E3: Sony – Buy / Rent / Skip Destiny Buy – Bungie made Halo and they are following up their success with another FPS franchise. This time they are starting off with an epic scope and going multiplatform, which is a win for Sony. This game will focus on teamwork, loot and set the foundation for a ten-year franchise (or at least Activision hopes). I’ve already pre-ordered a copy and am still excited about each announcements. The Order: 1886 Buy – This is one of the best looking games shown at E3. The steampunk, supernatural vibe is done well throughout this trailer and gameplay footage. Unfortunately, I believe that this game is still farther away than Sony would care to admit. Entwined Skip – Players control two characters (one with each analog stick) through 9 lifetimes (levels). The game looks well done and artistic, but controlling two characters at the same time break my brain during puzzles, can’t imagine having to go through that while avoid objects. It was great that it was available to buy as it was announced. Infamous: First Light Buy – Fetch was my least favorite character within Second Son, and we already know her story so there isn’t anything compelling with going through a prequel. Except for the fact that Second Son plays extremely well. More levels is always a good thing and Sony is being generous to everyone because the disk is not required to play this standalone DLC. Little Big Planet 3 Skip – More characters does not mean that the game is any better. Sackboy has always suffered from ‘floaty’ gameplay and odd controls to solve the puzzles. This entry looks to continue that trend as the presenters themselves miss jumps and have to go through things multiple times. It is interesting for fans to go through the game and be different instead of four Sackboys. Bloodborne Skip – The spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls. I didn’t like that game or the Dark Souls sequels. They are well done and look amazing. If enjoyed any of the previous entries, this promises to be more…only better. Far Cry 4 Buy – If you’ve been following the ratings for Far Cry’s other appearances, you might have noticed that it was bumped to Buy. This gameplay footage looks amazing. There are so many options available to players. Plus, you can have non-FC4 owners join the game and be part of your experience. Dead Island 2 Skip – Never played the first two Dead Island games, and don’t think I will be going for this second one. The reveal trailer is all CG and no gameplay. The tone is silly and reminds me of Dead Rising 3. Battlefield: Hardline Skip – This game has nothing in common with other Battlefield games but is more akin to the Payday series. Players control robbers attempting to complete a heist or cops out to thwart them. The game has a large variety of weapons and will support multiple game modes. Magicka 2 Skip – This game looks horrible. Like a bad PS2 rip off of Gauntlet. Grim Fandango Rent– I never played the original. My Twitter feed blew up when this was revealed so it sounds like there is something that I am missing. Let it Die Skip – Well that trailer was extremely violent. Nothing looked like gameplay as it was live action shots but still kind of a disturbing take. Abzu Rent – More like Abstract…am I right. I have no idea what this game is about or what’s going on. I guess that is kind of the point because they referenced Journey which had a similar artsy approach. No Man’s Sky Rent – New IPs are always exciting and this one got the crowd’s going. It appears to be a game about journeying and observation. Players jump into a spaceship to explore worlds, travel the galaxy and fight other larger ships. On each planet, the character jumps out and explores the wild life. The exact goal is still unknown. Mortal Kombat X Skip – This game looks amazing (which is a trend I’m sensing in these current-gen releases). I loved the footage of battles sans-HUD. The reason I’m skipping this is because I already have one fighting game franchise in my life and I don’t have room for another. It’s Street Fighter if you were curious. Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain Skip – Lol…what the hell is going on in this game. Hideo Kojima is able to out Hideo Kojima himself with this trailer. Snake has a robotic arm? Snake rubs ashes of soldiers on himself like a crack addict? MGS has amazing gameplay but the story is complete rubbish at this point. Grand Theft Auto V Skip – Didn’t Rockstar say that they weren’t working on a PS4 version of this game? Those liars won’t get any money from me. GTA is a large expansive game that I feel only needs to be played once. The ability to transfer online saves from PS3 AND 360 to the PS4 is a huge win. Batman: Arkham Knight Buy – Yes, yes, yes! This is what E3 should be focused around, gameplay footage. Arkham Knight is well polished and looks amazing. Rocksteady came out of nowhere and created the best Batman game ever. They followed up by making an even better game. I hope that the third entry crushes their previous efforts and from this footage they are well on their way. Uncharted: A Thief’s End Buy – I was surprised that they were willing to put a 2015 date on this release (it will probably be 2016. I was even more surprised at how amazing Nathan Drake looked in this cinematic. Uncharted has always been one of the best looking series on the PS3 and it looks to be the most visually impressive on the PS4 as well. I don’t care what the foreshadowing, title and fans think; this is not the end of the series but the beginning of a new trilogy. Level Up, Friends!
