroll RPGs and the recent entries into the Fallout series.
The two big names coming out of the Bethesda conference will be Doom and Fallout. Doom (previously Doom 4) is a reboot/remake of the original shooter that started it all. While there's not a whole lot of information about it yet, what we do know sounds pretty great. It's going to be styled similarly to the original games, meaning fast movement, tonnes of guns, and even more demon spawn to splatter.
The other big name is Fallout 4, following the announcement earlier this month. It's so reliving to actually see this name, what with Fallout 3 being seven years ago, and five years since Obsidian's Fallout New Vegas. A short trailer has already been released, along with smatterings of details, but Bethesda has promised an actual gameplay demo at their conference. Even more exiting is that all signs point to a possible release date reveal as well. This is easily one of my most anticipated games of the entire show.
We'll also likely hear more about BattleCry, Bethesda's arena shooter. It's probable that we'll see more of Elder Scrolls Online as well, since it's being re-released for X1/PS4
People don't always remember, but Bethesda is a huge publisher and has a great backlog of game developers in their pocket. Here are some games that may make an appearance:
Dishonored 2 - The first one was incredibly well received, especially the DLC campaign, and Bethesda has expressed an interest into turning this into a franchise. The team at Arkane did a great job of crafting a world, filled with backstory, and implied a sequel with certain lines of dialogue.
UPDATE: This is why I waited till the last moment to do this write-up, as I just read that Bethesda accidentally revealed that Dishonored 2 will be announced live on Twitch.
Evil Within 2 - It's possible Bethesda would want to keep this series going. Despite mediocre critical reviews, the original was a success and got pretty great reactions within the horror game community. Plus, it's still got star power thanks to Resident Evil 4 director Shinki Mikami.
Wolfenstein - New Order was a game that's WAAAY better then it should be, and with the revival of Doom it's possible that a new Wolfenstein game might be in the works. This is only speculation though, as there's been no solid evidence.
Elder Scrolls - It's possible, but incredibly unlikely we'll see a new Elder Scrolls game this year. Historically there's been a pretty decent gap between the games, and Bethesda is already working on Fallout 4, meaning an Elder Scrolls RPG would only be putting them into competition with themselves.
Microsoft
One of the Big Three when it comes to E3, Microsoft has something of an interesting advantage this year, as they have both their own show as well as a showing at the PC Gamer show. With that in mind, it's most likely their own show will be largely based around the Xbox 1, what with sales being dismal and support waning. Price cuts and new X1 versions have already been announced, but that's about it for the system.
Halo 5 is a guarantee, being the closest Microsoft has to a flagship and the fact that it's coming out this holiday season. I haven't kept up with the Halo franchise after 3, but it's probably going to involve more shooting aliens. I do know that Buck, from my favorite Halo ODST is returning, and that's pretty neat.
Speaking of shooters we've all already played, Call Of Duty will likely reveal at the Microsoft show, since it has multiple times in the past. There's not that many series I care less about then the COD games, but I get the appeal, and the addition of a third developer in the cycle might mean future games aren't complete garbage. I didn't hate Advanced Warfare and it's possible the series is finally turning around.
Microsoft recently announced a partnership with Facebook for use of the Oculus Rift VR kit, and it's pretty likely we'll see games taking advantage of that, possibly with one of the shooters I outlined above. We'll also probably see some more info on the upcoming release of Windows 10, although they might save that for the PC Gaming show.
Finally, it's probably safe to see we'll see some official footage of the Gears of War HD remake that's been making the rounds in the rumor mill. I've always enjoyed the GoW games, and a re-release of all three of the original games probably wouldn't hurt X1 sales.
Given Microsoft's shaky history with E3, their show really could go either way. Like their operating systems, Microsoft seems to fare better every other attempt, learning from their failures in the worst way possible. Last year wasn't awful, but the year before that was, so money's on disappointment this time.
Given how poorly the X1 has been performing, it's likely we'll see a cavalcade of praise for the system, trying to convince us that it's not terrible. How they'll inevitably fuck it up is by touting all the non-gaming aspects of the X1, like it's ability to stream movies and act as a home entertainment system, rather then a gaming console. Their big market is usually sports, so it's a great bet we'll see one of the major leagues praising the X1 as the "official way" to watch their games.
EA
EA once hosted one of the worst conferences I've ever seen, managing to go the entire time without ever actually showing any games. It was embarrassing, and hard to watch. They fared a little better last year, but it still wasn't great.
For personal reasons I will not be playing or reviewing any of these games.EA has done some good lately, but I still don't support them. That will not stop me from writing about them.
So far, EA has been the easiest presenter to do research on, and thanks to VG247.com here's a list of the confirmed EA games:
FIFA 16 - somewhat hilarious given all the recent FIFA news, but these games sell so well that the 2014 version was ported to the PS2.
Madden 16 - It's football. They make major changes every couple of version, but it's still football. It's not NFL Blitz, so I don't care.
Minions Paradise - A game based on the annoyingly popular Minions characters from the Despicable Me movies. Thanks to Facebook I fucking hate these things. Even if I did play EA games, I'd still avoid this one.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst - The remake/reboot of Mirror's Edge, the ONE time first person parkour actually, sort of worked. The first game was completely plagued with issues though, from the awful combat to motion-sickness inducing POV, so Catalyst has some big hurdles to overcome, pun intended.
NBA 16 - Like Madden, it's a realistic version of a real sport, which is boring.
NHL 16 - See above
Rory Mcllroy PGA tour - WE'VE PLAYED THIS GAME BEFORE.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 - Probably EA's biggest draw this year, what with Battlefront 2 still having an active fan base and the upcoming movie. It could be good, although currently all signs point to EA fucking it up as usual.
Star Wars: The Old Republic - Either a reboot of the old Obsidian games, or another attempt at one of the biggest flops in gaming history. Either way, probably going to be awful.
EA has such a massive log of develops they can bleed out that it's pretty hard to tell what they might announce. There's several dozen successful indie studios we might see, plus possibly new stuff from whatever's left of Maxis. EA has said there's going to be some surprises, but honestly I'll be surprised if they just manage to make me want any of their games this year.
Ubisoft
Speaking of companies I have no respect for, Ubisoft! Once again Aisha Taylor is hosting the show, meaning that Ubisoft has no idea how to innovate in any way whatsoever.
Ubisoft has been pretty tight-lipped on what they're going to revealing this year, so a lot of this is actually speculation.
The one game I was able to confirm was Just Dance 2016, the sixth installment of the dancing game. I've never played a Just Dance game, and given my aversion of both dance music and dancing in general, it's unlikely I ever will.
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate is pretty much a guarantee, given Ubisoft's insane insistence that the series should be serialized. It's not yet known if it could be worse then the last two AssCreed games, both of which failed miserably, but they have said there's no longer going to be any multiplayer focus or companion apps, so maybe they're willing to learn.
Speaking of companion apps and multiplayer focus, it's also a good bet we'll be seeing more of The Division, the open-world third person shooter/RPG hybrid that has no identity of it's own. I want this game to be good, but it's been delayed several times now and Ubisoft has been missing the mark spectacularly with these types of games recently, between two dismal AssCreed games and the incredibly mediocre Watch_Dogs.
I'd put money on Ubisoft announcing a Watch_Dogs 2. Despite being pretty awful, the first game was profitable, and there's enough interest in a sequel to make it work. We could see another AssCreed in the Watch_Dogs franchise, the first game is terrible but interesting, then one or two really great games, then a roller coaster of not so great games until Ubisoft finally either lets the series die or goes bankrupt.
It's also a good bet we might see another Rayman game. Out of all of Ubisoft's properties this is the only one I don't hate on principal alone, since both of the recent Rayman games have been outstandingly fun platformers. I'd definitely be down for another outing for the limbless hero.
If I recall correctly there were some other games announced at last year's show, but I honestly don't remember that well. Ubisoft might be the worst in terms of awkward scripted interactions and I tend to block a lot of their stuff out mentally. Exercise games? Maybe?
Sony
I think for the first time in a while I'm actually a bit excited for the Sony show. I recently bought a Vita, and while it's being called a dead system, I'm hopeful. There's also a few games I'd like to see, and maybe possibly a price drop in the PS4.
My most anticipated game from Sony is hands down Persona 5. I recently got into the Persona series and I dig the hell out of it. Details on Persona 5 have been sketchy at best, so here's hoping we finally get some concrete gameplay footage and possibly a release date.
Microsoft and Facebook have the Oculus Rift, so without a doubt Sony will be touting around it's VR headset Project Morpheus. I don't know that much about Morpheus, but some of the footage I've seen of it makes it look like just another Oculus Rift, so if that's your bag there you go.
Nathan Drake will no doubt be making a showing, as Uncharted 4 has already been revealed a while ago. Details are sketchy so far, save for Drake looking a bit older and more weathered. Uncharted has always been a system seller in the past, and I'm interested in seeing where they take the series.
No Man's Sky is technically a PS4 exclusive, although not if you ask the developers, who have said multiple times they want to bring the game to PC. Regardless, it's a great sounded concept and any further information is welcome.
Finally, all rumors point to a probable reveal of Dark Souls 3. I don't know if I necessarily want another entry into the series, since I'm afraid of the Dark Souls games becoming bland, but the rumors also state that the original director of DS1 would be returning after Blood Borne, so I'm interested enough just based on that.
IGN put together a list of games we'll likely see at the show, but none of these have been confirmed yet.
Drawn to Death - A Free to Play shooter developed by David Jaffe of Twisted Metal and God of War fame. It looks like if you took my grade 7 notebook and made a game based around, so it might be cool.
God of War 3 HD - There was another God of War recently wasn't there? I have no idea. God of War is a series I never got into, which is to bad since I really enjoy a good beat-em up.
Gran Turismo 7 - It's a stylish, high class racer. Ok.
Hellblade - It's being made by Ninja Theory, so boob physics are a guaruntee. It's probably a spiritual successor to Ninja Gaiden. Also, preliminary research show it's also PC bound, so I might pay more attention to this one.
Ratchet and Clank - I have some of the old R&C games for my PS2, but I haven't gotten around to playing them yet. The series is pretty well received, and there's a movie coming out too.
Rime - There's almost no info about Rime other then what the official page from Sony has. It's an open world survival puzzle game about a boy lost at sea. Could be good, I guess.
Tearaway Unfolded - A sequel to Tearaway, a game I haven't played yet.
Until Dawn - the previous trailer for Until Dawn was laughably bad, so I really hope they've done some work on it. It looks like a Quantic Dream-esque QTE-em-up, and that's not a compliment.
The Witness - Jonathan Blow's incredibly long-awaited follow-up to Braid. It's a first person puzzle solving extravaganza, with an estimated 70 hours worth of puzzles to solve. We've been waiting on this game since the mid 2000's and it's apparently nearing completion, so a release date might be in store.
Nintendo
Nintendo's had a bit of a weird year so far, between announcing it's shift to mobile gaming, the under-performance of the WiiU and the continued success of the 3DS. They're the oldest in the game, and once again they're hosting an irregular Nintendo Live rather then a full show, giving them complete control over every aspect. It worked well last year, so it's likely this is their new norm.
Side-note: Nintendo pulled one of the biggest dick-moves ever when they announced the time-slot for their Live show. Originally the slot was reserved for Square Enix, but then Nintendo announced their show, forcing Square to push their show back an hour. That couldn't have been cheap.
Mario is a safe bet. It really isn't a Nintendo show without some sort of Mario property. It's likely to be some more info on Mario Maker, and if we're lucky that'll include a 3DS port.
Speaking of Mario, it's a good bet we'll see more of the upcoming Yoshi game Woolly World, a follow-up to the Yoshi's island games of old in the style of the recent Kirby's Yarn Adventure. I don't get the yarn-based graphics style, but without a doubt it's created the coolest looking Amiibo yet.
Star Fox was technically announced last year, with a split-second reveal at the end of the show. It's likely we'll finally get an official announcement.
Xenoblade Chronicles is out in Japan right now, and it's expected to come State-side soon. The release date for that will likely be announced at the show.
As for the rest of Nintendo's show? There's really not a whole lot of information. There have been multiple rumors regarding a new Metroid game, and they've still not yet shown any footage of the new Legend of Zelda, so those are both possible.
Square Enix
The second new publisher to be presenting this year. I don't think people always remember how big Square Enix really is. Aside from developing, Square does probably just as much publishing as Bethesda does, and they're clearly doing well enough to host their own show.
Rise of the Tomb Raider, the follow-up to Tomb Raider 2014 is probably their first big reveal. TR14 was a gritty reboot done right, and it looks like they plan to continue us down that path with RotTR, as the reveal trailer we saw previously indicated. It's worth noting that there's a good chance this might be revealed at the Microsoft show, since it is a timed X1 exclusive.
You can't talk about Square without talking about Final Fantasy, which is why it's a pretty great bet we'll see more of Final Fantasy 15. There have been a few released videos and preview for it, but a release date reveal might just be the way to win over the audience. Regardless, a Square show without Final Fantasy is sort of it's own hyperbole, and this one's a guarantee.
Square has repeatedly teased something involving the Chrono Trigger series. We already saw an HD re-release on the DS a few years back, and it's made it's way to the Nintendo E-Shop already, so it's likely a new game. I don't think anyone actually remembers Chrono Cross, but the original is definitely a game with some name power behind it, and a new entry could be in the works.
We're also likely to finally see some gameplay footage of Just Cause 3, the destructive follow-up to one of the most stupidly fun games I've ever played. There are plenty of things the Just Cause games still need to iron out, but the second one was incredibly well received, so there's high hopes for Rico's third outing.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was already announced a few months ago with a teaser trailer and some screenshots. Human Revolution was pretty well received so it's very likely we'll see some gameplay revealed at the show.
There's plenty of other Square properties that might make an appearance, as indicated by their cryptic hype video released recently. I'm interested to see what they bring to the table and whether or not their presence is worth it.
The PC Gamer Show
Holy shit, this might be the biggest show at E3 this year. PC Gamer, in partnership with AMD are finally giving PC gamers what they've wanted for years. The PC has always had a weird presence at the show, often relegated to a single image on the tail end of a trailer indicating a multiplatform release, and only Microsoft would actually talk about PC gaming as a platform, ironic given their historical failure as a PC gaming provider.
Thanks to IGN once again, here's a list of confirmed speakers for the show:
AMD - AMD has a new high end video card line in the works to compete with Nvidia, so a release date reveal is pretty likely.
Devolver - the indie publisher that came out of nowhere, with a penchant for producing some of the weirder games available. Hatoful Boyfriend 2 and Shadow Warrior 2 have both already been confirmed, but they have plenty of properties to choose from.
Humble Bundle - They don't make games, at least not that I'm aware of, so this might just be talking about their charity work and maybe an overhaul to their storefront.
Blizzard - This will be one of Blizzards few showings at E3, since they're almost as secretive as Valve. They'll probably be talking WOW, Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone, as well as possibly an announcement about the third Star Craft 2 expansion.
Bohemia - ARMA 3 is getting a new terrain, that's confirmed. We might also be hearing more about future ARMA 3 and Day Z development, any info regarding the latter would be nice as it's player base has dropped significantly recently.
Cliff Bleszinski - Cliffy B is own his own, and his home-grown studio Boss Key has been teasing something for a while. It's interesting to see Cliffy B as a PC gaming show, given his history on the Xbox, but he got his start here and it's nice to see him returning home.
Heart Machine - An indie dev with at least one game to their name.
Paradox - Trying to pick which of Paradox's properties to talk about is impossible. As an indi producer they're just way to proficient. I'm hoping for more info on the new Mount and Blade, and the new Crusader Kings 2 expansion, but they have so much to talk about they could probably host their own show.
Square Enix - HEY, YOU ALREADY HAVE A SHOW.
Cloud Imperium Games - Star Citizen is their only listed game, so they'll probably talk about Star Citizen.
Dean Hall - The proficient designer of Day Z has moved on from that project, so this might mean a new announcement from him. I'd prefer him to announce that he's returning to Day Z, since development of that game has floundered since he left.
Tripwire - Killing Floor 2 is in early access, and I love the hell out of it, so more info on the future of that game would be nice. They also have Red Orchestra in their pocket, so a third game might be in the future.
ArenaNet - There's a Guild Wars 2 expansion planned, so that's likely what we'll see here.
CCP Games - Eve online, only Eve online.
Creative Assembly - CA recently acquired the rights to make a Total War Warhammer game, so a reveal of that is a good bet.
Fullbright games - I fucking hated Gone Home, but they do have a new "game" in the works set in space. I'm seriously praying for it not to just be Gone Home in space, as that sounds fucking terrible.
Frictional Games - Frictional are the masters of horror, between the Penumbra series and the Amnesia games, and their new project SOMA seeks to further their love of spooks. details are sketchy, but a reveal is likely.
Frontier Developments - If Star Citizen is going to show, then Elite Dangerous is going to show. Elite is actually already out, so this is either a new game, or more likely more content.
Nexon - Maplestory's developer. Possibly more Maplestory content, possibly Maplestory 2. I never got into Maplestory, so I'm not really paying attention.
Pixel Titans - the only info I could find on them was a game called Strafe that I've never heard of.
SCS Software - AMERICAN TRUCK SIM, ONLY AMERICAN TRUCK SIM.
Splash Damage - Splash have two games their likely to talk about. Dirty Bomb is their free to play arena shooter currently out on Steam. They also have something called Tempo, but that appears to be a mobile game, so they might not talk about it here.
Microsoft - I hope for their sake it's just talking about Windows 10. Microsoft doesn't have the best reputation with PC gamers.
That's it. The show starts in just a few hours. Be sure to stay tuned and follow me on twitter for live updates.
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