Our E3 Wishlist

It’s that time of the year again. You can tell from the scent of butthurt fanboys readying their elite level keyboard warrior insults that E3 is upon us. Comment sections will be clogged with classics like how Master Chief would ‘rek’ Nathan Drake, or how inferior the Xbox One is because it can’t play most multi-platform games at 1080p. At the end of the day though, we will all be united as we ride the emotional rollercoaster that this conference has become. Publishers and developers will toy with us as they announce new IPs and highly anticipated sequels, only for them to be delayed a year later (top blokes). But there still is genuine excitement over the unknown. What will be announced? Rumour mills run riot at this time of year and while some of the guesswork is correct, others are way off the mark. All of us (gamers) deep down (no pun intended, Capcom) have a wish list of what they would love to see announced at E3, the greatest spectacle showpiece of the gaming convention calendar. Ladies and gentlemen, here is ours:

Zach:

This year there aren’t many games I would like to see announced, it’s more that I would like to see more from previously announced titles. Firstly, HUNT: Horrors of the Gilded Age.

This was my favourite announcement from last year’s E3. This four player, supposedly free-to-play co-op game set during the 1800s is being developed by Crytek. A beta was planned for the end of last year, but everything has been quiet on the HUNT front ever since Crytek hit those financial struggles last year. I’ve been assured that the game is still in development and I hope we see it in action this year with a release window. I also hope they drop the free-to-play shenanigans, because most FTP games stink and are heavily saturated with microtransactions. Speaking of release windows, I’d love to see some details given on windows for both Quantum Break and Homefront: The Revolution, just so they can delay them again. Lastly, I am very keen to see the debut footage of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 from CI Games and The Walking Dead game being developed by Payday 2 devs Overkill Software and Starbreeze Studios.

As for announcements I hope that Bethesda, who are hosting their very own conference, announce a sequel to Dishonored. That game was one of the best of the last gen in all facets. Given that Arkane have been hard at work on something, there’s a chance it could be this. Deep Silver are another publisher I hope that announce a sequel. A follow up to Metro: Last Light is needed. Both Metro games so far have been fantastic and we have seen with the new consoles how stunning these games (Metro Redux) can look. A new game with a little more open world about it would be very, very cool.

Lastly, the game that I wait for with bated breath is Resident Evil 7. Capcom need to deliver the goods with this iteration. The franchise depends on it. Do they reboot it? I hope not, I’m too attached to the characters to start over. So what do they do to save it? Well for starters, don’t have bosses that have more comebacks than John Farnham. Seriously, that Fly in Leon’s campaign in RE6 was laughable. The word on the street (internet) is that RE7 is in the works and could be released this year. This fella can only hope.

Kieran:

I’ve made it a tradition to get up ludicrously early Australian time and watch the major pressers from E3 every year for a while now. With an Irish coffee in hand, I watch with bleary-eyed excitement as the biggest publishers and developers pull out the big guns. I would love to see more of Scalebound as it is made by one of my favourite developers Platinum, and so little is known about it currently.

I also want to hear Max Payne talk about Quantum Break some more. I’m really interested to see how that turns out given its lengthy development cycle, and at the very least I’ll get a chuckle out of Sam Lake’s hilarious accent and delivery style. I think we are also assured a campaign trailer for Halo 5 and this has got my Xbox fanboy senses tingling. 343i have proven they can tell a good story with Halo 4 and their trailers are pure quality in all aspects.

I would love to see some unscripted gameplay footage from Star Wars: Battlefront, Rainbow Six: Siege and The Division. Please, no misleading vertical slices that are accompanied by people “playing” the game that are faker than Kim Kardashian’s arse implants (I’m looking at you The Division).

Fallout 4 also has me at half-mast currently too. Also, give me some Shadow Of The Beast news! In terms of things that are probably wildly improbable, give me another Burnout (without the open world for Christ’s sake), Micromachines game, Tenchu or Legacy of Kain.

Trent:

Easily my most anticipated announcement is from Bethesda this year, with Fallout 4.

It’s been a long wait since New Vegas and all signs are indeed pointing to a new entry in the Fallout universe, but we will have to wait and see for an official reveal.

Second most-anticipated would be the mysterious new PS4 exclusive open world title from Guerrilla Games (of Killzone fame). There’s only been a few leaked screenshots so far that show a vast world filled with mech-dinosaurs and a female lead. These little morsels and my faith in Guerrilla to branch out into a new IP have me very excited.

Finally, I am hoping Blizzard may announce a release date for the much anticipated new competitive shooter, Overwatch. The game has Esports written all over it, and I for one am very keen to get playing! 

John:

Like Zach I’m mostly anticipating gameplay footage and further details on previously announced titles but that’s not to say I’m not looking forward to a few new announcements.

Firstly, I’d like to see something on GTA 6. Yes I know we’ve only just been given GTA V and it’s a bit ambitious to be expecting an announcement for the sixth instalment of Rockstar Game’s hugely successful franchise but one can hope. There have been rumours aplenty and it seems inevitable that we will be getting another addition but my interest is piqued at the potential improvements that could be announced. Personally, I’d love to see a bigger world, deeper character customisation and a choice of characters.

I’m a massive FIFA fanboy so of course I’m looking forward to the announcement of FIFA 16.

We know it’s coming and we know it’s basically going to be identical to the other FIFA games (because really, how much can you actually change?), but I’m excited about the subtle differences we see every year. This time around I’d love to see more options put into manager mode. I want more control, akin to Football Manager. A lot of the time in these games it seems like the decisions you make off the field have little bearing on how the game plays out. What I really want is an RPG type focus on manager mode whereby decisions you make as manager affect every aspect of the football club throughout the season. There’s one thing in FIFA15 that really really pisses me off: the refereeing. It’s far too precise and unrealistic. If you have a packed box (*giggles like a school boy*), it’s quite unlikely the referee or the linesman is going to be able to pick every decision with 100% accuracy. Another addition I want to see is the ability to actually fight the opposition and for you to be able to interact with the active fans.

Lastly, I want, nay NEED, a new Baldur’s Gate!! I have no fonder gaming memories than those I have of playing Baldur’s Gate. The last time we saw this title was back in 2004 and it was met with critical acclaim. What followed was a rather unfortunate series of events that saw the announcement of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance III cancelled, to be put in a box under the stairs. It’s very unlikely we’ll see any other Baldur’s Gate game announced in the future but again, one can hope!

Aza:

This year’s E3 is looking to be Nintendo’s, with their World Championship already on the cards. Judging from their other events at previous E3s, it should be a grand old time for the players and a blast for the spectators! Nintendo has also confirmed that Star Fox for the Wii U, which was teased nearly a year ago, will be making an appearance at the convention, although we don’t know if it’s in playable form or not. More information about Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem and Xenoblade Chronicles X is never a bad thing either! Surprises are nice, too. Surprises with fast cars in the future. F-Zero surprises. I’ve been a good boy this year. As for non-Nintendo anticipations, I’m looking forward to certain embarrassment from Ubisoft’s show, the impending insanity of Doom, more on the new Deus Ex, and EA trying to salvage their Star Wars: Battlefront reboot.

Taylor:

I’m very keen to see what’s in store at this year’s E3. My most anticipated games are: The Division, Assassins Creed: Syndicate, Halo 5, Homefront: The Revolution and Rainbow Six: Siege.

Out of these I am mostly looking forward to an AC presentation that is single-player centric. It has recently been announced that the Assassins Creed developers are straying away from multiplayer with the latest instalment, and so now they should be able put more resources into the alternate history London they are creating.

Rainbow Six is another game that got my attention immediately with the first preview video shown at E3 2014. It seems to have similar qualities to the Battlefield games in terms of destructibility, which I like, but in more claustrophobic environments. The video was heavily scripted though, so it will be interesting to see something a bit more organic in terms of gameplay.

I want to see more on Star Wars: Battlefront, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, Just Cause 3, Mad Max and Quantum Break.

I was disappointed to hear that Titanfall 2 won’t be at E3. I haven’t heard much about it, only that it’s going to be cross platforms, and I loved ‘floating above the ground’ with Kieran on the first one.

Jason:

Ahhh, E3! What a time to be alive! For me, E3 is a time where I can be brought back to my childhood. It brings me back to playing games that remind me of the good times, playing games that reminds me of the better times (I bet you didn’t think you’d be getting a Chumbawumba reference, you lucky people). This leads me to my most-anticipated game: Marvel Lego Superheroes 2. What a game the first one was! Seriously, if you haven’t played it, do it, you won’t regret it. Believe it or not, playing that game with the wife was the most interaction we’ve had with each other in years. I’d love to see an announcement for number 2 so I can spend some more time with her.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed III is a game I’d like to see a little more footage of at this year’s E3. I really enjoyed number 2 and I’m looking forward to the release of the next one, just stop teasing me and show me more!

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is the final game I’d like to see more of this year. Of course with the release date so close to that of the expo, it’s more likely we’ll get an announcement for the sequel but we’ll see.

James:

The game I am looking forward to the most would have to be Fallout 4. This franchise would hands down be my favourite RPG. I would have lost weeks of my life playing the previous titles Fallout 3 and New Vegas and I would happily do it again for Fallout 4. I think the next gen consoles could only make this franchise better.

The next game I think is a bit of a long shot, but it would probably be the series that got me into gaming in the first place and include my all-time favourite game: Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance 2. A follow up to this would be insane considering the last title was released on the Playstation 2.