E3 2015 is less than a week away and we’re already being bombarded with a slew of game announcements, some small and some incredibly huge. Last week we got our first look at the highly anticipated Fallout 4, and just recently the release date for Three One Zero’s horrific “first-person experience” in space, Adr1ft, leaked via a trailer that was supposed to be debuted at E3. Interestingly enough, it seems a lot of big announcements have been trickling out prior to E3, which only leaves me to believe that even bigger and better announcements await us next week. That being the case, I’ve decided now would be the best time to voice my crazy expectations for this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Hit the jump to check out my full list of what I want to see this year!
10. Fallout 4 will be released this year
I know, I know, Fallout 4‘s reveal trailer just came out and it some of it was looking pretty rough, but hear me out on this one! It makes perfect sense that a reveal trailer would come out just days before Bethesda’s E3 conference because that means that Bethesda has something cooking that’s even juicier than just another trailer. This is what’s probably going to happen: we’ll be treated with a full gameplay video of Fallout 4 that’ll take us on a tour through a nice suburban community that is minutes away from experiencing the nuclear apocalypse. The protagonist will go about his or her daily life before being evacuated to take shelter in Vault 111. Seconds before you actually enter the Vault, a bomb goes off in the distance, as seen in the reveal trailer. However, seconds before the protagonist is obliterated by the blast, he or she will be pulled into the Vault. The screen will go black, and proceed to fade into that same area outside of the Vault, except this time it’s post-war. The protagonist will look around for a bit, loot a few things and then be confronted by a Deathclaw that will sprint at the screen and attack the protagonist. At this point the screen goes black again, a 1950’s style song will start playing as the Fallout 4 logo fades in with a Fall 2015 release date under it.
At this point everyone in the crowd will lose their minds and Bethesda will be hailed as kings. That is, until the next day when…
9. Battletoads is announced to be in development by Rare
As we all know, Battletoads is a highly divisive game. There’s really only three types of people who know about Battletoads: the people who love Battletoads but don’t actually remember how ball-bustingly difficult those games were; the people who do remember how difficult those games were and question why anyone would want to have it back; and of course the Gamestop employees that wish for Battletoads to die in a horrible fire because of all of the prank phone calls they got from teenagers that think they’re comic geniuses and relish the thought of torturing other people with their Battletoads-based pranks. Alright, I may have been a bit hyperbolic in those descriptions of people. That aside, there’s been numerous rumors and hints dropped that Battletoads will be making a comeback. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, wore a Battletoads shirt at a Windows 10 event, Battletoads actually made an appearance in the Xbox version of Shovel Knight, and Rare, the developers best known for Banjo-Kazooie, is rumored to reveal something at E3 this year. At first, we assumed it would be a new Banjo game, but with the recently announced successor to Banjo, Yooka-Laylee, being developed by ex-Rare developers, all signs seem to point towards a new Battletoads title.
And if that’s not a guarantee, then I got something that absolutely has to happen…
8. Star Wars and Marvel inspired worlds will appear in Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts is a series that blends Final Fantasy characters with Disney characters. On the surface, that pairing seems insane and possibly the ramblings of a crazy person that bumped his head in Disneyland while playing Dissidia Final Fantasy. But I assure you it’s a series that is real and is actually insane (at one point you team up with Captain Jack Sparrow and Donald Duck to defeat shadow monsters that steal people’s hearts – I’m not making this up). This shouldn’t even be considered a “prediction” because Disney acquired the rights to both Star Wars (2012) and Marvel (2009). Both of which happened before Kingdom Hearts 3 was even announced. Which stands to reason that the game is indeed going to have something Star Wars and Marvel related in it because both Square Enix and Disney love money, and putting those two properties in Kingdom Hearts 3 will make them both oceans of money. And seriously, who doesn’t want to see Sora summon a lightsaber skyblade? Granted, I don’t know how that’ll work but who cares?! It’d be super awesome!
To think, we haven’t even scratched the surface of the giant iceberg of hype that will exude out of LA when…
7. EA announces the revival of Star Wars 1313
It was a sad day when we learned Star Wars 1313 had been cancelled along with the closure of LucasArts. But as soon as I heard that Amy Hennig, formerly of Naughty Dog, was teaming up with Visceral Games to work on a Star Wars game, a new horizon opened up before me. It was at that moment I knew deep in my soul that as awesome a game as 1313 could’ve been, it could only be better if someone of Amy Hennig’s caliber were to work on it. Amy Hennig was the creative mind behind Uncharted 3: Drake Deception, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, and let’s not forget the seminal classic Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. Okay, that last one might be a bit of a black mark on her career, but I personally loved that game as a kid. In any case, Amy Hennig has proven herself to be a superb writer, and having her be the lead writer for a Star Wars game that centers around bounty hunters is exciting. Especially since she has a team as capable as Visceral Games, the developers of the Dead Space series.
But of course, this wouldn’t melt my brain as surely as the news that…
6. Dead Space 4 will be getting a reveal trailer
Dead Space is a series that holds a special place in my heart. It was the first game I ever had when I got my PS3, and was the first game I ever played on an HDTV. I fondly remember the day I booted up Dead Space for the first time, and was promptly greeted with the creepiest rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” I’ve ever heard. I can see it now; during the EA conference the main screen and all of the lights will go black. After a few seconds of silence, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” will begin playing as an ocean of stars fades onto the screen. It’ll all be very reminiscent of the original Dead Space opening cinematic, except this time we’ll see series protagonist Isaac Clark drifting in space while firing at an off-screen enemy. He’ll look at the screen, his iconic helmet glowing in the blackness of space, before being grabbed by what appears to be tentacles and then gets pulled off screen. The camera turns to follow after him but stops dead when the body of a creature as big as the screen is revealed. The screen will go black, and as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” ends, the logo for Dead Space 4 will fill the screen, with the words “Coming Soon” appearing under it.
This’ll probably happen during the Sony conference but…
5. Street Fighter V gets a release window and new character reveal
The fighting game community has come a long way these past years. Many credit Street Fighter IV for the resurgence of the fighting game genre, so it only makes sense to have a big announcement at E3 to help bring the fighting game community into the public eye. The announcement would also come with the reveal of a series mainstay such as Ken Masters or Colonel William Guile, either of which will demonstrate a few of their classic moves while displaying brand new techniques. It’s been rumored and all but confirmed that Street Fighter V takes place an unknown amount of years since Street Fighter III: Third Strike which is the furthest game on the Street Fighter timeline. Street Fighter V taking place after Third Strike is evidenced by both Ryu and Chun Li showing off moves they acquired in Third Strike plus new techniques. Also, the dictator himself, M.Bison, is depicted as having gray hair which, of course, means he’s gotten older as humans are wont to do. To clear up a bit of confusion, Street Fighter VI takes place a few years before the events of Third Strike, but a few years after Street Fighter II.
This one seems like a fairly safe bet to me but of course…
4. God of War 4 gets a reveal trailer
Hot off of his murderous rampage through the Grecian Gods, Kratos sails across the sea to Egypt in hopes of cleansing himself of his past sins. Of course this doesn’t go the way he wishes, and he ends up having to murder all of the Egyptian Gods. On second thought, that sounds kind of lame, let me try a different approach. The game will take place at an undetermined amount of time in the future, but in Egypt. It’ll follow a new protagonist who is really just the reincarnated form of Kratos, who is not immortal since he lost his Godhood at the beginning of God of War 2 (sorry for spoiling the ending of the original God of War, a ten-year-old game). This “new” protagonist will suffer a similar fate as Kratos in that his family will be murdered either by his own hand or as a result of his actions. This will serve as his motivation to begin a revenge-fueled vendetta against the Egyptian Gods who didn’t help him prevent the deaths of his family. Yes, I realize the picture I’m painting is basically the same as the original God of War but let’s be honest, did anyone actually play the game because the story was so engrossing? Short answer, no. Long answer, still no! God of War wasn’t about the story, it was about the combat and puzzles, and this new God of War will have plenty of both.
Anyone that knows me, may also know I have an affinity for a good spectacle fighter. As such…
3. DMC: Devil May Cry 2 will be announced
Ninja Theory will not only show a ton of stuff for Hellblade during the Sony conference, but they’ll also have a “and one more thing” moment and show a teaser for DMC: Devil May Cry 2. The game will follow series protagonist Dante as he tries to come to terms with the loss of his brother Vergil while embarking on his first mission as a devil hunter for hire. The story will follow Dante as he struggles to gain control of his demonic and angelic powers. The game will feature new abilities and weapons, as well as a few returning abilities and weapons that Dante will start off with at the beginning of the game. But, of course, something will happen that triggers the losing of his weapons and will then set him on a course to claim new, more powerful weapons. The combo system will be tweaked to mirror the system that was present in the original Devil May Cry quadrilogy but an option will be available to maintain the system that was introduced in DMC: Devil May Cry.
Not wanting to be outdone by a third party company working with one of their IPs, Capcom will walk on stage and announce…
2. Resident Evil will get a hard reboot
Acknowledging the fact that the Resident Evil series has gotten severely off the rails, Capcom will announce that they are going back to square one with the franchise. This time, however, the player will take control of a scientist who is present during the initial outbreak of the T-Virus. The player will then be tasked with trying to escape the Umbrella facility that is now crawling with the living dead and various other horrible monsters that were created by T-Virus experiments. The game will also mark the return of series antagonist Albert Wesker, the lead researcher at the Umbrella facility. However, Wesker will secretly be working with another corporation that intends to buy the T-Virus after a demonstration of what it is capable of. The gameplay will focus on outsmarting enemies rather than fighting them. However, there will be a shooting mechanic similar to Resident Evil 4 in place in which the player must stand still to aim and shoot at enemies. Firing your weapon, however, may or may not attract more enemies to your location. It will be highly recommended to not engage enemies as much as possible.
Before I go on to my number one thing I want to see, I have a few honorable mentions:
- Hideo Kojima will confirm that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will bear his name, but he is in fact no longer an employee of Konami
- Punished/Venom Snake, from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be confirmed as a DLC character for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- Watch Dogs 2 will be announced with a release window
- Uncharted 4 will get a release date
Okay, now on to number one. This should really not be surprising to anyone who knows what my all-time favorite game is but…
1. Retro studios is working on a new Metroid series
It’s been five years since the disappointment that was Metroid: The Other M. To be fair, The Other M was only a failure in terms of story. The mechanics and gameplay of The Other M were fantastic, aside for the whole “point at the screen to switch to first person mode” thing. This new Metroid series will come in the form of a 2.5D platformer for the Nintendo 3DS, and a first-person Metroid Prime style game for the Wii U. Both games will follow separate stories. The 3DS game will take place after the events of Metroid Fusion and follow a newly fully powered Samus as she chases after a notorious criminal. Said criminal’s trail will lead Samus to a planet that is inhabited by creatures that actually prey on metroids. With Samus’ powersuit being fused with metroid DNA, she finds herself being assaulted by a large amount of creatures on the planet. The atmosphere also limits her abilities as it is the exact composition that would kill a metroid, other than the planet being naturally frigid (metroids are vulnerable to freezing temperatures, but Samus is not). The first-person Metroid game will follow Samus as she journeys around the galaxy after the events of Metroid: The Other M. Samus once again finds herself at odds with the Galactic Federation, however; in order to maintain her title as a bounty hunter, Samus must investigate a distress beacon coming from a planet on the very edge of the Galactic Federation’s reach. When she arrives, her ship is shot down by an unknown assailant; she crashes and her suit is damaged in the process. She must then find a way to repair both her ship and her armor while investigating the distress beacon and trying to figure out who shot her ship down. During the course of the game she’ll be relentlessly pursued by an unknown entity. The game will focus on atmospheric story-telling, not once will Samus speak because it’ll be entirely unnecessary.
And there you have it folks! That’s my list of what I really want to happen at E3 2015 this year! What do you think? Am I crazy? Or am I crazy like a fox?! What’re your predictions? Let me know!