This past week saw the annual proverbial Christmas of video game news, E3. After nearly an entire week dedicated to seeing news, trailers, screenshots, and gameplay demos for the latest crop of games developers and publishers are trying to convince us to fork over our hard earned cash for, the dust has finally settled. Who came out the winners and the losers? That is what our loyal fans of FAN were gathered to decide, as we left it up to them to vote on the winners of FAN’s inaugural Best of E3 Awards. And the winners are………..
Best Press Conference
Runner-Up: Nintendo
Maybe none of Nintendo’s individual press conferences were all that good on their own, but if you probably combined what was shown at all four of their press conferences while removing some of the fluff, it would be a pretty good press conference.
Winner: Ubisoft
By a large margin, Ubisoft’s press conference was voted as the best by the fans. Sure Ubisoft’s seemingly constant problem year after year of having a bad host reared its ugly head once again, but Ubisoft made up for it by bringing arguably the best software lineup the company has ever fielded at E3. In fact, Ubisoft probably had the best overall showing by any company at E3 this year period, as the rest of the awards will show testament to.
Best Graphics
Runner-Up: Watch Dogs
Before Square-Enix unveiled the Luminous Engine, Watch Dogs was the most visually pleasing thing shown at this year’s E3, being revealed at Ubisoft’s press conference on the first, unofficial, day of E3. The large amount of onscreen objects, combined with the detail we saw made many question if this game was even meant for this generation, a theory initially supported by Ubisoft’s lack of having it registered on any current generation platform. Ubisoft would later reveal that this game was coming out for the PS3, 360, and PC.
Winner: Luminous Engine
Square-Enix had a solid showing at E3 this year, bringing with them games in most of their key franchises, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Hitman, and Tomb Raider, but the biggest surprise, and most impressive thing they showed off at E3 was a real time tech demo of their next generation game engine, Luminous. The tech demo was visually stunning, filling the screen with an incredible amount of moving animation, while also showing off a level of detail that surpasses even the best CGI cutscenes in current day gaming. The only downside is for now Square-Enix has stated the Luminous Engine would be only available to Square-Enix itself.
Best New IP
Runner-Up: Beyond: Two Souls
There is very honestly little to work with in regards to Beyond. The game is being made by Quantic Dreams, makers of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain, and it stars Ellen Page as the game’s lead character. Her character is a girl shrouded in mystery, but it appears she has psychic powers of some kind.
Winner: Watch Dogs
With what little we really do know about Watch Dogs at this point, the quickest way to sum up the game is it is Grand Theft Auto: Deus Ex Edition. An open world third person shooter action-adventure game set to a technology backdrop. You play as a man who can follow the digital shadow people leave behind with their interaction with technology.
Best Puzzle Game
Runner-Up: Scribblenauts Unlimited
The hit word-based puzzle game series Scribblenauts is back, and now on a home console, coming to the Wii U and 3DS. The new gameplay twist this time around is you can throw the dictionary out the window, as you are no longer hindered by having to use real words. You can create brand new words as well as the object that is summoned when the word is entered into the game.
Winner: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
Admittedly it is a little bit puzzling that this sequel to the early GameCube ghostbusting game was voted on as a puzzle game, because it isn’t a true puzzle game, though Nintendo did say that there would be a much bigger focus on puzzles in this game compared to the original. But, as one fan on the forum said, the real puzzle with this game is trying to figure out its true genre.
Best Platformer
Runner-Up: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Sony’s favorite thieving raccoon’s return is now arguably the biggest first party title Sony has left this year after it was revealed The Last of Us was a 2013 game. Players can expect to control Sly through this stealth platformer on both the PS3 and PS Vita this fall.
Winner: Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends continues on in the direction the main Rayman series went in with last year’s excellent Rayman Origins. This time the game is unique to the Wii U, using the console’s tablet controller to greatly add to the gameplay. The coolest new feature is parts of levels will act like a platformer version of Guitar Hero, as an epic rock ballad plays in the background as you guide Rayman and friends through these parts of the levels.
Best Sports Game
Winner: Madden 13
Madden 13 won this award in a landslide, in fact being the only sports game that anyone voted on. That doesn’t mean I’m trying to take anything away from this game. The new physics system looks to be a true game changer for Madden and the new fleshed out online career mode looks to be a key feature in this year’s offering. Being pestered on a virtual Twitter feed by Skip Bayless be damned.
Best Fighting Game
Runner-Up: Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The latest entry in Namco’s beloved tag team spin off of their massively popular Tekken series looks to keep up with the series standard, as well as an incredibly in depth character editing tool. Plus, when has a game endorsed by Snoop Dogg ever been bad?
Winner: Persona 4 Arena
This was honestly the biggest shocker out of all of the winners for me. Not because Persona 4 Arena looks bad or anything, because it doesn’t, it is a fighting game being made by the creators of the excellent BlazBlue and Guilty Gear series, Arc System Works, and features a cast of characters from the amazing Persona series of role-playing games. It is surprising because I thought more people would be drawn to the more mainstream fighting games at this year’s E3, Dead or Alive 5, Injustice: Gods Among Us, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Best Driving Game
Runner-Up: Forza Horizon
This year’s Forza isn’t being made by just Turn 10, as a new studio, Playground Games, is helping them craft this game. Forza Horizon is the first open world game in the Forza series and takes place during the Horizon Festival in Colorado. Players will randomly encounter AI controlled cars on the road and will engage in races with them.
Winner: Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Criterion had been quiet for a long time since the release of their last game, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, and now we know why. They were busy working on Need For Speed: Most Wanted, their third open world racing game in a row. Like the previous Most Wanted game, released in 2005, races with out cars will be interrupted by the police, who will try to stop and arrest you.
Best Role-Playing Game
Runner-Up: South Park: The Stick of Truth
South Park: The Stick of Truth certainly has the look and humor of South Park, but the real question is how well will it play. It is being made by Obsidian who, despite being praised for their excellent writing and stories, have a track record of releasing games filled with game breaking bugs and glitches. Granted a lot of their woes have been due to publishers rushing them to get a game out the door, so hopefully they fair better under THQ.
Winner: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
The beautiful looking collaboration between developer Level-5 and the famed Studio Ghibli animation studio looks amazing. Originally meant to come out in the West this year, this game now has an early 2013 release date. We’ve waited this long to come out, we can bear to wait a little bit more.
Best Action-Adventure Game
Runner-Up: DmC: Devil May Cry
Ninja Theory’s reboot of the Devil May Cry series was initially met with severe backlash by Devil May Cry fans, but at this year’s E3 that backlash looked to be unnecessary as DmC looks to be a game worthy of the name Devil May Cry. Sure Dante no longer looks like the Dante DMC fans knew and loved, but looks have nothing to do with gameplay, and from a gameplay standpoint, this game looks top notch.
Winner: Assassin’s Creed III
After three games as the charming Italian master of death Ezio Auditore, Ubisoft has moved on to a new Assassin, a half-Mohawk/half-British man by the name of Connor Kenway. His tale is set during the ending years of America’s time as a string of colonies and the start of its time as a unified country free from the British Empire. With the changing of Assassins also comes a change gameplay, and now we can scale trees, hunt animals, and kill on the run.
Best Third Person Shooter
Runner-Up: Watch Dogs
While Watch Dogs mostly focuses on hacking and detective work, once you enter combat the game shifts into a visceral third person shooter with fluid animations and killer gameplay mechanics. Need cover for an upcoming firefight? Just cause a multi-car pileup via a hack and move from car to car.
Winner: The Last of Us
Naughty Dog’s grim post-apocalyptic survival horror game The Last of Us keeps impressing every time something new is released. At E3 we finally got to see actual gameplay, and it was fluid, dynamic, and extremely brutal. The game’s demo disturbed a lot of people, namely because of how the demo ended with another survivor begging Joel, the player character, for mercy before Joel blew his face in with a shotgun. It appears moral ambiguity will play a large part in this kill or be killed game.
Best First Person Shooter
Runner-Up: Borderlands 2
The sequel to Gearbox’s massive surprise hit 2009 loot-based first person shooter looks to up the ante with the amount of guns, while still maintaining the series’ trademark co-op class-based gameplay and distinct visual style.
Winner: Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 stood out from most of the first person shooters at this year’s E3 by backing up its impressive vistas of lush, green jungles with gameplay that actually looked fun, an incredibly trippy looking story that appears to test one’s sanity, and oh yeah, tigers. Can’t beat a game with tigers in it.
Best PS Vita Exclusive
Runner-Up: Gravity Rush
Gravity Rush is an open world action role-playing game from Sony’s Japan Studio. The crux of the gameplay revolves around the gravity control powers of the player character, Kat. Originally thought to be a launch window game for the Vita in the West, it saw its release delayed into the summer. The game already has been received well critically for its Western release and will be in stores this week.
Winner: Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation
Set during roughly the same time period as the proper Assassin’s Creed III game, Liberation takes place in colonial New Orleans as well Mexico. In this game you play as Aveline de Grandpre, a half-black/half-French Assassin who is mentored by an escaped slave. She is also the first playable female Assassin in the series. The game is promised to be the same kind of experience expected out of a console entry in the Assassin’s Creed series while also utilizing some of the Vita’s gameplay features.
Best 3DS Exclusive
Runner-Up: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
The latest entry in the Kingdom Hearts series may have “3” in its title, but it is not the Kingdom Hearts 3 everyone is looking for. But do not be discouraged, Kingdom Hearts fans, as this game is supposed to give glimpses at what is to come in the still long awaited third main entry in the series.
Winner: Paper Mario: Sticker Star
The latest entry in the Paper Mario series of role-playing games will see Mario running around the game world collecting supplies for the game’s combat system in the form of stickers. Collecting stickers will allow Mario to use their abilities until they fall off. Each sticker is a one use item, so once a sticker falls off you can’t put that particular sticker back on, you would need to find another of its kind, instead.
Best Xbox 360 Exclusive
Runner-Up: Gears of War: Judgment
Not much is known about Gears of War: Judgment at this point in time, but it appears to be a prequel game focused on the side characters Damon Baird and Augustus Cole during the early years of the Locust War.
Winner: Halo 4
The Halo franchise is now entirely in the hands of 343 Industries after the original series developer Bungie released their swan song Halo: Reach in 2010. Halo 4 picks up after the events of Halo 3 with Master Chief and Cortana adrift in space. They eventually find themselves on an artificial Forerunner planet and have to combat the planet’s self-defense systems as well as remnants of the alien Covenant.
Best Wii U Exclusive
Runner-Up: Rayman Legends
Admittedly there wasn’t that much to pick from, because there wasn’t many Wii U exclusives shown this year, but the fans selected a worthy runner-up in Rayman Legends, which looks to show off what the Wii U’s interesting control scheme can really do.
Winner: Pikmin 3
Pikmin 3 was declared the premiere Wii U exclusive on show at this year’s E3 by the fans. Again, there wasn’t really that large of a pool to pick from. Still, seeing Shigeru Miyamoto’s quirky real time strategy game series about strange little plant creatures in HD was a sight to see.
Best PS3 Exclusive
Runner-Up: Beyond: Two Souls
Back in 2010, Quantic Dreams surprised everyone with Heavy Rain. Everyone was ready to pass the game off because the gameplay was consisted of a series of quick time events, but the game’s impressive graphics and engaging story was made all the better by the nature of the gameplay. Now they are ready to wow PS3 owners again, but this time they don’t have the element of surprise on their side, because Heavy Rain earned them the attention of gamers.
Winner: The Last of Us
Naughty Dog really came into their own as being the premiere developer on the PS3, always taking the system to new heights with their widely acclaimed Uncharted series, and they look to give the PS3 at least one last hurrah with The Last of Us. Could they finally succeed in creating a survival horror game that works in broad daylight? Only time will tell.
Best Multiplatform Game
Runner-Up: Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs has an almost appropriate name, as it looks to be a sleeper hit. Originally its own brand new IP called Black Lotus, the game was snapped up by Activision and re-christened True Crime: Hong Kong and was going to be a reboot of the True Crime series of open world games, until Activision cancelled it at the same time they indefinitely shelved the Guitar Hero series. Square-Enix would then swoop in and buy the rights to the game, but they didn’t buy the True Crime IP, so the game had to be re-re-christened as Sleeping Dogs, completing its interesting journey from new IP to a franchise reboot to back to being a new IP. Now that is an interesting backstory, but what about the game itself, you ask? Well let me just put it like this, the game is basically Grand Theft Auto: Hong Kong, with a martial arts based combat system not that different from the combat in the Batman: Arkham games and the driving segments in the game are inspired by the Need For Speed series. And best of all, it comes out on the PS3, 360, and PC, so a lot of people can enjoy it!
Winner: Assassin’s Creed III
Despite the gameplay demos at this year’s E3 for Assassin’s Creed III being from the PS3 build of the game, the game is looking to take all of its platforms, the PS3, 360, Wii U, and PC, by storm. We could very well be looking at the winner of most of the Game of the Year awards this year.
Best in Show
Runner-Up: Beyond: Two Souls
Beyond is as mysterious as its main character. There really wasn’t much to go on with Beyond aside from the impressive graphics, the incredible animations, and the mystery surrounding the main character, but what we saw impressed the fans enough to name it their runner-up for Best in Show.
Winner: Watch Dogs
The show went to the dogs this year as Watch Dogs almost unanimously won the Best in Show award from our fans. The breathtaking visuals that shouldn’t be possible this generation, the impressive fluid gameplay, and the very interesting world of Watch Dogs make it something to behold. The fact that it is a new IP doesn’t hurt, either.
And that’s it ladies and gents. E3 2012 was maybe not the best E3 ever and certain not the worst E3 ever, it was more of a middle ground event. Though as I said back up at the top in the Best Press Conference award section, Ubisoft ran away with this year’s show, tallying up a grand total of 11 awards between winners and runner-ups. So Ubisoft, take a bow, you’ve earned it.