Okay Geek Farm
Best of E3 2011 - Our top games, trailers, and moments
Brandon DavenportView on Youtube · View on Vimeo
Although the press conferences at could’ve used some work, the new games and hardware announced at E3 were really the talk of the show. Nintendo’s Wii U and Sony’s PS Vita were some of the debut hardware, whike Tomb Raider, Super Mario 3DS, Battlefield 3, MW3, Streetfighter X Tekken, and Halo 4 were some of the top titles showcased. There is so much more that happened, so let’s take some time and look at the best of E3 2011!
Devil May Cry — Ninja Theory may have learned from their last unveiling of DMC — don’t show off an emo Dante. So they’ve decided to go with a gameplay trailer that concentrates more on the familiar, fast-paced action we’ve all come to expect from a Devil May Cry title, and have strayed the camera away from showing our hero’s face. Though it’s noticeable that he’s gotten a haircut since we last him.
King of Fighters XIII — King of Fighters is sorta the poor man’s Street Fighter. Always trailing in popularity to the ever-widely known Capcom series, SNK’s own fighter has never stopped coming up with new bouts for their characters to settle their ongoing trifles. King of Fighters XIII was released last year in Japan but never found a US publisher to bring it stateside… that is, until now thanks to Atlus.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 — No word on release date but this title is a long time coming, and it’s a much deserved game too. So why was I completely underwhelmed at seeing its gameplay? Could it be that the camera angles and music that made the original such an enjoyable experience have been replaced are what’s bothering me? Most likely, but I’m still psyched to see Luigi get another adventure to himself.
Super Mario 3DS —The visuals are pretty amazing for a handheld experience, but is it more or is our Italian plumber looking a little sluggish. He doesn’t seem to have the same pep in his tep that we’re so used to of seeing. True, since NSMB he’s gotten slower to better suit casual players, but c’mon, at least keep it consistent and don’t slow him down even more!
LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita — What would any Sony system be without a LittleBigPlanet to go travel right alongside it? Nothing, that’s what! Okay, maybe I’m being a little harsh but it certainly gives them an edge when you got a cute character like Sackboy on your sideline. That being said, LBP will be appearing as a PS Vita title when the system launches later this Holiday season.
Gotham City Imposters — We’ve gotten plenty of Batman games in the past, and more recently some surefire hits in the Arkham series, but a multiplayer shooter based off the Batman: Imposters comic doesn’t really strike a chord as something you’d immediately relate to the Caped Crusader. Well, regardless this one’s getting made and will be available next year.
Street Fighter X Tekken for PS Vita — Street Fighter X Tekken may be a game we haven’t gotten a very detailed glimpse of yet, but that hasn’t stopped Capcom from working alongside Sucker Punch to bring Infamous star Cole MacGrath into the fray as a special character. No word on when the PS Vita of SFXT will be making its release but hey, before this we didn’t even know this was happening.
Hitman: Absolution — Agent 47 has another mission to finish, and in Absolution’s debut trailer he appears to be doing it quite well; smashing people’s faces in, drowning others, and relying on ol’ fashioned headshots to take care of the rest. All done in IO Interactive’s new Glacier technology, Hatman has never looked this sexy.
SSX — Since its announcement at Spike TV’s VGA awards we’ve still seen little to no gameplay of SSX. Well, it’s sad to say that even here at E3 we still haven’t gotten a quality look of what we’ll be seeing as we go down these “true to life” ski slopes. But hey, at least we have a familiar cast to play as when it releases January 2012.
Rayman Origins — Rayman may not be like Mario or Sonic in the overall scheme of things, but what he lacks in star power he makes up for in mediocrity. He was sorta like Crash Bandicoot, just less popular. He was like Gex but not as talkative. You could say he was more of a Bubsy type, but less hated. Rayman never really demanded the spotlight. But now in 2011, he’s finally getting his fair share of limelight with Rayman Origins; a beautiful HD game that looks as beautiful as an animated cartoon.
Star Wars: The Old Republic — Why did LucasArts go ahead with making such a stunning, jaw-dropping cinematic knowing full well that those who see will wish this was a movie rather than a game?! Sure, this has been a long time coming for KOTOR fans who have been patiently awaiting a return to their favorite Star Wars RPG, but for the rest of us… C’mon, this looks better than all the prequels combined!
Final Fantasy XIII-2 — We were less than impressed when the original Final Fantasy XIII came out, but the one thing we couldn’t deny was the fast-paced Paradigm Shift battle system. So we’re happy to see that’s it making a return into this completely unwarranted sequel. There are also a couple of new faces this time around, primarily Noel, the Kingdom Hearts wannabe seen holding Serah’s hand the entire trailer. So uhh, what happened to Lightning?
Bioshock Infinite — Irrational Games has been hard at work on Bioshock Infinite and after the waves they made with the original, we’re all eyes on what fantastic stuff they can make with this prequel (?). The friendship between Booker and Elizabeth looks like something along the lines of Gordon and Alyx and if that’s the case, you can bet this game will be something special.
Battlefield 3 — The war between Battlefield fans and Call of Duty fans continues to rage on, and despite the constant flow of breathtaking gameplay footage from both Call of Duty and Battlefield 3, these latest additions from the Battlefield team are blowing our minds. There are a few new clips of gameplay footage from Battlefield 3 and every single second we watch these, we start to drift further away from Call of Duty MW3 — Also, just shut up and take our money Battlefield…
Assassin’s Creed Revelations — Assassin’s Creed is chalk full of science fiction, assassins, and elements of time travel — so how is it possible that after three games the series refuses to move forward onto another character or at least a new time period. I mean, does Ezio really need a third chapter? Apparently, Ubisoft thinks so and will launch Nov. 15th on PC, PS3, 360.
Batman Arkham City — What is it with Batman nowadays that no matter what he touches or what he stars in becomes an instant hit? Talk about a goldmine! According to that logic, it’s no surprise that Rocksteady’s sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum is shaping up to be better than the first could ever have even dreamed of being. With the addition of Hugo Strange, Two Face, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman, Batman’s job of coralling an entire city sector instead of just a small secluded prison changes the game entirely.
Overstrike — For the longest time Insomniac games have been known solely for their work on the Ratchet and Clank and Resistance series’ exclusive on Playstation systems, home and portable. But at this year’s E3 show we’ve been given a first look at their brand new intellectual property known only as Overstrike.
Street Fighter III — If you’re a veteran Street Fighter player than this trailer isn’t anything new — it’s simply Street Fighter III: Third Strike with one exception. It’s ONLINE! We’ve known about this one for quite some time but it’s right around the corner, due to release sometime this summer. With it will be enhanced graphics, online play, and even youtube clip intergration. Are you ready?
Mass Effect 3 — It’s basically a known fact that after Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 needed to be bigger, bolder and return some of its RPG roots back to the series. It seems their doing just that and you can check out the first gameplay trailer right here!
Halo 4 — Master Chief was wrecked on a floating ship off somewhere in the middle of God-forsaken space the last time we checked on him. But even with him so far away from the planet he once called home, it seems he’s needed once again. Spartan 117 has been awoken by Cortana and is ready to do it all over again, though I’m not sure why they call it Halo considering all of them were blown up… right?
Tomb Raider — Lara Craft has always been a gaming symbol of the female gender in a leading role. But it’s pretty safe to say that over the years her 3D platforming skills got a little bit stale and so did her games. To remedy this, Crystal Dynamics is hoping to revitalize her career by giving players a look into the first adventure that made her known to us as” the Tomb Raider”.
Spider-Man: Edge of Time — Last year’s Shattered Dimensions game was an interesting concept, and Edge of Time seems to be building on that success. Focusing only on the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 worlds, the game looks to be much more centralized. Not to mention looking heavy on some of the best villains around.
Ryse — Crysis may be Crytek’s bread and butter but they don’t want to be cornered into one single franchise. And so at Microsoft’s press event they showed the world their newest venture in the form of a pretty mature looking, bloody Kinect gamed called Ryse. Think what you will but we’re still trying to process it all.
Halo 10th Anniversary — Crazy to think that Halo’s been around for almost a decade already. And so to mark the occasion 343 Studios will indeed be releasing an anniversary version of the original game on November 11th, redone with spanking new visuals, online co-op, and a fully remastered campaign.
Prototype 2 — In a recent sit down with gaming blog Joystiq, Ken Rossman the studio head at Radical Entertainment, revealed several interesting morsels related to Prototype 2. Continuing on from the first installment, Prototype 2 is poised to captivate those wishing to slash, attack, and well pull off some over-the-top aerial moves all in the comfort of New York City.
Dead Island — Due to be released in August on PC, PS3, and 360, Dead Island is the anti-Left 4 Dead. Not high on jokes or light-hearted Valve gameplay style, this is a tough as nails, gore-fest where players will wield a variety of objects and weapons all in the first person camera mode, to survive and somehow get off a zombie infested island resort.
Senran Kagura — I can see it now — your head shaking from side to side, muttering to yourself, “those crazy Japanese.” Well, no one else does it quite better at being creepy and crossing the line than the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun. Marketed as the game with 3D boobs, Senran Kagura gets its first trailer today.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City — In case you weren’t aware of it, 2011 happens to be the 15th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise. And to celebrate the momentous occasion Capcom and Slant Six Games have been working on a FPS title that brings you back to Raccoon City, the origin of where the zombie outbreak first started. Only this time you’re sorta the bad guys, hunting down the protagonists from letting this whole Umbrella and zombie misunderstanding get out.
Professor Layton and the Last Specter — Okay, we know there’s a 3DS Professor Layton that still hasn’t come out stateside, so why is Level-5 going with this one on the DS? Well, Layton’s games are all story-driven mysteries, so to pass one over would be like skipping an episode of LOST or something. So before the series moves onto the 3DS, why not enjoy the Last Specter — the final chapter in the DS line of Professor Layton games — later this fall.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time — The PS2 was certainly the silver age of the 3D action adventure titles first made popular by Nintendo’s own Super Mario. With games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Spyro, and Sly Cooper, a whole new generation of gaming icons took center stage. Well, it’s been nearly 6 years since Sly’s been given a new game, so isn’t it time we see him on the PS3?
Hitman Absolution — Agent 47 has another mission to finish, and in Absolution’s debut trailer he appears to be doing it quite well; smashing people’s faces in, drowning others, and relying on ol’ fashioned headshots to take care of the rest. All done in IO Interactive’s new Glacier technology, Hatman has never looked this sexy.
Afterfall: InSanity — Survival horror hasn’t been the same since Resident Evil departed into a third-person shooter — that is until Dead Space became the new king of the genre. So when we first saw this Afterfall: InSanity trailer we honestly started feel that this was the first of many in a line of guaranteed copycats.
Bloodrayne: Betrayal — Rayne is back, and this time not in another horribly adapted film by Uwe Boll. No, this time she’ll be starring in a 2D side-scrolling, highly visual title for PSN and XBLA known as Bloodrayne: Betrayal. Interesting that with the vampire craze going on right now in Hollywood, the gaming world has surprisingly kept mum, sticking to zombies instead; Betrayalreleases in August for download.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning — From some of the minds responsible for a number of the Elder Scrolls games, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was once thought of to be a future MMO experience. However after some thought, the game has been redesigned as a single-player based aciton-RPG experience that’ll have players roaming distinct regions across a vast world, with a heavy focus on strategy to survive the adventure.
From Dust — It’s easy to think of Peter Molyneux whenever the word “God game” comes up. His work on games such as Populousand Black & White paved the way for the Sims and other releases of the sort. From Dust is said to be a “spiritual successor” to Populous, taking elements from it and expanding upon them. The player’s goal will be to reshape environment arround them to save and enlighten a tribe of nomadic people.
Shinobi on 3DS — The Shinobi series, while very popular years ago, hasn’t been heard of in recent years — at least not since the self-titled PS2 version (2001) and its spin off Nightshade (2002) were released. But with the launch of the 3DS, Sega has decided to revisit the franchise, opting for an old school side-scrolling adventure with 3-dimensional elements.
Ninja Gaiden 3 — Ryu Hayabusa is ninja. He’s got a sword. He cuts people with it. Blood pours out of them like a waterbed getting getting hacked up with a chainsaw. This is the kind of gameplay and visuals we’ve grown accustomed to from the modern Ninja Gaiden series, but this upcoming NG3 title really takes that whole blood and guts thing to the next level.
Rhythm Heaven — Rhythm Heaven, developed by Nintendo, was released on the DS a few years back since it wasn’t that huge of a seller, though it did get a lot of attention with this Beyonce ad — aah! Well, it’s making a return in the form of a full-on Wii title. The original got some really favorable reviews and the gameplay was solid, so you can expect more of the same radness in this home console version.
Kirby: Mass Attacks — Decades ago Kirby made his gaming debut onto Nintendo’s first portbable system, the Gameboy. Kirby’s Dreamland was the monochromatic introduction to the pink puffball we know and love today, and Nintendo’s revealed not one, but two, new Kirby titles this E3; namely this one — Kirby: Mass Attack which stars a group of Kirby’s you can control all at a single time.
Asura’s Wrath — Capcom’s latest IP creation, Asura’s Wrath is definitely inspired by some of the epic storytelling and action seen in the God of War series, however swaps out Greek mythos for a much more Asian persuasion. Not to mention that it also has that exaggerated Japanese feel that only they can pull off so easily. I mean, where else are you going to see some sort of Demigod take on a planetary sized enemy with his fists?
Star Wars Kinect and Disneyland Adventures — I’m sorry but how is this titled Disneyland Adventures and not the Misadventures of Pedobear? Seriously! And it doesn’t help that lead visionary of the Kinect hardware, Kudo Tsunoda, the man pictured above, looks like your average sex-predator. And that’s him without his douchey sunglasses on that he wears at all times. Oh and, there’s also a video of this madness after the break, as well as how stupid the Star Wars Kinect game is turning out to be.
Nintendo Wii U
I’ll say this; Nintendo had the perfect opportunity for complete gaming dominance today and they blew it. If I sound a little subjective then I’m sorry, but I’m still trying to process it all and justify Nintendo’s decision to go with this iPad w/ buttons in my mind instead of some serious hardware that potentially could ruin everyone else in the industry. — Read more
Sony PS Vita
E3 2011 press conferences haven’t been all that hot so far (Microsoft sort of started us on a sour note), and it seemed that the day’s events were taking a voilent nosedive towards complete lameness — but then we saw a glimmer of light, the “life” or “Vita”, if you will, when the PS Vita was brought to the stage. You have a lot of questions (we know), and we have a lot of answers — Read more
Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel
Can you believe Major Nelson snuck out of a party just to drop some info on this completely unnecessary peripheral? Okay, so we know racing fans are passionate about their love of steering wheels, requiring hair-pin precision to make those tight turns in Forza Motorsport — but who does Microsoft think they’re selling this to… Is it supposed to be for kids? I thought Kinect was for that! Well, regardless it’s launching later this year for $60 — Read more
Nintendo 3DS firmware update
If you have your 3DS’ WiFi toggle switch on then you should have a notification waiting for you, explaining what tonight’s 3DS firmware update will entail. We’ve been waiting all evening and our 3Ds just finally started updating. So what do you get once that status bar reaches 100%? Well, how about access to Nintendo’s new eShop store, a flash-less internet browser, and a free download of an ehanced version of the NES classic Excitebike — Read more
Bing, Youtube, LiveTV, and Cloud storage on Xbox
With the large Kinect focus during the Microsoft Press Conference, it’s easy to forget what Microsoft announced for its New, New, (New?) “Xbox Experience”. From Bing to Youtube, Xbox basically has everything you need besides actual internet browsing, and with most of those primarily for use on Kinect, Microsoft is hoping to change the way you view your content. — Read more
Sony E3 2011 Press Conference
Missed Sony’s E3 2011 press conference when it was going down LIVE? Well, no biggie cuz we have you covered. Thanks goes to G4 for providing us with the entire show in archived form. Watch as the Jack Trentton apologizes for the PSN outage, exclusives get hyped, and NGP being dawned its official new PS Vita name.
Nintendo E3 2011 Press Conference
Everyone’s attention was squarely on Nintendo this morning, and you could feel the anticipation with every passing moment. But did they deliver? Zelda’s 25th Anniversary, the 3DS’ first party line up, and of course, Project Cafe, or rather Wii U as it’s now officially called, were all announced and detailed. Did you catch it LIVE? If not, we have you covered thanks to G4tv who’ve provided us with an archived version for your entertainment.
Microsoft E3 2011 Press Conference
In times past it seemed as if the big guys weren’t all that interested in streaming their E3 briefings to the fine folks at home. Well, apparently this year is a lot different since all of them (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) will be broadcasting their press conferences live over the inter-webs. First to the stage is Microsoft.
Of course, we have to start off with Microsoft and their overjoyed obsession with Kinect. People went absolutly nuts after the Microsoft press conference, and it was pretty damn funny! Also, something that was really surprising was the PS Vita and the graphics it can pump out (really stunning) and how the touchscreen came into action (especially when playing Uncharted).
Something else that was just awesome was Nintendo’s epic gameplay montage that showed a new StarFox game, Mario bros. game and a new Luigi’s Mansion (among other titles). Speaking of Nintendo, they also announced a bunch of cool Zelda stuff as well as a brand-new console called “Wii U” where the controller works like a console itself. There’s a fair bit of upset over the skimpy intro to the Wii U and the lack of demos, but it’s got all the buzz regardless.
There’s also some new Halo titles including a 10th anniversary re-vamp of Combat Evolved, and new trilogy starting with Halo 4. One more thing to note is Shigeru Miyamoto introducing new Zelda games (just watch him re-create the in-game actions, it’s awesome!).
In a nutshell
E3 2011 was in no way the best E3 “of all time” and in fact, it wasn’t really all that impressive. The highlight of E3 2011 was the games because new consoles and hardware were scarce, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The games introduced (for the most part) were pretty awesome, and we’re sure the show floor was epic. We’re so happy to have been able to cover E3 2011, and we hope you tune in next year for even more awesomeness!
