With less than two weeks left, the staff here at TheGameFanatics would like to get our thoughts on what want to see at the show. From the PSN+ to the new Zelda game, we all are very excited to see what is going to go down. Well, enough of that, check out what we hope is going to be at E3!
Jen
At first I wasn’t really sure what to write down that made me excited about E3 this year. From what I heard so far, there wasn’t really anything that was drawing my attention to it. Then I started to look online and check out the line-up and that “meh” feeling changed for me.
X-COM
The only reason why I want to see this at E3 is to see how badly they’ve messed it up. The formula was already there and die hard fans wanted to see that in a current generation game. Of course that’s not the case since 2K wants to make it into an FPS. Not all games need to be solely FPS games, you know.
Naughty Bear
This feels more like an XBL arcade game than anything else. This sandbox game just looks different than anything I’ve seen before. I mean a killer teddy bear that is upset for not being in invited to a party decides to go postal on the other teddy bears? If anything this game could be a great time waster in between the heavy hitter games.
EyePet
EyePet caught my attention last year with its cute little creature. I was actually planning on getting this last year when it was supposed to have been released. Then it was delayed until the spring of this year. Now it seems it won’t be released until Sony’s Move is launched and both will be at E3 this year. It’ll be interesting to see what changes and new features they’ve added to EyePet.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 & Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
I was disappointed in the DLC content for the first installment but I’m hoping that they’ve improved with Unleashed 2 without changing what we loved about the first game. I have to wonder how they’re even able to make an Unleashed 2. With the second game in the title, I really do think it could great. I do have to wonder what else they could show us. There have been several updates and news about this MMO since it was first announced, so what’s left? Personally, I would still love to see Knights of the Old Republic 3 but for what I’ve been seeing from this MMO, this could be a great game and worth the monthly fee. They’ve taken elements from RPG games that have worked and incorporated it into an MMO.
Valve’s “Secret” Game
The main thing that has caught my interested is the announcement from Valve. Recently, Portal 2 was announced and geeks everywhere rejoiced. Then, out of the blue, Portal 2 was canceled and replaced with a surprise announcement to be revealed at E3. Some are guessing that it will be Half-Life 3 but as of right now, I’m not going to make a guess and await the surprise. Hopefully I won’t be let down by it.
Chris Ellis
I don’t place a whole lot of value into trade shows like E3 until there’s a controller in-hand and you’re seeing honest-to-god gameplay. I do like to see what’s being developed, though, as long as there’s proof that it is indeed being worked on. I’m looking at you Hideo Kojima!
Anyway, here are a few of the things I’m excited to see at E3 this year.
Project Natal
The biggest thing to make a splash at Microsoft’s E3 2009 press briefing was Project Natal. Natal promised full-body motion control that would work 100% with all existing Xbox 360s.
Using a camera and and some impressive software, Natal is able to track 48 different skeletal points on a human body, including individual fingers. While I doubt we’ll find insanely interactive games like Lionhead’s Milo demo, which I personally believe was at least partially staged, with Natal being able to track the body itself, it will leave the standard controller (or other kinds of controllers: guitars, microphones, even the Tony Hawk skateboard) free for whatever developers can think of, which I think will allow for a more natural control scheme and more varied, interesting gameplay.
Hopefully this E3, Microsoft will bypass the silly minigames and show some actual games in development. Showing off Fable III is going to be a given. Showing the Natal integration and how that will affect gameplay, that’s something we need to see.
I have a good feeling Microsoft will at least have a firm release date and an approximate price range announced during their conference.
New Zelda (Wii)
I’ve been a fan of Zelda since I got my first console, a Super NES with Zelda: A Link to the Past packed in. I’ve faithfully bought every Zelda game since then (except the latest DS game).
Zelda has gone through a lot of iterations, but for the most part, they’ve all kept the same child-like innocence ingrained in the plot. Hopefully by now, Nintendo will realize that games with darker themes are still a viable market.
I’m not asking for a game filled with profanity, but I would like Nintendo to see that their audience that played games as children has grown up, and make some games for those of us that still come back. You can’t do that with Mario. But the Zelda series is long-overdue for something more mature. Yes, Twilight Princess was a little bit darker, but it wasn’t quite out of the “appeal to the younger crowd” circle. This is what I hope to see at E3 if/when they show off the new Zelda game, a mature title with mature themes.
I also want to see full voice work. This is another thing Nintendo has been sitting on their duffs about. While Link is the always-silent protagonist, giving Ganon a terrifyingly evil voice (Tim Curry), or even a satisfyingly deep voice (Michael Clark Duncan) can give the game a great new depth that has been sorely lacking from Nintendo’s games for a while now.
Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC)
I’m not a big fan of massively-multiplayer online RPGs. I want that put out there and made perfectly clear. I hate World of Warcraft for destroying the Warcraft RTS franchise. I dislike Dungeons & Dragons Online for its dull gameplay. The rest seem to be cookie-cutter games from Korea or somewhere else in Asia.
But I am genuinely excited about the new Star Wars MMO from Bioware. Bioware took the Star Wars universe and lovingly crafted an RPG epic (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) using the Star Wars D20 system in much the same way they used the D&D D20 system for Neverwinter Nights. Now with the first two Mass Effect games under their belts, it proves Bioware knows how to create a science fiction RPG, and go about fixing problems that only arise after a number of people play the game.
With this experience, and with Bioware’s reputation, I have the feeling they’ll be able to craft not only another Star Wars game, but a game where I can create the Jedi or Sith that I want, and battle with or against friends that are also playing.
While I missed the presentation on The Old Republic at PAX, I fully expect there to be some sort of showing at E3. Then I fully expect them to show the exact same thing to all the people at PAX Prime later this year.
Even though I normally lean toward good in RPGs, I have a feeling that if I were to play with others, I will probably lean hard toward evil, just because doing evil isn’t really much fun unless there are people around to witness it. I can even picture it now, “Dude, they way you force-pushed that guy at George had him slice the guy in half was epic!”
Whether any of what I want to see ends up coming to fruition, I hope every single company brings their A-game to E3 this year!
P.S. Nintendo, Sony, kindly leave your graphs at home this year. People don’t fly to Los Angeles to be told how much e-peen you have, they fly out for actual news. Thanks.
Travis
PSP 2
For some years now, we heard many rumors that a second version of Son’y Playstation Portable was coming out. Now, when I say second version, I don’t mean a simple revision, like the 1000-3000 series. I am talking about something like the PSPgo. You know, how the Playstation 3 was a major jump from the P2. You may remember a while back, that Sony did not want a add a second analog stick. This was a weird thing to say, because when the PSPgo was released, it allowed gamers to use a Dualshock 3 via Bluetooth. Also, rumors states that a touch screen may come into play. Other features could a be a faster processor, a better graphics chip, trophy support, and if possible 3G capability. Ok, maybe I went a bit too far with the last one, but one can dream, right?
Project Natal
I know, I know. I can tell from the last E3 article, that you guys think this motion sensing stuff is a joke. At first, I was the same as you guys. If you don’t mind, let’s just sit back and look at it from a different perspective. Sure the Wii made motion popular; we already have that embedded. How many of you played a game for hours, and I do mean hours, and your hands started to cramp? Again, I know playing with air seems silly, but the technology behind it is truly amazing. We know too damn much about Playstation Move, even though I am as equally excited. For Move, we know the price, the official name, features, and even many confirmed games. For Project Natal, we don’t even have the official name, some features, and a handful of games. Strangely, Microsoft has been a bit too quiet about their newest technology. Even though we have rumors, Microsoft has yet to come out and confirmed anything. One can only assume that this is a major feature of the whole expo.
PSN+
We knew Sony was planning on a premium online service for a while now. Not too long ago, there was even a chart that broke down each level of the paid subscription. Weirdly, there was no price for an “unlimited” plan. Even the highest level didn’t include all of the features, which was rumored to be $69.99. I am sure that Sony has been listening to its fans, though. They know how Xbox Live works, and they just don’t want to copy the idea, but take it, and make it enhanced. Speculations are going around saying that you may get a free game once a month. This seems like a good idea to reward the user for something, and giving them choices at the same time. The company was able to say that the current PSN users were still going to be free. This is an excellent idea, as everyone will still get to play online together, paid or not. Of course, the number one thing gamers want, at least the hardcore, is the cross-gaming chat. Some say Microsoft patent the technology behind that. Others say that Sony could use their relationship with Skype or Google to enable the service. One thing is for sure, if they do have that feature, I don’t think it will be charged. If everyone is online, and is playing together, then limiting talking will really hurt the community. It’s bad enough that everyone doesn’t have a headset already. This is only my thoughts though, and it would only make sense. Whatever they do, it certainly will be interesting. Will they just copy what Xbox Live has already done? Who knows. If anything, I want to see the reaction of the gamers.
Chris Bailey
Microsoft Natal & Sony Move
Both of these new additions to their respective consoles already has Nintendo with a salty feeling in its mouth but both came to the plate with next graphics so, who’s to blame for that taste? Natal and Move/Wave are looking to make their final splash at E3 before going into retail mode this fall and both have been getting good and bad reviews. And while Move/Wave has been showing some good games as of late and Fable 3 possibly being compatible with Natal, it will be interesting to say the least at what will be shown at each press conference.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
I am a huge fan of the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Vegas Six series. With the lapse in both from Ubisoft, my ears perked when the rumour was making the rounds, but my mouth watered when Ubisoft released the trailer and screens for the game. Future Soldier looks to take warfare and weapons in general to the next level. The series has always been a well balanced marriage of a third person shooter and a modern war story. All the new gadgets and weapons in the trailer looked better than anything modern thus far!
Spec Ops: The Line
2K has been the underdog Publisher since god knows how long but hard work and consistency always pays off (Sid Meier’s series, Bioshock series, Borderlands) and with Mafia II also being shown at E3, oh boy it looks like the underdog brought some big guns to the show! The trailer for Spec Op’s: The Line was nothing short of stunning. Falling in the caved in building then watching the environment around you continue in action was amazing. You can tell I am a fan of third person shooter and first person shooter and with this being a TPS; my excitement can hardly be contained even though much hasn’t been released, so expect fireworks at E3.
Honorable Mentions: Sony Press Conference, Microsoft Press Conference, EA Press Conference, Ubisoft Press Conference, Bethesda Softworks Booth.
Well there you have it. Pretty interesting, right? How about you leave your comments and tell us what you want to see! We really can’t wait until we we touch down in Los Angeles and have a ball1
