I'll use this topic to do a quick summary of the games that caught my eye at E3 and how I think they'll do when they are brought onto shelves.
Halo 4:
343i was created with the Halo franchise in mind and heart. And the fact many employees from Bungie jumped ship to ensure the next game in the franchise was the same, if not better quality than the previous games in the franchise, assures me that the game is in safe hands.
I like the organisation that 343i are putting into multiplayer through the use of the UNSC Infinity. Dividing multiplayer into Spartan Ops and War Games is something I'm happy to see as Spartan Ops will ensure the game has a long lifespan. I'm not too happy with the way 343i are trying to replicate some elements of CoD, Spartan Ops leeching off Spec Ops for example, and the weapon load outs at the start of the game. I much prefer the idea of everyone having the same weapon to start with.
Campaign wise, the new enemies look well thought out and will probably have abilities to ensure campaign on Legendary is a hell of a task to get through. And I can't wait to dive into the story which will no doubt see Cortana rampaging through AI space
No sign of Forge mode. This displeases me. And therefore causes my verdict on the game to drop.
Already pre-ordered limited edition and no doubt Halo 4 will be a success when it comes out!
Danny's Vote:
9/10
Forza Horizon
It's great to see Forza is expanding beyond the track, something that will give it a one up on a certain PS3 rival game. The music choice for the trailer was damn awful, but it seems we're moving into an age where all music is now produced on laptops rather than instruments. I see the new Dodge Viper is the spotlight car for the game, which is fair enough as the Viper has been a massive icon for American cars since it has been produced. It'll be good to see how Horizon stacks up against the Most Wanted reboot, but I'll be buying both the games nonetheless and look forward to seeing how large the world map provided is.
Danny's Vote:
7.5/10
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Most Wanted is hands down,
THE best game in the Need For Speed franchise. I was expecting Hot Pursuit 2 as NFS 2012, but I was clearly mistaken. Whilst it all looks flashy with the current generation NFS graphics and car choices, the games really seems to fall upon the whole "beat your friends" element. The whole thing I enjoyed about Most Wanted was progressing up the Black List that was already provided in the game, and completing the tasks required to ensure I was the Most Wanted. That was the whole story of the game and in my eyes, what made it tick. What I'm seeing from this game now, is less of a story than the original which is probably the reason I'm currently not rating it too high until I hear more. I'll most likely part ways with my cash for it, but I have a feeling something will let me down with this.
Danny's Vote:
7/10
Call Of Duty Black Ops II
We all knew from the start that after MW3 we'd most likely have Black Ops 2. After watching the trailer not long before E3 though, I was very much surprised to see the game was set in the not too distant future, and is slightly realistic in the term of real world technological advancement. However after watching the E3 demo, it was back to the basics. They've used the same graphics now time and time again, and whilst the saying "don't fix it if it isn't broken" is what is being applied here, I've grown rather tired of the graphics CoD offers. You only have to look at a pile of rubble in previous games that share the same graphics to realise that some visual aspects have been rushed. I really was hoping for perfect visual quality this time round but that probably won't happen.
Multiplayer will be the same full of rude people who think they know all about war because they revised all the gun names in the game and have a high rank.
Zombies. I'm glad they're back. And with 8 people co-op. Nom.
Danny's Vote:
7.5/10
Watch_Dogs
I think it's safe to say the majority of people who saw this little unexpected gem from Ubisoft were blown away. I certainly was. Ubisofts answer to GTA, but with technology playing a much larger key note in the story. It looks to have endless possibilities with that you can do with that little smart phone you carry around, and my jaw was in the floor when I discovered the many ways to escape opponents in car chases by raising bridges at the touch of a button whilst speeding through traffic. I have high hopes for this game, and no doubt it will sell way as long as Ubisoft slowly feed the public with further teasers and answers.
Danny's Vote:
8.5/10
Fifa 13
EA's main cash cow. Not much changes every year and EA's idea is the following:
"Put this update into Fifa 13, this into Fifa 14, this into Fifa 15, etc etc". Simply to gain more money.
I'd much rather them produce one game called Fifa, then update it through forms of DLC and update the teams and kits each year accordingly. And adding Kinect compatibility isn't going to win me over EA. No chance.
Danny's Vote:
3/10