The Best, Worst and Weirdest of E3
What you missed while you were busy whining about not going to E3.
What you missed while you were busy whining about not going to E3.
Here’s the coolest of the cool, the weakest of the weak and the weirdest of the weird from gaming’s biggest gathering.
Best
Watch Dogs
The darling of E3 2012 absolutely needs to top this list. The new IP from Ubisoft caught everyone’s attention with its dystopian cyber-future, making you the hacker who’s out to crash the whole system…only you get to do it with friends. Innovation like this is what you hope for at E3 and why we can’t wait for 2013.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Hideo Kojima might’ve hung up his directing hat but that doesn’t mean Konami’s incredibly cinematic series’ next entry won’t push the bar of what a videogame can be. Sure, Rising focuses on Raiden and his transformation into a cyborg ninja (which might qualify it for the “weird” section) but we’re still excited for the ‘interqual’ that further fills the robust Metal Gear canon.
Assassin’s Creed 3
Ezio Auditore’s reign has, sadly, come to a close and with it goes our time sneaking around Italy. Enter Connor Kenway, Ezio’s descendant and master assassin in the colonies during the American Revolution. Weaving the game’s plot through actual historical events is what we love about the AC franchise and AC3 has set its sights on a time and place a little closer to our homes and hearts. If we can stop ourselves from hunting deer in the woods, we look forward to fighting right alongside the original Dubya, General Washington.
Worst
Sony Wonderbooks
We liked the idea behind Sony’s new interactive medium but we had a real problem with its execution and presentation at E3 and the fact that Sony seems content making it a kids-only category, alienating all the hardcore gamers that plunked down for a PSMove to make video games better. We couldn’t help but feel some “Wonder Graphic Novels” would’ve went a long way in justifying its existence. Instead, we got some wonky Harry Potter spells. Yay.
NBA Baller Beats
How the NBA actually slapped their name on Baller Beats is beyond us. The game, which is like Guitar Hero but with a ball instead of a guitar, is the poorest substitution for a pickup game of basketball we’ve ever seen. Also, have fun connecting your Xbox to that outdoor TV you keep in your driveway (you do have an outdoor TV in your driveway, don’t you?). Moms and wives across the nation will single-handedly be sabotaging Xboxes to make sure this one never gets played in the house.
Just Dance 4
Maybe it’s because we had to hear that goddamn Flo Rida song over and over during the show but even hot girls dancing along to it couldn’t help us feel that this would’ve been best as a DLC song pack and not an entirely new game. Greedy, motion-controlled scam aside…wait…that’s all Just Dance 4 is. And for that, it’s one of our worst games of E3.
Weirdest
Star Wars 1313
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQyGu4EqZsU
It’s a Star Wars game (seemingly) without any Jedi or Siths. It did look like a great bounty hunter game and we appreciate LucasArts’ decision to finally cater to mature audiences but if you’re telling us no one ever used the force to rip some sucker from testicles to chesticles, we call BS, Mr. Lucas
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
There’s really no denying that we’re excited for the next Tom Clancy namesake game but the real weirdness here comes from the fact that we’re getting another Splinter Cell BEFORE the next Rainbow Six….especially considering last year’s reveal of Rainbow Six: Patriots. We don’t respond kindly to being teased, Tom.
SmartGlass
Xbox didn’t announce a new console but they did add extra value to the one that’s already sitting on your shelf. Or did they? We’re still not sure about SmartGlass’ abilities or compatibilities – they vaguely referred to the “tablet you already own” – but it sure does seem like Microsoft might’ve just put together the ultimate iPad app if they execute it properly. The only thing weirder than iPad/Xbox unity would be a mustachioed bizarro Bill Gates.