Tomorrow (Sunday 12th June) sees E3, the ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo’, hit Los Angeles, giving fans a sneak peek at some of the biggest video game releases of the upcoming year.
E3 will see all the major players in video game industry show off their new games and hardware, to much excitement from fans. It’s usually a battleground for the two biggest companies, Sony and Microsoft, as they make a case to why they should earn your hard earned money – and Sony’s PlayStation has dominated E3 since the PS4 was announced in 2013. Microsoft will hope to win this year, by showing off their latest iteration of the Xbox One (Sony have confirmed the Expo will be PS4-less), and both companies want to win over customers by showing off their virtual reality devices in even more depth than last year.
In 2016 the excitement is bigger than ever, and some of our most devoted Edge writers have come together to say what they are most looking forward to.
FIFA 2017
It will come as no surprise to hear that EA Sports have announced they will be unveiling FIFA 17 details as part of EA’s scheduled events. While EA appear to have finally pulled ahead against Konami in the battle of football games, with FIFA 16 still outselling Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, the victory is a hollow one, as numerous people have complained about 16’s gameplay being slow, lethargic, unrealistic and overly unenjoyable. The promise of the new Frostbite engine appears to be spearheading FIFA 17, a project that EA once again will hope push them further away from PES. But on a more important level, they hope to finally appease a fanbase who have suffered far too long with poor quality games. I could do (and should do) a whole article on what needs fixing in FIFA. Let’s just hope EA finally sit up, take notice, and develop a game by the fans, for the fans, which really captures the beautiful game.
words by Robert Pratley
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is traditionally pretty quiet at E3, but its recent silence in new products has created rumours we’ll be seeing a new game from them. Between 2008-2013, they have released five games from four franchises, but since Grand Theft Auto V in 2013, they haven’t released anything. Due to time span, it makes sense we could see another entry to the Red Dead series (this has been heavily rumoured), but personally, I hope it’s either a Max Payne sequel, or a new L.A. Noire. Max Payne 3 marked the first completed Rockstar entry, and was by far the series’ best, as this dark crime thriller set in sunny Sao Paolo was accompanied by great third-person gunplay. I would love another chapter in this great action hero’s story.
L.A. Noire was a truly revolutionary experience; a classic noir story, set in the open world of 1947 Los Angeles. It utilised impressive motion capture technology (performed by the majority of the Mad Men cast), to allow the player, a detective, to interview suspects of a crime and determine whether their responses were genuine or false. As the first video game ever honoured at the Tribeca Film Festival, it was a truly cinematic experience, and it would be fascinating to see what direction the game could go in next. For instance, I’d personally like it to move to 1990s California.
words by Conor Kavanagh
Legend of Zelda
A month ago Nintendo announced that they will not be hosting a full E3 presentation this year, but will instead be spending the conference streaming a single game. This came as quite the shock, as Nintendo has hosted an E3 show every year since the expo began; but the one game they have decided to focus on has the potential to turn into one of Nintendo’s best games yet.
The as of now untitled Legend of Zelda game, for the Wii U, was unveiled with a short teaser trailer, back in 2014. The sprawling open world seen in the footage looked far better than anything we’ve seen so far from the console, looking more like a watercolour painting than a game setting. Beyond this, promises from the series’ lead developer that the newest entry will revolutionise the Zelda formula make this an exciting time to be a fan of the game. Getting a good look at it is certainly one of the most exciting things on the E3 programme, and for Nintendo to commit their entire presence at the Expo to Zelda hints that it’s been worth the wait.
words by Josh Nicholson
Lego Dimensions
Ahead of E3 this weekend, LEGO has released a new trailer for its ‘toys to life’ game, LEGO Dimensions. This massive expansion features many popular franchises, including Harry Potter, the new all female Ghostbusters film (in addition to the existing Ghostbusters pack), Adventure Time, Mission: Impossible and The A-Team. Sonic the Hedgehog, Powerpuff Girls and E.T are also scheduled to be released in the coming months to add to the game. These new packs will add to the types of gameplay available, with ‘Battle Arenas’, and local four-player multiplayer.
The new packs will begin to launch on 27th September 2016, with the packs expected to be released in staggered batches through the next year, in a very similar way to the initial game release. It will be interesting to see if anything else will be announced about the game at the conference itself, with many fans hoping for additional story levels to be added to the game, in light of the additional characters announced in this trailer.
words by Rebecca James
Disney
With the discontinuation of Disney Infinity, Disney have stated they are no longer developing games themselves, instead offering their properties to be used by other studios. Now, they own two huge film franchises, Star Wars and Marvel, both of which haven’t been shown enough love in the video game world recently. EA have the exclusive rights to Star Wars, and, while hated by many, their 2015 release of Star Wars Battlefront is one of my favourite shooters. EA have recently said they have multiple Star Wars games in production, and the most anticipated of these has to be the one being made by Amy Hennig. She was one of the driving forces behind the first three Uncharted games, but left the fourth to work on Star Wars. The thought of a Star Wars game in the cinematic style of Uncharted is exciting to anyone, and hopefully we will get a glimpse at it in the EA press conference.
Marvel have not had a critically acclaimed triple-A game in years. Considering most of the Marvel characters belong to Disney, it is unthinkable that they aren’t letting a studio make a high budget superhero game. What I would personally like to see is Netflix’s Daredevil have a game similar to the Batman Arkham series, which was developed by Rocksteady Studios. It is the perfect fit for this type of game, with Daredevil being an easily adaptable video game protagonist due to his prowess in combat and free running. The dark universe of Daredevil would be perfect for a team like Rocksteady to really delve into. I also wouldn’t mind games starring the Punisher, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier, Iron Man or Captain America.
words by Conor Kavanagh
Resident Evil 7?
This one’s got a big ol’ question mark next to it, as it’s pure speculation at this point. After the disaster that was Resident Evil 6, Capcom have been keeping quiet about when we are getting the next instalment of the horror/adventure franchise. Though it has been long speculated that we would hear about Resident Evil 7 at this year’s E3, recent reports have been doubtful, suggesting that Capcom are more likely to announce yet another spin-off to the franchise. But how good would it be if they pulled a big surprise on us all, and announced it for 2017? Here’s to hoping…
words by James Barker
Crash Bandicoot??
This one’s even more unlikely to happen. It’s almost impossible, it’s so unlikely. Of course, there really is only one thing I want from E3. When Activision do their press release, I want them to announce the new Crash Bandicoot game. Sony have seen success with the Ratchet and Clank reboot this year, and this is the perfect time to capitalise on their games of old. Crash Bandicoot was so easy to play, so fun, and yet so infuriatingly difficult at times. It was all bright colours, simple controls, addictive gameplay, and immersive worlds. Not the best storylines sure, but still a very easy ride, not to mention a fun one. Add to the voice actor rumours, and the Amazon advert that promoted the new game – it has to happen right? Right?! (Please, please, don’t put Crash in Skylanders. You already made Spyro do that, don’t make Crash do it too.)
words by Robert Pratley
E3 coverage is broadcast live at IGN.com/E3, this Sunday (12th June 2016).
