Photographs by Daniel Boczarski.
Kicking off day three, we got a hands-on with the upcoming co-op based first-person shooter by Turtle Rock Studios. In the vein of Left 4 Dead, proper teamwork is a requirement to succeed in the game. A team consists of four different classes; Trapper, Assault, Support and Medic. Using these for their intended purposes will be crucial for taking on your single main opponent per round, a giant beast who will be chasing you down throughout the map and trying to eliminate all of your team members. The dynamic of a team of four taking on a giant monster adds a sense of energy and adrenaline you don’t get from typical first-person shooters and is a fresh take on the style of game, which you don’t see too often.
Coming from Evolve we got to try another much-lauded first-person shooter from Bungie. After separating themselves from the Halo franchise, we expected something different but for the most part were happy that the developer did not stray too far away from the formula that worked so well for them with the Halo series. The visual design and style of the Destiny world is very stylized, mixing both a post-apocalyptic and sci-fi vibe. Overall the game feels just right, the pacing, action, and weapons should make for another well-received title for the developer.
We got a quick look at a new title from Flying Wild Hog, which is a huge departure from the darker first-person shooters from their catalog. The team’s inspiration behind the game comes from a big portion of the developers having kids, and feeling like they couldn’t play their other titles together with them. Juju places you into a colorful vibrant world where you control a pink panda and a lizard on a quest to rescue Juju’s kidnapped dad. It’s a fairly simple platformer but has charm and personality throughout its distinct worlds.
Dead Island 2 was one of the big reveals at the Xbox One press conference, and while not shown on the E3 floor, publisher Deep Silver gave us a peek at the title. From the reveal trailer it is clear to see that new developer Yager is taking a more humor-filled approach to the title. The setting places you in multiple areas in sunny California and has you taking on hordes of zombies, now with the help of customize weapons. The fact that Yager went through the trouble to be the first developer to motion-capture a cat also made us interested in this zombie-slaying title. While the build we saw was from early 2013, it looks like the game is coming along nicely and the new in-game engine footage we saw looked very impressive.
We closed off the show by getting some time in with some titles being showcased for the Xbox One titles. One unique spin on the familiar third-person shooter genre is Sunset Overdrive from Insomniac Games. In a bright and colorful world, an energy drink created by the FizzCo company has mysteriously started turning people into mutant beasts. As a FizzCo employee, what else can you do but do your best to stop these beasts from destroying your city. The action is fast and unpredictable, as you will find yourself climbing buildings to find railings which you can grind on to get around the arenas. You really need to have the reflexes required to balance out traversing across the arena while maintaining an accurate aim on your enemies.
One title that we finally saw more of this year following its reveal at E3 2013 was D4 from Japanese developer Swery and Access Games. With a cel-shaded look, the title puts you in the role of David Young who is investigating his wife’s murder through finding clues. The game supports both Kinect and standard controls, and after initially having issues with the Kinect I finished the demo with the controller, but while the closing fight scene went on I thought that the intuitive use of the Kinect would have been a better fit for experiencing that particular sequence.
With the Forza spin-off Forza Horizons, Playground Games gave some more freedom to racing games. With the announced sequel Forza Horizons 2, the Xbox One’s power allows for some interesting additions such as dynamic weather. If you start off a race in sunshine you can end it off with cloud cover or rain. It puts
