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Normally, when we get our first glimpse of a game at E3, it means we’ll be seeing more of it throughout the following year. It’s where new games debut, and if we’ve been waiting to find out about a game, E3 is where the floodgates will begin to open. That’s not always the case, though – sometimes, a game will be teased or shown somewhere at the expo, and then mysteriously drop completely off the radar. It might have had a big reveal or a strong showing, but then we won’t see or hear about it again until a year later – or sometimes not at all.
Above: Sometimes, this is where games go to disappear
Last year’s E3 was a treasure trove of games like that; some were high-profile announcements, others seemed pretty far along, but all of them have been conspicuously invisible since 2009’s show. What follows are the most notable:
Metal Gear Solid: Rising
What it is: “Lightning Bolt Action” starring Raiden, the formerly unpopular blond pretty-boy (introduced in MGS2) that everyone now wants to play as, simply because he’s gotten a badass cyborg superninja makeover.
What we’ve seen so far: Just the above image, this piece of box art and this badass teaser, which intercut close-ups of Raiden’s armored exoskeleton with paintings of his mythological namesake, the Japanese thunder god, and Fujin, the Japanese wind god:
Why we want to see more: You mean aside from just being big Metal Gear fans in general? Rising hints at all sorts of potential new directions for the franchise: a possible move away from stealth, a game that doesn’t suffer for having Raiden as its star and tons of weird new gameplay opportunities afforded by Raiden’s inhuman cyborg body. It’s a long shot that we’ll see it this year, as Konami’s been awfully quiet about it, and series creator Hideo Kojima has been busy on Peace Walker and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed just the same.
The Legend of Zelda Wii
What it is: A new Zelda game starring an adult Link and a silver, ghostly-looking girl (who may or may not be the spirit or embodiment of whatever sword he’s carrying around this time).
What we’ve seen so far: Just this badass art and a vague promise that it won’t be available for us to buy until late 2010 at the very earliest.
Why we want to see more: We don’t really need to explain this one, do we? It’s Zelda. Zelda is always amazing. It logically follows that this Zelda will be amazing. It’s also going to be Wii Motion Plus enabled, which hopefully signals something more exciting than the endless minute wrist-flicking that characterized every fight in the last Wii Zelda, Twilight Princess. And because Twilight Princess, was a launch title, we’re anxious to see how much better the next game looks now that Nintendo’s learned to squeeze near-HD-quality visuals out of the hardware. We’re holding out hope that we’ll at least see a brief demo reel during Nintendo’s Tuesday press conference.
Agent
What it is: A “paranoid journey” into the shadowy world of Cold War espionage, set during the late ‘70s and created by the minds behind Grand Theft Auto. According to Rockstar founder Sam Houser, it’ll also combine “intense action, atmosphere and story in a great period setting,” and is a game that Rockstar has “wanted to make for a long time.”
What we’ve seen so far: This slick-looking logo and the announcement that it’ll be a PS3 exclusive:
Why we want to see more: Rockstar’s mark on a game is almost always a sure sign of interesting content and ridiculously high production values, so we’re eager to see what the company does with ‘70s Cold War intrigue. Knowing the company’s track record, it could be anything from a spy-themed open-world game to a Bond-style shooter, an espionage-centric Manhunt clone or Alpha Protocol done right. With L.A. Noire and rumors of Grand Theft Auto V to keep Rockstar busy, we’re not expecting any new announcements on Agent during the show, but who knows? We may see an unexpected reveal during Sony’s press conference on Monday. Stranger things have happened.
