We’re coming to the end of what has been an exciting and impressive E3 across the board. All the conferences have taken place and the vast majority of studios have laid out their game plans for the near future and have showed up some of the heaviest hitters coming our way in the rest of 2018 and beyond. Click the link here to take a look at Candice Shane’s first take on some of the most talked about games from the opening days of E3.
Now, while I admit I may be picking some games that I’m becoming (or have been) a massive fanboy of, these are most definitely some of the biggest titles coming our way and titles that have had people absolutely buzzing on the show floor and all around the show throughout the entire week – and they’re ones that the amazing Candice hasn’t covered already. Check out my list of some of the hottest games coming out of E3 2018:
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
I will be the first to admit that I was burned pretty hard by the hype for the original Division, I got so caught up in how gorgeous it looked and how fun and exciting it felt when I saw it the first time in 2013. What fans got when it launched in March of 2016 left something to be desired, and despite it still being an incredibly fun game to play in a lot of ways, the first Division lost a great deal of its player base relatively early on. That being said, it still became one of the most successful new IP gaming franchises ever, and the recent expansions and DLCs have really turned it into an incredibly fun game to play. Enter Division 2, with years of experience under Massive and Ubisoft’s belts, and I feel the exact same hype and excitement the first time around – only this time it really appears that the teams involved are addressing many of the issues the first entry experienced.
I could go on and on about the exciting new additions, much of which I got to experience with some hands-on time on the floor this week, but here are the important points: Graphically the game is still as gorgeous as ever on all platforms, you no longer have the same bullet sponge enemies, and bosses now are adorned, visually, with armor that must be damaged and broken off before the boss can be defeated, and agents now have the option to choose from three specializations (Sharpshooter, Demolitionist, and my favorite the Survivalist) that change up their play styles pretty drastically. What I wasn’t able to test was the rumored end game, which has been massively improved and expanded upon, and this time around the fans are getting exactly what we’ve been asking for: Eight player raids! There’s really no telling what the end game will be, but from what we’ve heard about the new content, raids, improved Dark Zone, and more, this is definitely a game I’m going to be waiting for come March of next year!
Anthem
From the moment I laid eyes on EA and Bioware’s massive sci-fi action RPG Anthem, I was in, hook, line, and sinker. Maybe it’s because I’ve loved Bioware for most of my adult life. Maybe it’s because after playing games like Destiny and Destiny 2 for so long, I’m a sucker for huge futuristic shared world shooters. Either way, much of my hype was confirmed when I got my hands on this incredible game at EA Play this week. Like I mentioned with The Division, I know that it’s really easy for me to get caught up in the hype as I watch gorgeous games come across my TV and computer screens during E3, but fortunately after getting to play around in this game some, I feel like my hype is justified.
Some people were concerned with the lack of PvP, but I’m gonna hit you with some real talk: I’m okay with that. Because it means they don’t have to worry about balancing for player versus player content, and instead can make the various javelin suits (which act as a replacement for traditional “classes” in similar games) as strong and cool as possible. The Colossus feels hulking, massive, and strong and controls the battlefield as the Ranger is zipping around taking out enemies with quick thinking and air superiority, all while the Storm (my personal favorite) teleports around disorienting and taking down enemies with what can only be described as space magic. There isn’t much word yet on what the end game will feel like, which is always my main concern, but I can tell you that I’m genuinely excited for this new heavy hitter in the epic space RPG genre. After getting to play it, I can say it deserves to be in the conversation – and the game’s February release really isn’t too far away!
Fallout 76
I’ve said for years that I’d love to explore the massive worlds Bethesda creates with friends – and not on like, the traditional MMO scale with a game like Elder Scrolls Online, no, I want to play a game like Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Skyrim, etc, with a buddy (or three) at my side. I never thought a shared world aspect would ever make its way into one of Bethesda’s larger scale open world RPGs, outside of mods, but boy was I wrong! I have to say, Fallout 76 was a bit of a surprise as many folks expected something else entirely from the company behind Elder Scrolls. And while Bethesda teased some of its upcoming games, including Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield (the former being literally 5+ years away, I would guess), it was Fallout 76 that really took people by surprise – not only because many fans weren’t expecting another Fallout so soon, or because it was actually a multiplayer shared-world style game, but because of how soon it’s coming.
Come November 14th of this year, friends and family can band together for the very first time to take on the wasteland of post-nuclear West Virginia. And not only will you be facing the same kinds of enemies and obstacles that we’ve come to expect from a Fallout title, but this time around we’ll potentially be fighting against other Vault Dwellers as well, as PvP and settlement vs settlement conflict has not only been confirmed, but it has been shown off at this year’s E3. I’m not sure what we’re going to get in regards to the story, if it’ll be the same kind of massive immersive RPG story we know and love from Bethesda, or if it’ll be something different to go along with the more cooperative world – but thanks to a release date that is just around the corner, we won’t have to wait long to find out!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
We got teased for what From Software, the company behind the Dark Souls series, would be coming up with next at last year’s Game Awards, and because I am a MASSIVE fan of anything and everything they have ever made, I was bought in before I knew what it really was. Fortunately E3 is just the gift that keeps on giving, as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was officially revealed, and showcases an entirely new atmosphere than we’ve seen from previous FromSoft titles.
I wasn’t able to get any time with the game this week, but what I’ve seen of it so far makes me feel tingles and jingles all over, as it looks like a lot like Bloodborne (my favorite From Software game), as it’s a much faster game than most of the Dark Souls series, and the “trick arm” you have as your secondary weapon appears to function a lot like trick weapons did in the Lovecraftian world of Bloodborne. I see much of challenging and fulfilling combat I’ve grown to love from this company, combined with a brand new interesting world for us to explore. I wish I knew more about this game, and I wish I knew when I’d get to play it, as all we’ve heard at this point is “early 2019”. But I’ll say this: Because it’s From Software, and because it looks really damn cool, this is most certainly a day one purchase for me, whenever it does come out.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
I know, I know… I’m as surprised as you are! While I am not always a fan of seemingly unnecessary remakes that people haven’t really asked for (looking at you, Secret of Mana…), I gotta say that the RE2 remake coming our way from Capcom looks absolutely terrifying. I remember playing this many, many years ago and experiencing feelings of dread and anguish as I took on the zombie horde, but I don’t ever recall being all that scared playing it. I compared Resident Evil and its sequel with Alien vs. Aliens – the first just felt so claustrophobic, so terrifying, so new and unique compared to anything else at the time. While I really enjoyed Aliens and RE2, they were much more action-oriented in my mind, with sprinkles of horror.
Yet, the remake – this feels so damn scary and polished compared to similar remakes or remasters. It’s been receiving so much acclaim that it’s actually in the conversation of best game of the entire show at E3, which is really saying something as a reboot of a 20-year old game. But it’s a testament to just how good of a revival this is. It looks and feels fresh, with a genuine promise of a return to terror. I love a good ol’ fashioned horror game, so when this bad boy hits on January 25th, you best believe I’m gonna get my brown pants on and have myself a scary time!
