With this week nearing its end and E3 headed toward the wrap-up phase, I thought I’d take a few minutes of your time and give my thoughts and unsolicited opinions on some of the things I saw or read coming out of everyone’s favorite game conference.  I didn’t attend thus none of the info I have is “first-hand” but, rather, garnered from various places as well as watching bits of the conference over a number of its available formats during the week.  Likewise, I’m not an industry expert so I’m really only going to be giving my personal thoughts on a handful of games I’m excited for, rather than give a generalized recap of the entire week’s worth of news.  With that in mind, let’s get started, shall we?
 
In no particular order, I’ll start with something that I had a short discussion on just last night: Metal Gear: Revengeance.  Even as I type that both my brain and the wordprocessor’s spell check are screaming for me to fix that word.  My initial reaction to the name was one of revulsion and annoyance.  As a writer who likes to dabble in fantasy and science fiction, I am all for making up words but I usually try to maintain a sort of guideline for that; namely, not simply sticking two words together with the goal of sounding badass and coming off simply sounding retarded, or like a boozed up Jersey Shore addict trying to express a desire to get back at someone for spilling winecooler on his favorite wifebeater; which, now that I think about it, is pretty much the same thing.
 
But I digress…
 
Simply put, the name simply sounded less-than-intelligent.  As a longtime fan of the series, though, I was unable to hold a grudge too much given that I have spent years listening to mullet-topped hyper-soldiers and goggly-eyed, anime-addicted, sexually ambiguous scientists spew forth nearly unintelligible political nonsense over the course of several games’ worth of hard-to-follow story just to get to the good bits where I was crawling around a military base inside a giant cardboard box.  So, needless to say, I wasn’t really all that surprised by it.  Irritated, but not surprised, and I am more than likely going to swipe my card at a near-by GameStop when the game hit.
 
That said, however, Shaun spun the title to me from a different perspective–something I can usually count on him for–and it suddenly made a bit more sense.  He suggested–as is his viewpoint–that perhaps the title was the company’s way of shedding the series’ history of taking itself too seriously.  Immediately I recalled the gameplay trailer and its sequences of over-the-top action (at one point Raiden cuts a man and the pillar he’s standing behind clean in half with one swipe of his sword) and overall presentation of the story and gameworld and suddenly the name actually made sense.  Well, okay, a little more sense.  In any event, I can’t wait to take control of Raiden and violently dice up those feminine mechs…who moo.
 
The next game I want to touch on is an obvious choice and I won’t spend too much time discussing due to a belief that most of you are well aware of its current state of development.  So, Halo 4.  Now, I am an unashamed fanboy of this series and all of its installments.  I have my favorites and I have no problem coming at its lesser iterations with my pick for nits, but overall, I am a big fan of the universe.  But, that’s where I find I differ slightly from a ridiculous number of people who have spent the last 10 years playing only the multiplayer.  I am a fan of the story and its characters.  I’ve read the [most of] the novels and I’ve played the games with a desire to get to the next cutscene–with the exception of Cortana’s incessant flashing before my eyes in Halo 3.  I think Bungie, and now the team at 343 Industries have crafted a rich universe and a character that most see as nothing more than a walking tank but I know has subtle complexities and has developed over the course of three games.  And that, right there, is what I’m excited about in regards to the next chapter in this story.  Specifically, I’m really looking forward to the series finally touching on the fact that Cortana is reaching the end of her viable lifespan.  Within the Halo lore, “smart A.I.” have a seven-year viable lifespan at the end of which, they begin to break down and their personalities become rampant.  As she states in the trailer, Cortana was “put into service eight years ago.”
 
Moving on to what may or may not be a lesser known game for you guys, I was blown away by the trailer for Beyond: Two Souls.  Granted, it’s a purely cinematic trailer and doesn’t give much more than hints at what is in store for the protagonist—voiced and apparently acted a’la L.A. Noire-style digitizing by Ellen Page—or the mysteries surrounding her, but it’s being made by the same guys who did Heavy Rain and that was one of my favorite games of 2010.  Even given that I know nothing of the gameplay or even the genre it will fall into, I am excited strictly based on Quantic Dreams’ ability to tell a superbly engaging story.  If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you need to.
 
Speaking of surprises, I was totally caught off guard by Watch_Dogs.  Not only is this an open-world shooter that looks to be pushing the boundaries in terms of how alive the gameworld can be, but appears to have a core mechanic that will buck the “norm” of this type of game.  Not to mention the fact that the trailer showed roughly ten minutes of gameplay and, more than the fantastic set pieces and solid shooting mechanics, I was intrigued by the story (duh, right?).  This could be another one of those games that shows the world video games are a rising medium for storytelling.  Add to that the fact that the game’s locale is none other than my favorite city, and you have yourself a game that I will be adding to my library.
 
Then, of course, we have returning entries into existing franchises.  But this year, I have been continually surprised with the new directions some of these titles are taking.  For starters, Assassin’s Creed III’s new time period looks to give the franchise a much-needed change of scenery.  But, with that, also comes some updating to the overall gameplay and I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve seen so far!  I mean, sweet baby basketweavers, the Naval Combat could be a game all by itself!  I must admit, I did not see that coming.  I may have watched that segment ten times before I was ready to move on.
 
Which brought me to Spinter Cell: Blacklist.  Now, at first, I had only seen the cinematic trailer for this and, I have to admit to being utterly disappointed.  With Conviction, I was finally back onboard with the direction UbiSoft was taking with Sam’s character and, while it wasn’t without flaws, the gameplay was fun and showcased some fresh ideas.  Then I saw the cinematic trailer and it was like they had taken a step backward, ignoring everything they had done with Sam.  In Conviction he was finally showing his age and the game revolved around his desire to leave the world of espionage only to be brought unwillingly back into the fold to save his daughter; whom he’d thought to have died in a car accident.  Now we have Sam single-handedly taking on a terrorist army in another country and is apparently the leader of Fourth Echelon, which the government is actively denying exists.  So, here we are, leaping freely back into the over-the-top world-saving that is better suited for old guys with mullets.
 
Of course, this was all before I saw the gameplay trailer.  I could go on and on about all the things that this trailer used to shut me up but I think it would be better for you to watch yourself.  I can’t even fall back on my usual staple of how Sam Fisher seems to exist in a strange tear in space and time which somehow makes him younger with each new game.  If they pull off the things this video shows with the level of intensity on display here, UbiSoft could give Sam a pink mohawk and fishnet stockings up his arms and I wouldn’t give two shits.

And while we’re on gameplay trailers, you need to watch this one.  I’m not going to talk about it because I think the game speaks for itself.

I’ll wrap this brain dribbling up with one more game: Star Wars 1313.
 
Holy shit on a Hutt’s tail!
 
Okay, sorry…
 
Anyway, there isn’t much information about this game’s story outside of its setting of Level 1313—a lower level of Coruscant’s ever-rising city-spanning metropolis—and the protagonist’s vocation of Bounty Hunter.  That’s right, you don’t play a Jedi in this game and I’m surprised to say I’m incredibly happy about.  It gives the design team a chance to tell a story far removed from that of the Skywalkers and their friends; on the outskirts of the never-ending war between the big players of good and evil.  It gives them more freedom, I think, and that can only be a good thing.  And, speaking of freedom for the writers, this game is said to be a “mature” Star Wars tale and, while I can’t seem to lock down whether that means an actual Mature rating or just a focus on more adult themes, it is something I find exhilarating.  But, all that aside, the gameplay footage of this game blows my mind.  From the—maybe—handful of minutes of gameplay showcased in the video, it is clear that the team at Lucas is borrowing heavily from Uncharted.  If you know me, you know that blending Uncharted and Star Wars in the same game is more or less granting me a source of never-ending pleasure.  In essence, I am chomping at the bit for any and all details I can get on this digital joygasm!
 
That’s really all I had.  There are plenty of games that I’m excited for and have left out of this; Sleeping Dogs, Dead Space 3, and Far Cry 3 just to name a few.  But I don’t have time to write and I’m sure you don’t have the desire to read a list that long.  Suffice it to say, I am of the opinion that the next 12 months are going to be saturated with an onslaught of potentially awesome games.  If nothing else, it will be fun to keep an eye on what’s to come.
 
Later!
 
 
–Ray