Today marked Day 1 of E3 2017 and we spent the majority at the expo hall, situated at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, where most of the hands-on sessions, meetings and interviews with video game developers and publishers were being held.
We had the opportunity to get a one on one look as well as some hands-on time with upcoming games such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Strange Brigade, Rogue Trooper: Redux, Project Cars 2, Dragonball Z Fighter and Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom.
Our Uncharted: The Lost Legacy session was more of a private screening of gameplay, with a representative from Naughty Dog playing through the game, while the game’s writer, Josh Scherr, walked us through what we were seeing and provided us with some little insights into the history of the title.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy follows Chloe Frazer, the secondary character in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Nadine Ross, as they travel through the south-west of India in search of the Tusk of Ganesh.
With such a setting, the game derives its narrative from Hindu mythology and the ancient Indian culture, many aspects of which are still prevalent today. In order to ensure content was as accurate as possible and respectable to the Indian culture and Hindu religion, Naughty Dog consulted with a religious expert at a local University.
The graphics are certainly a standout highlight of the game, with crisp visuals and an entirely realistic character design. From what we were shown, the game appears to handle really well and is smooth, much like many of the other Uncharted games.
One of the best aspects of the game is currently the way in which Chloe is portrayed. Her character does handle action superbly, is able to hold her own as well as Nathan Drake could, and it’s nice to see a strong, female character take the lead. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is scheduled to release in August.
Our next hands on experience was with UK studio, Rebellion Games, who are known for the Sniper Elite games. The studio’s presence at E3 was to show off two very fun and addictive, yet very different titles, Strange Brigade, a third person, co-op multiplayer, adventure-shooter, and Rogue Trooper: Redux, a remastered version of the old school Rogue Trooper game, which is based off the 2000 AD comics of the same name.
Strange Brigade was very much like an Indiana Jones game with hordes of zombie enemies, which are made up mostly of Egyptian mummies. The 1940s style narration is refreshing and adds character as well as unique personality to the game. The gameplay feels similar to the Zombie Mode in the Call of Duty Black Ops series, with waves of enemies attacking at every turn. With four characters to select from, there is variety in gameplay as each character possesses their own unique abilities and base load outs. The game plays well and appears to be one that could provide hours of endless fun, however the controls do take some getting used to if playing for the first time. Regardless, fans of shooters and adventure games will definitely enjoy Strange Brigade, which currently does not have a release date set.
The second game, Rogue Trooper: Redux, was a rather interesting one. A remaster of the original 2006 single-player, third person shooter, the game follows the genetically engineered super soldier, Rogue, and his sentinel helmet, backpack and rifle. As one of the last of his squadron to remain alive, Rogue battles enemies with the help of his talking equipment. The concept is certainly intriguing and one which fans of the original game will enjoy. Rogue Trooper: Redux will be available across multiple platforms, including the Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC, to allow for a broad range of gamers to enjoy the game.
After three very solid games, we were thrilled to have gotten a chance to take a look at the upcoming Bandai Namco titles, Project Cars 2, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom and Dragonball Z Fighter.
Project Cars 2, the second iteration of the popular racing title, is set to release on 22 September. Project Cars boasts the largest track roster of any console racing game and was one of the first to include dynamic weather. Project Cars 2 includes cars from every iconic brand, which can be played right from the get go, without the need to grind for cash or to unlock cars. It also now includes seasonal changes as well as improved localised weather.
The overall highlight of Project Cars 2 is its focus on providing absolute realism, with extremely realistic tracks, multi-class racing, which allows both fast and slower cars to race at the same time, having a real driver’s career and providing an experience across the full spectrum of car racing.
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is an interesting title. Based on the similar art style of Studio Ghibli animation, the game tells the tale of a young King who doesn’t quite know how to be a leader. With a coup on the horizon, the King must work together with those around him to gain experience to crush the coup and lead his people. The major difference in this game compared to the previous iteration is that it now includes a new kingdom mode and includes real time combat as opposed to the traditional turn based style.
Dragonball Z Fighter was the big surprise of the year from Bandai Namco, and one that’s been extremely well received. The game illustrates the perfect fusion between the Dragonball universe and Arc System Works. Proof of this is in the graphical quality of the game, with the extreme animation used. The game looks great and runs like a charm at 1080p and at a constant 60fps. One of the great aspects of this new fighting game, which includes 3 v 3 gameplay, is that each character is unique and has their own move and skills set.
The games releasing in 2017/2018 are certainly intriguing and will be awesome to play. We can’t wait.