With E3 over and everyone from the convention centre in LA on their way home, it is time to go over what were some of the best things CGM saw. With a large assortment of games shown off ever year it is hard to nail down the top games people should be excited for but today I am going to try to give my best of E3 2014.
Best New Title
Dreadnought (PC)
I have always been a sucker for giant spaceships. Watching them in Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc, they sparked a sense of awe at the sheer size and destructive power. The guys over at Yager, the studio that brought us Spec Ops: The Line, now bring us Dreadnought. Giving players the helm of a giant ship, Dreadnought will be an online Free-to-Play multiplayer title that is shaping up to be a fantastic experience. Unlike Homeworld, this isn’t a real time strategy game where you direct capital ships on plotted out courses, you take direct control of the destroyers and dreadnoughts in your fleet.
The concept is simple, two teams with a selection of ship classes go into the battle field. At the end, the team with the most kills or points wins. It is a simple concept and makes for frantic and fun gameplay. When your team works, it can really feel like you are on the bridge of a capital ship, ready for anything.
Dreadnought is a game for the science fiction fan in all of us. A game that gives you the command of the ships that make the galaxy run and hide. Now, they are all in one area, ready to destroy one another and it works! Nothing has been said about the business model for the game yet, but if Yager does it right, this could be a Free-to-Play game that everyone should be playing.
Best RPG
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt(PS4, PC, Xbox One)
I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never managed to finish a Witcher game. I always start out strong, thinking “This is it, I will do it this time.” But hours pass, I die time after time, and eventually I walk away admitting defeat. They are hard games, yet they have some of the best storytelling that players can experience in Western RPGs today. The concept of a morally grey world is exciting. It is a world where every choice you make will have consequences, and you as the player have no clear right answer. For a lover of story, this is the ultimate experience.
The Witcher 3 keeps up this tradition, you play as the iconic hero, Geralt of Rivia, continuing his adventures. This time, a strange force, The Wild Hunt, endangers the land, leaving only death in its wake. The story is the start of a great fantasy epic, but it is the small stories along the quest that make The Witcher 3 so unique. Injecting quests with moral choices, similar to what we have seen in games from BioWare, is a great move. The developers over at CD Projekt RED have developed some troubling scenarios that go far beyond what many RPGs offer. It all works together to craft a dark, brooding world that needs to be experienced.
Making its move to the PS4 and the XBOX One, The Witcher 3 is also poised to be one of the most visually stunning titles we will see for the platforms. Each aspect of the game shows off a richly detailed, dark fantasy world. Characters and environments breathe with life, and the expansive landscape shows the sheer vastness of the world. Coming out in 2015, The Witcher 3 is looking to capture the audience it deserves. I for one am planning to jump into the world on day one.
Best FPS
Destiny(PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Built by Bungie, the studio that brought us Halo, Destiny is a multiplayer FPS mixed with an MMO, and it actually seems to work. When Bungie first showed Destiny at last year’s E3, I was sceptical. It felt reminiscent of Hellgate London, taking the concept of an action game, and injecting it with the concepts from MMOs. However, the demo showed last year left me curious, and I was interested to know more.
When I got to take hold of the controller and jump into the world this year, I have to say I was surprised by the organic feel of the game. The game and the universe Bungie have built all work and it is a very fun experience. Taking control of a super-powered Guardian, it is up to you and the other Guardians to defend a recovering, post-apocalyptic Earth from a new invasion. This will take you and/or your team on missions to fight against a collective of aliens that threaten humanity.
It is a Halo style story from the team that brought you Halo, but honestly it all works. The missions were fast and fun, the gameplay was easy to get into, and the shooting felt tight and responsive. It is all about teamwork and working together to achieve an objective, and it all seemed to work. It is hard to tell if the final product can keep up the interest for the dozens of hours it is aiming at, but if it does, it will be the title players must own. We will find out this holiday season, and I for one am excited to see firsthand how it all works out.
