In less than three weeks, the Electronic Entertainment Expo will take place. We at Gaming Boulevard will pay a lot of attention to this unique gaming event in Los Angeles.
We’ll be giving you our crew’s predictions and hopes for this edition of the convention each Sunday and Wednesday. To start off Gorik Verbeken will give his predictions.
Naturally this list starts with one of the biggest things at E3 this year: the Nintendo conference. I Want to see it with a big amount of details on the WiiU, the games it will be releasing with in particular and the upcoming titles for the new console with a few demonstrations. I’m curious to see how their (hopefully) innovative new controller will change the way of gaming. I’m yet to be won over. I doubt if it can really bring a fresh new element to the Wii. But I’m to be proven wrong. I just hope they don’t bomb us with Nintendo-titles. How about some GTA 5 for WiiU? It doesn’t always have to be Mario or Metroid.
I’m also eager to see Electronic Arts. Not because I’m a big fan of Crysis, they might mention Crysis 3. Not because of the Sim City reboot or Medal of Honor: Warfighter. And don’t even get me started on how EA Sports is doing it differently this year, and why. I just want to see what they have to say about Mass Effect 3. There were a ton of complaints about the ending of the game. I won’t spoil, but I can at least tell you there were so many disappointed people that EA has chosen to adapt and change the ending to make sure everybody still likes them. Selling your soul, EA? They’ll probably end up giving their lunch money to the big bad bullying gamers. Who then will probably eat it like cake and buy the new version with altered ending. You just shouldn’t splice your story like that. I’ve heard of different endings, stached away in collector’s edition of great films like Stigmata and others. But actually changing the course of the story, because people don’t like your ending? I want to see what they have to say for themselves.
Next up is Ubisoft. A bunch of crazy French dudes, with marvelous games. I consider myself the biggest Assassin’s Creed fan. Whenever I feel like gaming something I’ve done before, I get out my prized 4-part collection of Ubisoft’s finest products. I’m proud to say that bit by bit, trophy by trophy, I’m getting them all up to Platinum. Next to that I’m also a Far Cry-fan. I got the first one when I started to seriously game on PC. The second one when I was already wearing my PS3 out from hour-long sessions through night and day. And I will be playing the third installment without a doubt not far from the release date. So I am faced with a dilemma. I love these games. I happily spend money and time on these games. I’ve grown up together with them and shared pain and glory. But I’m not sure I want to know all the details. I loved it when I bought Assassin’s Creed 2 and because of the difference with its predecessor it blew my mind. After that it kind of went downhill with the mind-blowing. So I promised myself to ignore and block all of the information circulating around Assassin’s Creed 3. But things leaked trough my iron curtain. I saw the trailer and I feel like a junkie, itching for a fix. I want to see it, I need to know what happens. But like a poor kid on Christmas morning, I’m scared that when I take off the wrapping and crappy done ribbons, I’ll be disappointed and will have to accept what has been given to me instead of dreaming of plot twists and innovative gameplay. ,
God Of War Ascension and Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal. ‘Nuff said. Just like I’m an Assassin’s creed fan, I’m a God of War fan. I’ve played them all, I’ve enjoyed them all. Nothing more, nothing less. I love it because it’s simple. Kill everything, don’t die, use these powers, oh hey, there’s another cool weapon, the end. And it works! I love killing things with Kratos. No intricate plots, no huge open world, no complicated RPG-like upgrade-tree. Just God of War. It’s a strong title and you can’t wipe it off the table when another installment is due. The first time they attempt a multiplayer for God of War. I’m reminded of Dante’s Inferno, wich is also similar in gameplay but did have a multiplayer. Dante’s Inferno didn’t stand out like Kratos does, but if I look at past attempts like these and check out the trailer for Ascension, I’m pretty curious to see what they have to show for it and what side of Kratos’ dramatic life we will see. And then there’s Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal. Everybody will agree with me that it’s just like Super Smash Brothers, but for Playstation. Ok, I’ll give it a fair shot. Show me what you got, Sony! On second thought, maybe you just bring out Kevin Butler. That guy’s always awesome all over the place.
There are also a couple of things that I’d like to see, but I’m wise enough to know there’s no chance I’ll get to see what I want to. I’m talking cold heavy hardware. I’d like to know the release date for the WiiU and the pricing. But I’d better not get my hopes up for that one. I’ve been hearing a lot about the new Playstation and about the new Xbox. Playstation would come up with the Orbis instead of the Playstation 4. Making it a beautiful partner with its handheld console, the Vita. Orbis Vita. Coincidence? I think not.
Microsoft is rumoured to have their answer to Sony’s new console, the Durango. Now I just know the names for the new consoles and I’m not even sure of these. But I’d like to get some more information. A subtle reference or a teaser perhaps? No way they are going to give actual facts or details. But a gamer can dream. And then there’s Valve. Not only would we get spoiled with the new Wii and perhaps later on with the new Playstation and Xbox, but there are rumors they might get a new competitor on the market. Valve’s been thinking about something along the lines of a ‘Steambox’. I wonder if there’s a chance they mention it at E3? We’ll just have to hold our fingers crossed, I guess.
