I’ve predicted what I think might be the big announcements of E3 2010. But there’s plenty happening next week that we already know about. Here are the games I’m looking forward to seeing.
There will be hundreds of games shown at E3 next week. Hundreds that we already know about, plus plenty of those that we don’t. Narrowing down such a field to just ten titles wasn’t easy. But if I could only see ten games at E3, it’d be these ten.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The original was my game of the decade. Now under new management at Eidos Montreal, where it must be remembered this will be their first ever release as a studio, Deus Ex 3 has an awful lot riding on it. The couple of teaser trailers we’ve seen so far show muchy promise, at least in terms of the art direction. But I just want to see the game.
The Last Guardian
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus took us to places – of poetic virtual landscapes and poignant emotional resonance – that videogames had rarely taken us before. Team ICO’s third game looks, to judge by the footage from last year’s E3, equally as filled with moments of awe, wonder and tenderness.
Epic Mickey
The man who was executive producer on my game of the decade is heading up the creation of a 3D platformer on the Wii. I couldn’t be more sceptical, yet Warren Spector is adamant this Disney story will maintain the same degrees of choice and player-authorship that defined Deus Ex.
Fallout: New Vegas
It’s all about the Hardcore mode, for me. Surviving the wasteland will be all the more satisfying when you have to conserve every drop of water and when every bullet carries weight. And it’s about Chris Avellone, the man primarily responsible for the genius writing of Planescape: Torment and of course the Fallout Bible, now heading up this sequel’s design.
Something from thatgamecompany
Who? Jenova Chen and his colleagues at thatgamecompany made Flow and then Flower. They have a three-game deal with Sony to create arty, downloadable titles for the PlayStation Network. I want to know what they’re doing next.
LittleBigPlanet 2
So, we’re not just designing levels this time, we’re designing entire games? And they’re not just platform games, they’re games of almost any genre? Really? The editing tools were the part LBP got wrong – they were too fiddly, too complex. I’m fascinated to see just how Media Molecule plan to pull this off.
Something from Valve
Portal 2? Episode 3? A new Counter-Strike? More Left 4 Dead? More Team Fortress? Perhaps even Half-Life 3… Who knows what Valve has in store for us. But, hey, it’s Valve. It’s going to be awesome, whatever it is.
de Blob 2
Possibly the most underrated game this generation, certainly on the Wii, de Blob is a personal favourite of mine. I adored everything about it, from the dizzying colours to the groovy soundtrack to the subversive political undertones. I’ve heard plenty of good things aobut the sequel and I can’t wait to finally play it.
Scribblenauts 2
Undoubtedly the best – and most inventive – game concept of last year. Yet Scribblenauts’ potential for endless amusement was undone by an awkward control scheme and a feeling of randomness in the way things interacted. I’m hopeful that 5th Cell have learned the right lessons and this will be the polished gem we hoped the original was going to be.
Something from Rare
Once upon a time, Rare made great games. And they sold lots of copies. Today, there’s a sense we don’t know who Rare are any more. They still make good games (Viva Pinata and Nuts & Bolts were really good), but they don’t sell lots of copies. Microsoft seems to have positioned them firmly in the casual camp, whipping up Xbox Live avatars and god knows what on Natal. I just want to know what Rare is doing.
I’d written this post last week. Then yesterday, my friend Jason Hill over at the Screen Play blog totally ripped me off posted his own “most anticipated” list. Take a look at his list, too. Looks like we have a fair bit in common. Although I should tell him that Arkham Asylum 2 and LA Noire are apparently not going to be at the show.
It’ll be interesting to see if my picks here match up with my picks for best of show I’ll publish when I get back to Sydney.
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