Photographs by Daniel Boczarski.
We started off E3 by taking a sneak peek at the newest gruesome entry in a classic fighting game series, Mortal Kombat X. After seeing the game in all its glory I am confident that this is something fans of Mortal Kombat and Injustice alike should be keeping an eye on. Taking the lessons learned from Injustice and building it on top of the last Mortal Kombat game, Mortal Kombat X features the violence and gore you’ve come to expect from an MK game as well as building on the fighting mechanics to make the game feel fresh, fun, and fast. The biggest change is the addition of selecting from three different fighting styles that can make you a more defensive or offensive version of your chosen character. These styles will give you specific abilities and traits, for example one of Scorpion’s styles can let him light himself on fire to do some extra damage up close, while another gives him access to a demonic spirit that will manifest itself in the form of a dive kick attack or an offscreen teleport punch. All this added depth will allow for many different playstyles per character making each encounter varied and interesting. To top it off the new engine features improved internal body detail to the point where faces will be cut off and brains will slide out in cringing detail.
Afterwards we took a break from the intense blood and gore of Mortal Kombat to shoot zombies and hunt monsters at Capcom’s booth. We had hands on time with Capcom’s iOS (iPhone/iPad) ports of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. MHFU was originally a 2008 PSP game with the same name, now getting a fresh coat of paint for the Apple family of portable devices. Playing with both an iPad Mini and an iPhone, MHFU iOS looks clearer than ever before. Plenty of care was taken to create a functional Monster Hunter game for the touch screen. Unfortunately the touch controls left much me feeling wanting for some real buttons to push as I sluggishly moved and swung my weapons around. The iPhone version had a 3rd party Logitech gamepad attached but had questionable build quality which makes this Monster Hunter entirely dependant on your preferences of touch screen vs 3rd party controller attachments.
Capcom also had Monster Hunter 4 for the 3DS available for play. Being on a dedicated portable console, MH4 feels much better to play than pure touch controls, unfortunately the 3DS’ hardware limitations gives MH4 a very blurry look overall. The main characters and armor offer a very striking contrast in detail when compared to the flat environments and textures around you. That said if you already have a hunting party ready then you’ve probably made up your mind on this title.
We also got a look at Dead Rising 3 for the PC. Previously an Xbox One exclusive, DR3 comes to the PC in full force offering all the bells and whistles PC players expect. Offering both controller and keyboard + mouse controls, I gave the keyboard control scheme a shot of which I felt very positive coming out of. The game felt very fluid and offered many graphical options that will not disappoint PC veterans making this version worth getting even if you already killed a country’s worth of zombies in the Xbox One version.
Walking by the IndieCade booth we got a look at an upcoming PC game titled XING: The Land Beyond. XING is an adventure/puzzle game where you are trying to piece back your lost memories in the afterlife. XING takes advantage of the Oculus Rift, an upcoming virtual reality headset that allows you to look around the world naturally by turning your head which REALLY puts you inside the game and is unlike any other experience I’ve ever had. I walked around the world solving puzzles by subtle hints and cryptic notes in a lush jungle environment. Definitely a game to keep an eye on and really benefits from the exciting possibilities of newly blooming VR technology.
We closed off day one with a theater presentation of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Developed by Sledgehammer Games, the showing gave us a great look into an infiltration mission in a heavily forested area. Some of the arsenal shown included a rechargeable invisibility cloak to sneak by enemies, grenades that let you see enemies through walls and obstacles, and a super loud laser cannon that cuts down enemies with force. If you’ve gotten tired of the Call of Duty series of games, this one might bring you back.
