STACK NZ Jul #64

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21
GAMES FEATURE
A
Show To End
All Shows?
I t's customary for attendees of
the Electronic Entertainment
Expo, or E3, held annually in
Los Angeles, to conduct a post
mortem once the doors have closed on
another year of showcasing the video
games and related tech we can expect
to be playing over the next twelve
months and beyond. Journalists,
retailers and industry analysts dissect
the highs and lows of the show that, in
recent times, has failed to deliver on
pre-event promises. This year,
however, was different. Aside from the
most ardent pessimists, there would
be few who wouldn’t agree that it was
one of the best in recent memory.
The rumours leading up to E3
suggested that publishers would be all about
content, content, content; and it needed to
be. Big generation-defining releases for both
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have been lacking
since the consoles launched in 2013, so
anticipation (and demand) for quality new-gen
titles was at fever pitch.
Still buzzing from the rousing media
conferences, and equipped with a decent pair
of trainers and a bag of lollies to assuage the jet
lag, we hit the floor literally running at midday,
following the crowds surging onto the show
floor like the Encierro in Pamplona. First up was
a beeline to Take Two, moving around
a large crowd snapping pictures of the
life-sized Battleborn figurines standing
guard on the corner of the booth.
During the Battleborn presentation,
Gearbox announced that there would
be 25 playable characters in this
MOBA-styled title, which features
single-player story missions and
multiplayer modes to boot. Best of
all, we got to try it out, jumping into a
five-player co-op game. Selecting Oscar
Mike, a character that most players
of first-person shooters will recognise
(I know, it’s a predictable selection
to make, but he looked so cool), our
20-minute session felt like it was
over in five. It’s colourful, varied, and
features a cracking score. Although Gearbox
have yet to reveal too much of the game, again,
it’s a title we’ll be keen to play on launch.
Last year, the final game we played at E3
was Rainbow Six: Siege and it left a lasting