When Nintendo announced Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at last year’s E3, no one expected that to be its official name. Nonetheless, the game will be released later this year, and we’ll be getting some much-needed hands-on time with the console version of everyone’s favourite ensemble brawler. In fact, Nintendo is planning Smash-Fest @ Best Buy so everyone can get in on the action!
Coming even sooner than its console-destined counterpart, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is probably the bigger wildcard of the two for a few reasons. This year at E3, we’ll be able to put the game through its 60 frames per second paces, while checking out its network and online play, as well as give other players a run for their money. Nintendo only has one shot to get this right, and we really want to report that they have. Stay tuned.
The Legend of Zelda for Wii U
You know about our love for Hyrule, so this one will be an easy sell. Nintendo has already said that they’re going to announce the future of the console-based Zelda series at E3 2014, and while that could mean anything from a tentative title to full-blown demo stations, we’re going to be excited either way. Given that Skyward Sword was released at the tail-end of 2011, we could see a release for The Legend of Zelda on Wii U at the end of this year, but think it’s a lot more plausible for the game to be released sometime in 2015. We wouldn’t complain if Nintendo has been working on Zelda long enough to release it this year, but we’d rather wait for it to be perfect. Which it will be. Because it’s Zelda.
Hyrule Warriors
Not much is known about the most bizarre spin-off title in Zelda‘s history, but we’re eager to find out more about it. Hyrule Warriors, set in the iconic land it’s named after, will likely be the game to tide us over between now and when Zelda for Wii U launches in 2015. This title is really up in the air, but we’re always stoked to see a new game in Hyrule. Let’s just hope it’s got more substance and less plastic gimickery that Link’s Crossbow Training.
Destiny
The next big thing from Bungie is on its way this September in the form of Destiny. A social experiment mixed with a first-person shooter that has RPG and MMO elements, designed to become available for four platforms at once is a task few developers could ever pull off. Bungie, alongside Activision, are luckily on that shortlist. Destiny looks to be a perfected version of Halo, distilled within a new universe that will draw gamers in without issue. But will it actually beat Halo? That is a question that will not be answered until this, and a few more, E3s have passed.
We were blown away by this new entry in the Tom Clancy universe at last year’s E3, and, much like Destiny, it looks to push the boundaries of traditional first-person shooters. In The Division‘s case, however, that means employing second screens like tablets and smartphones to enhance the console experience. We can’t wait to see more.
All we know about this one is that Ubisoft Toronto is taking the lead on it, likely with some partner Ubisoft studios from around the globe. We’re not counting on Sam Fisher showing his head at yet another E3 until at least 2015, but we can dream, can’t we? It would be nice to see Fisher again.
The franchise from Ubisoft that everyone is buzzing about is, without a doubt, Assassin’s Creed. The latest entry, subtitled Unity, is set to make its proper debut at E3 2014, if not a bit earlier. If history is any indication, Ubisoft will show this off at Sony’s Press Conference as well as their own, followed by some great demos on the E3 show floor itself.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
We’re not sure what the hell Ground Zeroes was supposed to be, but the fact that it could be beaten in under ten minutes without glitches makes us think it was a ploy to get us excited for the real Metal Gear game, The Phantom Pain. Fine, it worked. In fact, it worked so well that we’ve never been as stoked as we are for a Kojima game as we are for The Phantom Pain. Something about the mystery around the game’s original cryptic debut was so well done that we can’t help but feel like there’s more to know and see.
Batman: Arkham Knight
This is the time for Rocksteady to really shine as they put their Arkham trilogy to rest. The open world of the game looks fantastic, a fact made even more true by the fact that it’s large enough to make use of the Batmobile a necessity, though, really: when is the Batmobile not a necessity? We’ll be getting lots (and lots) of hands-on time with Arkham Knight, assuming it’s playable on the show floor. In fact, we might earmark all of Day Two on the show floor for Batman alone.
Call of Duty
Is it bad that this game is the one we’re least excited about? Sure, we’re pretty stoked to see the giant screens that Activision has up on the show floor, counting down to the next showing of the trailer for their latest Call of Duty game, followed by a two-hour wait until they show it again. But the fact that we know they’ll do it somehow echoes the iterative succession of Call of Duty games that just desensitizes us to the franchise every year. Oh, who are we kidding? This is Call of Duty. Of course we’ll play it.