Next-gen gaming is a strange animal in its early days, as often times the best the last generation has to offer comes out right before (as we are very much seeing this year) whereas developers are still trying to get their footing when it comes to developing for the new systems, and as such don’t always produce experiences that truly exhibit the power and potential of these new machines.
There are exceptions of course (“Soulcalibur,” “Halo,” and “Mario 64” jump to mind) but more than often, the above conundrum tends to be the case.
My impressions of the pending next-gen fell in line with that problem, as while certain games shown certainly look to be incredible on their own full merits, in terms of graphical capabilities, I didn’t see anything from E3 or elsewhere that gave us a true visual idea of what we can expect.
However, it turns out that may have been the result of having to view blurry, second hand versions of all the footage, as Eurogamer has the 60FPS HD version of the “Metal Gear Solid 5” trailer, and it looks absolutely incredible.
Unfortunately the video is too high quality to be uploaded properly, but by proceeding here (or here for the 720p version) you can view it in all of its glory. Just know that it takes some respectable performance power to run them uninterrupted.
Now obviously some of the footage is from cinematics, and therefore not trustworthy when it comes to representing quality. However, the parts that are clearly gameplay show a level of detail and clarity that is simply not possible on this generation of console hardware. Looking at only the gameplay sections, you could make the reasonable argument that MGS5 is the most technically impressive game of all time.
Also, interestingly enough, the pursuit of 60 FPS has been around since the original Playsation days, but never became the industry standard for all releases due in large part to the rise of HD gaming making it more difficult, and somewhat less necessary. The team behind “MGS5” want to make it standard for their game though, which may indicate a shift in the rest of the industry is soon to follow in terms of AAA releases, and if so will only increase the amount of eye candy available for gamers in the years to come.
As an old school fan of pro wrestling, I’ve always found a guilty pleasure in the WWE video games.
Sure they’re great multiplayer titles that offer enough freedom and modes for anyone to lose hours to, but in the end they are games meant for the fans.
To that end though, there have always been some nagging problems and missing features that have kept the games from being the ultimate fan service to the faithful of that most bizarre sports entertainment hybrid. While there are a few larger issues that could definitely be improved (*cough* for the love of God better A.I. *cough*), these are five smaller things I’d love to see in the recently announced WWE 2K14 and beyond.
5. Create-a-Submission
The best thing about the WWE games is their ability to allow you to customize just about anything to an absolutely insane amount of detail. Want a 500 lb woman with a mullet to come out to “Freebird” while wearing a custom championship belt to defend at your own custom PPV? You can do that.
However one aspect of the game, submission moves, have always gotten the shaft. Sure, it’d be great if they were more dynamic and destructive than they are now, but realistically I’d just love the option to create my own maneuvers, much like you can create finishers. It would require a little more “outside the box” programing considering you’d have to play around with ragdoll physics to make it work, but it’s the lack of those kind of dynamic options that have made these games feel stale recently.
Submissions may not be a huge part of wrestling, but they are there and the next WWE game would do well to cater more towards fans of them.
4. Smoother Chain Moves
Chain wrestling is a term used in pro-wrestling to specify wrestlers who are able to flow from one maneuver to another without really much pause between them. While popular amongst high-fliers, more and more wrestlers have incorporated this exciting style into their matches.
The WWE games have always been lacking in this department however. It used to be excusable as the technology of the time only permitted for the “Grapple, do a move. Grapple, do a move” system, but we’re well beyond that tech now, and are still subject to the same plodding style. It would be great if there was more situation awareness to the controls, so you wouldn’t have to experience superfluous, and often janky, animations when stringing together simple moves.
It would admittedly take a complete overhaul to fix this entirely, but it would be nice if there was more of an element of this in the next title.
3. Better Commentary
For years, wrestling games had no audio commentary, so when the feature was finally incorporated, most were so grateful they excused the repetitive and dull nature of it.
Yet, much like animation, here we are years later and still subject to the same repetitive and dull commentary. It’s bad enough when you hear the same lines over and over, but when you play the new games annually, you rarely hear any lines not used in previous installments. There is a level of that in all sports games, but I’ve never heard one as bad as the WWE games, and it really takes you out of the environment, or forces you to turn the commentary off entirely.
While dynamic commentary and more realistic banter would be great, really all anyone is asking here is for some fresh dialogue in each new installment, and some less mechanical “one take” readings.
2. A More Historic Roster
Along with its heavy customization options, the thing fans have appreciated most about the WWE games are the comprehensive rosters, which feature not just a host of modern day superstars, but legends of the past as well.
One thing that’s always bugged me though is that the legends rarely go beyond WWE stars of the past, and even then don’t often go past the Hulk Hogan era.
Granted this may be a licensing issue, but considering the WWE basically owns the rights to the majority of wrestling history, its time the roster reflects lesser celebrated stars of times gone past from other organizations. Sure, not all fans may jump for joy at the chance to play as, say, Buddy Rodgers, but no one will complain about more wrestlers on the roster, and the old-school fans would love it.
1. WAR GAMES!!!!!
The War Games match sees two rings joined surrounded by a large cage. Two teams of 4-5 enter one at a time at set intervals until all men are in the ring. From there, the first man to make another from the opposing team quit or submit wins it for his team.
It’s the most unique and incredible match type ever devised for pro wrestling, and has, to my knowledge, never been in a video game. While a WCW creation, considering that WWE owns their rights now, and even have a War Games DVD on the way this year, now would be the perfect time for the most wanted of all match types to finally make its debut.
Specifically the Xbox One will now no longer restrict the sale and use of used games, and game buying and sharing will work largely as it has this previous generation, including maintaining the classic game use archetype of just sticking a disc in the console. They’ve also dropped the unpopular measure that would ask you to “check in” online once every 24 hours, regardless of if you’re actually playing online or not.
Considering the set the world on fire kind of hatred these and other Xbox One policies drew, you’d think this announcement would be met with a shower of rose petals and a loud and proud declaration from the Microsoft faithful, and gamers everywhere, that the console war is on once more.
Instead the reaction is more…interesting.
See it turns out that very vocal gaming group who spoke so adamantly against the Xbox One’s features, are now many of the same gamers who are taking to message boards on sites around the web, and are complaining about Microsoft’s lack of conviction, or how this still changes nothing for the more expensive console. The most interesting argument though, best vocalized by Gizmodo, comes from the once silent minority that now loudly argue that some of the same policies Microsoft was villainized for, were actually potentially great ideas.
To understand this sudden turnaround of emotion, you have to take into account the pride gamers have.
See, people don’t brag about what brand of microwave they own, nor does the maker of your Blu-Ray player incite many flame wars. But who makes your video game console? That does matter to people. People attach themselves to a system and react personally to any successes, or failures, endured along the way. The most vocal of which are described as fanboys, but really every gamer takes some sort of stance on the console they chose.
It’s a timeless tradition that may be occasionally entertaining, but is also very tiring. The fact is that if the average consumer could afford to buy all video game consoles, they would. That they can’t is a big reason that pride exists in the way it does.
The Xbox One changed things though. It gave people a villain. A black hated system that the average gamer could point to and say “That’s the bad guy!” Gaming has not really had something like that on the level of the Xbox One, and there was a certain comfort people took in decreeing the PS4 the champion of the people.
Now, it doesn’t matter that Microsoft listened to the complaints and gave people what they seemingly wanted, because all they did was test people’s pride, and force them to react in ways that don’t make them back down from the once so clear views of the console battlefield that existed not long ago. A large number of people not only invested their money in backing the PS4 early, but that pride as well.
The thing is this though. Sometimes, determining the villain is a matter of perspective. If Microsoft had truly believed that their policies would win people over in the end, no amount of heat would have forced them to abandon their beliefs, and they would have (albeit slowly) reaped the rewards of putting out a system they could stand behind and fully support. They would have ceased to be the villain, and would have become the battle tested hero…the only thing people love more than a golden boy.
If that wasn’t the case though, then make no mistake that Microsoft made the smart business decision to change their policies. However, if they hoped that they would be carried on the shoulders of the populace all the way to the throne in doing so, they have underestimated the pride of gamers. What’s worse is that very pride now forces those same gamers to question if a company that can make such major changes to their system based on knee jerk impressions, has any pride of their own.
There is a story in the new indie game “Gunpoint,” but even though it’s nicely presented, and the dialogue is pretty good, I’m not sure I could relay it to you in any interesting or captivating way. Initially I found this disheartening, but considering one of the key features of the game on Steam is “all story stuff is skippable,” I don’t think the developer intended that to be the focus.
Instead the focus would have to be the perfectly executed gameplay that sees you play a freelance spy who takes missions to infiltrate various institutions, and often eliminate those in his path. Thanks to some handy gadgets that allow you to rework the wiring of a building though, even the most impenetrable fortress quickly becomes your personal playground should you be able to figure out the mini-puzzles of what items, should perform what functions, at what time, to put you in prime position to take out your foes and secure your objective.
It’s such a brilliant and novel idea, that mixes well with a more visceral and violent element reminiscent of “Hotline Miami” which allows you to tackle guards out of high story breakable windows, or just beating them to a pulp, and provides one of the more complete gameplay experiences in recent memory, as it caters to every intelligent need, and primal desire, the average gamer looks for. The possibility of this type of game was suggested by titles like “Lemmings,” “Oddworld,” or even good old “Mouse Trap,” but never, ever pulled off to this degree of success.
What I’m saying is play it. Play it now, tell your friends, and thank me later should you ever be able to pull yourself away.
But more to the point, as gleaming as the gameplay of “Gunpoint” is, it does have a story that matters. It’s just that, in this case, it’s not the one you get in the game.
Instead the story that matters concerns the game’s developer Tom Francis and his shocking revelation that “Gunpoint” took only $30 to create (an amount recouped about a minute after the game went on sale) and, as pointed out by some pretty hilarious graphs, is so successful that Tom can now live his dream, and quit his day job to develop games full time.
More than that though, he says that he can do so with virtually unlimited creative freedom, and on his own timetable. Interestingly, he also contributes most of this success to the pre-release demo of the game which some insisted would hurt him financially, but instead gave “Gunpoint” recognition in places it would have never reached before. Tom insists he will always release a free demo beforehand from now on and, in case any major developers are listening, notes that its simply just the way he wants to treat people.
Due to the sheer quality of the final product, “Gunpoint” would have to be considered a success even if it wasn’t one of the most profitable games of all time. Because of those extra elements to this story though, “Gunpoint” is also successful on a human level as it’s a tale of of how far the right man, with the right attitude, and the right idea can go, not to mention the unlimited creative potential this still very young artform known as gaming possesses.
It’s a shame then that amongst the twenty-four hour gaming newscycle that so often includes negative press, dry industry press releases, and the “same old, same old,” that this story of the power and potential of an individual creator may be lost, if it even gets a chance at all.
Luckily though, even if the story is forgotten, “Gunpoint” itself is unforgettable and will always somehow stand as the manifestation of those greater ideas
Sure we’ve looked at how the biggest game companies in the world fared at E3, but when you really get down to it, the expo is more about the individual games that will come to define the next year and far, far beyond.
While this year’s E3 may have been no different, it is unique from previous events in that there wasn’t that one game that clearly stood above all, but rather a host of intriguing titles that promise to bring a variety of incredible gaming experiences to this generation and the next.
That may be great for gamers, though not their wallets, but when trying to narrow down such a stacked field to only 10 titles, you open yourself up to a world of disagreement, self doubt, and the feeling that ultimately you forgot something. Nevertheless, through it all, these were the 10 best games on display at E3 2013.
10. Star Wars Battlefront – Ok, ok, this one wasn’t really on display long, and as such we know less about “Star Wars: Battlefront” than any other major game revealed at E3, but what we do know is it’s the unlikely revival of the highly underrated “Star Wars” online multiplayer series made by the same people who have been making some of those exceptional “Battlefield” games of late.
And you know what? That’s all we need. Get excited people, because this is really happening.
9. Rain – I’m a fan of unique concepts in games, because even if things don’t completely work out, you’re left with something that stands apart at the least.
In that spirit, “Rain” is already a success of some sort, as its invisible protagonist illuminated solely by the falling rain provided one of the more original visuals of the entire show, and promises to refresh the age old ideas of puzzles and platforming by building everything else around that design. “Rain” could very well be the next indie darling for the PS3 and gamers everywhere.
8. Sonic Lost Worlds – Of all the unlikely possibilities that could of occurred at E3, the biggest one that came true would have to be…well probably the return of “Battlefront.”
But right after that would be a Sonic game being the highlight of Nintendo’s showing. Sonic has had a rough fifteen years in terms of quality games, but “Sonic Lost Worlds” looks to erase that long dry spell in a big way. Sure it may take a design idea or two from “Mario Galaxy,” but with gameplay that fast and exciting, no Sonic fan (or soon to be Sonic fan) is likely to balk.
7. Evil Within – Ask any horror gaming fan what the problem with the genre is today, and they’ll likely tell you it’s the action heavy focus made popular by the revolutionary “Resident Evil 4.”
While many have promised to buck the trend, the very real gameplay shown of “Evil Within” looks to actually be doing just that. It takes all of the aspects required of a good horror game (a mix of scares, great environment, and crafty production) and builds it around an enticing story that looks to be ready to make good on that whole scaring the beejesus out of you thing gaming has been lacking of late.
6. Beyond Two Souls – We’ve known the next game from the developers of “Heavy Rain” was going to be a cinematic journey for some time now, but after the extended preview at E3 2013, it’s still clear we don’t have a grasp of exactly what it is.
While some are worried by the action heavy trailer, if Quantic Dreams can combine the subtle storytelling and literary quality character interactions of “Heavy Rain” with the surprisingly interesting action we saw in “Beyond’s” E3 preview, “Beyond Two Souls” could be much more than anyone was expecting, and make a serious game of the year run in one of the most stacked years in recent memory.
5. Titanfall – While no one is going to try to pretend the Xbox One had a great showing at E3, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t individual highlights during their presentation, particularly in the exclusives department.
Of those, “Titanfall” made the most noise, and with good reason. It’s combination of first person shooter and mech combat gameplay shown in a highly cinematic fashion (and set to some great music), was one of the more visceral reveals of the show, and even has gamers who’ve already sworn off the Xbox One keeping close tabs on it.
4. Destiny – While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Bungie a one trick pony, the developer hasn’t had much reason to veer from “Halo” in the last decade or so and flex their creative muscles.
With “Destiny” they appear to be making up for lost time by introducing some intriguing new ideas into the genre they re-shaped with “Halo” (console first person shooters), and have so far displayed a game that may be promising a lot, but continues to look better with every minute of gameplay shown. Should they be able to make good on their ideas, this could very well be the premier FPS franchise of the next generation.
3. The Division – Some games can generate hype by just breaking down their pedigree. “The Division,” an open world, online team based, post-apocalyptic shooter RPG, set in the ruins of New York, is one of those games.
But if buzzwords and genres alone don’t convince you, then surely its extended gameplay demonstration will, as it shows a massive online shooter in the style of an apocalyptic “Arma II” with enticing futuristic features like tablet support, but still based upon the classic idea that shooting with friends is fun. This is an incredibly ambitious idea that may soon quickly grow a rabid fanbase and move some consoles.
2. The Witcher 3 – The team behind the “Witcher” series seem to have their brains firing on a different level, as their ability to craft a massive RPG story composed of smaller moments, and built on a foundation of unique combat and gameplay has quickly turned the franchise into a runaway cult hit for hardcore RPG fans across all platforms.
With the “Witcher 3” it appears the team is looking to expand that fanbase by crafting a more accessible, but no less brilliant, masterpiece. While it takes some cues from competitors here and there, the “Witcher 3” is promising a unique open world experience with truly dynamic scenarios and environments that doesn’t sacrifice any of the gameplay that made the franchise what it is. At an E3 filled with the phrase “Next-Gen,” this looks to be one title that truly encompasses the idea.
1. Watch Dogs – “Watch Dogs” wasn’t just the surprise of E3 2012 because it was an unannounced original concept from a high profile developer, but because of just how good it looked even in its early stages.
A year later and not much has changed. Just when “Watch Dogs” looks to have shown all of its tricks, another gameplay demonstration comes out, and we are left to realize that there is not only more than meets the eye to Ubisoft’s next big thing, but that it all seems to be coming together to form something as creative as it is polished.
Even if “Watch Dogs” fails to live up to its lofty hype, it could be no worse than an incredibly entertaining game. As of now though, it appears to be much more than that, and the best game of E3 2013 to boot.
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