NEWS
3 Huge Games That Will Be Revealed In April
Next month is lining up to be the biggest so far this year when it comes to reveals. The start of Q2 brings with it many promises of huge details regarding some of the year’s biggest games. The reason for all the commotion is that developers want you to get excited for their game at E3 in June, where you should be able to try them out. What will next month have in store? Wanna know what you can start to get excited about right now?
Mass Effect 3
The most obvious thing that will be revealed about Mass Effect 3 in April is going to be the premise of the story. What can be said is that the Reapers invade Earth and start tearing it a new asshole. Series protagonist, Commander Shepard returns to Earth to help fight back the Reapers. This is likely going to be the most heavily choice-affected title in the series as it is the conclusion – what conclusion you receive will be up to how you go about it.
The big question hanging over Mass Effect 3 does not involve the narrative, but as to how it will play. There were some significant changes between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Whether you like it or not, Mass Effect 2 certainly moved a little closer to the action genre. Will this be the same for Mass Effect 3? Experience tells us yes. I don’t think I need to point out the differences between Dragon Age: Origins and it’s sequel again. If we see a repeat of this we can expect further optimisations made for a better console experience. This will indeed mean simpler controls, easier management systems and more streamlined action. Hopefully this will be an improvement on an already great action-RPG, we have a month to wait until we find out.
Battlefield 3
So we very recently caught wind that DICE will be giving us a “full 12 minute reveal” of Battlefield 3 on April 17th…eek! What do we expect this to be? Well, given the fact that the past three gameplay trailers have allowed us a glimpse of single player, we are expecting a focus on the multiplayer. This will probably be complimented with a few more details on the campaign, but considering the Battlefield series has grown such a huge fan base from its multiplayer experience, we cannot imagine DICE leaving fans up in the air about it any longer.
Considering this we are expecting maps, weapons and vehicles to be fully detailed. On top of this we hope for further examples of Destruction 3.0 to be showcased, as well as examples of extra tactical possibilities such as prone, dragging teammates and being able to mount your gun almost anywhere. What will be most important to a lot of us will be the size of the maps – it has already been confirmed they will be smaller on the consoles. The other cool feature we are interested in is the CQC melee system, which - like in real life – eliminates the possibility of one-hit kills and instead requires the player to have a proper fistfight. Expect big things from the DICE corner this April!
Modern Warfare 3
It’s time for Activision to start up the rusty old hype-train again next month, but don’t blame me if I ain’t jumping on. The second sequel to 2007’s massive hit is facing a lot of pressure from its competition, so the reveal is going to have to show us something completely new for it to stand a chance. Most of us can probably have a guess at what is in store for the campaign, but there may be the odd surprise constructed by the remainders of Infinity Ward and newcomers Sledgehammer Games. The only thing I can hope for is that Sledgehammer Games bring something fresh to the table. I am fairly certain that Activision are waiting with baited breath to see the results of Sledgehammer's efforts, especially as they are to be producing their own creation under the Call of Duty name in the future.
Those sceptical about the multiplayer are probably quite rightly so as it is being headed by Raven Software. They have previously brought us Quake 4 and Wolfenstein, and if anyone has played the multiplayer on either of those games will know; there is nothing to get excited about. Raven Software are known for simply rehashing games, or taking parts from other games and putting them together. Add to this the fact that Raven also worked on the DLC for Black Ops, and I can’t see them departing from the multiplayer experience they have been working on for the past year or so. Same old Call of Duty? You betcha.
Those looking for further news on Half Life 2: Episode 3, or Half Life 3 (who knows) are going to be disappointed. Valve are not at all likely to overshadow their release of Portal 2 with anything extra regarding another Half Life game. They know you want it and we all know it’s coming, but it’s not going to be in April and it’s not going to be at E3.