Top 10 Announcements/Games of E3 2015

If you’re anything like me then you’re still in absolute shock and awe over some of the things that were revealed at this year’s E3. I’m going to attempt to give you a top 10 of my favourite announcements/games that were unveiled over the last few days. In my opinion, it was the first time that it truly felt as if the companies/developers finally listened to the gamers and gave us what we’ve wanted. It’s a great time to be alive and an even better time to be a gamer, here are my top 10 favourite moments of E3 2015 –

10 – Rare Replay – Celebrating 30 years of Rare

Acclaimed British developer Rare have a rich history in gaming. Just about everyone has a fond memory of playing one of their games from the NES to Xbox 360. To have the opportunity to play games such as Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata and so many more classic games on the Xbox One is a dream come true. If that all doesn’t sound good enough then this just might, it’s only going to cost £20! The entire 30 game collection boasts 10,000 Gamerscore and over 700 hours of gameplay. Yes these are old games but they’re classics and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing them again. Acclaimed British developer Rare have a rich history in gaming. Just about everyone has a fond memory of playing one of their games from the NES to Xbox 360. To have the opportunity to play games such as Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata and so many more classic games on the Xbox One is a dream come true. If that all doesn’t sound good enough then this just might, it’s only going to cost £20! The entire 30 game collection boasts 10,000 Gamerscore and over 700 hours of gameplay. Yes these are old games but they’re classics and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing them again.

09 – Xbox One Gets Backwards Compatibility with Xbox 360

This is an excellent example of a company listening to its fans. The ability to play Xbox 360 games on Xbox One will be a huge selling point for a lot of people and it’s another huge step towards putting away the previous generation systems. With 100 Xbox 360 games being added this holiday and more to follow regularly, Microsoft have to be given props for this one. Many will argue that this should have been an added feature from day one and maybe so but at least it’s here now. Microsoft has done a lot of back peddling since the One was announced 2 years ago, they’ve seemingly learned from their mistakes and this is another huge step in the right direction. However, I do wonder how this will affect future HD re-releases of games.

08 – Beyond Eyes

A blind girl braves her anxiety and goes on a journey to find her only friend surrounded by an unseen world full of life waiting to be revealed.

I am a huge fan of any game that attempts to bring something new and unique to the table; Beyond Eyes looks like it does just that. Experiencing the world through a young, blind girl named Rae looks genuinely creative, artful and beautiful.

07 – ReCore

From the legendary creator Keiji Inafune and the makers of Metroid Prime comes “ReCore”, a Sci-Fi action-adventure masterfully crafted for a new generation. As one of the last remaining humans, forge friendships with courageous robot companions and lead them on an epic adventure through a mysterious, dynamic world.

I think a lot of people were quite surprised to see Keiji Inafune working on a new project, especially those still waiting on Mighty Number Nine. The concept of using an orb as a companion that can be inserted like a battery into a host of different and unique allies sounds really interesting. This is a brand new IP for Microsoft and with such a strong creative team behind it; ReCore could be very special indeed.

06 – Mass Effect: Andromeda

A whole year ago I made a top 10 based on announcements at E3 2014 and one of the honourable mentions was a brand new Mass Effect game. At that time all we had were screenshots but this year EA have given us a CG trailer and a name. The trailer seems to indicate that the game will put more emphasis on exploration and is that the MAKO I see!? I would more than welcome a new Mass Effect game that focuses more on exploring distant galaxies/planets much like the original game did. Bioware are really taking their time with this so I’m starting to have pretty high expectations for what should be an amazing game.

05 – Cuphead

How absolutely charming does this game look? The whole concept of a game that is stylized like a 1930s cartoon is wonderful; the gameplay that was shown really got me excited to check it out. Thankfully we were given a release window of 1936 + 80 years!

04 – Dishonoured 2

Dishonored 2 is set 15 years after The Dunwall Plague. Corvo has now mentored Emily as an Assassin to discover the corruption behind the Plague. The sequel takes place on the island of Serkonos, one of the four major islands of the Empire, where Corvo was born.

I was a huge fan of the original and this looks like it’s shaping up to be pretty damn awesome. The option to play as either Emily or Corvo is a really cool idea. From what I’ve heard, the way in which you play through the game whether it’s stealthy or full on going in guns blazing will affect the way the story pans out just like the original which is great.

03 – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Deus Ex: Human Revolution was one of my favourite games from the previous generation despite its fairly linear open world. I had a blast playing that game so I’m seriously looking forward to checking out Mankind Divided which I intend to buy day one when it releases. The concept of a world where augmented humans and non-augmented humans attempt to function in a society of persecution is excellent. Adam Jensen looks like he’s had something of an upgrade, his new weaponry and abilities look like they’re going to be a lot of fun to play around with whether you take the stealthy approach or not. From what I hear this game looks absolutely stunning and I’d expect nothing less, let’s hope it has another great story and a soundtrack to match.

02 – Shenmue III (Kickstarter)

I still cannot believe that this actually happened, I’m still in shock. All of the times in which jokes were made about whether or not the game would be a thing and by the looks of the Kickstarter ($3 million and counting), this is actually going to be created. Also, Shenmue III broke a world record for the quickest funding in the history of Kickstarter, it’s truly a dream come true and one that I never thought would come to be. All of the Shenmue fans in the world deserve credit for never giving up on the game no matter how many knock-backs we were given.

I genuinely do hope that the game continues to grow and gets even more funding so it can reach all of its stretch goals, I’ll be doing whatever I can to support it. The game is currently only being created for PS4 (digital) and PC (physical) and has a December 2017 release window. I do hope that the game gets released physically on every single platform it can because no fans deserve to be left out on this one, I want the game to make as much money as possible. 2 and a half years is plenty of time to get a gaming PC or PS4 though! Expectations are obviously going to be high for this but I’m confident Yu-Suzuki wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t going to be done right.

01 – Final Fantasy VII – The Remake

Anyone that knows me will know that Final Fantasy VII is one of my favourite games of all time and to see that it’s finally getting the remake treatment is another dream come true for me. The game is a long way off considering Square just started development but I really do feel it will be worth the wait.

Honourable Mentions!