Maximum Games
Maximum Games had a small booth at the show this year but brought at least one game that you should be interested in. While they showcased four titles to us there was unfortunately only one that really stuck out. Games that were interesting, but just didn’t quite make the cut were the VR title Loading Human and buddy adventure Troll and I. Both titles show some promise but are a long way from being ready for audiences to consume. Troll and I, in particular, might be good in late 2017 to early 2018 but the build showcased was just too buggy and too far away to be interesting just yet. Sadly Road Rage was about as bland as they come, but that leaves us with the game that DID impress us!
Mark McMorris Infinite Air
The timing for this one is almost uncanny seeing as the open world PC game SNOW is getting closer to a release and the just announced Steep from Ubisoft is ready for this winter. We went through a drought of snowboarding and mountain sports-themed games and now we have three of them releasing in a relatively short window together. What sets Infinite Air apart from most other titles is its basis in being more of a full-scale simulation than an arcade title.
In Infinite Air you’ll obviously be able to go big and hit massive air but it is far more grounded in realism than almost every title before it. In the demo we played, if you bailed out you didn’t get some magical push to keep you going. When you hit a roller or a kicker you had to have a decent amount of speed behind you if you wanted to achieve much of anything. The analog controls for ollieing, grabs and spins all made sense and while it may take the user some time to master the controls it still felt very intuitive.
As with almost every game today, there is a strong focus on creating and sharing your content where you can build your own courses to share with friends. Alongside this, you can compete in Big Air and Slopestyle events or just freeride to your heart’s content. Procedurally generated mountains means you’ll likely never cruise the exact same slope twice which is refreshing for a snowboarding title.
The jury is out on this one still, only because there were a few hiccups in the controls and the graphics could use some polish, but what was on display certainly looked promising. We’ll be keeping an eye on Infinite Air if only to see how a simulation snowboarding game stacks up to the more ‘extreme’ stylings of Steep.
Team17 Digital Ltd
Team17 has been around for a while (25 years, in fact) and certainly made a name for themselves when they picked up the publishing rights for the upcoming (and highly anticipated) Yooka-Laylee. While the so-called successor to Banjo-Kazooie is certainly a big deal, Team17 has been no slouch with other games in their lineup. More notable ones are obviously the Worms series as well as the OlliOlli franchise, which we have covered extensively here on COGconnected. We reviewed the latest in the series, OlliOlli 2 not so long ago. While Team17 is still looking to round the corner on being one of the big boys in the publishing world we saw two games from them this year that had us begging for more time.
Worms W.M.D
It’s hard to believe the Worms franchise has been around for over 20 years. For a franchise that has never been considered mainstream, it’s remarkable that there are over 20 games in the series. Not even Call of Duty can make that claim. Each of the Worms games plays very similarly to one another as you take control of a worm through a number of levels while using a glut of projectile weapons in turn-based combat. Worms W.M.D is no different and follows that same formula. Yet it is this formula that works so well and after our E3 hands-on playthrough with the game I walked away quite happy with what I saw from Team17.
Many would argue the Worms franchise peaked around 1999 when Worms Armageddon launched. It was the third game in the series at the time and managed to capture some of the magic of the original game. Armageddon is essentially the inspiration behind Worms WMD as the fresh cartoonish visuals and the new arsenal of weaponry promises to bring the franchise back to its former glory.
In addition to the host of visual upgrades, Worms WMD features new vehicles including tanks and helicopters. During the demo at E3Â we had a chance to take the Tanks for a spin around a level. Just like controlling the worm, the tank takes some getting used to. We found ourselves wrestling with the controls at times as it was a lot of trial and error to simply get accustomed to moving the tank throughout the level. The tanks, however, pack a punch as they fire a smattering of rockets with the only downside being that the tanks leave you particularly vulnerable.
Turn based games always involve a massive amount of strategy and Worms WMD is no different. Whether it be lining up the perfect bazooka shot, or dropping a Banana Bomb or simply deciding which enemy you need to eliminate first, every move needs to be perfectly planned out. Needless to say, we were impressed with our time with Worms WMDÂ and we’ll be keeping an eye on it this year.
Overcooked!
Cooking together has never been more fun. Overcooked! was a major standout for us this past E3. It’s got a simple premise, and it just runs with it. You and your friends play as chefs and you cook dishes. Simple, right? Now try and cook while jumping between two moving trucks, or coordinating pressure pads in a space station to gather ingredients. Rats in the kitchen seem like small fry when you have to avoid falling into traffic just to make some freaking hamburgers. The fine folks (a two man team, nonetheless) at Ghost Town Games have created a title that is a total blast. It’s hectic, co-operative fun, and while couch co-op may be less common to see these days, it’s nice to know that it’s not totally forgotten. A lot of gamers have fond memories of whooping it up on the same couch and Overcooked looks to capture that same sense of co-operative fun we crave.
Overcooked! is slated to release on PS4, Xbox One and Steam in Q3 of 2016, according to the Steam listing. It’s rare that we see such quality titles from such small teams, but Overcooked! is definitely a title that you should prepare to have a blast with, and Ghost Town Games are truly excited to bring this title to everyone as it nears completion. It’s the sort of game that’s easy to get into, but presents flexibility in its gameplay, and that’s why we are absolutely stoked for this title.
Click on thru to page three for the last games you missed at E3…