E3 Games 2014: My best of E3 (part 2)

E3 2014 has come and gone, and there is still a lot of news left to digest. One thing is for sure, 2014-15 will be great years for Gaming. The new generation of consoles are coming into their prime, and developers are learning how to really make the consoles shine. PC gaming is alive and well, portable gaming is more popular than ever, and we MIGHT even see true virtual reality (e.g. Oculus Rift/Project Morpheus) this year. MIGHT. Some feel that presenters at this year’s E3 played it safe. But I’m optimistic about the state of the gaming industry, and E3 just brought it home for me even more.

Here is more of what I am most excited about from E3 this year:

Grim Fandango (Double Fine, PS4, Release TBD)– Coming back from the dead (pun intended). One of the first articles I ever wrote for Dorkadia was about the thrill of being a PC gamer in the 1990s. And one of the games I miss the most is Grim Fandango. Originally published in 1998 by LucasArts, the wonderfully odd game celebrated the lives of characters right out of Día de Muertos (Day of the dead). Well, now its back – and coming to PS4 and PS Vita. Lets hope more classic PC games make a resurgence as well.

Bloodborne (From Software, PS4, Launching in 2015)- Trailers for Bloodborne (aka Project Beast) raise more questions than answers. Is it an MMO? It it an RPG? What are those THINGS? One thing is for sure, this game is going to be terrifying, and awesome.

Assassin’s Creed Unity (Ubisoft, PS4/Xbox One, Launch Oct 28 2014) – Part of me wants to roll my eyes that they keep making this game, but I have to admit, Ubisoft is going a great job of keeping it fresh. I only bought AC Black Flag because the PS4 launch titles were lacking. But know what? It’s a great game! Hopefully that holds true for AC Unity as well, despite the flap over the lack of female charters (a common theme in the gaming industry).

Dying Light (TechLand, PS4/PS3/Xbox 360/Xbox One/PC, Launching 2015) –  Dorkadia got to play Dying light at last year’s PAX in Seattle, and it was a LOT of fun (Editor’s note: This would be the game where I – Megan – shrieked like a little girl and Chris had a shite eating grin on his face while he smashed everything with a pipe. Zombies, Cars, cats, other survivors – apparently he’s got aggression issues with blunt lead pipes is what i’m saying). Definitely a fresh take on the zombie genre. Our Kinemortophic editor even watched demo, and despite a deep hatred and paralyzing fear of the undead, thought it looked pretty cool. The game still has some development time left, and now isnt launchin until 2015. However, I’m still excited to get my hands on it again!

The Sims 4 (don’t judge me) (Maxis/EA, PC/Mac, Release Sep 2, 2014) – OK so here’s the thing, I’ve played The Sims since it first came out in 2000. I own just about every expansion pack for the Sims, Sims 2, and Sims 3 (I dont even want to think about how much I’ve spent on this game over the last 14 years). I love that it’s basically a grown up doll-house, and yes, I’m excited to play the new version. I admit graphical improvement is a bit of a disappointment based on trailers I’ve seen, but the Sims has always wanted to be accessible to all players, not just those with a monster gaming rig. The Create-A-Sim and Build tools look to have improved significantly.

Sunset Overdrive (MS Game Studios/Insomniac, Xbox One, Release Oct 24, 2014) – Sunset Overdrive makes me want to finally buy an Xbox One, because it just looks FUN. I love the idea of a zombie/shooter that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And if there is anything I can say about this game, it defintely does not take itself too seriously. (Editor’s note: Charles hasn’t shut up about this since E3 – you really need to check out their website!)

Honorable Mention: Virtual Reality (finally!) – Between the $2b acquisition of Oculus and  Project Morpheus, will 2014 finally (finally!) be the year of true immersive virtual reality? We shall see – not much news from E3 on the hardware/VR front. Only time will tell I suppose!

E3 got me more excited for this year’s PAX Prime in Seattle, where Dorkadia will go hands on with as many of these titles as possible.

What games are you most excited now that E3 has wrapped up for the year?