Picking the best of anything is an incredibly subjective thing to do. In the days since E3 ended I’ve thought long and hard about how I would go about picking my top five game experiences at E3. Originally I planned on only considering games that I actually got my hands on and played. But E3 is just so large and with only a few there from our site it would prove to be impossible to play them all. I decided to not limit myself to just games that I physically played but everything I was exposed to. With that in mind I hope you enjoy and respect my opinions. Here goes!
5. Sleeping Dogs
Developed by Vancouver’s own United Front Games, this game was the sleeper hit of the show for me and makes my top five simply by surprising me with its polish. Originally this game was supposed to be the third installment of the True Crime series. After being cancelled by Activision, the publishing rights were picked up by Square Enix and a new (and better in my opinion) name was given to the game. I was really impressed with how good this game looks, sounds and controls. The demo featured a lot of hand-to-hand combat with a similar parry system to what is seen in Batman Arkham City. Set in an open world, Sleeping Dog’s presentation values are high. There was a lot of hype around Tomb Raider in the Square Enix booth but I think Sleeping Dogs was the real star of their show.
4. Borderlands 2
I was late to the original Borderlands party and my experience with it suffered because of that. Looking as highly stylized as the first game, Borderlands 2 plays equally as sharp as it looks. With the success of the first game, making a sequel that meets expectations is no easy feat but it appears 2K is well on track to do just that. With my preferences for online gaming skewing towards a more cooperative experience, Borderlands 2 looks to be the type of game I am really, really going to enjoy getting in to and so will our community.
3. Need For Speed Most Wanted
I have a love/hate relationship with the Need For Speed series. Most Wanted was my favorite launch window title for the Xbox 360. Since then I think the series has really struggled to find its identity with not-so-great attempts to enter the sim market (Shift & Shift 2), broken game play (Undercover) and not capitalizing on interesting narratives (The Run). Enter the folks who are behind Burnout who say they’re not interested in making sequels. Hot Pursuit and now Most Wanted, Criterion seems quite interested in doing remakes. I’m not usually a fan of this but after what I’ve seen that’s okay with me. Most Wanted looks and plays as well as any NFS game ever has. This combined with its unique approach to multiplayer it makes my top 3. Keep your eyes on this game. I think it has the potential to be the best community racing game since Burnout Revenge, RalliSport Challenge 2 and Midtown Madness 3.
2. Wonderbook
Yup, you heard me right. Wonderbook. I thought the demo during Sony’s press conference was horrible. Not only was it too long but the tech failed during the presentation and I was left wondering what the thing actually did. But then I got to actually play it. Yes, I realize it is just a giant QR code but being able to physically interact with the book and Move controller, I changed my mind completely. Perhaps it is the fact that I’m a relatively new parent. With a 14-month at home I find myself looking at games a lot differently than even a few years ago. Not only does Wonderbook represent a unique form of game interaction it also seems like the first really great fit for motion controls since the rise of fitness and dance games. For the record, the best job in the Sony booth goes to the gentleman demoing Wonderbook. Camping out on the floor in a section of the booth that was themed like a warm living room sure beats being on your feet all day.
1. Halo 4
343 Studios has some big shoes to fill taking over this franchise from Bungie but I think they laid many people’s fears to rest with the first footage of Halo 4 at the MS press conference. Not only did the gameplay look great, it sounded amazing. As much as I enjoyed ODST and Reach, Master Chief is the real draw and I am really excited about a new story arc that brings him back and introduces us to some of the forerunner mysteries alluded to in the other games and novels. The episodic content featured in the new Spartan Ops mode is the icing on the cake and sealed Halo 4 as my number one title at E3. Hands down this is the game I am most excited for.
