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EEE, by gum! [Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)](Gulf News (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Everyone who's anyone in the video games industry is in Los Angeles, waiting for the doors of the LA Convention Center to open today. Yes, gamers, the moment is upon us again. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is here at last. Publishers, game journalists, developers, designers, coders, animators, voice actors, motion capture specialists, writers, and even the occasional common-or-garden gamer who's managed to blag a trade or press pass. Except me. I'm still chained to my oar in the rowing decks of the good ship Gulf News, ready for the drummer to bring the tempo up to ramming speed. At least I have the company of a good crew. But the galley-rowing trade isn't what it used to be. These days we're fully wired in with news feeds, video feeds and wireless links for every conceivable net-capable device, even on the lower decks. It's port out, starboard home, posh with a capital P. And we've already got a pretty good idea of what this year's E3 holds in store. Top of the list, of course, is the deathmatch between Sony and Microsoft. We know we're going to get to know more about the next generation consoles. Maybe we'll get a better idea of prices, trimmings, extras and headline games. Maybe Sony will show us what the PS4 will look like and instantly make an entire cottage industry of Photoshop fakers redundant (my own PS4 fake, if I had the Photoshop skills, would look like a Cylon Raider from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, with its red eye sweeping back and forth — but since I lack those skills, you'll have to imagine it with me). Maybe we'll even find out what the giants plan to do about DRM, and whether we'll still be able to sell our old games or take them round to play at our mates' homes. But, frankly, I doubt that. Spotting a killer What we will see is some of the new tech in action, but from Sony and Microsoft and from those chosen few who are developing games for the platforms. Will we be able to spot whether there's a killer game? Something like Halo, Gears, Resistance or the Game Featuring Kratos That Must Not Be Named - the kind of game that, no matter how much we grumble about always needing to be online, or how we just want a games console, not an all-in-one entertainment system, will just look so cool that we hand over our hard-earned dirhams? Well, maybe. There's been no particular whisper on the wind yet, unless you're a hardcore FIFA fan, but we do know how much games companies like to spring surprises at E3. Ubisoft have already announced their major previews. They are Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist and Watch Dogs. Activision have already done their pre-emptive preview of Call of Duty: Ghosts, but I expect they'll have more of that to show us. They're also planning to showcase Destiny, a post-apocalyptic SF action game they're developing for the PS4 as well as existing consoles, and Skylanders SWAP Force, the latest incarnation of my favourite kiddie franchise, which looks rather like a reaction to Disney muscling in on the figurine turf with Infinity. To be honest, Infinity is looking rather cool, and I expect the Mouse will be grabbing a lot of attention with it. They'll also be returning to a classic piece of animation with Fantasia: Music Evolved for the Xbox One. Down at the bottom of 505's preview list is Ashes Cricket 2013. At last! A new cricket sim to replace my rather tired copy of International Cricket Captain. Beware, FIFA, PES and Madden fans because the Barmy Army is heading your way. Also from 505, we can expect to see four-player co-op shooter Payday 2, tactical shooter Takedown:Red Sabre, the zombie apocalypse in How to Survive and full-on fairytale action in Brothers - A tale of Two Sons. Promising surprises Konami have already put out a trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, and plan playable demos at their stand. And they promise news of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and the upcoming edition of Pro-Evolution Soccer. Capcom, for their part, plan to unveil a new Dungeons and Dragons game, Chronicles of Mystara - which, as a tabletop geek I recognise as the gameworld developed for the old red-box Basic Dungeons & Dragons edited by Tom Moldvay — the first tabletop RPG I owned. Hold the Keep on the Borderlands, and set sail for the Isle of Dread! And alongside Ducktales Remastered, Lost Planet 3 and Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney, Capcom are promising a Big Surprise. Are you intrigued? I am. Capcom are a force to be reckoned with.There will, of course, be scores of others. Watch this space next week, when we see how wrong my predictions are. (c) 2013 Al Nisr Publishing LLC . All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |