Reviews
E3
It’s that time of year again, and E3 begins on June 9th. In only one week LA will be crawling with game developers, press and players as the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo begins again. If you have never heard of the show, it’s basically 4 days where developers have a chance to show off their games at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Console manufacturers and publishers will set up booths, allowing journalists and guest’s to play games months before their release. The real attraction of E3 comes from the Press Conferences and similar events, where the curtain is pulled back on the next year’s new titles. Titles like Watch Dogs and Bioshock Infinite became instant hits when they debuted at E3, proving a great performance at the show can kick-start a game’s success like nothing else.
But what about this year? What games are confirmed to be their? When are these Press Conferences and where can I watch them? Should you be going? These are the questions we want to answer, so without any further ado, here is a quick intro to E3 2014.
To begin, let’s talk about when the press conferences are and how you can watch them. These are the selling point for E3, when all eyes are on some of the biggest names in gaming and it’s either put up or shut up. Last year we saw Sony and Jack Trenton steal the show, more-so than anyone had in years. Microsoft used the stage to try and recapture their fanbase who had just been cold-shouldered weeks earlier. These press conferences determine how the next year worth of coverage will look from journaler’s and fans. These are the times when everything can change, conversation’s can change from ‘They don’t know what they are doing’ to ‘I can’t believe they just did that!’ for better and worse. The interesting part is that almost every company holding a press conference has a different method for doing so.
First up is Microsoft, who kicks things off on June 9th at 12:30pm (All times are in Eastern). Microsoft’s strategy has been to be the first thing you see from E3, hoping that their announcement stick with you throughout the day. If you want to watch it, then you have a few options. For those in the US and Canada, Spike TV will be showing the event live. Online you can watch it through Xbox.com, Xbox Live and Windows Phones.
Following Microsoft will be EA at 3pm. EA’s will also be on Spike TV, with streams on their website and Twitch as well. Then at 6pm, Aisha Tyler hosts Ubisoft’s presser for a third straight year. For the past two years, Ubisoft has managed to garner a ton of attention due to some high profile announcements, namely Watch Dogs back in 2012 and The Division in 2013. Hopefully Ubisoft manages to surprise us again, but that remains to be seen. Rounding out the day, Sony hits the stage at 9pm. After last years blockbuster performance everyone has high expectation for this year’s presentation, a downside to blowing away the competition.
For those who want to see the conference, Sony is offering a number of options. As with the others, numerous streams will be available online through Playstation’s site, This year they are also showing it in over 40 theaters across America, with freebies to all who attend. Nintendo goes last, and for the second year in a row they are doing things their own way.
A Nintendo-Direct, view able from Nintendo’s website, will be on June 10th at 12, just before the show floor opens to the public. After all these announcements, gamers will flood into the LA Center to get there hands on all the newly revealed games. If you want a preview of how these events happen, click these links to check out Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s from last year.
The complete list is sure to include both blockbusters and duds as E3 is home to both the best and… not the best. Here is the list, ordered by the console and then alphabetical, of games confirmed for E3. (Updated Games can be seen below) (A Question mark indicates that a game has been talked about for E3, but not official confirmed.)
For Nintendo, the list is as follows;
Wii U
Chariot
Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition
Hyrule Warriors
The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)
Sonic Boom
Super Smash Brothers
3DS
Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (Not Confirmed, but highly likely)
Sonic Boom
Super Smash Brothers
And Now on to Sony,
PS4
Aliens: Isolation
Assassin’s Creed Unity (?)
Batman: Arkham Knight
Chariot
Deep Down
Defense Grid 2
Destiny
Dragon Age: Inquisition
EA’s UFC
The Evil Within
Evolve
Far Cry 4
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Kingdom Hearts 3 (?)
Lord of the Fallen
Mad Max (?)
Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain
Metro: Redux
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Mirror’s Edge 2 (?)
Natural Doctrine
NHL 15
The Order: 1886 (?)
Star Wars Battlefront
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Uncharted
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
PS3
Alien: Isolation
An Assassin’s Creed Game (?)
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel (?)
Destiny
Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Evil Within
Fairy Fencer F
Far Cry 4
Hatsune Miku – Project DIVA- F 2nd
Mad Max
Metal Gear: Phantom Pain
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Natural Doctrine
NHL 15
Persona 5 (?)
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Xblaze Code Embryo
PS Vita
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Disgaea 4
Hatsune Miku – Project DIVA- F 2nd
Natural Doctrine
Xblaze Code Embryo
Here are Microsoft’s confirmed titles,
Xbox One
Aliens: Isolation
Assassin’s Creed Unity (?)
Batman: Arkham Knight
Below
Chariot
Defense Grid 2
Destiny
Dragon Age: Inquisition
EA’s UFC
The Evil Within
Evolve
Fable Legends
Fantasia Music Evolved
Far Cry 4
Forza Horizons 2
Halo 5: The Guardian
Possible Halo Collection (?)
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Kingdom Hearts 3 (?)
Lord of the Fallen
Mad Max (?)
Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain
Metro: Redux
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Mirror’s Edge 2 (?)
NHL 15
Quantum Break
Star Wars Battlefront
Sunset Overdrive
Tom Clancy’s The Division
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Far Cry 4
Forza Horizon 2
Mad Max (?)
Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Xbox 360
Alien: Isolation
An Assassin’s Creed Game (?)
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel (?)
Destiny
Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition
Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Evil Within
Fantasia Music Evolved
Far Cry 4
Forza Horizon 2
Mad Max (?)
Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain
NHL 15
Project Spark
World of Tanks
And lastly PC,
Aliens: Isolation
Assassins’s Creed Unity
Batman Arkham Knight
BattleCry
Battlefield Hardline
Below
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel
Broforce
Chariot
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Defense Grid 2
Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Elite Dangerous
The Evil Within
Evolve
Far Cry 4
Grey Goo
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Lords of the Fallen
Mad Max (?)
Metro: Redux
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Mirror’s Edge 2
Not a Hero
Project Spark
The Sims 4
Star Wars Attack Squadrons
Star Wars Battlefront
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Warhammer 40K: The Eternal Crusade
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
World of Tanks
Updates:
Homefront: The Revolution- PS4, Xbox One, PC
Mortal Kombat X- PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Battlefield: Hardline- PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
That’s a lot of games for a variety of consoles, and more importantly a lot of games to check out. For highlights of these games and all of E3 be sure to check back with VgamerZ throughout next week.
