E3 Pre-game: Part 2

So here we go with part two of the four-part E3 pre-game special. Now that I’m done talking about hardware, I can start covering a few of the many titles that are going to be on the show floor. Some haven’t necessarily been announced but are things I personally hope to see.

The Last Guardian

I’ve never played ICO so I hope to jump on that this summer. But I have played Shadow of the Colossus and I found it extraordinary. The art style is entrancing, the story was fresh, and the boss battles were some of the most incredible moments I’ve had the pleasure of taking part of. So their next title is sure to win the hearts of many once again. What exactly is this creature? Why is this boy partnered with it? And which one of them, if either of them, is the titular “Last Guardian”? Whatever Team Ico has in store for us is certain to be amazing.

The Legend of Zelda (Wii 2010)

Being a long time fan of the Zelda series, it’s clear that this is probably my most anticipated title. But even casual players are looking forward to this more than many other titles. We’ve seen a sort of preview on what Wii Zelda is capable of with the 2006 hit, Twilight Princess. But this time around, Nintendo is building this title from the ground up with intention of making full use of the Wii’s motion controls, which will be including Wii Motion Plus. With nothing but a lone concept art and a 2010 release date in mind, Nintendo has a lot of expectations to fulfill, and plenty of room for surprise.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII

What can be said about Versus XIII? Honestly I wish I could tell you. Square-Enix has been very tight lipped about this title, about as tight-lipped as they were with Final Fantasy XIII before 2009. Let’s just hope Versus isn’t nearly as disappointing. Anyway, thus far we’ve been given I believe three trailers, one of which was a voiceless cutscene between Stella and Noctis, who are the only two named characters thus far. Aside from that, around five other distinct characters have made an appearance. We know nothing about the story, nothing about the gameplay except that it’ll be similar to Kingdom Hearts and about as intense as Advent Children, and little else aside from the fact that it’s a pretty, dark love story set in a fantasy based on reality. Square-Enix has already said they may not have Versus ready for E3. For the sake of their steadily dying reputation, I really hope they’re wrong.

Final Fantasy XIV

One Final Fantasy title that is guaranteed for E3 is FFXIV, the next officially numbered title in the series. As pretty as the initial trailer was, excited fans were cut short when the word “online” popped up beneath the effervescent text which two seconds previous has fanboys screaming. Either way, for what it’s worth, Final Fantasy XIV actually does look interesting, despite the fact that it’s an MMORPG. Mind you, I don’t care for MMORPGs because of the “pay-to-play” element, also the fact that it severely tones down the story elements of a game so heavily based on them. But as I said, aside from the fact that Square-Enix has for some reason decided to use the exact same races as in Final Fantasy XI, FFXIV does actually hold some promise. Let’s just hope that its level-up aspect is more user-friendly this time around.

Kingdom Hearts: Recoded

This is my impression of Squaresoft: “Let’s continue to make our ever-prospering staple series with hard work and dedication to give our fans the phenomenal experience they deserve”. This is my impression of Square-Enix: “Sequels? Remakes? Spin-offs? Dip those cookies in THAT milk!” Although I don’t personally blame Enix for destroying Square (I blame the fact that all their best employees left and “not-as-good” people replaced them), let’s be fair. I was always upset that Coded came out not only for mobile phones, but Japanese-only to boot. Fan loyalty clearly wasn’t their strong suit. But I am happy to hear that we’re getting it oversees now…even if it’s for a HANDHELD. Console games don’t belong on handhelds. Ever. Especially if they’re poorly thought out half-stories.

Assassin's Creed 3

I haven’t had the pleasure to play Assassin’s Creed 2 yet (I’ve been in an accelerated, 40+ hour a week, social life-killing, recreational pastime-destroying school for the past two years), but I’m looking forward to AC3 regardless. I loved Assassin’s Creed in Jerusalem, I(‘ll soon) love Assassin’s Creed in the Italian Renaissance, but I already LOVE Assassin’s Creed in Egypt. As a major mythology buff, I’ve always loved Egypt for its history, mythos, and general awesomeness. Oh, but we’re not supposed to know it’s AC3 yet. It’s just a teaser art for an upcoming game. So we could be wrong. We’re probably not though.

Epic Mickey

When I first heard about Epic Mickey, I loved the idea. Being a total sucker for Jeffrey Thomas’ Twisted Princess series, on Deviant Art, this was right up my alley. Playful concepts gone haywire just make for genius ideas. American McGee’s Alice supports this ideal well enough. Although I don’t think it’ll end up as dark as McGee, I’m still looking forward to this title. Some of the concept arts are downright disturbing, so here’s hoping for the best. The snippet of gameplay I’ve seen is the only thing that worries me. It doesn’t look as hardcore as the artwork implies it to be, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Fable 3

Okay, so I haven’t played Fable 2 either (school comes first! Don’t yell at me!). But I did thoroughly enjoy the original Fable, despite Peter Molyneux falling short of a few of his claims, which happens, get over it. The big things he tried to promote with Fable 2 were being able to play as a woman, being able to get pregnant as said woman (or impregnate otherwise), have children, influence said children, watch said children grow, have a dog, and influence said dog. So it should be interested what else he’s planning on adding to Fable 3.

That’s all for today, PrE3 coverage will continue tomorrow with eight more software titles intending on showing up next week. So keep reading.