E3 2011: The expected announcements

E3 2010 has come and gone in a whirlwind of ridiculous looking controllers, and the complete abolition of controllers altogether. Light on games and heavy on hardware, you might say. But although E3 2010 wasn’t the greatest, we now turn our attention to next year- what does the future hold for gaming?

The Games

Dragon Age 2

Although predicted for an April release, Bioware are known to give plenty of love and attention to their products, which may push back the projected release date. Confusingly listed in EA’s 2011 fiscal roster as coming out for all platforms (PC, consoles and handhelds), it would certainly mark a new direction for the developers.

Bioware are working on an iPhone game at the moment though, Mass Effect Galaxy, which suggests the company may well be moving on to the more portable gaming market.

Uncharted 3

We have but one morsel of information to go on here; Nolan North, the voice for protagonist Nathan Drake, has revealed that he is to be reprising his role as the lead character of the action game. A third Uncharted wouldn’t come as a surprise to many; the last game won countless Game of the Year awards, and sold over 3.5 million copies. Naughty Dog also said that they would keep on making the series, “for as long as the fans want it.”

And we want it.

Diablo 3

Long awaited by fans of the first games, Diablo 3 is a game shrouded in mystery. Having been given a release date of 2011- ‘or later’- by Blizzard, it looks set to be making an appearance on the floor at LA next year. Games in recent memory, such as Torchlight, have attempted to recreate the dungeon-crawling magic that was Diablo, but many PC gamers won’t be satisfied until they see the real deal.

Shogun II Total War

Fans of work by The Creative Assembly have long debated what the next Total War game would be- and after a teaser shown at this year’s E3 shows us, we now know it will be a return to the series roots, with a second iteration of Shogun Total War. That means ningas.

And just to throw some stats at you, CA also revealed that individual units in-game will have 52 individual bones, allowing for more natural movement and animation. Single battles will also have support for up to- and better brace yourself for this one- 56, 000 soldiers.

Max Payne 3

After many delays (it was originally scheduled for a late 2009 release), Max Payne 3 has finally been pencilled in for a ‘TBA 2011’ release. And this game will see a drastically new Max- according to Rockstar he will be “Max as we’ve never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever.” No doubt equipped with Rockstar’s finely-honed tongue-in-cheek humour, Max Payne 3 is shaping up to be the best of the rest.

Batman Arkham Asylum 2

There are no doubts about this one- after the enourmous success of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady are flying in for another stab at the adventures of the Masked Crusader. Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy said that the sequel was shaping up to be “really, really dark.” However, it was the maturity of the game that made it so appealing to many gamers. Batman was not a childrens game, and it featured some of the best combat ever seen in a videogame- we await with intrepidation.

Call of Duty 8/9

Yes that’s right- 8 and 9. That’s because there is an awful lot of Call of Duty being released next year. Following the release of Black Ops in November later this year, an as-yet-unnamed studio are going on to work on a direct continuation of the franchise, while Sledgehammer Games work on a Call of Duty action spin-off. Sort of like Call of Duty as a third person action game.

In addition, Activision are taking the first steps towards creating a Call of Duty MMO; “the company is in discussions with a select number of partners to bring the franchise to Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for online multiplayer games in the world.”

That’s a lot of Call of Duty.

Red Faction: Armageddon

Little is known about the fourth upcoming game in the Red Faction franchise, but we can say with a fair measure of confidence that it will, to paraphrase, let you blow shit up. Armageddon will see the trigger-happy shooter go underground, where, 50 years after the original Red Faction Guerrilla, Martian colonists are returning to the tunnels where they discover there is indeed life on Mars- and it wants to kill them.

The ability to teraform the terrain will be there again, courtesy of the Geo-Mod 2.0 engine- and some peculiar weapons such as ‘The Magnet Gun’. Again, the game is due out before June 2011, but delays are becoming increasingly more common nowadays…

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO

Long in the making, this Massively Multiplayer Online behemoth of a game is expected to be with us this time next year, making it a possible E3 candidate. Earlier in the year, EA’s CEO, Jon Riccitiello teased a “major MMO”. Many suspected Star Wars: TOR MMO. How correct they were.

Now made official by Bioware, the game has a ballpark estimate of Spring 2011. And if you’re dying to get your hands on it, you can sign up for the chance to become a beta tester right here.

Resistance 3

Still very much a rumour, a possible continuation of the series will be very much welcome. An internet user has been the first to get the rumour mill in full swing with this video, capturing a billboard in Louisiana emblazoned with Resistance 3, and the Statue of Liberty can be seen too. Insomniac also announced recently that they were working on another Playstation 3 exclusive- could it be Resistance 3?

An E3 appearance looks very possible.

Rage

Announced by iD Software  back at QuakeCon 2007, any questions regarding a release date were answered stiffly with a “when it’s fun and when it’s done” release timetable. Since then though, this estimate has been narrowed down to a 2011 ballpark date.

Set post-apocalypse (yes, another one), Rage mixes racing and driving with first person shooter action. The game is also set to look pretty similar across all platforms, although the PC might have a slight edge because, “y’know John Carmack loves to have a few little wingdings you can turn on – special effects stuff. But it’ll all be the same.”

Gears of War 3

Again, officially due out a few months before E3 with a projected release date for April 2011, Gears of War 3 still has a fair chance of a delayed release, and some E3-previewing. From what we can see so far though, we don’t care how long it takes- because it looks really, really good. Check out all the current info and scans, including an exclusive E3 interview, here.

Mortal Kombat

Very little is known about this game, and most info is simply speculation. However, the simplistic title suggests more of a remake of the original gameplay rather than a whole new twist on the tried-and-tested methods. The game is due out in 2011, but an exact date is so far out of the question. We will keep our eyes peeled for any new info.

The Hardware

PSP2

Despite not even getting a mention at this year’s E3, the PSP2 has a lot of rumours heating up behind the scenes. ‘Multiple British sources’ told VG247 that the PSP2 will be running on a 4 core version of the Cell CPU- by comparison, the PS3 runs an 8-core version of the same processor. The portable console is also said to be touch sensitive, while still retaining physical buttons.  Apparently it also has two cameras, one on the front and one on the rear.

Yeah, it sounds pretty damn cool, but if it hits the same price point as the PSP Go, the PSP2 may flop just as badly.

‘Wii HD’

Nintendo has been somewhat reluctant to divulge details on the so-called Wii HD, but a few things are certain.

• It will have high definition visuals.
• It’s set to hit shelves sometime next year.
• The new system will have some kind of a local hard drive, and a larger emphasis on backwards-compatible content.

Considering the success of the DSi, and the soon to be released 3DS, next year is looking very good for Nintendo as they launch a two pronged attack on the gaming world.

---