Google Keynote – E3 2014
Google's E3 keynote begins with Eric Bright taking the stage and touting the success of the Google Nexus over the holiday season, thanks to great games like Miraculous Ladybug and The Witcher: Shrouded Silence. He emphasizes that the Nexus is the best value in gaming, coming fully loaded with a next generation console and a full featured Android device for just $299, or, for the many who already have an Android device of their own, allowing them to purchase a modern gaming console for just $199, half the price of the Nexus' competitors, with a huge lineup of exclusive and multiplatform games. He then introduces the first game of the presentation, Dream Garden. It's a simulation/adventure title coming to the Nexus next year that will allow players from all over the world to build their own magical gardens and go on hundreds of adventures, growing the items and equipment they'll need and meeting magical companions along the way. The game looks like a cross between Animal Crossing and World Of Warcraft, and will feature plenty of fun for all ages, with a huge cast of characters and amazing creative possibilities. After the Dream Garden presentation, Bright introduces the team behind Techno Angel: Sabine, coming this December. Techno Angel: Sabine looks to take the series from a traditional FPS to a full-blown RPG/looter shooter, with on screen damage numbers and enemies that drop loot that Sabine can use to improve her equipment and abilities, and also featuring the fastest paced combat in the series to date. Sabine is able to recruit companions, both human and robotic, and is able to enhance her standing with various characters and factions by performing side quests and odd jobs. However, despite the more open-ended gameplay, there's still a definite storyline, as evidenced by the brief trailer shown at the end of the presentation, which depicts Sabine battling an enemy known as the Decembrist, and aligning herself with a faction of teenage freedom fighters who may not be all that they seem. Techno Angel: Sabine is a gorgeous exhibition of the Nexus' graphical power, with a vast world and detailed animations, and looks to be the Nexus' biggest game of the year, positioned to challenge games like Squad Four Betrayal and Commander Keen: Adventures In Virtual Reality for holiday supremacy. The next segment of Google's presentation centered around new products and new merch. First, we got a quick look at some upcoming Miraculous Ladybug spinoff material, including animated web shorts, action figures (including digital interactive figures for use with the game), and three mobile games, one of them exclusive to the Nexus Companion and the other two available on phones. Thomas Astruc did a quick video chat with Eric Bright during this segment of the presentation in which he showed off several new comics as well as two of the interactive figures, and there was even a quick skit where Barbara Dunkelman, dressed up as and acting like Chloe, interrupted him to hype one of the Android games. It was a bit of a cheesy segment, and the crowd mostly groaned, but fans of Miraculous Ladybug should be quite pleased with all the new merch. Then, Bright resumed talking about the Nexus, and some new features that would be coming to the system and to the Nexus Companion over the coming months. These include improved online matchmaking, a new “virtual hangout” for the Nexus with interactive games and prizes, the announcement of improved remote play for Android phones to take Nexus games on the go, and the announcement of a new streaming service that would be tied in with Okuma. This service will allow players to join in on each other's games, playing them remotely to help each other through tough segments. It's an intriguing feature, if not a game-changing one. These new services are aimed at making the Nexus a more versatile console going forward, and while it doesn't make up for the technical gap between the Nexus and its competitors, it is something that's quite welcome to see.
We then got a trailer and presentation for a brand new IP from id Softworks called Rezna War. It's a brutal, bloody 3D FPS in which the player is a mercenary dropped onto a demonic hellworld in the midst of a civil war between two violent factions. It definitely looks like Doom, but has a bit more of a story attached to it, with numerous NPCs for the player to interact with, and a more complex narrative overall. The game also has a multiplayer mode in which players can battle it out online, which looks like fairly standard deathmatch fare. John Romero helped to hype up the game, appearing in a pre-recorded video where he discussed his ambitions for Rezna War and why it's a Nexus exclusive (likely related to money and Google funding). It's definitely one of the more intriguing FPS games of the year, and could potentially pave the way for us to see an actual Doom comeback in the future. The next few previews came in the form of quick video presentations, starting with Star Wars: Rise Of A Jedi. This RPG comes to the Nexus in August, and rather than being a Western-style RPG like the KOTOR series, this game is a more traditional Japanese-style RPG, with a more linear narrative. It's the first such game set in the Star Wars universe, and chronicles the rise of a young Padawan named Adana Shen as she embarks on a journey from young recruit to heroic Master. She'll team up with a variety of characters from all over the Galaxy as they battle against a new threat known as the Legion of the Cloak, and realizes her destiny in the fires of battle. Next is Haze: Violet Summer, which returns to the enchanted forest in a time of great peril for Azora and her queen, and a new champion, a young elfin girl who may be able to free the two from their curse. The girl possesses no powers at first, and must rely on companions to help her, but soon realizes her own strength and courage as a terrible calamity threatens to destroy the entire forest. This sequel to two excellent adventure games could be a key exclusive for the Nexus, though it's still quite early in development and won't be released until next year. We then got the reveal of another spinoff in the Wakfu series, Wakfu: The Great Adventure. More open-world RPG than tactical game, this is an RPG set in the Wakfu universe and starring all the familiar favorites, as well as a few new ones. We weren't that impressed with the game's fairly basic graphics, but the ability to tie in with the Android app to provide new quests and bonuses for players could expand the replay value on this one. We then segued into a quick sizzle reel for other Nexus games, most of them coming next year, and most of them multiplatform. Nothing new was really revealed here, we got to see Grand Theft Auto III, Call Of Duty, the usual suspects essentially, though we did get some new footage of Mortal Kombat Eternal and Scavenger Of The Slums 2. We were then treated to a quick Android/mobile gaming reel, showing off titles like a new Bejeweled, an interesting Beetlejuice game called Beetlejuice: Denizens Of The Neitherworld, and a simplistic platformer called Cubedude And Hypertron that looked really fun, with controls tuned for mobile play. Perhaps the most intriguing game we saw during this segment was a Companion exclusive title, Pirates Of Redsea, which looked like a cross between an old school Tales Of The Seven Seas title and a resource management game in which players can raid other players for loot, while also progressing through an expansive single player quest. Pirates Of Redsea's reveal was made even more exciting by the fact that it's going to go live on Android immediately, and indeed, we saw some in the crowd typing away on their phones to download the game before the presentation was even over.
They might have wanted to play attention to the stage, because we got a very fun trailer after the mobile reel ended. The trailer showed a bunch of young teenagers hanging out in a gloomy seaside town, only to be drawn to a mysterious mansion, where an investigation quickly began. The quirky art style and fun dialogue drew some laughs and attention from the crowd, but despite the game's somewhat kiddy look, the action soon grew quite serious when one of the kids literally had their soul sucked from their body, being forcefully turned into a ghost right in front of her friends' eyes. Fortunately for her, she remains able to communicate with her friends, and it looks like she's going to help them try and get their body back and solve the mystery. Meanwhile, events in the town go from bad to worse, and it's clear that this game's scope goes far beyond the mansion itself. This game definitely has echoes of titles like Terror Trip and the Crime Stories series, and makes great use of the Nexus' second screen as well from what we can tell. The game is set for release sometime next year, and it's called Phantom's Kiss, with a demo announced to be available on the show floor. Next, Eric Bright himself showed off a fun looking FPS called Infrascope, which makes extensive use of the Nexus' second screen as a kind of interactive sniper sight. It's another game that's still early in development, but looks extremely promising, and easy to pick up as well thanks to the game's controls. We then got to see a full storyline trailer for the upcoming Buffy The Vampire Slayer game that's now just a few months away, with the plot revolving around an ancient coven of witches who look to use their powers to take over the world, and whose actions turn the entire world of the series upside down, with familiar events taking on entirely new meaning. The friendship between Buffy and Willow seems to be at the very center of this game's main plot, though characters such as Angel and Cordelia also look to play major roles. After the final Buffy trailer, Bright said that Google has been working with some of the greatest creators in the industry, to create experiences unlike any other. He then said that he wants to introduce two of these experiences today, both still early in development, but both having the potential to change the way you play games forever. The first video was a trailer in which the phone of every single person on Earth lit up with a mysterious red jewel icon, before a character who introduced himself as the Game Master appeared and said that it was time to play. Weapons and armor began materializing themselves around everyone, before enormous monsters appeared, created from digital energy. These monsters began mauling people, before the civilians started fighting back with their digitally constructed weapons as the Game Master laughed in the background. The game's title was given as Redshift, before the words “Coming Soon Exclusively To Google” appeared on the screen. Then, another video immediately started. This one focuses on a small village in a high fantasy setting, in which a young boy with a sort of chipmunk face is joined by his sister (who also looks a bit like a mouse or chipmunk). The trailer explains that in the world of Parathera, children of a certain age are expected to go out into the wilderness in search of adventure and new lands, and that other realms around the world have their own version of this same tradition. We see briefly these other realms, each with their own distinct race of mythical humanoids, all venturing out on journeys in a variety of environments. The trailer doesn't say much about the gameplay, but it still screams adventure, and left the crowd very intrigued as the game's logo and title, Expedition, were shown on screen. Bright then spoke a bit more to briefly explain the concept behind these games: Redshift is an interactive worldwide battle royale title in which players can battle powerful digital foes anywhere they go, but can also challenge each other for battle or loot at any time with their Android devices, while Expedition is a groundbreaking MMORPG of unprecedented scope, that will be absolutely free to play and offer the biggest single world in video game history, offering limitless adventure for players around the world. He said that neither of these games would require the Google Nexus itself to play, but that both games offer an experience enhanced by the Nexus platform. He also stated that these games would form the first cornerstone of Google's new “Play Anywhere, Play Everywhere” initiative, more of which would be revealed in the coming months and years. He thanked those in attendance, and that's the end of Google's E3 2014 keynote.
While Google's keynote probably had the least impressive games overall, it was also perhaps the most forward thinking, and it's quite interesting that so many of Google's concepts downplay the idea of the Nexus platform itself, while also presumably existing with the perhaps to sell these Nexus consoles. More than the Reality or the Virtua, which tout themselves as must-have devices of overwhelming technical power, Google is touting its Nexus as more of an accessory than a console: required to play some of its games, but not all of them. It's probably the budget price of the console that allows Google to take this approach, and it'll be interesting to see if it works moving forward.
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Now more than ever, the big software developers are making their presence felt at E3. Most of the major companies had keynote speeches, a large booth, or both, where plenty of games were shown off and demoed for throngs of games media personalities and curious onlookers. We'll break down some of the biggest games we got to try out at the show.
Of all the third parties, Ubisoft definitely had the biggest presence at E3, and may have even had the best booth overall, even more than the console makers. This was the first E3 that they really choose to heavily push their newly acquired Konami IPs, making for a huge variety of games that the company will be launching over the next few years. Blackheart fans hopeful for a return to form for the once dominant but now flagging shooter series may get their wish with Blackheart 666, which sees Sadira return to neutralize members of a demonic death cult that seeks to release a chemical weapon into the world's atmosphere to carry out a dark prophecy. As is par for the course, Sadira straddles the line between good and evil, potentially seeking out the weapon for her own twisted purposes, while Messiah plays the role of hero, leading her and her longtime rival into potential conflict. However, we got to see a lot more of playable Sadira in the demo we played, which featured lots of fast-paced third person shooting and that familiar cruelty we've grown accustomed to from our morally ambiguous hero. As for Messiah, she's doing a bit more sneaking this time around, but did get up close and personal with a particularly zealous cultist... and it looks like she'll be getting herself into trouble again, though whether Sadira or someone else is responsible, we didn't get to see. Sadira Blackheart's latest controversial adventure is set to launch next month. Meanwhile, Hideo Kojima has been working as hard as ever with two upcoming games: Metal Gear Subterfuge and Silent Hills. Both look to be quite good, with Metal Gear Subterfuge taking place at some point in Solid Snake's past, and sees him as a double agent, sabotaging an American operation for an undisclosed reason. The first Metal Gear for the current generation of consoles, it looks gorgeous and features similar gameplay to Metal Gear Solid III, though Kojima himself admitted that the game won't have the same epic scale. He seemed more excited about Silent Hills, a personal passion project for him set for release in October. Ubisoft has been mum about the game's storyline, but it looks to blend cinematic terror with stealth gameplay, and promises to “invoke the player's worst fears” according to Kojima himself, who laughed as he teased some of the things he included in the game. We can't wait to play these two upcoming titles, and we'll be getting them in the next few months, which really doesn't seem real. We also learned that Metal Gear Solid IV has been in production since 2012, and will be the “definitive conclusion” to Solid Snake's story when it launches next year, with a trailer and playable demo expected at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Goemon And Rayman is almost ready to ship for the Nintendo Connect, and it's the first “crossover” for Konami and Ubisoft, seeing Michel Ancel's platforming hero Rayman meet up with the legendary mystical ninja, teaming up across worlds in a fun sidescrolling platformer adventure. Featuring some big bosses and some gorgeous animation, it's a beautiful looking game and should thrill fans of both franchises. We also got a fun presentation for Just Dance Revolution, which saw Lyssa Fielding and Uma Thurman battling one another to Fall Out Boy's, you guessed it, “Uma Thurman”. Lyssa won the dance battle (which Uma explained away by being rusty), but can this game win the war for party game fans this holiday season? It looks like a blast, so chances are good that it succeeds. Assassin's Creed Liberation looks awesome, featuring an American Revolution setting and an exciting new explosive rifle weapon, and will no doubt be one of the year's biggest games. We got a video preview of Far Cry 3, which has experienced a lot of development struggles but is finally in production. Finally, we got a couple of small teasers, including the announcement that Beyond Good And Evil 4 was coming. The game will feature a brand new protagonist and story and won't have any involvement from Michel Ancel, but will feature much of the same open world adventuring that made the original trilogy so beloved, and we hope it can live up to those titles. Then, we got confirmation that a game combining the Blackheart and Metal Gear Solid IPs was on the way, but that it was extremely early in production. In other words, don't expect it until 2016 at the absolute earliest. With all the exciting announcements and fun demos, Ubisoft definitely won E3 2014 in our opinion, but the truth will really be revealed once all these games start hitting players' hands, starting next month with Blackheart 666 and Goemon and Rayman.
Take Two Interactive didn't have quite as many games to show off, but the ones they had were extremely impressive, and we felt that four in particular will be major hits. Grand Theft Auto III was of course the biggest, and it's set to be released in August. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said: the world is huge and beautiful, everything's improved, there's tons of stuff to do, and whatever controversy that'll arise over the main character's gender will probably just lead to more sales along with all the other controversy that inevitably results from a Grand Theft Auto game. No doubt, this will be a heavy contender for Game of the Year. However, the most surprising Rockstar game on display was Chance, a sort of spy thriller third person shooter game developed by most of the same team behind the Max Payne series. The titular main character is a James Bond-esque spy, and this game plays that mostly straight, not going for as much humor as the Grand Theft Auto games do, with the occasional bit of witty banter or cheese filtering in, but featuring a serious plot about a mission gone wrong and a dead mentor. The shooting in Chance in particular was deadly accurate: we got to play this game at the booth and walked away thinking that this title may revolutionize the genre. It's stylistic, it's addictive, it's tons of fun, and it's coming early next year. Take Two's The Lobotomized III is much closer, coming in September. Set in an asylum in the 1940s, the game looks to be as much tragedy as it is horror, with a protagonist who may have already undergone the terrible procedure, and who must save his friend from the same fate. Of course, this game like its predecessors is full of dark, twisted events and mind screw moments, and with the upgraded graphics of the new consoles, may give even the most seasoned horror veterans nightmares. Then, there's next year's Crime Stories: Dance Of The Jackdaw. We got to play a little of the game itself, and yes, that's George Takei's voice we heard as a prominent supporting character! The Crime Stories games have always brought plenty of class and intrigue to players, and this, along with Chance, could sell millions of copies for Rockstar in 2015.
EA was of course present and accounted for, showing off all the latest sports games such as Madden NFL 15 and NBA Live 15. Of particular note, however, was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015, which features lots of new courses to play and an extensive new create a golfer feature, allowing players to play on both the PGA and LPGA circuits, and allowing for unprecedented swinging control and weather conditions. Of course, we also got to have some fun with Fallout: The Swamp, a new Fallout title taking place amidst the flooded ruins of New Orleans and the surrounding Louisiana swamps. We got to battle mutant gators and giant creepy fireflies, and the game's plot, involving a wicked consortium seeking to bring slavery back to the post-apocalyptic South, will definitely give players a villain worth blowing to bits with a Fat Man missile launcher. It's coming out in August, where it'll compete with Grand Theft Auto III and Metal Gear Subterfuge and give all of us a reason to never ever leave our basements.
Eidos didn't have a keynote, but did show off Tomb Raider: Soul Of The Betrayer at their booth. It's still early in development, but will be a “whole new beginning” for Lara Croft, and may well tie in with the events of the upcoming Tomb Raider television series which will also debut in 2015. We didn't get much in the way of plot spoilers, but we got to play some of the game itself, which looks gorgeous on the Nintendo Reality and will no doubt look amazing on the Virtua and Nexus as well. We've never been able to control Lara as fluidly and as easily, and she'll have a new array of melee takedowns at her disposal. Eidos was also showing off a brand new IP, a game set in a prehistoric world, in which the player creates a hunter-gatherer human who becomes caught up in an incredible adventure. Eidos didn't have a title for the game, which is going by the working title of “Project Virgin Earth”, and we likely won't see this one until at least 2016.
Of course we expected Activision to be a major presence at the show, and they didn't disappoint. From Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which will see futuristic fighting amidst a new world war caused by a power-hungry American president, to Thrillseekers: Waveriders 2, which puts sexy surfer girl Marina front and center again as she competes in various water-based extreme sports, all the usual suspects were present and accounted for, and both of them look fantastic. Advanced Warfare looks to have the most exciting combat in the series to date, with weapons that make fighting a breeze and make tactical positioning paramount, while Waveriders 2 introduces hydroflying and at least one other sport to the series, and also features a more intimate storyline focusing on Marina's relationships with Alex and Stacy. Activision also introduced two new IPs: The World Below, in which a group of elite soldiers must battle the mutated denizens of a destroyed underground city, and Elite Super, which combines elements of street racers like Burnout with RPGs. Elite Super is extremely early in development and we only got to see some video and concept art, but it already looks quite exciting, while we got to play a few levels of The World Below and were extremely impressed with the shooting mechanics and the level of horror in the game. We hope it'll rely more on atmospheric horror than cheap jump scares, but either way it's shaping up to be one of next year's best games.
Acclaim was surprisingly low profile at this year's show. They didn't have a keynote, and instead had a big booth, showing off games like Divine Wrath 5 and Mortal Kombat Eternal to excited crowds. They seemed mostly interested in pushing Sepulchre, their medieval action title which sees Crusaders battling it out. The game's dual protagonists are on opposite sides of the conflict, and players will be spending an equal amount of time with both of them as they fight to protect their individual homelands. The game introduces a “rival” system in which NPC soldiers can rise through the ranks, especially after “killing” the player in battle. After returning, they'll see that the soldier has been given a higher rank and is now even stronger than before, making them even harder to beat during the rematch. The game features a mostly open world, giving the player freedom to progress through missions at their leisure while also expanding their skill tree, improving their equipment, and even raising their own armies and hiring mercenaries. Sepulchre has been hyped as one of the year's biggest games, and for good reason. It'll be released in September.
On a similar note, we also got to spend a lot of time with Rise A Knight IV: Scourge, THQ's long in development RPG that's finally shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the holiday season. It takes place in a fantasy world that will feature humans battling Ork-like creatures known as Vergons, though it's clear that many of these Vergons are peaceful creatures who don't wish to go to war with humans, forcing the protagonist (who can be either male or female) to find a new approach to the war, especially as a devastating plague threatens to ravage both sides of the conflict. It's clear that THQ made this game with the next generation consoles in mind: it features gorgeous graphics and a massive open world to explore, and we'll soon find out if the delay from 2012 was worth it when this game is finally released in December.
Of the Japanese companies present at E3 2014, Squaresoft had the biggest presence, and was mostly showing off the upcoming Final Fantasy Online II, which will launch later this year for all three consoles and PC. It's a beautiful upgrade to the 2005 original, and looks far better than 2010's Sapphire version of Final Fantasy Online as well, while incorporating elements from recent games in the series (including, potentially, the Guardian mechs of Final Fantasy XIII). Like its predecessor, the game will charge a monthly subscription fee, but as one of the most visually stunning and content rich MMORPGs of all time, Final Fantasy Online was worth the cost for most players, and we expect this game will be too. Squaresoft also showed off Angels Of Mana, a brand new title in the Mana series of action RPGs, and one expected to suitably adapt the series to a new generation. The graphics are a bit “kiddy” compared to those of the Final Fantasy series, but they're still detailed and gorgeous, and the game itself features all the classic Mana quirks and mechanics that players have grown to love. Tecmo's Sword Of Destiny is another lovely RPG with a traditional feel to it that looks to capture the feel of classic 16 bit titles with modern graphics and quality of life improvements. It definitely feels better than Secret Of The Stars, and while it looks generic and cliched, you can't judge a great RPG by its cover. Other companies like Enix, Game Arts, and Koei all had some exciting games of their own at the various E3 booths, and we'll have in-depth previews of those titles in a future article.
Valve, in addition to showing off Necrocracy 3, previewed a new MMORPG that will be developed by Bioware, and will take place on an industrialized planet fought over by corporations, robots, and downtrodden workers. Called Gearworld, the game will allow players to join up with one of the three factions, and while we didn't get much information about this one, the concept art looks visually stunning, presenting some very far out there character designs for all three different factions. Valve also showed off their Steam Machine, expected to launch later this year as a console-like device for PC games. It'll retail for $600, and is expected to play most PC titles at medium to high settings, including the upcoming Necrocracy 3. Valve has floated the idea of other models of the device available at a higher or lower cost, but for now, there's just one. It's not expected to outsell any of the current consoles, at least this year, but could be a big seller amongst console players hoping for an easier gateway into PC gaming.
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E3 2014 was all about the eighth generation and how wonderful it could be with all the software developers and console makers putting their best foot forward and showing off just what the current crop of consoles were truly capable of. It was home to huge trailers and plenty of exciting games playable on the floor, and confirmed that 2014 was likely to be one of the best years for video games of all time and that 2015 and 2016 could be even brighter.
Nintendo was all about Squad Four. From Squad Four Betrayal to their upcoming anniversary collection, the Nintendo keynote and booth were dripping with sci-fi space heroes, and aimed to send the message that Squad Four Betrayal was the must play game of not only 2014, but of this entire generation. For the most part, it worked: the game ended up being the consensus Best Of Show, and lines to play were long for the entirety of the week. Those who did get to play it came away impressed, those who didn't came away disappointed. Of course, those looking to see much of other games also came away disappointed, but we were treated to a snippet of the new Legend Of Zelda and the first character reveal for the Reality Smash Bros. game, so... there was that at least? One thing was clear: Nintendo was once again in the lead, and were confident in putting all their eggs in the Squad Four basket, knowing that if that game was ultimately a disappointment, Nintendo would still be Nintendo and would have plenty of other games on the way.
Apple, meanwhile, went the route of pushing their hardware as hard as possible. Nintendo had the Virtua outmuscled, so instead, Apple pushed motion controls and accessories heavily, and also announced that “VR is on the way, we promise!” Apart from that, though, their future game lineup did manage to impress. Street Fighter VI looked like a winner, Phantasy Star Online 3 was undeniably impressive (more impressive than Final Fantasy Online II, and without a monthly subscription), and while Marvel vs. Capcom 4 wasn't present during the keynote, it drew big crowds at the booth and won Best Fighting Game of the show over the impressive Killer Instinct 5 and the aforementioned Street Fighter VI. The Apple Virtua came out of E3 2014 smelling like a rose, while the Gemini, already surging going into E3, came out looking like it might just catch up with the Connect: unveiling a new Mini model with a sorely needed SSD, and even showing off some of the show's best handheld titles. Apple had a fantastic E3 2014, and to people who weren't blinded by Squad Four Betrayal, was the winner in the eyes of most in attendance.
Google, meanwhile, demonstrated that they didn't really care how many Nexus units they sold (with the first half of 2014 looking like a steep decline from the heights of 2013), but instead, wanted you playing Google everywhere. Google in the morning, Google in the evening, Google at supper time! When Google's on a bagel... yeah, you get the picture. Despite their apathy for Nexus sales, they still had some impressive games on display, including Techno Angel: Sabine and John Romero's new Rezna War. Google also showed off plenty of games for the Nexus Companion, their “I swear it's not a Google handheld” handheld. Google ended its presentation by revealing two ambitious new massively multiplayer projects that are scheduled to be released... whenever, and by then, we might already have a Nexus successor on the way. Google definitely didn't win E3 2014, but it's hard to say they lost either. We'll give Google a big “?” grade and leave it at that, while hoping that the company's community manager sticks to busting online trolls and not impersonating Ubisoft's take on Regina George.
On the PC front, there was a lot going on, but mostly on the hardware end, with all the big companies showing off new graphics cards and accessories. Meanwhile, Valve showed off the Steam Machine, a PC console that could revolutionize PC gaming if enough people are willing to fork over $600 for the privilege of not having to build their own rigs. Valve also showed off Necrocracy 3, which looked amazing and was one of the most crowded games on the floor, and a new MMORPG called Gearworld that looks to be Bioware's answer to World Of Warcraft. Other great PC games included Nix, an adventure/RPG title about a transforming imp/darkness fairy who lives in a world of perpetual night, and was an impressive enough game both visually and from a gameplay perspective to steal the Best PC Game of the show award away from Necrocracy 3. PC gaming arguably had an off year, but Necrocracy 3 could change that if it proves to be as big a hit as Half-Life 3, and could also help push the Steam Machine to a lot of console gamers who don't want to wait for next year.
Last year, we wrote that we expected to see Mario, Sonic, and Link all present at this year's show, and we were right: Mario and Sonic were headlining highly anticipated handheld games, while Link appeared in a teaser for a reboot of his original game. While we fully expect Mario and Sonic to make their proper next-gen console debuts soon, and almost certainly at E3 2015, we've also learned to expect the unexpected. Nintendo, leaning heavily into a franchise that seemed to be on the decline. Apple, going full-bore on accessories and enhancements in a strategy mimicking Sega's old tactics. And Google, saying “we don't care about console sales” after dominating the 2013 holiday season. E3 2014 brought plenty of the old familiar, but also brought plenty of surprises, and the next 12 months should be interesting indeed as we wait to see which of these hugely anticipated games will live up to their massive hype.
-from IGN's summary of E3 2014
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Game Critics Awards E3 2014
Best Of Show: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Original Game: The World Below
Best Console Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best PC Game: Nix
Best Handheld Game: Sonic The Hedgehog 7
Best Peripheral/Hardware: The Steam Machine
Best Action Game: Chance
Best Action/Adventure Game: Squad Four Betrayal
Best Role Playing Game: Phantasy Star Online 3
Best Racing Game: Formula One Inject
Best Sports Game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2015
Best Fighting Game: Marvel vs. Capcom 4
Best Shooter: Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Best Party Game: Just Dance Revolution
Best Online Multiplayer: Phantasy Star Online 3