E3 is almost upon us once more, and you know what that means… plenty of games we won’t really get to play for months, plenty of previews, news, editorials, and prognostications, and ever too much hyperbole surrounding the potential greatness of a bevy of titles. But I’ll be damned if it all isn’t a ton of fun. E3 is the Super Bowl of gaming, and we’ll be there in full force to see what’s what. I sat down with my compatriots at the site and we put together this list of things we hope to see at the expo this year. Mind you this in no way covers every game we’ll be seeing, but rather is indicative of what we staffers really hope comes out of the show. E3 is a time of unveiling in the industry, and we’re just hoping against hope on all of these for now (and in no particular order). Weigh in with your own thoughts below!
Some Freakin’ Release Dates
I don’t have any insider knowledge here, but we’re certainly hoping that at least one of the big guns set to launch at the end of this year or beginning of 2012 finally set some firm release dates. Star Wars, Guild Wars 2, TERA… somebody has to tip their hand and soon. And what better place to do so than E3?
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Guild Wars 2 PVP
We know some scant details about GW2’s PVP. For instance we know that in some cases, three servers will compete against one another in massive scale battles. But what we don’t know is just how it will all really work. I for one am hoping E3 finally sheds some light on this extremely important area of the game.
Star Wars: The Old Republic – End Game?
A lot of quiet speculation has been made about just how BioWare plans on keeping people interest past the level cap of their upcoming MMO. Maybe, if we all think about the Force really hard BioWare will finally let us all in on what they have in store for the elder game of The Old Republic. All I care about is that it’s something more than a shiny high-level tauntaun mount.
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Defiance (SyFy + Trion)
SyFy uncovered the name and not much else about their upcoming collaboration with Trion back in March. With the show set to debut in 2012 (I think?), maybe it’s about time we start to hear just how the show and the game will intertwine. The whole premise of an action-MMO where the players actually direct the course of the show it’s tied to is something I think everyone wants to know more about.
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LotRO’s Version of Isengard
The third major expansion to Turbine’s Middle-earth is taking center stage at the company’s E3 booth and as a fan of the game and the books, there’s precious few areas I’m more eager to see realized in virtual form. All I hope is that we get to control Ents somehow… maybe in Monster Play? Make my dreams come true, Turbine.
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More Warhammer 40K Info!
Last year we got a taste with little more than video, but I’m guessing (as always) that we’ll finally get some more solid details about 40K’s inner workings. Say what you will about the two-sided nature of the conflict, there’s still ample reason to be excited about this one until proven otherwise.
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SOE’s Planetside and EQ Next
Sure SOE’s had a few issues as of late, but I’m willing to bet there are more than a few gamers out there eager to learn more about the next installments of both Planetside and Everquest. All we know so far is that they’re in development, and that the former has recently increased its staffing with the cancellation of The Agency. Mayhaps we’ll get a peak at just how the progress on both is faring come the first week in June.
Copernicus Anyone?
With 38 Studios’ Kingdoms of Amalur making the rounds, will there be any room for more talk about the company’s MMO: Copernicus? Probably not, but we can always dream. While the two games will play a whole lot differently from one another, it’s interesting to note that the world of Reckoning is the same world we’ll explore in Copernicus whenever it drops. At the very least, we’re expecting to get some good time in with the single-player title and maybe glean a bit more about the MMO world from that.
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Fallout Online… if we’re lucky.
Though the IP is still up in the air with legal battles between Bethesda and Interplay, apparently the latter studio is still forging onward with development. Will we actually see it represented at E3? Your guess is as good as mine, really. No one knew that at PAX Prime last year Duke Nukem Forever would be resurrected, such is the randomness of these trade shows sometimes. So cross your fingers but don’t hold your breath for any new Fallout Online info.
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