E3 2011 Recap: Wii U for the PSVita and Some Brand New Games

E3 2011 has arrived and this will mark the 17th Electronic Entertainment Expo. We were given a sneak peek at Sony’s new handheld device, PSVita, as well as Nintendo’s new console called the ‘Wii U’. Microsoft’s big announcement was the unveiling of Halo 4 which seems a bit common of an announcement at this point but was still treated as a big deal by the executives at the company. Microsoft put in more effort by showcasing their Kinect, controller-free device along with some highly anticipated games to play on the new device.

-The Wii U will be Nintendo’s first attempt at graphical catching up as the next generation console will be the company’s first attempt at 1080p graphics. The CPU for the system will be an all-new design that is to be created by IBM. Company executives were more busy spending their time focusing on marketing the new Wii U controller which will be a touch-screen controller that can transfer game play to the controller even after the television has been turned off. Also, the controller will feature additional features such as a camera, microphone, gyroscope and near field communication that can interact with card games and be used for micro transactions with a credit card. The system won’t rely on 3D very much but will feature more online content and a Nintendo Network that will allow gamers to purchase their games online and interact with other gamers in a social manner through the store. The system will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Showcase and will be ready to launch during the holiday season in 2012.

Sony spent their time focusing on their new portable handheld device called the PSVita. Sony’s new device features an OLED screen and new buttons that are more similar to the PS3 with two analog sticks instead of one and the use of a dpad and the four side buttons which include triangle, square,circle and an x. The sixaxis motion-sensing technology has been included in the handheld device along with a camera for face and head detection. The UMD discs from the former PSP have been scrapped and replaced with digital media flash cards that are similar to SD memory cards. The system won’t use regular memory cards to store other types of data and individuals will need to purchase Sony’s own PSVita memory card to save games. The system is set to launch The PSVita is set to launch on February 22nd, 2012 in North America and Europe.

Batman: Arkham City

-Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the 2009 award winning video game Batman Arkham Asylum. Batman must now deal with some old criminals as well as new ones in a large prison nearly 5 times as big as Arkham asylum that includes industrial buildings and Gotham City landmarks. Some of these new villains include Two-Face and the Penguin and there will be new playable characters such as Nightwing and Catwoman. Also, the game will feature stereoscopic 3D mode for 3D HDTVs.

Battlefield 3

-Battlefield 3 is the eleventh game in the Battlefield franchise and the sequel to the 2005 game ‘Battlefield 2’. The game boasts an improved campaign mode with locations such as Iran and New York and a multiplayer mode that features up to 64 at once on the PC version and up to 32 people on the Playstation 3. The multiplayer mode features maps set in locations such as Paris, New York, Tehran and the Persian Gulf just to name a few. You can play as four different characters in the multiplayer mode and they include assault, engineer, recon and support. Each of these characters can alter gameplay with an assault player c being used to heal people and an engineer being able to repair vehicles.

Twisted Metal

-Twisted Metal is a vehicle combat video game developed by Eat Sleep Play and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. The game mainly focuses on its improved online play with 4 player split screen and up to 16 players being able to play at once. One new mode includes nuke mode where players must join factions and try to sacrifice each other’s leaders into a cannon in order to destroy the opposing team’s statue. The game is basically a new installment compared to previous twisted metal games as the universe is different with the exception of a few characters who have returned from previous versions of the video game.

Dark Souls

-Dark Souls is an action/role-playing game that was published by Namco Bandai for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game has received a lot of attention for its high difficulty level among hardcore gamers. The game has a minimalist plot but deals with a player’s choice of being alive or undead and the need to collect souls. There are bonfires which act as checkpoints that allow a player to rest in a large open-world setting where players must collect souls and use them as currency. If a player dies, he is punished and loses all of his souls and must collect them again. We have noticed that the game can be increasingly difficult based on the high punishment level given to players for dying. This is not a game that many casual players will enjoy but looks like it will be a delight for real hardcore gamers who enjoy a challenge and don’t want anything sugarcoated for them.

Mass Effect 3

-Mass Effect 3 is an action/ role-playing game developed from Bioware and published by Electronic Arts. The third in the trilogy is one of the few games that takes a gamer’s decisions from the previous two games in the series and uses these choices to advance gameplay even further in the third game. The game has improved some of the combat modes in the game and has added a 4 player co-op mode that can be played online. The videogame allows the gamer to choose between 3 different gameplay choices which include action mode, story mode, and RPG mode which includes a manual reply system and a basic combat mode. This third game in the trilogy should help to finalize any lingering questions from the two previous titles and give fans of the game a satisfying conclusion to the story.

Hitman Absolution

-Hitman: Absolution is a stealth game being developed by IO Interactive and will be published by Square Enix. The game will run on IO’s own Glacier 2 game engine. Details about the game are sketchy but some plot points look like they will take place in Chicago. The game’s plot will surround Agent 47’s decision to go into hiding after killing the former Head of the FBI only to find out that this individual was part of a larger organization now out to get the agent. Agent 47 is now being hunted down by the police and must find his former handler to help him get back to normal. In the trailer for the game, Agent 47 ends up killing his handler (since she most likely betrayed him) and must go out alone to stop this new organization from trying to kill him. While I’m not a huge fan of the Hitman series, the game has been in development for a while and let’s hope the increased development time will help to create a more refined and polished game when it launches sometime in 2012.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a role-playing, open world video game that is both published and developed by Bethesda Studios. Fans of the series will be happy to know that your character can explore the open world on foot or on horseback and can speak to multiple non-playable characters who will direct you towards new quests. One of the cool new things that the developers worked hard on was the inclusion of randomly generated dragons that will appear in the game that can either attack or aid your character in their quest. The game uses Bethesda’s own Creation engine as well the Havok engine for character animations. The game is much better at being able to showcase objects in the distance and the use of shadows and light will be used to highlight dungeon levels. This game has plenty of replay value and most veterans of the game will still be playing this game well after a month so be prepared to stay in your parents’ basement for a while.

Once again, we are a small operation and can’t possibly review or highlight every single game that is about to launch soon. We picked some of our favorites as well as games which we think will be widely popular as well as some games that are unique and stand out from most generic sequels. Here is our list of other games which will probably make an impact once they’re launched sometime in late 2011 and the 2012 calender year.

BioShock Infinite
Call of Duty: modern Warfare 3
Dead Island
SoulCalibur 5
Forza Motorsport 4
Gears of War 3
Tomb Raider
UFC: Undisputed 3
Ninja Gaiden 3
Far Cry 3
Mario Kart 7
Shinobi
Binary Domain
Starhawk
Resistance 3