After a full day experiencing all the latest and greatest in video games, the adventure continues as we dove right into Day 2 of E3. With such an extensive range of titles on show across a plethora of publications, it seemed almost unlikely for there to be any hands-on (or rather, in some cases, eyes-on) experiences that could top Day 1. Boy, were we wrong.
Our time on the show floor on Day 2 was much more eventful as we were offered decent hands-on time with highly anticipated games such as Bravo Team and The Inpatient on the PlayStation VR as well as other hot titles such as Day’s Gone, Spider-Man, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Far Cry 5 and Middle Earth: Shadow of War.
We began our day with twenty minutes of PlayStation VR, having a go on Bravo Team with another journalist, with whom we were on a co-op mission. Bravo Team, is an action-based, first person shooter, in which teamwork is key. Verbal communication between players is imperative in order to survive and avoid enemy detection. The game puts you in complete control of the action as you utilise the PlayStation VR Aim Controller (or VR Gun Controller) and movement of your body to look around corners to take down enemies. The experience is entirely immersive and seemingly realistic of what real life shooters are like.
Next on our list was the creepy game, The Inpatient, which according to the PlayStation representative who walked us through the beginning of the game, is a prequel to the popular horror game, Until Dawn. The Inpatient certainly took the term ‘creepy’ to a whole other level as you play as an amnesiac patient at what appeared to be a mental institution. The game requires players to make active choices, which affect the nature of the story and gameplay. It was slightly unnerving to have doctors and orderlies stare at you up close and the jump scares were terrifying. The Inpatient certainly isn’t for the faint of heart and requires nerves of steel to get through. Fans of horror will love this game!
With the VR experiences out the door and once our nerves were a little more settled, we managed to sit through a rather thrilling eyes-on experience with Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man, which was just so good that we had to give it it’s own write-up.
While the PlayStation titles were intriguing, it was the brilliant and colourful graphics of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Far Cry 5 that blew us away. Despite being similar to previous iterations of the games, both Origins and Far Cry 5 were extremely stunning. Origins certainly took our interest with its new setting in ancient Egypt. Being set right at the very beginning, the gameplay essentially follows one of the first Assassins and leads us through the origins of the Brotherhood through amazing gameplay.
Despite having fantastic graphics, Far Cry 5 felt more or less the same as every other Far Cry title. Perhaps our hands on time was too short, but what we experienced wasn’t compelling. Our hands-on essentially consisted of shooting enemies through a small town without any real story or plot, though it was rather amusing having a dog as our primary companion and assistant. Perhaps a proper playthrough will reveal more significant narrative to the game and allow us to feel a little more connected to the lore of Far Cry 5.
After a long day of running between halls to make our hands-on sessions, our day finally came to a brilliant end with our final preview, Middle Earth: Shadow of War. The theatrical introduction to the game by Warner Brothers Entertainment was spectacular as we were introduced to the various characters and style of gameplay. This sequel to the popular game, Shadow of Mordor, is set directly after the events of the first game and sees us continue our siege to take control of castles ruled by high powered Orcs.
After the introduction, we were given a brief hands-on, which was rather challenging but also a lot of fun. Shadow of War allows players to choose the style of game they wish to play, be it through a full campaign, short side missions or endless amounts of fun in a more sandbox environment. Given that we didn’t want any spoilers, we chose to test our skills in the sandbox. Gameplay was fantastic and the movements of the characters were incredibly fluid. Slicing and dicing Orc minions and their mounts was an enticing challenge as were controlling the enemies and being able to turn them over to our side. The amount of power given to use and the variety of ways to defeat enemies certainly made for a unique gaming experience. The best part? Players need not have played the previous game, Shadow of Mordor, to enjoy the upcoming Shadow of War game.
With such a fun filled day full of hands and eyes-on experiences with some of the best of E3, we’re extremely excited to pick up these games when they release.