Nerd Things: Top 10 Most Exciting Games from E3

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I have a confession to make.

I’m sort of a nerd, or to be more precise, I do some nerd shit. I’ve actually never felt like a nerd because that’s more of a mindset, but the point stands. I do nerd shit, particularly video gaming. Sometimes, I even dabble in a little anime. I’m also a sports and film fanatic, and I obsess and study food to a weird extent. It’s cool. I like what I like.

Typically, I like to give that caveat in these things because hardos from all over like to start chiming in about how tough they are, and I’m not about that shit.

Anyways, this is a list of the games shown at E3 this year that really caught my eye.

NOTES: I didn’t include Fallout 76 because I’ve never played any prior ones, and the new one looks to be exactly like something I don’t want to play. Also, I have never cared for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I need to get into The Witcher 3 before I start thinking about Cyberpunk 2077. And I have no idea wheaten the hell Death Stranding is at this point. There may be a chance you disagree with my list, which is a very weird thing considering it’s a list of games I personally am excited to hopefully play. If you don’t see the game you’re super interested in on this list, fear not; we’re in such a blessed video game time that there is something incredible for everyone out there.

Honorable Mentions: Tales of Vesperia, Super Mario Party, Doom Eternal.

10. Jump Force

I might as well start it off with some SUPER nerd shit because that’s exactly what this is. I’d venture to say its is an amalgamation of various worlds of nerd. This is the anime crossover people have been clamoring for.

This is Jump Force:

Despite what this list may tell you, I’m not exactly a fighting game guy, but this feels like something else entirely. They don’t give you enough actual gameplay to show that it is a traditional fighting game, but that’s my assumption. I’m assuming this will be something like Injustice, where the stories of the various character will be intertwined, and the heroes will be fighting a common villain, obviously Frieza and whoever else. But it could be something else entirely, a new concept or enough wrinkles to make it feel like something new.

I’m a fan of a lot of the characters involved, and the cartoony/anime-ish design is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is becoming increasingly dark and realistic.

9. Halo Infinite

This is going to be the only Xbox-only game on the list. I spent years hammering on the Xbox 360 sticks, but when I switched to the PS4, I never looked back. I haven’t even considered playing the new Xbox One…

Until this:

That got my pants tight. I’m huge Master Chief guy, HUGE, and it’s been a while since I’ve jumped back into that world.

From all accounts, including one of my best friends who is a Halo fanatic, Halo 5 was pure unadulterated garbage. Now, maybe I should’ve played it myself to determine my own thoughts on the game, but its pull wasn’t enough for me to purchase a new system. This looks like an entirely different creature, a world unlike what we’ve seen in previous games. It seems to be

Halo Infinite looks pretty incredible, and if I had an Xbox One, I think this would be higher on my list.

8. Ghost of Tsushima

We continually get bored with the same stories from the same time frames. The wars games (COD, Battlefield, and others), for instance, can be a lot of fun, but how many times have we done the same things in the same wars with the same guns? There’s been movement to head into the future with jetpacks and shit, but I’m entirely over that.

Ghost of Tsushima, on the other hand, is doing something more creative. They heading in a direction I love: backwards.

Based in feudal Japan in 1274, the final samurai tries to hold off the Mongol invasion. It’s an open-world action-adventure game in which stealth is important and choices have consequences. This is Sucker Punch’s big followup to the Infamous series, which I loved, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Honestly, I just like them picking a period of time to explore that has been largely ignored by Western civilization, giving me a chance to learn while playing. It’s a smart move, one that should pay dividends.

7. Devil May Cry 5

When I first played Devil May Cry in 2001, a game I rented from Movie Gallery, it was my first experience in a hack-and-slash action-adventure game, or at least the first one that left enough of an imprint for me to remember.

You’re Dante, a demon hunter hellbent on getting revenge on the creatures that took his loved ones from him. It’s a loose adaptation of the Divine Comedy, very loose, but still, it was a landmark game.

I beat the first three games of the series before missing Devil May Cry 4 and DMC, but the trailer for the newest game has pulled me back in:

Now, I’m going to have to go play the two I missed (along with the rest, which are remastered in HD for the PS4) because I have no idea who in the fuck Neo is, but they’ve done enough bring me back. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

6. The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

This particular game is different in a number of ways, but the most important is this: It’s free. That’s right. It’s free.

It is also different because it will feature the least amount of action.

And it’s different because it will likely be a whimsical journey, as opposed to an anxiety-induced thrill ride.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit will be beautiful because it is different:

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is the spiritual sequel to Life is Strange, another chapter in a world that emotionally wrecked me, a bridge to the true sequel that will come.

If you’re curious at all about Life is Strange, one of Square Enix’s true recent masterpieces, this will e free to download on June 26, 2018.

Update:

The true sequel is coming sooner than we thought.

5. Wolfenstein: Youngblood

The Wolfenstein franchise is an old one, but it keeps giving and giving and giving. In 2014, the franchise rebooted once again with Wolfenstein: The New Order, and things have been rolling from there with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (prequel) and Wolfenstein II.

Now, they’ve changed the game again, literally, with Wolfenstein: Youngblood:

A co-op game where we kill all the Nazis? Sign me up for that shit.

This time you’re B.J. Blazkowicz’s two daughter, and you’re fightin’ off the Nazis once again. Teamwork will be crucial, and it looks to have the making of a great co-op campaign, something I haven’t seen in a hot minute.

4. Last of Us II

I’m going to say that the first Last of Us wasn’t exactly the type of game I love to play. Survival/horror/stealth really isn’t my bad. I don’t want to worry about shit popping out from corners, and I hate sneaking my way through a room for an hour.

But I’ll be damned if it wasn’t just an incredible game.

The news of a sequel had been bubbling under the surface for a while now, but in 2016, it was finally announced.

At E3, we finally got gameplay:

It’s just beautiful, truly beautiful. The original was haunting, depressing, and heart-wrenching, and from the trailer, you can expect more of the same. They’re already starting to tug on the heart-strings with Ellie’s relationship, knowing full well that eternal happiness is just a fantasy in this world.

Damn, I’m ready to play this immediately, if not sooner.

3. Spider-Man

The 2004 Spider-Man game was essentially the best movie tie-in game ever made, so there was a lot of pressure on the new Spider-Man game to do something special. This wasn’t initially announced at E3, but they brought out some new gameplay that just looks phenomenal:

Spider-Man is one of the most beloved of all the superheroes, and working with him has a certain level of expectations that need to be met. Understandably, people worry about new works utilizing characters they love.

This footage shows that this was a fully fleshed out project and not some cash grab to take advantage of the moment, and that’s an important differentiating piece of information. People can breathe easy knowing a studio like Insomniac (Ratchet & Clank, Spyro, Resistance) kept their morals and created something that can stand alone.

It looks as if they built upon all of the things that made the 2004 version of the game so great: the web traveling, the variations of ways to attack, the numerous villains, etc… It’s more than what a movie could be; it’s a full immersive experience that people are dying to experience.

2. Kingdom Hearts III

Yeah, I know the game can sort of be a convoluted mess. I know that it can be quite confusing. I know we’ve been waiting for so damn long for the third installment of the main game.

But boy oh boy am I ready to play this.

Using the Frozen world as the new big showcase is sort of an odd choice, but it does highlight further expansion into the Disney library. The combat looks smooth, the combos intricate, the flexibility needed. The new utilization of the Keyblade is something to behold and will be a new wrinkle to master.

I’ll be real with you here. The Final Fantasy series is my favorite series, and I’m just flat-out a Disney guy. You combine those two things in a JRPG, and I will always show up. It honestly didn’t matter what they showed.

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Yeah, this was a no-brainer to me. While Halo did its best to push me to buy an Xbox One, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ensured I would buy a Nintendo Switch, and there aren’t a lot of things that would force me to make that kind of decision.

The newest version of the legendary game is bringing back every single character in the game’s history (except that poor bastard Waluigi, who I bet becomes DLC).

And it looks incredible:

There’s something about the playing/fighting style on the Nintendo (perhaps the pixels?) that makes it so intuitive and addicting. I’ve probably spent 1,000 hours on the original, and while I likely don’t have that time now, there will almost assuredly be some addiction involved.

I’ve always been a Donkey Kong guy. His quick throwing ability, big punch, and huge jump reach normally give me an upper hand in games, or so I like to tell myself. I may go ahead and buy a Switch today because I need to get the hang of the buttons.

Nintendo has me about as bad as any company could.