E3: Antoninus' Picks

We are not special enough to go to E3 because we're not a game developer or member of a game publishing company, but a lowly consumer who can only watch from the sidelines and fantasize. Thankfully, there is enough coverage on the 'net to allow us to vicariously experience the show.

Antoninus' Top Five Picks:



LEFT 4 DEAD 2
No. 5

Left 4 Dead 2 already? Valve, creating a sequel just one year after the release of the first game? What's the matter with these people? We're still busy trying to enjoy the first game, dammit!



MASS EFFECT
No. 4

Fourteen years ago, no one would have probably guessed that two Canadian medical physicians, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk would become highly successful game developers. Their previous games, which were mere cult PC followings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, have now become highly successful console games with a growing fan base. Mass Effect, released in 2007, was a representation of just how far they've come as gaming visionaries. The game provided a cinematic experience, the character advancement of role-playing games, and action on par with shooters, thereby providing the ultimate knockout combination of a game. Despite these features, fans were disappointed with some of its weaknesses, including a lack of different types of weapons within each weapon category (e.g. "different" assault rifles all seemed identical to each other and "different" shotguns all seemed the same, with the only differences being in their statistics). Fans were also disappointed with the "cookie-cutter dungeons" - many of the blueprints for these dungeons were identical and merely featured different props to distinguish between them. It seems BioWare has taken all these criticisms to heart and have decided to create an even better experience in its sequel.



DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS
No. 3

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk's BioWare are a busy bunch. In addition to Mass Effect, they are creating the "spiritual successor," as they call it, to the Baldur's Gate series. The game will only be available for the PC and the XBox 360, which is highly unfortunate because this looks to be a very epic game for all you Lord of the Rings lovers out there. Trademark BioWare features will exist within the game, including romance, epic battles, treacherous plots, and decisions that you make which result in complex consequences. The PC version will include a toolset that allows players to create their own campaigns and dungeons - similar to their Neverwinter Nights PC franchise.



GOD OF WAR III
No. 2

God of War III "picks up where God of War II left off" as Steve Caterson, the producer for the game states. And it looks to be just as bloody, lusty, and gloriously fun as its predecessors. The game footage shows many juicy clips of Kratos doing what he does best - kicking ass. And the best part is that it's easy to get into the game and is "accessible," as he says in the video. While I have yet to play the previous two God of War games (you can begin throwing rocks at me now) everyone I know has stated their love for the series, and it looks to be amazing. And for you PS3 owners, the game will arrive exclusively for the PS3 only. Take that, Microsoft!



MODERN WARFARE 2
No. 1

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was probably my all-time favorite single player first-person shooter, with a simple but hyper-realistic plot, high quality presentation that almost fools you into believing you're a main character in a movie, and situations and firefights that immerse you in immense tension. And, for a change, it doesn't take place in World War II. The sequel, which is in development, continues to create a lot of hype, and this video shows us why.