Most anticipated games from 2014 E3

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo – or E3 – is happening right now in Los Angeles and is one of the most exciting times of the year for gamers as companies show off their upcoming games and hardware.

Below, I’ve compiled information and videos about the games that I’m most looking forward to coming out of this E3.

Destiny

I’ve been keeping my eye on Bungie’s “Destiny” more than any other upcoming game – with good reason. The first-person shooter from the studio that created Halo is more akin to an MMO than any previous shooter and promises an almost overwhelming amount of modes to participate in and content to explore. 

As one of the last Guardians of humanity, you travel the Solar System to try and restore humanity to its former greatness – which you do by shooting many, many interstellar beasts. You’ll be able to explore with friends, complete tasks that benefit both you and humanity and so much, much more. Check out the video above to hear from Bungie founder Jason Jones himself all the amazing things Destiny will offer this September. (And if you can’t wait for that, there is a beta happening early July but spots are limited.)

Evolve 

Turtle Rock Studios, the creators of Left 4 Dead, showed off a new monster for its innovative shooter Evolve – the Kraken. Taking a lot of inspiration from Cthulu, the Kraken seems to be a very different beast from the first monster, Goliath. The Kraken appears to be much quicker than Goliath and much more lithe. It also seems to have the ability to glide short distances and its darker complexion makes it harder to spot than Goliath. The newest batch of Hunters will have their work cut out for them when facing this monstrosity.

Bloodborne

The development studio From Software is mainly known for the Demon/Dark Souls series, an unapologetically difficult action/adventure game. The studio has taken its knowledge of third-person action titles and created Bloodborne, a chillingly atmospheric and hyperviolent brawler that looks to take a page from Devil May Cry while keeping the Souls’ series’ trademark difficulty.

You play as a mysterious man who has traveled to an ancient city called Yharnam in search of a mysterious healing substance. What you find instead is a city overrun by hellish abominations who want nothing more than to tear you limb from limb. With inventive weaponry and deadly enemies, Bloodborne will be one to keep your eye on.

The Order 1886 

The Order 1886 is an interesting title set for release in 2015 that presents an alternate history in London, where humans use inventive weaponry to battle an unknown, new evil. The Order 1886 only presents a single player experience but judging from the trailer above, relies heavily on a character driven narrative throughout an even gloomier-than-usual London.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition wasn’t initially on my radar, since I had played Origins but wasn’t a huge fan. But after a friend kept insisting I check it out, I’m a little intrigued. Inquisition seems to be more akin to The Witcher 3 or Skyrim than the previous Dragon Age titles, which I definitely like the sound of. 

I watched a gameplay video where one of the developers noted that its running on the Frostbite 3 engine, the same that powers Battlefield 4, which should allow for some highly detailed environments and characters. The combat reminded me of Knights of the Old Republic – not necessarily turn based but able to stop the action and input commands to your party. Also, I saw a gameplay battle against a massive dragon where players could actually target specific limbs of the beast which it would react to realistically. Dragon Age: Inquisition seems like a game fantasy fans will want to keep an eye on.

No Man’s Sky

When I first heard of No Man’s Sky a few days ago, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it an outer space shooter? An exploration game? A Minecraft-esque crafting game? After some research, it looks like No Man’s Sky is all of those things and more.

Everything, from entire planets to the beasts roaming them, will be procedurally generated. You can pilot a ship and can explore the cosmos and everything it has to offer – planets full of unique animal and plant life, huge fleets of space crafts, dogfighting and a lot more that developer Hello Games is keeping tight-lipped on. They want players to explore the games universe and discover its secrets (including how you play and what there is to do).

From everything I can tell, No Man’s Sky is a true sandbox game – exploration and discovery are your objectives, rather than completing built in quests.

Battlefield Hardline

The next step in the Battlefield franchise moves the series to a new warzone. Rather than focusing on soldiers fighting large scale battles in typical military fashion, Battlefield Hardline pits players against each other for a game of “Cops and Robbers.”

Battlefield Hardline essentially seems like Payday if the police were also controlled by human players. Watching a gameplay trailer, Hardline is still very much a Battlefield game – the HUD, game set up, weapons, vehicles and other elements will be immediately familiar to fans of the series. It’ll be interesting to see what other game types are included in Hardline in addition to the Heist mode shown in the video I watched.

With interest in the typical military first-person shooter waning, it’s great to see EA DICE infuse new ideas into their popular franchise.