Lights, camera, games! The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3 drew 68,300 people to the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 13-15 for a three-day gaming festival full of trailers, announcements, demos and hype. For the gaming fan, it is an experience unlike any other; crowds swarm the convention floors waiting in multi-hour long lines to play demos of games releasing this upcoming year. Secrets are everywhere with exclusive content just right around the corner, down the hallway and through that door.
This year, however, was special. It was the first time E3 was open to the public. In the past it has been an industry only expo primarily composed of journalists and industry veterans. The dynamic was different with the addition of 15,000 public passes and even longer lines. Still, it was an absolute blast!
At these shows I like to find the hidden gems amongst all the boulders screaming look at me. Here’s what I found:
“HyperBrawl Tournament“ takes me back to the good memories of local-multiplayer and chaos. The goal is simple, put the ball in the opponent’s net. The means to score are vast and full of flying fists.
For most of my experience I was quite confused by the sheer variety of actions. Towards the end I got the hang of things and scored some goals. There is a lot of depth and content including map variation. To sum it up, this is Fifa meets wrestling on steroids and I will definitely be tackling friends over it.
If you have ever wanted your own private Island then the Tropico series may just be for you. It is a long standing series full of great games where you play the role of a dictator trying to run a tropical based island nation.
It is a combination of city simulation/building and country management. This 6th installment looks to be a delight with archipelago islands and more detail than ever. You can literally see what every single person of your tropical island hates, desires and feels.
Sumer takes two of my favorite game genres and mashes them together local-multiplayer platforming and digital boardgaming.
It is deeply strategic and has AI that questions if you’re worth your salt. Not to mention a very nifty trade system that is fast, fun and challenging.
The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk
Simply put this game has awesome art, brilliant puzzle design and a unique universe making it worth a whole-hearted look. The fascist undertones in the art give an amazing aesthetic feel to the game’s atmosphere.