E3 2011 : Everything you need to know

Finally, the big day is coming. The most important video game event is about to happen. As you may know, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) takes place annually in the United States, usually in Los Angeles, California. That's where we check the stages that feature the latest news and trends in the gaming world, making fans completely linked in the event. Besides having an incredible structure, in which the developers are betting all their chips on advertising and promotion, the event is also responsible for some big surprises, which includes new consoles and highly-anticipated games.
 

This year is shaping up to become really special. Nintendo should reveal the long-rumored Project Café at their conference, and Sony with their NGP. What about the most anticipated games that should make appearances, like Forza 4, Twisted Metal, The Last Guardian, The Agent and several others? In short, E3 is a mandatory event for anyone who likes video games. Fortunately, those who cannot go have a chance to follow everything that rolls into Los Angeles without ever leaving home. How? Just stay tuned here at NoobFeed, obviously! The E3 doors are opening on June 6th and thereafter, so you better prepare your agenda, finish all your work and get ready for the biggest show in video games!
 

Last year, the Microsoft conference was summed up in one word: Kinect. The publisher spent heavy amounts advertising it, making the whole world know the owner of this ‘revolutionary’ device. In addition, they also displayed some AAA games, as MGS: Rising and other blockbusters like Halo Reach, Fable III, and Gears of War 3.


So what can we expect from Microsoft this year? We cannot deny that Kinect will probably be the stars of the show again - even though it hasn’tsupported the application much with great titles other than Harmonix’s Dance Central. After all, Kinect has sold over 10 million units since its release and Microsoft’s obligation is to show consumers new games and surprises of the device, which is probably now collecting dust in the home of many gamers. So what can we expect? Dance Central 2, maybe? Harmonix did say they will announce a new title at the event. We’ll see.


Again, Microsoft is expected to show their (financial) love for the Call of Duty series, and will no doubt showcase Modern Warfare 3, one of the most speculated games in recent weeks. The Lancers will certainly be keen at E3 2011 and it is likely that Gears of War 3 make a beautiful appearance with several moments of gameplay being shown, even including clips from multiplayer.

Besides that, those who would trade a Lancer or weapon for a racing wheel should be excited once Forza Motorsport 4 is officially shown, which should be treated carefully in the event. We're really curious to know how a mixture of the promised conventional controls with Kinect will be accessible to many gamers.


And there's more. Those who watched the event last year should remember Kingdom, a briefly teased new project. The game looked a lot like Dragon Age, but we were surprised to know who was in charge of development; it was none other than Crytek, the same ones responsible for Crysis 2. Will it be an exclusive? A first-person shooter? Or a third person action game? Again, we'll see.


Speaking of exclusivity, the Xbox family’s largest franchise must also retake the stage. Many already miss it, so Halo finally must return to the spotlight--and it makes sense, since this year the series celebrates 10 years of life. Who knows; 343 Industries, which made several map packs for the latest games in the series, might reveal a Halo 4? Everything is possible in Microsoft’s case at this point.

 

Last year, Electronic Arts offered everyone a glimpse of their top games: Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor, Crysis and Bulletstorm. Moreover, Star Wars: The Old Republic also made an appearance with a brand-new trailer, complete with light sabers and everything else Star Wars fans desire. This year, it is likely that EA will stand again, showing why it’s one of largest companies in the gaming industry.


One focus of the company for this E3 is the shooting genre. EA should display enough material for Battlefield 3, a game that has been surprising everyone for their graphic quality. Increasingly, Battlefield 3 has the potential to become a real threat to the throne Call of Duty is currently sitting on. DICE is taking care of the third Battlefield title, and has already shown their good work in the series’ other games. Expect an official release date and release of the multiplayer modes - maybe even some clips showing the entire conflict. Players who purchased Medal of Honor last year should also be rewarded with the opening date of the Exclusive Beta. Maybe.


Another big star, obviously, is Mass Effect 3. Even though the game has been delayed recently, there’s a good chance that EA show a bit of the title, including some new features in gameplay that have been commented recently. It's probably worth staying on the event to hear more information about Star Wars: The Old Republic, the highly anticipated MMO. They will most likely give fans more material about the game, as well as a possible release date – with the game possibly landing on the PC in 2012.


We still have several other titles of different genres being displayed during the event, as is the case with Need for Speed: The Run Kingdoms of Amalur. In addition, the division of Electronic Arts Los Angeles confirmed that they are working on a new Medal of Honor game. Fighting game fans can also expect some news related to the major competitor of the UFC Undisputed franchise, EA Sports MMA. Electronic Arts has done well with MMA and it's likely that fans of mixed martial arts might see another. And what about FIFA? Wishful thinking? Why not?


Last but not least, we can expect the announcement of Insomniac Games’s multiplatform game. It’s worth noting they’re the same studio responsible for the Playstation-exclusive franchises, Resistance and Ratchet and Clank. Although major details have not been disclosed, we can expect a big surprises from them.
 

For the past couple of years, Ubisoft has not beendoing very well in their conferences. Those who watched the event last year may remember the bizarre shooting game with toy guns, which was one of the "highlights" of the event. But thankfully, this year, things should change. Lasers aside, the company also presented some interesting games, such as Child of Eden, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and the announcement of Driver: San Francisco and Michael Jackson: The Experience last year. This year, we should expect something more.

 

Perhaps Ubisoft’s current most popular series will return to the stage with Assassin's Creed: Revelations. In addition, another famous franchise will also appear on the show: Ghost Recon. The series celebrates its ten year life and will bring a burst of news related to the next game, titled Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. But in reality, what we really want to see at the conference are new intellectual properties. And fortunately, it seems that the old hero will finally mark his return with Rayman: Origins. How about a new Splinter Cell game? We already know that Ubisoft Toronto is working on it, but will we see a glimpse of it at E3? What about Beyond Good & Evil 2? The game was announced in 2008, and we have no concrete details on this game.
 

Sony always shows a lot of work in their conference at E3. Jack Tretton knows how to deal with the public, displaying integrity and competence during the show. Last year, Tretton was able to captivate the audience with displays of Gran Turismo 5, the Playstation Move and the new possibilities of the PlayStation 3, ensuring the maintenance of good brand image.


This year, however, things are a little more complicated, due to a simple reason: the PSN outage. As everyone knows, the service went down for over a month and caused lots of headaches for Sony. Therefore, it is likely that the company explain the situation during the event while trying to regain consumer confidence. Even with Sony’s online features restored, we’ll never know if this will nail it in the head. The Welcome Back program, which is now available at the Playstation Store, should help relieve things a bit.

Even so, Sony will certainly take some time to display some news. The year 2011 is still an excellent time for the PlayStation 3, as the company has several exclusive games, as Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, inFamous 2, The Last Guardian, Resistance, and Uncharted 3. In addition, Sony has something up their sleeve that can make everyone forget PSN’s misfortunes. We’re talking about the Next Generation Portable, which will ultimately be presented with a barrage of details and, perhaps even with an official name. Is it indeed the PS Vita, as some internal devs are already calling it? Despite that, everything indicates that the public will know of the several games that will be displayed at the event--with all demonstrating the amazing ability of the portable console, which has surprised everyone by spinning Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots without much downgrade. The long-awaited price shall also be unveiled.

To reinforce the mood of the players, Sony could show off new trailers for Final Fantasy XIII-2 and more news for Versus XIII, another highly anticipated game for anyone with a PlayStation 3. Type 0 and Final Fantasy XIV shall also make an appearance at the event. Also, many of you likely don’t remember, but Sony had a ‘trump card’ in the form of none other than Rockstar. The game was called Agent, which was announced in 2009 as a PS3-exclusive. After two years without any major news, it is quite likely they will display videos and even moments of the gameplay, which still remains a mystery.


Was that too much? So you better get ready, because Sony has yet to offer more. It is likely that Quantic Dream, responsible for Heavy Rain, will go up on stage to display more than one game of his own, probably unique to PlayStation 3. The company has said it is working on two games and it seems that one of them involves a love story with doses of science fiction. Frankly, in the case of Quantic Dream, we can expect nothing less. Maybe even Santa Monica, who is responsible for God of War, might also show something series-related. With all these announcements in mind, Sony is aiming to make everyone forget about what happened in the past month.

 

Let's face it, Nintendo has disappointed us three times in their latest E3 conferences, though we did have some interesting innovations in recent years, such as GTA: Chinatown Wars, Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid: Other M. But it was not until 2010 that Nintendo has shown its strength to reveal the Nintendo 3DS and a flood of new content for the Wii and DS, including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. And to top it off, it seems that E3 2011 will simply be dominated by Nintendo. The reason? The console successor to the Nintendo Wii.

Apparently, Nintendo will bring a new console that will finally appeal to the hardcore crowd, instead of showing games that never harnessed their full potential because of the Nintendo Wii’s limitations. Still, it's good to wait for the good old casual games, which are the company’s specialty. Don’t expect conventional controls here, as we all know that Nintendo likes to gamble and launch new trends.


The 3DS should also be one of the stars of the conference. Expect dozens of new games and more information about titles that have been revealed, as is the case of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, which should gain prominence before its release on June 17. Otherwise, the long awaited Super Mario 3DS should also make an appearance, one of the main highlights of portable 3D. The mustachioed plumber should also appear in Mario Kart Racing 3D (which is a working title at this point) which could be released in 2011, as shown by Shigeru Miyamoto.


Other third-party developers should also show their strength in 3DS, featuring titles like Resident Evil: Mercenaries and the aforementioned Metal Gear Solid 3DS. We also look forward other companies showing their investments towards Nintendo’s latest handheld.


As you can see, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year looks promising. Large companies are banking on several more title, and should display several surprises that will leave everyone surprised. Fortunately, you will be inside every scoop that goes on in the Los Angeles event, thanks to our complete coverage. We can guarantee that this will be our greatest coverage of the event with the team fully focused on the show.




Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed