In today’s special #E32016 Edition of The Bible Scale, GHG ranks the games focused and played on Day Two (Wednesday).
Enjoy!
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD (Nintendo – Wii U, NX – TBA 2017) – From a link to the past to now entering the great plateau, Breath of the Wild is a custom open world RPG that literally links up the feel of Zelda gameplay with the likes of Fable.
Let’s not forget the new abilities either, as Link will be able to climb (uh, finally?), hunt, and replenish health by means of cooking. It seems Link has gone full Bear Grylis mode with Wolf Link, too, a helpful new companion within our protagonist. Of course, this was a huge draw to the newest Zelda game, as well as the introduction of Amiibos that will go hand-in-hand with DLC and other code required activation features.
(cont.) You know what? I applaud Nintendo–even without the immediate jump to 4KHD–for finally taking a stab at the current HD market (on NX). Know just before you hop off a cliff, be on the lookout for the very well-received and remastered HD edition of Twilight Princess, with graphics, audio and gameplay all revived to the very top-notch. But for longtime fans of the Zelda series, Breath of the Wild can’t come soon enough.
No matter the system.
BATMAN: THE TELLTALE SERIES (Telltale Game – X1, PS4 – TBA 2017) – One of my most anticipated games at E3, Batman: The Telltale Series, certainly won’t be the first or the last Batman game to ever hit a console, but it’s the first to play both sides of the coin with Batman/Bruce Wayne. Like all Telltale games your actions will effluence your outcome, be it patrolling the streets of Gotham as the Dark Knight or dancing through the political environment as Bruce Wayne. The publisher gave all E3 participants the chance to sit through the first 30-minutes of the first episode while lounging in a Batcave mockup after a nicely mixed Gotham Sour at the Wayne Manor Bar.
The Telltale Series captures Batman early in his career, but still well past Year One. This is a Batman that knows his way around his utility belt yet has still not managed to acquire the full rogues gallery he is known for. The Batman is feared by the criminals, but seen as more of a myth than an actual reality.
(cont.) The opening sees The Caped Crusader run into Catwoman for the first time during a — what else? — attempted robbery. After they battle, the GCPD tries to capture them both before Commissioner Gordon halts his officers from shooting. When the suit is switched, we find Bruce Wayne (Troy Baker) hosting a charity party for Harvey Dent’s (Travis Willingham) election when he is confronted by Vicky Vale (Erin Yvette) and Carmine Falcone (Richard McGonagle).
Richard Iggo, Head of Marketing at Telltale, spoke on how the story will present many concepts, characters, and storylines familiar to Batman fans– yet will remain fresh, new and untold. Iggo also begged the question not too many think of in Gotham: “Is Batman responsible for creating the villains around him?” Batman: The Telltale Series will have five installments, with each being about 90-120 mins long. The first episode will release over the summer with all five dropping before the end of the year. It will also be rated M.
RESIDENT EVIL 7 (Capcom – X1, PS4 – January 24) – It’s been a while since we had a true Resident Evil game that grasped what made RE so great in the first place. Ever since Resident Evil 4, the series has been going in a different direction–more action game, less horror suspense.
Not good.
At E3 2016 I was able to get my hands on a behind closed door exclusive peak at the next chapter in the series with “Beginning Hour”, which will not be part of the game when it comes out. According to the staff, Resident Evil 7’s teaser was a “fully representative” of the kind of experience players will get when the game hits stores. Though it was not exactly what was to be expected after seeing horrifyingly long lines and people Q’d to fill the limited seats available.
(cont.) As for the experience itself–if truly a feel of the new game–it seems like Capcom is going back to the original roots of Resident Evil, although it was definitely more Silent Hill then anything. There were no zombies or, hell, anything to shoot. The new leading character won’t be the “leading male” kind of hero fans have grown used to, like Leon Kennedy or Chris Redfield. Capcom’s Koshi Nakanishi defined the character as “powerful enough to strike back. RE7’s playable [hero] will have the means to fend off his or her foes.”
RE7 will take place in the same universe as the other games in the series and will follow RE6 in the timeline. Producer Masachika Kawata also acknowledged that familiar RE mainstays will still play a part, while elements of Japanese and Western influences will be present. From everything I have played and heard about the new path for RE, it does feel like a more stripped-down game that is back to its roots of Horror. But as of right now (besides receiving one epic shirt for playing, waiting, and being human-trafficked), it only seems like RE’s presence at E3 was a waste.
Note: Bible score is leveled on a 1-5 scale, based on how we felt about the E3 video and/or demo impressions of the game. Subject to change upon release.