E3 2014 – Press Conference Game Highlights

So there was a lot of games shown off today at the various E3 2014 press conferences, but not all of them caught our attention.

Here are some that did (no particular order, although * next to it means I really dug it):

*The Division had impressed a lot of us last year, and this year it continued on that promise. There was a multiplayer gameplay demo, but it was this trailer they showed that really sold me on the world and story they had created. Also, I think the game might have crossed over the uncanny valley a couple of times during this demo.

*Indie spotlight was a nice showing from Microsoft, but let’s face it .. they had to.

And we’re glad they did.

*One of these indie games featured was Cuphead. Where did this come from, and how come it looks like you’re controlling a cartoon? Whoa.

A new first person racing game/open world from Criterion Games looked potentially awesome.

Ori and the Bling Forest was another game that was shown off as part of the Microsoft Indie Spotlight, and it really had me sitting still. Just taking it all in. Felt magical like a Disney movie.

Mirror’s Edge 2 was what a lot of us were talking about preshow, and EA delivered. Nothing terribly new here .. just looks like more of the same, but that’s a good thing!

*Another indie game that was shown off that I semi-freaked out over was Inside (from the creators of Limbo). Dark, eerie, beautiful, mysterious. I’m in.

Project Spark was shown off again, but with a rather weird ending. Conker showed up (from Conker’s Bad Fur Day). I (and i’m guessing the rest of the people in attendance) were about to freak out, but it turned out that he was just a character in Project Spark?

I’m still confused … either way it still was a highlight. Albeit a weird one.

Rise of the Tomb Raider. Especially because in the beginning I didn’t know it was Lara Croft. Gosh..I love that reboot and i’m all over this. Wonder what terrible death animations await her.

*Star Wars Battlefront was shown off a bit, and some developer diary type stuff. I tell you what .. this game looks gorgeous. I especially like how passionate the team is that’s working on it. I didn’t ever get 1313 (which I was wowed with a couple E3s ago), but the way this looks .. i’ll take Battlefront thank you very much.

Sunset Overdrive was memorable because they made fun of all those military shooters in their trailer. I also think it looks pretty fun (and colorful).

*A new Crackdown was something we all thought might happen .. and it did. An over the top trailer with really slick Tron-like graphics satisfied me very well thank you.

Far Cry 4 looked impressive. I was going to feel bad for the elephants that got caught in the crossfire until one of them knocked over a jeep and it exploded. Then I thought .. maybe these elephants can take care of themselves.

This was definitely a surprise to most of us. An awesome surprise.

*No Mans Sky. Nothing .. else needs to be said. Pure excitement for this game (side note – this could very well be my game of show .. and i’ll do a full write up on it later).

And last but not least Dragon Age: Inquisition. It looked pretty but I don’t feel I understood how the game actually works. Taking down a dragon looked fun.

Honorable mentions:

InFamous First Light: Where did this come from? As i’m currently playing through InFamous finally it has me excited. More content for the game I own!

Dead Rising 3 DLC: Capcom making fun of itself as well as serving up a nice cup of fan service…this came out of nowhere and seemed rad.

Valiant Hearts: Looks cool but kind of uber depressing, but I like that it made me feel something. That’s saying something.

Fable Legends: Added a Dungeon Keeper type element that I didn’t see coming. That could make it cool.