Certain... similarities
This year's E3 is now in full swing, and already we've started to notice some common threads among the many E3 2014 games shown off thus far at the press conferences and on the show floor. Make no mistake: most of the games shown offer up unique premises and new spins on existing franchises. But amidst all the innovation, some concepts seem to popping up over and over again.
Grappling hooks
If you need to get from Point A to Point B in no time without dropping your gun, you're gonna need a grappling hook. With shooters getting faster and wilder, you can count on grappling hooks, ziplines, and all sorts of quick-travel items that make it easier to get closer to the things you need to shoot. It's no surprise to see the main character in Sunset Overdrive weilding one; we knew that was going to be a fast-paced game the moment Insomniac announced it.
Jetpacks
Not to be outdone by Battlefield: Hardline's grappling hooks, Activision's rival shooter has a method of fast traversal all its own. Putting the game 40 years in the future gives Sledgehammer Games some room to play with futuristic tech in Call of Duty: Advance Warfare, and chief among the new toys are jetpacks that take the advanced soldiers to new heights. If you're going to take down giant robot spiders and enemies wearing insanely armored exoskeletons, you're going to need the higher ground.
Dragons
Yes, dragons have been a mainstay of video games for years--there's just something naturally intimidating about a giant, scaly monster who can immolate you with its breath. But judging by the Microsoft E3 2014 press conference, dragons are the hot new thing to feature in your trailer. Between Dragon Age: Inquisition, Fable Legends, and especially Scalebound, you'd think the Chinese zodiac would mark this as the Year of the Dragon. (For the record, it's currently the Year of the Horse.)
Four-player co-op
As gaming becomes increasingly invested in online communities and connections, more and more games are working to let you share your experiences. And while this trend isn't anything particularly new, the E3 2014 press conferences practically beat us over the head with demonstrations of four-player co-op woven into AAA games. Assassin's Creed Unity, Evolve, Tom Clancy's The Division, Dead Rising 3's DLC (which boosts the co-op action from parties of two to four), Fable Legends, and The Crew all emphasized that cooperating quartets are the wave of the future. Nintendo's unique foray into online shooters, Splatoon, will also pit teams of four players cooperatively covering stages in paint before their opponents do.
Exclusive DLC
We've long known of the DLC exclusivity war being waged between Xbox and PlayStation when it comes to the annual military shooters. Microsoft has Call of Duty, Sony has Battlefield, and it shall be so into perpetuity. However, this E3 revealed that Microsoft and Sony have nabbed a few additional exclusives to make their version of third-party games more attractive than the competitor's.
Release dates in 2015
Let's get one thing out of the way, first; it was refreshing to hear so many E3 demos end with exact 2014 dates being delivered alongside the new footage. After fretting about how barren this holiday season seemed due to recent delays, hearing some high-profile titles announced for October and November was a nice change of pace. That said, there were plenty of games announced today that seem pretty far away, as they came with reveals that we won't be seeing release anytime over the next six months.
"Conceptual prototype" footage
What do you do when you need to drum up hype for a game, but it's not really ready to be shown off just yet? If you're EA, you say "Screw it" and tease the game anyway. Footage of early prototypes served as the basis for everything related to the new Mirror's Edge, an unnamed Mass Effect follow-up,Star Wars: Battlefront 3, and Criterion's untitled multi-vehicle racer.
Unnamed new IPs
Where most pressers came with release dates and in-game footage, EA couldn't be bothered to even name some of its reveals. In addition to the new Mass Effect game (which doesn't have a legit title mind you), BioWare is also working on an unnamed IP. That weird first-person racer which Criterion performed serious feng shui on their cubicles to make happen? Also too early to name.
Multiplayer beta invitations
You know what's exciting?! QA testing games for developers--FOR FREE! We kid; in all seriousness, it's pretty awesome that so many triple-A titles are opening the gates for multiplayer beta well before release. At E3 2014, it seemed like publishers were chasing after cred with the gaming masses by offering up beta sign-ups on-stage.
Selfies
We have to write about E3 2014's weirdest trend, but first let me take a selfie! Both of the third-party publishers had games featuring the hottest trend in amateur photography, albeit in drastically different forms. EA reflected the practice a little more normally, as it showed that Sims can photograph themselves. You may be able to alter a Sim's emotions, but you can't stop Maxis' faux-humans from being vain as all heck. EA earns extra points for incorporating an IRL selfie, as famed exec Peter Moore snapped this shot before the presser began.
Robot spiders
Hot off the eight arachnid heels of Watch Dogs' success in integrating robot spiders, two of the most disparate reveals of E3 showcased giant mechanized bugs. With Call of Duty: Advance Warfare, the Microsoft presser mainstay franchise showed a new side of shooter combat with some futuristic implements of destruction to take down insane enemies like you guessed it a giant robot spider tank.
