E3 Video Games Grow Up
The videogame business is like a senior on the cusp of high-school graduation: Both are wondering what the future holds and anxious to be treated like adults. At the annual E3 convention in L.A., we found 10 new games ready to get their first apartments.
E3 Video Games Grow Up
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Army of TwoEA's secret game--referred to as "The Montreal Project" for months--is a third-person shooter built entirely around cooperative play. The game stars Rios and Salem, two men who have matching suits of bulletproof armor that can be joined together (insert Brokeback Mountain joke here).
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Red SteelImagine Nintendo's Wii controller as a gun in a first-person shooter. See that bad guy over there? Point, shoot, click. He's dead. Red Steel is promising, but the production feels as cheap as NES-era Duck Hunt so far. Let's hope Ubisoft tweaks this one to perfection.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: 2006.11.19
Platform: Wii
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HazeIn case you've been asleep for 10 years, Free Radical has made some of the best first-person shooters in the business. Their latest, Haze, is set in a South American jungle. It starts off like your typical FPS and then gets weirder than Joaquin Phoenix during red-carpet interviews.
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Lost PlanetWelcome to a mysterious planet covered with ice. You star as Wayne, an attractive Japanese man who wears a stylish parka. As Wayne, you'll need to battle big, dumb bugs called Akrids which have a tendency to pop out of the ground when you least expect it.
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: 2007.01.12
Platform: Xbox 360
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Assassin's CreedIf Hitman's Agent 47 and the Prince from The Prince of Persia had a baby, it would probably be the mysterious fleet-footed assassin in Assassin's Creed. He waits for his opponents to make mistakes, then takes advantage of them. Which is pretty much what your parents do.
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Heavenly SwordThe most impressive game on the PS3 had fan boys at Sony's E3 press conference reaching for their inhalers. The game stars Nariko, a hottie in short pants who wields chain-like weapons. The game's narrative is vague, but with gameplay this good, who needs story?
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Eight DaysThe second-most impressive game on the PS3. The run-and-gun gameplay featured 1.) A guy shooting while sliding across the hood of a car, and 2.) A guy shooting while throwing his body through the plate-glass window of a diner. More, please.
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Mass EffectFans of KOTOR 1 and 2 and Jade Empire will no doubt pee themselves with delight when they hear that Bioware is making a trilogy of Mass Effect games for the 360. The RPG-style gameplay is good; the game's story is better.
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Resistance: Fall of ManEarth has been invaded by a creature known as the Chimera, an extremely ugly species with the ability to convert other creatures into Chimera. U.S. and British forces must stop them in this first-person shooter from Insomniac Games, a radical departure from their Ratchet & Clank series.
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: 2006.11.14
Platform: PlayStation 3
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Too HumanYou are Baldur, a cybernetically enhanced super-warrior. Your task: Save mankind from hideous war machines. The game's combat system is a mix of long-range weapons and so-close-you-can-smell-their-cheap-cologne melee. It's also the first in a trilogy. Anyone smell some Advent Rising?
