e32018
Latest
EA can’t buy what makes ‘PES’ great
It hasn't been a good month for Pro Evolution Soccer. Back in May, UEFA ended its partnership with Konami, a deal that allowed PES to include the biggest annual club tournament in Europe. And, perhaps more importantly, the teams that qualified for it. Some of those big names remain thanks to separate licensing deals with the club itself or with a league. It's true that EA is stacking the deck when it comes to teams and tournaments in FIFA, but the charm of PES goes way beyond its team roster.
'Ghost of Tsushima' sent its developers to Japanese History 101
It's not often that classic Japanese cinema and modern console gaming intersect, but in Sucker Punch's upcoming samurai adventure, Ghost of Tsushima, the two meld seamlessly. The studio has taken great effort to reproduce the game's setting in 13th-century Japan as accurately as possible and the effect is like playing your way through an Akira Kurosawa film.
Nintendo offers a rare sale on downloadable games for E3
In a rare move for the venerable video game company, Nintendo has just put together a sale in honor of E3 on "select digital games" for both its Switch and 3DS consoles. While the company promises up to a 50% discount, you won't find deep discounts on games you probably want, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for $45 and Splatoon 2 for $40, both of which typically retail for $60. The sale ends June 21st at 8:59 AM PT or 11:59 AM ET.
We watched someone play 'Beyond Good and Evil 2'
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is a game that exists. Or at least, there's something that's playable inside Ubisoft's office. During a behind-closed-doors presentation, some of the team showed off a playable demo on a planet called Soma. It revolved around Ganesha City, the bustling metropolis that featured in last year's cinematic E3 trailer. Two players, working cooperatively, started in an underground temple riddled with mercenaries working for nefarious corporations. The team showed off the basic controls -- you have a sword, gun and some swappable powers, including a time-slowing bubble -- before dispatching their foes in record time.
‘Control’ is a leap of faith for the team behind ‘Alan Wake'
Control isn't what you expect. Rather than the stylized, linear shooters developer Remedy Entertainment is known for, it's a free-form experience that has more in common with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night than it does with Alan Wake. Except, instead of exploring a moody castle, you're scouring the shape-shifting headquarters of a secretive government agency, the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), which has been infested by an otherworldly presence known as The Hiss. There's still shooting, of course, and it all looks incredibly cinematic, with pillars breaking apart and protagonist Jesse Faden using both telekinetic powers and a shape-shifting firearm to dispatch the presence haunting her former coworkers. The entire game takes place within the FBC's headquarters, The Oldest House. From the outside, it looks like a nondescript building in Manhattan. But once you cross the threshold, things start getting surreal.
'Dragon Quest XI' is the gateway JRPG new players needed
Dragon Quest XI launched in Japan almost a year ago, but it's only here at E3 this month that a western release is finally playable. Same old story right? A long-delayed Japanese game takes an age to get through localization, and appears with stilted translations, cheap voiceovers and a sense that this new game is already old. Wrong. DQXI subverts that. Well, a little. The US release will have voiced characters (the Japanese release had no voice actors), while also adding crucial upgrades like a dash button for your character, and a streamlined interface for smoothly getting your band of quirky allies in order.
'Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!' doesn't feel like a remake
Those of us that have enjoyed the series since Red know an uncomfortable truth: Nintendo doesn't have to do much to sell us on a Pokémon game. Millions of us had formative experiences playing the Gen I titles, and since then we've obediently picked up every game that followed. The series has, of course, evolved over time. Hundreds and hundreds of new Pokémon have joined the fray, along with new mechanics and types. But that's all incidental -- I would still enjoy the core loop of exploring, capturing and battling my way to a new Elite Four, regardless of the effort Nintendo puts in.
The esports arena at E3 2018 puts mobile gaming center-stage
Video game fans in North America are waking up to the possibilities behind mobile esports, following in the footsteps of the Asian market, which has been quicker to embrace professional Android and iOS gaming. Mobile esports games include Honor of Kings, Clash Royale and Arena of Valor, a League of Legends-style title that was showcased at E3 2018 in the ESL Esports Arena. In the middle of a heated playoff battle between Immortals and the newcomers Dino Riders, ESL North America CEO Yvette Martinez-Rea explained the impact that mobile esports are likely to have on the broader gaming industry.
Playing 'Jump Force' is like drinking liquid fan service
Bandai Namco continues to perfect the art of anime video game. Following its well-regarded Naruto Ultimate Storm series and last year's incredible-looking Dragonball FighterZ, it's time to bring all the heroes together. Jump Force, named after the best-selling line of manga magazines in Japan, draws on heroes (and villains) from hugely influential series like One Piece and Dragonball Z and fires it all at planet Earth. Yep, this manga crossover brings giant energy balls, elasticated limbs and ninjitsu to places like New York. Destructive, enjoyable, chaos ensues.
'Mega Man 11' is a welcome return for the Blue Bomber
It's been more than eight years since Capcom released Mega Man 10. Do we really need a sequel? Based on a short demo I played, the answer is absolutely yes. Mega Man 11 has everything you would want and expect from the run-and-gun platforming franchise. It's devilishly hard, with fast-moving enemies and environmental hazards that will quickly whittle down your health bar, even on some of the easiest difficulty settings. The game is snappy, though, so I never felt like my many, many deaths were undeserved. I always wanted to get better and delve a little deeper into each stage I tried.
Here's a $20 arcade cabinet made of cardboard and a Switch
Where Nintendo goes, others follow. Off the back of Nintendo's popular Labo cardboard kits, accessory maker Nyko has concocted its own cardboard creation -- the PixelQuest Arcade Kit. Like Labo, it comes flat-packed as cardboard sheets. Where it differs is that the Arcade Kit doesn't come with any software. It's instead meant to act as a miniature arcade cabinet for games that support play on a single Joy-Con. That's a lot of games -- including major titles like Mario Kart 8 -- but the PixelQuest Arcade Kit is going to be at its best when paired with something like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection or Metal Slug 3.
In 'Cyberpunk 2077' you control your own dark, intoxicating future
Cyberpunk 2077 looks fantastic. It's a joy to be able write those words, and it's a relief that they ring so true. CD Projekt Red, the studio behind the Witcher series, has been remarkably silent since revealing Cyberpunk in 2012 -- developers released one teaser trailer in 2013 and then went underground, leaving sci-fi and RPG fans in the dark for five long years. At E3 2018, they finally turned on the light. And, my oh my, what a sight it is.
'Grim Fandango Remastered' and 'Broken Age' are headed to Switch
Two point-and-click titles from Tim Schafer's studio Double Fine Productions will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. The first, Grim Fandango Remastered, is a revised version of the classic title for modern platforms that came out in 2015, while the two-part Broken Age marked Schafer's triumphant return to adventure games. Double Fine didn't announce when either would come to the Switch.
Alienware's new gaming headset combines comfort with solid audio
If you're going to be playing Fornite for hours at a time, you need a headset that not only sounds good, but is also super comfy. Alienware revealed its Wireless Gaming Headset last week ahead of E3, but today I got to briefly test its merits. I'll admit when I first saw it last week, I wasn't blown away with the overall design. But as I would find out on the show floor, the company built a solid and capable gaming accessory here.
'Kingdom Hearts 3' made me feel 15 again
Kingdom Hearts II was my jam. I can't recall the number of times I've played those opening hours in Twilight Town. When the game came out in 2005, I was a 15 year-old grappling with adolescence and the relentless pressure to figure out my career path. Kingdom Hearts, with its colorful Disney worlds and random Final Fantasy cameos, was the perfect escape from reality. Over time, though, my interest in the series has waned. I enjoyed Birth By Sleep, but found the rest of the spin-offs to be underwhelming and full of needlessly convoluted story beats.
'Skull and Bones' might be the cure for Thalassophobia
You'll have to forgive Skull and Bones for being delayed into 2019 -- it's attempting to conquer the entire Indian Ocean, after all. The latest demo for Ubisoft Singapore's seafaring adventure shows off a busy combat arena, with pirate ships roaming the waters off a pristine beach seeking battles, treasure and glory.
'My Hero: One's Justice' brings the Plus Ultra action
Dragon Ball Fighter Z is currently the reigning champ of anime-based fighting games but it's about to get some tough competition -- and not just from the highly-anticipated release of Jump Force next year. My Hero Academia, one of the biggest hits in the anime universe right now, is getting its own fighter as well. My Hero: One's Justice is slated to drop later this year and, based on the demo that I just played at E3, is going to be a (Detroit) smash hit.
'Zone of the Enders' and PlayStation VR are a perfect match
It's the rule: When a game hits its second remaster, the title must get longer and more convoluted. So, for the PS4 (and now PC) 4K remaster, it's now Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner - Mars. It's a substantially repolished version that fixes some of the major issues with the first remaster, but it's the virtual reality component on PlayStation VR which stands out. Giant mech robots work well in VR, and ZOE2 remains an enjoyable sci-fi mech fighter even more than a decade later.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' tweaks a familiar multiplayer formula
Call of Duty: WWII was a breath of fresh air after the weirdness what was Infinite Warfare. The return to historical battles was a welcome change after a (thankfully) brief trip to space. For 2018, the series is back in the hands of Treyarch, which means a new installment of Black Ops. The studio, along with publisher Activision, already took the wraps off the game a few weeks ago. Perhaps most importantly, the duo revealed that the single-player campaign would be replaced by a PUBG-esque battle royale mode. Of course, the popular CoD multiplayer isn't going anywhere, and that's what Activision is showing off at E3 this week.
‘Fortnite’ E3 tournament was a taste of its esports future
As Fortnite continues to suck in gamers by the millions, Epic Games has worked hard to keep the game fresh and entertaining, whether players are dropping in for the first or thousandth time. But behind the scenes it's also putting the finishing touches on its plans for turning Fortnite into a competitive sport. Last month, it committed more than $100 million into Fortnite tournament prize pools and announced its first official esports event: the Fortnite Pro-Am. Popular streamers and YouTubers -- with backgrounds in PUBG, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty and, of course, Fortnite -- joined actors, sports stars and musicians at E3 for a 50-team, 100-person battle royale. Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, the biggest personality in competitive esports right now (helps when you stream with hip-hop megastar Drake), buddied up with EDM DJ Marshmello, and YouTuber Ali-A joined Fall Out Boy singer Pete Wentz while professional gamer Gotaga was accompanied by UFC fighter Demetrious Johnson in a bid to win a $3 million charity prize pool.
