Best video game releases from E3

The biggest gaming event of the year has wrapped up, and there is a lot to look forward to. These are the games you will want to play.

This one should be on your must-play list.

The E3 Expo held annually in Los Angeles is the highlight of the gaming industry’s year when many of the major games studios announce their upcoming games.

I got to experience a lot of them first-hand and was impressed with much of what I saw.

These were my favourites.

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I’ve only counted games I was actually able to play or experience myself, and despite Cyberpunk 2077 remaining the most amazing game I’ve ever seen — especially after seeing an updated build and new content this year — I haven’t included it simply because it was at E3 last year, and my enthusiasm for the game is already on the record.

WATCH DOGS: LEGION (UBISOFT)

You’ll have to wait until next year for this one.

Ubisoft’s third entry in their open-world action/hacking Watch Dogs franchise shifts the focus to a post-Brexit near-future London, where the government is collapsing, corrupt corporations are taking over, and everything is under AI monitoring.

Unlike the previous two games, there isn’t a central character (at least based on what has been shown and what I’ve played), but rather you have the ability to potentially play as any one of the thousands of digital people inhabiting the city, all with fully realised schedules, family, friends and so on. You recruit a team, with different skills, and then select a character to control during a mission — an elderly woman with a background as effectively a double-O agent has proven a fan favourite already.

The world-building was incredible — as someone who knows London very well, the Picadilly Circus in the game was spot on — and I can’t wait to see more of the game closer to its March 6, 2020 release.

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE BLOODLINES 2 (HARDSUIT LABS/PARADOX INTERACTIVE)

A direct sequel to the cult classic modern-day vampire RPG Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines from 2004, this game is set in Seattle and lets you loose on the night as a newly-sired vampire whose very existence is an affront to the established order of vampire society.

With impressive graphics, a range of customisation options and involved quests, some of which have no “right” solution, this is another one I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into when it’s released sometime in early 2020.

TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON BREAKPOINT (UBISOFT)

Welcome to the island of Auroa.

The newest instalment in the Ghost Recon franchise travels to the fictional island of Auroa, which has been taken over by rogue US special forces operatives who want the top-secret drone technology being developed there.

Your character reprises their role from the previous game, Wildlands, and is heading to the island with their squad when their aircraft is shot down and you find yourself on the defensive against a better equipped and prepared foe.

Taking all the elements of Wildlands and enhancing them in a number of ways, this is one I very much have in my sights for its October 4 release.

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE (ACTIVISION)

The latest instalment in Activision’s hugely popular first-person shooter franchise, Modern Warfare is aiming for a “ripped from the headlines” vibe — the demonstration mission I watched at E3 involved an SAS team infiltrating a terrorist’s London home at night and having to make on-the-fly calls about who was a civilian and who was an armed threat from the terror cell.

The slower, more muted pace of this mission was in stark contrast to the series’ usual loud and explosive-filled approach to things, and it’s certainly got my attention in the run up to its October 25 release.

JOHN WICK HEX (GOOD SHEPHERD)

John Wick, the supreme badass.

This stylish isometric shooter, officially licensed by the film series makers, uses an innovative combat and movement system that will be vaguely familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of video editing.

A sort of hybrid between real-time and turn-based action, I was really impressed with how the game captured the spirit of being supreme badass John Wick fighting and shooting his way through enemies en route to his objective.

Once you got the hang of it, the movement system was fluid and effective and allowed for some great stunts, and it’s shaping up to be something quite good indeed, although there’s no official release date at yet.

PARANOIA: HAPPINESS IS MANDATORY (CYANIDE/BIG BEN INTERACTIVE)

Based on a tabletop RPG, the best way I can describe Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory is as a cross between the games We Happy Few and Shadowrun Returns and the movie Logan’s Run.

Set in a futuristic habitat known as Alpha Complex, the facility is ruled with an iron fist of enforced happiness by a twisted AI known as Friend Computer, which sends you (a troubleshooter) on a series of missions with a squad of people you can’t trust because they’re likely planning to dob you in to the computer if you do anything naughty.

Or maybe they won’t? The only way to find out will be to play this darkly humorous game, which is set for release later this year.

THE OUTER WORLDS (OBSIDIAN/PRIVATE DIVISION)

This one should be on your must-play list.

This sci-fi RPG set at the farthest reaches of human space colonisation ticked a lot of boxes for me — it’s from acclaimed RPG makers Obsidian. The retro 1920s-style aesthetic looked great, and the writing and quest development seemed excellent as well. Companion characters are a strong element of the game, and I got the strong impression Obsidian had drawn some game design inspiration from their experiences with the superb Fallout: New Vegas. Everything I saw in the guided play session just confirmed The Outer Worlds as one to put at the top of the must-play list when it releases on October 25.

LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER CHRONICLES (TT GAMES/WARNER BROS GAMES)

Lego is great. Star Wars is great. Video games are great. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Chronicles is combining all three of these things in what is shaping up to be an outstanding experience.

Encompassing all nine movies in the central Star Wars canon, this game has been redeveloped completely from earlier titles and includes a huge range of improvements, characters and totally new models. The combination of realistic scenery with Lego block models was especially well done, and the attention to detail was excellent. Lego games are always fun, and this looks like it will be no exception when it makes the hyperspace jump to a 2020 release.

EVIL GENIUS 2: WORLD DOMINATION (REBELLION)

If you like being a super villain then this one is for you.

A sequel to one of my favourite building games of all time (2004’s Evil Genius), this game casts you as a supervillain building their island lair and committing villainy around the world while keeping the forces of justice out of the way.

The game retains the feel of a 1960s “spy fi” movie, with larger-than-life characters and the developers putting a lot of focus on automating menial tasks so your underlings can handle them while you focus on bigger, more supervillain issues. Everything that made me love Evil Genius is here, with all the necessary upgrades and enhancements you’d hope. The scheming is set to begin in 2020, and I’m already practising my megalomaniacal laughter.

THE SEGA MEGA DRIVE MINI

Not technically a game, but this reimagining of the 1990s gaming console icon (from Sega themselves) comes with 42 games and, critically, has solid, quality controllers that actually feel like the Mega Drive controllers did.

Even more impressively, many of the included games were the A-list hits of their day, including ToeJam & Earl, Earthworm Jim, Road Rash II, Street Fighter II: Championship Edition and Streets of Rage II. The whole experience I had with the system at E3 was positive, and I’m looking forward to giving it a more thorough workout when it’s released on September 19.

The author attended E3 as a guest of Ubisoft

What were your favourite games from E3? Continue the discussion on Twitter @RoyceWilsonAU