E3 2017: 10 TANTALIZING FIRST GLIMPSES OF NEW GAMES – PART 2

Yesterday, we did our first run down of the most exciting games to be revealed at E3 2017 and today we’re going to share with you five games we found to be even more intriguing that were shown for the first time at the world’s biggest gaming event.

If you’d like to know about the games listed below, just click on the title and we will whisk you away to best footage currently available for the new games (just promise you’ll come back, yeah?).

5. METROID PRIME 4

Release: F*ck Knows

Platform(s): Nintendo Switch

Even though we go to see absolutely nada of the actual game, the announcement of one of Nintendo’s premier franchises returning after a decade’s hiatus was still huge news. When Samus stepped into first person mode in 2002 on the GameCube, it was a revelation and the original Metroid Prime has remained a huge influence on many sci-fi shooters and adventures in video games since.

The fourth entry in the series must have been near the top of nearly all Nintendo fans’ wishlists and clearly, the success of the Big N’s Switch console has led them to grant that wish. Very, very little is known about the fourth episode in the acclaimed series but if it can match the quality and versatility of the previous three then there will be squeals of delight from fans of Ms. Aran, especially as her appearances in other game formats since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has been mediocre at best.

4. MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD

Release: Early 2018

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One

Despite being quite a niche interest outside of Japan, Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has been a massive influence on far more recognizable games such as Dark Souls, Shadows of the Colossus and The Witcher 3. If the series is unfamiliar to you then it is essentially a hunter-gatherer simulator that has you battling huge beasts which you must glean rare materials from the build bigger and better weapons and armor to go out and down even bigger creatures.

For the already initiated, this could well have been the most exciting reveal at E3 2017 since the idiosyncracies and steep learning curve of the franchise seem to have been preserved but with the addition now of unsegmented game areas and plenty of new mechanics, such as a Hookshot and camouflage. Perhaps most significant of all the changes, though, is the series transitioning onto non-Nintendo platforms for the first time since it was a fixture on Sony’s PSP which means the game will now be accessible to a much wider audience and perhaps now will enjoy the same mainstream success of its many prodigies as a result.

3. BEYOND GOOD & EVIL 2

Release: Within our Lifetimes (hopefully)

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch (All TBC)

I know we’ve been here before since a sequel to the wacky and beloved Beyond Good & Evil was initially announced in 2008 but has faded into vapourware ever since. This time may be different, however, since Ubisoft certainly pulled out all the stops in a scintillating pre-rendered cinematic trailer that set a far more gritty tone compared to its Day-Glo predecessor.

Apparently Beyond Good & Evil 2 won’t be so much an open world game as an open galaxy one since planet-hopping is supposedly an intrinsic part of the ambitious sequel (actually it’s rumored to be a prequel). No gameplay was shown by Ubisoft publicly and the game has a long way to go until it’s ready for release but this was arguably E3’s biggest and most welcome surprise.

2. ANTHEM

Release: Fall 2018

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One

2017 just got a whole lot better for Bioware (it couldn’t get much worse) when they announced their brand new IP Anthem. On first impressions, this allegedly seamless single/multi-player shared world game has more than a few parallels with both Destiny and Titanfall thanks to its sci-fi setting and reliance on exo-suit type gameplay.

Anthem will offer us a vast game area featuring multiple environment types to explore either solo or as a team as we become “freelancers” replete with jetpacks and a variety of weapons. In one of the more substantial reveals at the conference we were assured that the game will also feature a driving narrative that will hopefully mark a return to form for the Canadian developer in terms of storytelling after their trademark skill dwindled in both Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda. Hopefully, it will be this aspect of the game that will make it stand out in a crowded field -especially since Bungie seem to be finally delivering on the potential of Destiny in their sequel- but Bioware have traditionally delivered outstanding results with new IP and Anthem looks set to continue that trend.

1. MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN

Release: 2018

Platform(s): PS4

Okay, so we’re bending the rules here a little for our top spot since we’ve known a new Spidey game has been coming since last year’s E3. But this year’s conference gave us the first proper look at the gameplay and, boy did it get our spidey-senses a tingling. Featuring seamless transitions between cinematics and actual gameplay, we saw Spider-man try to take down bad guys first within the confines of an under-construction before the chase continued throughout the high rises of New York.

Marvel’s Spider-man has obviously taken a few cues from other recent superhero games such as Rocksteady’s Arkham series as well as the likes of Infamous and Prototype and blended them together into what -on current evidence- looks to be the most faithful and exciting Spider-man game to date. The web swinging and slinging looks to be intuitive and fluid and we will have alternative paths as to how we best use Peter Parker’s abilities to deal with various situations. Marvel’s Spider-man was the clear highlight of Sony’s presentation and was probably the most pleasing reveal to PS4 owners (or the most compelling reason to become one). It is our game of E3 2017 and based on what we’ve seen of it could well be our game of 2018 as well.