E3 is one of the biggest events in the gaming year
If you are a fan of gaming, or a gamer as they are now commonly known, then you are probably keeping up to date with E3 with at least some degree of interest. Life is busy though, and we don’t all have time to sit through hours of mindless press conferences waiting for a 20 second trailer for a game or console, so sometimes you need to get down to brass tacks and just receive the essential details.
With E3 currently taking place in Los Angeles, there is a lot of gaming news emerging every day. To the uninitiated, E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo and every year most (though not all) major developers and publishers host an event during which they reveal major new projects, whether they be games or consoles.
Now that we’re all aware of the basic premise of E3, here are the biggest announcements from the showcase so far.
Final Fantasy VII
Yes, the Final Fantasy VII remake finally has a release date. We’ve known about this game for quite some time now but up until recently we had no idea when it would hit shelves.
But prior to their press conference at E3, Square Enix dropped the massive news that FFVII – one of the most beloved games of the PlayStation 1 era – would be available to play from 3 March 2020.
Just look at it. It’s beautiful.
Elden Ring
A joint effort from FromSoftware – the makers of the Dark Souls series and the recent and spectacular Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – and the creator of Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, Elden Ring was formally announced during Microsoft’s keynote at E3.
A teaser trailer, which you can see below, was played during Microsoft’s press conference, and while short on detail it did reveal the sort of gory fantasy art style that we have come to expect from both Martin and FromSoftware.
There has been no sign of gameplay footage yet, but it has been confirmed that the game will be available on Xbox and PC, but not PlayStation 4.
Doom Eternal
A sequel to 2016’s brilliant Doom, Doom Eternal sees you once again assume the role of the Doom Slayer, who is located in a fucking horrific hellscape which earth has become, thanks to – you guessed it – the forces of Hell.
As the Doom Slayer you are assigned the task of repelling these demons and you have a massive array of tools to do so. These include the usual firepower, as well as new shoulder-mounted weapons and, for the first time, the ability to climb walls.
The game will also feature a multiplayer mode called “Battle Mode”, which will see one player play as the Slayer and two others against him playing the role of two very well equipped demons.
As you can see from the trailer below, it looks quality. Doom Eternal will hit shelves in November of this year.
Halo Infinite
Fans of the Halo series will be delighted to hear that we are receiving yet another instalment of one of the most important first person shooters in history. The latest edition of the series will be a launch title for Xbox’s Project Scarlett and will once again see you assume the role of Master Chief in what appears to be an open world.
The game will also release on Xbox One and PC, and has been described by 343 industries as a “spiritual reboot” of Halo, with new characters and a “perfect starting point for new players”.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Star Wars games have a mixed history. While Knights of the Old Republic will go down in gaming lore, the recent Battlefront games have been received poorly by fans, not for their gameplay or aesthetics but for the game’s heavy reliance on in-game purchases in the form of debilitating loot boxes.
In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – a single-player action-adventure game which was announced months ago – we will be treated to a game which appears to borrow heavily from the most successful single-player games of recent years.
If EA’s gameplay trailer is to be trusted, the game mixes Uncharted‘s exploration and movement with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice‘s nuanced combat style.
It looks brilliant. Have a look.
Gears 5
Gears of War is one of Microsoft’s hallmark series, and the sixth instalment in the series looks as good as ever. Set to be released in September 2019, the game sees you explore the origins of the Locusts.
Destroy All Humans!
You might have to be a little older to remember Destroy All Humans! – a PlayStation 2 game which saw you play as aliens looking to invade earth. It was brilliant and borrowed in no little way from the cliches present in corny 1950s alien movies.
The game lets you fly around in a flying saucer, abduct animals and humans, and make people’s heads explode – all while fighting the US military.
As humorous as it was fun to play, the game will now be gracing current generation consoles thanks to a remake which will be arriving on PS4, Xbox and PC in 2020. If you’ve played the original, and even if you haven’t, this is worth keeping an eye on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHMDrhBREXU
Dying Light 2
The sequel to the hugely popular and innovative first-person zombie parkour Dying Light, Dying Light 2 once again sees you travail around The City, bouncing, jumping and evading zombies.
An interesting dynamic in the original was the way that the day-night cycle changed the behaviour of the zombies, who were typically sluggish and stupid during daylight, before becoming intelligent, fast and incredibly strong once the sun went down.
This looks just as good as the first, and looks very exciting.
Blair Witch
What can we say? It’s a Blair Witch game more than two decades after the original film came out. But it looks pretty good. So let’s give it the benefit of the doubt.
Elsewhere, we saw an extended trailer for CD PROJEKT RED’s exciting new game, Cyberpunk 2077, which will officially feature Keanu Reeves in some role. That game will be available on all platforms, aside from Nintendo Switch, from April 2020.
We also saw the confirmation of Xbox’s Project Scarlett – Microsoft’s latest console – which will be released at Christmas 2020.
