Post E3 Awards Spectacular

Here at Enemy Slime we didn’t have any fancy pants placards to hand out to the best in show at E3. In fact, we didn’t even get to see everything at the show. But that doesn’t mean we can’t give out some awards. Here are our exhibitor highlights for you to enjoy.

The award for most ridiculously crowded booth goes to: Evolve (Turtle Rock Studios)

The folks showing off Evolve came out firing on all cylinders. A playable multiplayer demo, two MLG style announcers commentating on the game, giant screens showing the match in progress, and a gigantic replica of the game’s monster ensured that a crowd formed that was so immense simply getting to the back of the line was difficult.

The award for worst thing I saw at the show goes to: Sonic Boom (Sega)

Sonic games are bad, we all know that, so now imagine seeing one in Alpha. I saw a lot of games at the show with performance problems and bugs but I didn’t see anything as pathetic as Sonic Boom. The game’s frames per second would often dip down to flip book levels and to top it all off the graphics aren’t even all that good. I understand when something gorgeous like The Witcher 3 loses some frames, I’m super unclear how a game that looks like it would run on the Nintendo 64 can’t keep up.

There’s still plenty of time for hard work before its November release date, but what I saw at the show looks like we could be on course for something on the same level as Sonic 2006.

The award for best looking game at the show goes to: The Order 1886 (Ready At Dawn)

Gameplay doesn’t get much less inspired than the cover based shooting bestowed upon you in The Order but that doesn’t change the fact that the game’s graphics are insane to behold. Cutscenes all run in-game and oftentimes a cinematic would wrap up and I wouldn’t realize that I was now in control of my character. It looks absolutely stunning, now if it was just more fun…

The award for game that elicited the best audience reaction: Mortal Kombat X (NetherRealm Studios)

When demo’ing a game it’s best to include one or two moments of gore or badassery to draw a reaction out of the crowd. The demo for Mortal Kombat X may as well have been nothing but that. From showing off the new character, Cassie Cage (daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage) to a plethora of fatalities, this was definitely the biggest crowd pleaser I saw at the show. It’s also absurdly violent, like seriously.

The demo showed 6 available characters but there were a total of 24 slots on the selection screen. The developers made sure to also point out that now each character would have three very distinctive fighting styles, selecting these styles changes the way the character controls so dramatically it’s almost like having an entirely new fighter. If the changes are as dramatic as I’m lead to believe you’re really looking at 72 potential fighting styles when the game releases next year.

The award for the game with the most suspicious promises goes to: Dragon Age Inquisition (Bioware)

Creative director Mike Laidlaw had plenty of promises to share as he lead the Dragon Age Inquisition demo. Inquisition sees you taking on the role of the titular “Inquisitor”, a leader of leaders so to speak. You’re tasked with re-uniting a broken realm filled with all the factions you know and love from the Dragon Age series who, by the way, have all turned on one another. During the demo Laidlaw made sure to point out that the game would be huge, commenting that the zone being shown in the demo was just a fraction of the world and could actually contain Dragon Age Origins’ world in its entirety.

The game does look suspiciously like its predecessor, Dragon Age 2. The demo spent very little time with the “Tactical” mode of combat and instead looked very similar to the “press buttons until things are dead” combat found in its predecessor.

Is this the game that will restore the love and adoration of Dragon Age fans? I’m not sure I’m ready to give that question a definite “yes” quite yet.

The award for the game I thought would be terrible but actually wound up being pretty alright goes to: Alien: Isolation (The Creative Assembly)

When I first spotted Alien: Isolation at the Sony booth I was not impressed. The game looked choppy and kind of low-res. But once I went into the dedicated booth my opinion changed. I wasn’t able to find out what hardware the game was running on there (we were using Xbox One controllers so I’m guessing it’s either that or PC) but the game felt like it ran significantly smoother on it.

Isolation is a surprisingly tense experience, especially when played in a dark room with headphones like the demo allowed. I had difficulty figuring out where exactly I was going, there may have been a map in-game but I didn’t find it. Aside from that I had a pretty good time avoiding the stowaway Alien onboard my ship.

When I completed the demo the nice man in the booth said I was one of only a handful who had beaten it that day, confirming that I am in fact the best gamer at the entire convention.

The award for game that proved most quickly that I am not the best gamer at E3: Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)

Nintendo was probably the most adequately prepared company at the show. They knew everyone would want to play Smash Bros. and they delivered by having close to twenty different stations each taking four players on at a time. In that tune of knowing what people wanted, each station was also only equipped with Gamecube controllers. I think there were probably some people who spent the entire show just playing this game.

And holy hell, what kind of hormones are these Smash Bros. players injecting themselves with? I wound up playing four games in total at the show and I came in dead last in every single one. I don’t pride myself as an excellent Smash Bros. player but I do have a lot of time under my belt in all of the previous entries in the series. I really thought I could do better than I did.

The game is gorgeous and couldn’t run any smoother if you begged it to. This is going to be a huge hit when it finally arrives later this year.

The award for best “all-rounder” at the show goes to: The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt Red)

The Witcher 3’s demo presentation seemed to have it all, a great look at the enormous world of the game, a good look at the skills and combat, a somewhat expansive tour of the game’s enormous hub city, oh and a guy getting cut in half by Geralt.

Fans of The Witcher series have a lot to look forward to next year.

The award for game that excited me most on a personal level goes to: Bloodborne (From Software)

Tucked near the very back of Sony’s booth you could find the very brief demonstration of Bloodborne. As I waited in line to see, I couldn’t help but think about how the game even sounded like it was part of the Souls’ series. The folks demoing it were quick to point out that it was not an entry in the series but all the pieces are there. You still kill enemies and absorb an essence from them, combat is very slow and deliberate. There are new elements though, the character in the demo is seen lugging around a mutating blade as well as a blunderbuss. The game obviously still has a ways to go, the demo didn’t even have a UI attached to it. Still, if you’re like me and you loved the shit out of Dark Souls 1 & 2 then this is going to be worth the wait.

There’s plenty more than just this coming out of the show. If you want to hear some of Jay and I’s impressions you could always listen to our most recent podcast. Well then, until next year…