LOS ANGELES – The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has come and gone, and it was just like that line from The Fault In Our Stars—slowly, and then all at once.
In the weeks leading to E3, rumor mills have been swirling with whispers and expectations on what we will see from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. E3 kicked off with press conferences from Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Each press conference revealed glimpses of what the gaming industry has to offer for the coming years. While last year was about the console wars between Sony’s Playstation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft’s Xbox One, it was evident that E3 2014 was about the games and the future.
Games for the next generation of consoles made a splash this year, leaving gamers with guarded optimism at the very least and giddy excitement at best.
Bouncing back from last year’s fracas, Microsoft clearly learned a lot from the public backlash that resulted from some Xbox One features introduced at the console’s launch.
Microsoft Xbox Division Head Phil Spencer said that yes, they were listening to the gamers.
“You are shaping the future of Xbox, and we are better for it,” Spencer said.
Microsoft went on to introduce a bevy of visually and technologically impressive titles slated to come out this year, including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Forza Horizon 2, Evolve, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Kevin Spacey will make his video game debut in Advanced Warfare.
Among the 2014 releases, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Halo: Master Chief Collection, and Halo 5 Guardians generated the most buzz. Assasin’s Creed Unity, which comes out in October, is also slated to release on the PS4. Ubisoft’s Vincent Pontbriand said that Unity is the franchise’s “biggest playground ever.” The game is set in 18th century Paris, during the French revolution. The new game will allow players to form their own ‘brotherhood’ and join with up three friends on Xbox Live. Halo Master Chief Collection lets players experience the entire saga of Halo protagonist Master Chief, and is slated for release on Nov. 11.
Towards 2015 and beyond, other Triple A grade games that were announced for Xbox include Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and Tom Clancy’s The Division.
Filipino-American videographer and gamer Rodney Cajudo weighed in on Microsoft’s 2014 E3 outing.
“This year, Microsoft learned from last year’s faux pas and concentrated on games,” Cajudo said. However, he went on to say that even with the number of games announced by Microsoft, “there wasn’t much” that got him excited.
“Last year, Titanfall created such a buzz, but this year it seems more of the same,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sony built on its solid outing form 2013, and steamrolled through E3 2014 with its lineup of equally impressive titles: Destiny, The Order 1886, Infamous First Light, Little Big Planet 3, Bloodborne, and Far Cry 4. Mortal Kombat X and Metal Gear Solid (MGS) V: The Phantom Pain showed some visually impressive video. Mortal Kombat showed some gameplay footage, while MGS V showed a montage of cut scenes that show where Big Boss picks up from his last outing, MGS Ground Zeroes.
Jelyn Hermosa, 23 year old Fil-Am writer for GX.com, said that she was “pretty satisfied” with this year’s announced titles, with a lot of sequels to popular franchises coming out. Among her favorites were Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros., Destiny, and Dead Island 2 from Square Enix.
“Smash Bros. seems fun and casual, something you can play with any kind of gamer. Destiny feels like the next Halo, definitely something for [first person shooter] lovers would like. Dead Island 2 had a really good trailer, definitely something RPG gamers need to keep a watch out for,” Hermosa said.
Another key title to watch out for is Warner Bros. and Rocksteady’s capstone title to the award-winning Batman Arkham francise—Batman: Arkham Knight. The game will introduce a key element to the “being the Batman” experience: the Batmobile. Unlike any previous Batman games, Arkham Knight allows gameplay interaction and combat using the supercar. As Batman, gamers can engage thugs using the Batmobile’s Tank Mode, and pursue escaping villains on Pursuit Mode.
Aside from the host of games that were announced by game publishers and developers, another gaming technology became the sleeper hit of E3 2014: virtual reality gaming. Oculus Rift, Omni, Control VR, and even Sony, drew in crowds that eagerly lined up to try on the new tech.
Cajudo said that he was “truly blown away” by the big push for virtual reality technology.
“I was able to [try out] the Alien Isolation game and the immersion factor made me really feel like I was being chased by a huge alien! I rounded a corner, and the alien was standing there, and I jumped out of my seat! VR is the future of gaming, and products like Oculus Rift are changing the game,” Cajudo said.
E3 has given the gaming world a brief glimpse of what the future holds. And yes, just like Microsoft said, we are all better (and excited) for it.