E3 most wanted 2015

The past two weeks were quite busy for many gamers. Not only was the Steam Summer Sale in full swing, there was also a steady flow of news coming out of the E3.
Many of the big developers came out with new games or big updates of games that were already announced beforehand. So I have been keeping tabs on some titles and other titles were added on my E3 most wanted list.
I think it’s safe to say that the remainder of 2015 and the upcoming 2016 is going to be an exciting time for gamers.

So here are the games that were shown and are marked with “I need this” on my list. There are more  titles than the few I mentioned here but I chose to focus on the ones who have managed to grab my attention the most.

E3 Most Wanted

Horizon Zero Dawn – PS4
Release: 2016
This game has me hyped up even though it has been only recently announced. Horizon Zero Dawn is a new IP from Guerilla Games ( Killzone) and is a PS4 exclusive.
When it was announced at the Sony Press conference I was excited to see so many exciting features all bundled up in a game. So far it showed  Aloy, a female character, who hunts dino/robot hybrids in a lush post apocalyptic open world. Supported by beautiful music and powerful visuals I was immediately excited for the game and to be able to play it. From what I saw from the trailer and the gameplay it looks like something that’s right up my alley. From what we have been told the game offers you a lot of freedom and involves a rich system to craft your own weapons.  Combine that with having a female protagonist, the design of the dinobots, the overall atmosphere in the game and it had already made my E3 Most Wanted list. And to be fair seeing a kick ass female in a game like this is use the cherry on top of the ice cream pile.
Also I never ever cosplayed before as I didn’t think I would suit the craft. But ever since seeing the first trailer, I have decided that I will do my utmost best to cosplay Aloy.

 

Mass Effect: AndromedaPC, PS4, XboxOne
Release: Holidays 2016
We knew that a new Mass Effect was coming but we knew nothing about when it was going to be announced, what it was about and for which systems.
But at this E3 a lot of that became clear with the official announcement of Mass Effect Andromeda. Which doesn’t take place during the First Contact Wars as many thought but takes place long after the original Mass Effect Trilogy.
Again we can choose between making a human male or female player character and we get to drive an upgraded version of the Mako. But what was a bigger suprise is that it seems we will be exploring an entire new galaxy of planets called Andromeda. So that probably means new species and new strange surroundings to explore.
Like most Bioware game we will have a team again that supports us in our missions and we get potential love interests as well. Since it is being built in the new Frostbite 3 enigine I can’t wait to see what the graphics going to be like. The engine did look amazing in the last Dragon Age and I have high hopes for this game.
But other news is scarce and we will probably have to wait until Gamescom for more information.

In the meantime I am keeping my fingers crossed that it indeed will be like Dragon Age Inquisition. That game was gorgeous and even now still keeps me and my friends entertained. And I hope that they learned from the fallout of the last 2-3 hours in Mass Effect 3. Because other than that the previous Mass Effect was just fantastic.

 

Star Wars: the Old Republic – Knights of the Fallen Empire – PC
Release: 27th October 2015
Much to my surprise Knights of the Fallen Empire was announced for the Star Wars: the Old Republic (SWTOR) MMO.
I knew there was going to some news about a new expansion but after the seeing the trailer and hearing what they were going to do? I was actually more excited than I had ever expected,
As a big MMO player and  a huge Star Wars fan I always had a weak spot for this game. Not only could you play two entirely different sides of the Republic/ Empire conflict. But it also gave you personal stories based on your class and added ways to respond to NPC’s that would affect whether the world saw you as good or evil. As a player you would also get companions that would help the character in their rise to the top and who could become a friend or even a romantic option if you wanted.

One of things that I missed is that unlike in other Bioware games there were little to no consequences in the game for the actions you took. And while choices could change the resolutions of quests and stories, there was no real sense of story impact.
In the past there have been smaller expansions but they didn’t offer much personal story or any real new companions. So that was something I really missed and I could only hope that it would change. It seems that is going to happen as we get new companions, we can even betray them. And we get new story where this time the choices we make have bigger and more long lasting impacts. Furthermore the content will be released over a couple of story chapters so every now and then we can progress the storylines and see where the adventure is going to take us. All in all they promised us some genuine Bioware cinematic storytelling and I am all for that!
And let’s be honest.. the trailer.
I can’t wait to start the expansion, level my Sith Inquisitor and force lightning the Sith/Jedi wannabe in the trailer until he knows his place.

 

Star Wars Battlefront – PC, PS4, XboxOne
Release: 17th of November 2015

The reboot of the popular Star Wars Battlefront series will finally be released just before the Star Wars: the Force Awakens hit the theatres. And I am very much looking forward to it.
In this game you play a character in the Star Wars universe who is a part of one of the many conflicts out of the movies. You can make a choice between either playing a member of the Rebel Alliance or an Imperial trooper which enables you to experience certain conflicts out of the POV’s from both involved parties.
The vast majority of the game is meant to be a multi-player affair where you can join other gamers in huge 40 man combat maps (much like the Battlefield franchise). There is a small single player option in which you have to defend yourself against waves of AI controlled enemies. So if you hoped for a single player story campaign it seems you will be disappointed. You can play co-op missions with others but being a hero all alone is not going to happen.
I was really psyched to see so many of the weapons and vehicles from the Star Wars universe. From the DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle and grenades, to land-speeders and X-wings. But to be fair the “forced” multi-player aspect did dampen my mood a bit. Because the danger with games like that is the the community can make or break a game based on their interaction with each other and potential new players. So I hope Dice is aware of that and takes steps to make sure the player environment stays healthy.

 

Final Fantasy VII  Remake – PS4
Release: 2017?
Okay the news when this title was announced was really hard to miss for most gamers. And even harder for me as a lot of my friends have been freaking out about this reveal ever since the Sony press conference. But yes, at long last the Final Fantasy VII remake has been officially announced and everyone is hyped up.
And to be fair, why shouldn’t they? For years people hoped and asked for a remake of one of the most beloved RPG games. But time and time again they were told that it wasn’t going to happen as it required too many resources. Luckily it seems that they came back on that decision and decided to give gamers what they wanted.
Not much is known so far, only that they already working hard on the title and that we will be able to play it somewhere in the future. But even with so little to go on, many gamers are just happy it was announced in the first place.
All I hope is that they stay close to the original script and incorporate voice acting in the game. But besides that I will be just be happy that I can relive my memories of when I was a young gamer and this game chased the gloom of the rainy afternoons away.

 

Disney Infinity 3.0 – PC, PS4, XboxOne, Android, IOS.
Release: 3rd Quarter of 2015
Okay, I will not lie… I play Disney Infinity 2.0. and I really enjoy it.
When it was first introduced I wasn’t too interested and the whole first generation passed me by. Until the 2nd generation was announced and one of my co-workers explained how cool the game was and how many possibilities it had. The game happened to be on sale for the PS4 and now a few months later I own several figures and work my way through all characters unlocks.
So when the Star Wars edition was first hinted at and later on announced, I was immediately making plans to start a Star wars collection. Even better is that the release will be spread over three play-sets. We have the Twilight of the Republic set around Attack of the Clones and the Clone war tv show. After that we get the Rise Against the Empire with the storylines from the original trilogy. And  the last play-set is the The Force Awakens for which no information is available yet.
I was happily surprised to see the inclusion of Star Wars Rebels as figures
The only thing is that there seem to be a lot of heroes being released as figures and very few Villains. And if anything Star Wars is known for it’s their cool and much beloved cast of villains. So I hope more will be announced or we will get many of them as NPC in the game. I would love to see Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress or Agent Kallus, Grand Moff Tarkin, etc. And I hope they keep up the steady release of female figures. As this time we get Sabine Wren, Ashoka and Leia. Perhaps as NPC’s Ventress , Clone Wars Amidala and Hera would be excellent additions as well.
As for the non Star Wars figures, we will get Olaf (Frozen), the cast from Inside Out, Mulan and figures from the Avengers as well as Tron.

These games are not the only ones I am excited about but they did leave a big impression on me. There also other games which I am looking forward too and which news and progress I follow.
Fallout 4, which I covered previously here. My order for the pipboy edition has already been made.
Rise of the Tomb Raider, this is an Xbox timed exclusive and sadly  I don’t own the Xbox-one yet. So I will have to wait a bit longer until I can play it. But A new Tomb Raider game and the story written by Rhianna Pratchett? I am looking forward to it.
Uncharted 4, I loved the previous titles and this one looks awesome as well. What they showed at the E3

I hope some of these games will show up at Gamescom in August so I can take a closer look and hopefully find out even more information.

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