At the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles, our Adam Balkin answers the most commonly asked question he’s asked upon his return, “What were the coolest games you saw out there?" He filed the following report.
Typically, to appreciate the most buzzed-about games on the E3 floor, you’d have to be a real video game devotee with your face pressed against a screen for most hours of the day. However, this year, it seems several of the hottest titles for hardcore gamers are those that will interest even those who've never picked up a controller.
Top of the list in both categories, seemingly unanimously this year, "Star Wars: Battlefront."
“I think what we’re building is exceptionally beautiful and faithful to the original trilogy of movies,” says Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir of DICE. “We want players to be able to feel like they are in some of the most iconic battles, so the Walker Assault battle that you’ve seen is obviously very inspired by the Battle of Hoth. However, you’re seeing star fighters, you’re seeing heroes fighting that you don’t see in the movie."
In "Batman: Arkham Knight" - the finale in the Batman Arkham series - developers wouldn't say whether our hero dies in the end, only confirming it's the darkest "Batman title to date.
“This really deals with the very, very personal connections that Batman has with his allies and the enemies that he’s going up against,” says Dax Ginn of Rocksteady Studios. “You know, they really get under Batman’s skin, so it’s that very personal connection that makes it so much more dark."
Finally, "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" has more realism, more weapons and more characters than ever before. Plus, you can play story mode with up to four people cooperatively.
So what’s the appeal of this one to non-gamers? Well, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch makes a cameo, so even if you are a non-gamer, you may actually want to buy this one just to see if he actually says something.
“We had the opportunity to bring him in and get him involved, and so we got this part for him and we’re still in development, we’re not quite sure how lines will work out," says John Rafacz of Treyarch.
Developers insist the day he came in to shoot and voice his role, the famously tight-lipped NFL pro was actually quite chatty.