E3 2014: It’s all about the games

LOS ANGELES — Games were the order of the day ahead of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), with both Sony and Microsoft announcing a slew of titles to accompany their next-generation PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One consoles, which were unveiled last year.

Held annually in Los Angeles, the E3 is the video game industry’s biggest event, with developers from around the world showcasing the latest in gaming. New instalments of top franchises were announced, along with a handful of new titles, while nostalgic gamers got a nod with the remake of a few classics.

Sony got gamers excited with announcements of new titles for well-loved franchises: Little Big Planet 3, due to be released in November, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, set for release next year.

PlayStation exclusives The Order: 1886, Bloodborne and Entwined were also featured, while Sony also announced that titles from other developers — such as Far Cry 4, Destiny, and Battlefield: Hardline — will get special PlayStation-only benefits such as early beta access. Critically acclaimed Grim Fandango from 1998 will be remade for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

Microsoft revealed titles in fan-favourite franchises such as Fable Legends and Forza Horizon 2. Halo fans will also get something to look forward to ahead of Halo 5, with the release of Halo: The Master Chief collection, which compiles all previous Halo editions on one disc.

Microsoft also raided its back catalogue, with Crackdown and cult-classic Phantom Dust both getting an overhaul that will likely please the hard-core crowd.

Perhaps the biggest nod to the hardcore gamer was Microsoft showing off Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition, a tongue-in-cheek take on Capcom’s famous Street Fighter franchises and its many prefixes and suffixes.

Peripherals for both consoles were relegated to the sidelines. Microsoft’s Kinect motion controller, which was recently made optional, featured on only two games — Dance Central Spotlight, a new instalment of the hit dancing series that is due in September, and Fantasia: Music Evolved, already revealed at last year’s E3 and set for release on Oct 21.

Sony’s PlayStation Camera did not have it much better — it was featured mostly to introduce Sony’s own virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus.

Meanwhile, game publishers Electronic Arts (EA) and Ubisoft also held their own press conferences, with EA revealing a bit more about Star Wars: Battlefront and Mirror’s Edge 2, on top of the announcement of a new Mass Effect game.

Ubisoft revisited the Rainbow Six franchise — last seen in 2008 — with Rainbow Six: Siege, which will be released next year, and announced a new fitness game in the form of Shape Up, set for a November release.

Assassin’s Creed Unity, the next game in Ubisoft’s popular franchise, will be released on Oct 28, racing game The Crew will be launched on Nov 11 and the next Just Dance game will be released on Oct 23.