[E3'12] Third Parties @ E3 2012 Preview - Part 1

GlueGun18
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Reputation: 72 [E3'12] Third Parties @ E3 2012 Preview - Part 1

Now that we've covered the 'big 3' exhibitors at E3, it's time to look at the rest. And there's a lot of the rest. While Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will be making all the hardware-related announcements and unveiling their own stables of first-party software, it's the third parties that really flesh out the show. There are a ton of exciting games we're looking forward to, and the potential for some big announcements, so let's get started...

2K Games

Borderlands 2 will attract a lot of attention to 2K's booth.Coming off a fairly quiet year last year, 2012 and 2013 will be much busier comparatively for 2K Games. Launching just a few weeks after E3 ends is third-person shooter Spec Ops: The Line, a modern military shooter set in a sort of post-apocalyptic Dubai. What allegedly separates this game from the others in the crowded military shooter market is its dark and emotional tone that will challenge players with difficult moral decisions throughout the campaign. The game must be all but complete at this point, so impressions coming from the E3 show floor should give us an accurate picture of the final product. 2K’s biggest game of 2012 will undoubtedly be Borderlands 2 though, which is now just three short months from release. The stylish sequel to the 2009 surprise hit open-world shooter/RPG is making a lot of promises in regards to making nearly everything bigger and better than in the original. From the story to weapons to enemies to customization, developer Gearbox has expanded and fine-tuned nearly every aspect of the gameplay while retaining the spirit of the original, and we expect that there will a long line-up of people waiting eagerly to get their hands on it next week.

Also hitting stores before the year is out will be XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a strategy title from Civilization-developer Firaxis Games. Enemy Unknown is supposed to be a remake of X-COM: UFO Defense, which came out nearly two decades ago. The developer is aiming to make it both accessible to series newcomers while satisfying the craving of veterans for the complexity and steep difficulty level of the original. We’re not sure if the first-person shooter spin-off XCOM will also be at the show, but after numerous delays, the latest of which pushed the release date to ‘fiscal year 2014’, we have our doubts. Speaking of delays, there has been none bigger this year than when 2K announced that the super highly-anticipated BioShock Infinite would be pushed into 2013, and unfortunately the game won’t be shown at this year’s E3 either.

Finally, basketball fans will surely be looking forward to hearing about what’s new in NBA 2K13, as 2K’s franchise has dominated the hoops scene in video games for several years now, pushing EA’s franchise out of the scene altogether for the last couple of years.

Activision Blizzard

It is mandatory for at least one Call of Duty to be at E3.When people think of Activision at E3, they will naturally think of one game: Call of Duty: Black Ops II. There is little doubt that Black Ops II will be biggest release in 2012 in terms of sales regardless of how it differs from previous entries in the franchise, but Treyarch is still attempting to implement some new features. Most notably, the story will switch back and forth between past and future, the late 70s/early 80s and 2025 to be more specific, and there will be branching storylines according to the player’s choices they make throughout the campaign. As has become an annual tradition, expect a live demo of the game during Microsoft’s press conference on Monday. We're also curious to see what this Call of Duty Vita title is all about. Activision is also looking to build off of the immense success of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure with a sequel for later this year, called Skylanders: Giants, which will be seen for the first time at E3.

Activision also holds a number of big licenses that it will be bringing to E3. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the sequel to War for Cybertron, which got a lukewarm reception in 2010. Beenox has built up some expectations for The Amazing Spider-Man, a return to the open-world format of Spider-Man games and the tie-in (it’s actually an epilogue) to the soon-to-be-released film of the same name. Eurocom is attempting to stir up the Bond license with 007 Legends, which incorporate events from six different Bond films, and will also feature some sort of Kinect functionality on Xbox 360. Finally, there is also Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, which we’re hoping will be the first respectable game with the Family Guy license.

There has been nothing confirmed from Blizzard’s end, which isn’t surprising considering that they have their own BlizzCon convention every year where they usually prefer to show their games and make announcements. On the off chance that they do have something to bring to E3, it will likely have to do with the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria, or perhaps they will have something to say about the much-anticipated StarCraft II expansions Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void.

Bethesda

Dishonored is one of few new IPs worth noting this year.It’s going to be tough for Bethesda to follow up 2011, when they released their biggest game ever in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which won universal critical acclaim and huge commercial success (over 12 million and counting), but life after Skyrim is looking plenty promising as well. Actually, life after Skyrim hasn’t really even begun yet, as the game is still very much alive with the new Dawnguard DLC coming out this summer, and people will be anxious to learn more at E3. From what we’ve seen in the recently-released trailer, the plot in the expansion seems to revolve around vampires, and also adds some new features like crossbows, mounted combat, new enemies, and even a swimming dragon. Bethesda will have more Elder Scrolls at E3 too, and fans are excited to get a look at recently-announced The Elder Scrolls Online. Fans have long pined for an Elder Scrolls MMO, so we’ll see how well the series is adapted the online multiplayer realm.

In October Bethesda will be debuting a new IP with Dishonored, a first-person stealth/action game set in a bizarre and dangerous steampunk-style city. From what we’ve seen so far, developer Arkane Studios has created a very interesting premise and atmospheric world, which shouldn’t be surprising considering some notable talent from games like Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows, and Half-Life 2 are involved with the project. Bethesda will also be publishing the re-mastered Doom 3: BFG Edition for current consoles later this year, and we’ll see how it looks at E3 this week. Of course there is always the potential for an announcement regarding the long-awaited Doom 4, however it seems like a more likely candidate for next-generation platforms so we won’t get our hopes up.

It’s still very much up in the air whether or not we’ll see Prey 2 at E3 this week. The game certainly showed plenty of potential when it was shown for the first time last year, but a delay into 2013 (after rumors of cancellation) because the game “does not currently meet [Bethesda’s] quality standards” might suggest that it may be skipping the show.

Capcom

We like zombies in our Resident Evils.Even though the Japanese publisher has been under heavy fire from their fans recently regarding their treatment of on-disc DLC and announcing their intent to speed up their IP development process, there are still a few reason to not give up hope on them yet. Their main title this year will be Resident Evil 6, which features three campaigns starring two franchise regulars and a newcomer, they are promising that this entry will win over those who miss classic Resident Evil games whilst still pleasing those who enjoy their more action-orientated Resident Evil 5. It sounds like there’ll be a lot of content in the game and it also seems as though it might be serving as some sort of a finale, seemingly tying up a lot of loose ends.

They’ll also have DmC: Devil May Cry on the floor. This new entry in the franchise was revealed last year and is being handled by Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory, and has caused its fair amount of controversy. The new Dante definitely sports a different look when compared to the classic design, which has caused most of the controversy. But they will have to be at the top of their game considering that Platinum Games have proven themselves the master of the hack-and-slash-over-the-top-action genre over the last few years.

Their final major title is Lost Planet 3. The franchise has certainly been amidst turmoil lately with the previous entry garnering a lot of negative feedback. Capcom will be eager to win back those who turned their backs on the previous entry, making plenty of promises that this game will come closer to the original and will be worth your time. They’ll also be showing off some of their upcoming iPad offerings at their booth as indicated by their current E3 schedule. It is deeply disappointing that Capcom hasn’t bought along Monster Hunter 4 to wow those among the press eager to see how far Capcom can push the 3DS.

Electronic Arts

Will Crysis 3 be the best-looking game at E3?They are the biggest third-party video game publisher in the world, and they’re bringing an E3 software lineup to match. We’ll start with the company’s mega-blockbuster of 2011, Battlefield 3, for which they will be detailing a couple of DLC packs: the soon-to-be-released Close Quarters, which adds four new maps, new weapons, a new game mode, and more; and Armored Kill, which features several new vehicles (tanks, ATVs, mobile artillery) along with new vehicle-oriented maps. They will also be bringing their next big military shooter to the show in Medal of Honor: Warfighter. We don’t expect anything particularly revolutionary here compared to the dozens of other military shooters, but we’re interested to see if they can continue to build on the success of Battlefield 3. Don’t be surprised to see it at the Sony press conference where it will be announced that the PlayStation 3 will get some kind of timed exclusivity for future DLC.

EA will also come to E3 armed with its full arsenal of sports titles including FIFA Soccer 13, Madden NFL 13, NCAA Football 13, and NHL 13. Both FIFA and Madden have been confirmed to feature some sort of Kinect functionality on Xbox 360, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the others followed suit. This year will also mark the return of basketball to EA Sports’ lineup with NBA Live 13 after taking the last two years off due to poor performance both critically and commercially. Basketball fans will be interested to see what EA Tiburon has done with the time off, as they are calling it a reboot of the series and a departure from previous entries.

A few major titles from EA have been announced in just the last few months prior to E3, including a couple last week. Technology whores and shooter fans alike will be anxious to see Crysis 3 in motion. The third installment in the popular series returns to New York, but the city has become overgrown with trees and plant life, striking a middle ground between the wilderness setting of the first game and the urban setting in Crysis 2. PC gamers in particular will be anxious to see if the game will up the ante once again in the graphics department. It could be the most visually-striking game at E3. Just a couple of days ago, EA officially announced Dead Space 3 (to no one’s surprise). The next entry in the franchise will be a bit of a departure from the first with co-op gameplay allegedly being added and the story being set on the surface of an icy planet. They also just announced Need for Speed: Most Wanted, a return for the venerable racing series back to the arcade-style 2005 game of the same name.

Finally, urban planning aficionados rejoiced at GDC when a proper new SimCity was announced, ending a painful decade-long wait since SimCity 4 was released. Such a long hiatus has allowed plenty of time for the developers to explore new concepts to implement, and we’re eager to see how Maxis has evolved the series. Sticking with the PC theme, strategy fans will certainly be hoping to get a look at the BioWare-developed Command & Conquer: Generals 2 at E3. We would also be pleasantly surprised if we got a glimpse at Dragon Age III, as long as it looks better than Dragon Age II.

Konami

Not exactly 'Tactical Stealth Espionage', but we'll take it.Thanks to their pre-E3 conference on Thursday, Konami has already laid out most of their cards for E3 this week. Most of the attention will be geared towards Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which will finally be releasing early next year. We’ve seen a couple of flashy trailers that show off the game’s insane over-the-top action, but hopefully the game will be on the show floor so that attendees can get a feel for how well the game plays. It was announced that those who pick up the Zone of the Enders HD Collection, which contains a couple of beloved remastered action games in Zone of the Enders and The 2nd Runner, will gain access to an early demo for Revengeance. Some might be holding out hope that Metal Gear Solid 5 might be announced this year too, but it seems like a more likely candidate for next-generation consoles, or more specifically, the PlayStation 4.

The rest of Konami’s lineup at E3 will come down to their other much-cherished franchise, Castlevania. A cinematic trailer announcing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was shown at the publisher’s pre-E3 presentation, but it’s probably quite early in development and we don’t really expect to see the game in action at this year’s E3. Another title that was divulged just a few days ago is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate for the Nintendo 3DS. We haven’t seen any trailers or gameplay yet, but it might be a good candidate to show up Nintendo’s press conference on Tuesday.

Read about the other major players at E3 in Part 2 of our preview.

Written by: Mike Glubish & Kyran Morrison

(This post was last modified: 06-03-2012 08:17 PM by GlueGun18.)

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