It’s that time of the year again, children are glued to their computer monitors, wives and girlfriends see off their brave mates who will be trekking to “the Expo” and gaming journalists (Hey, that’s me) are replacing facts and confimations with wild speculation. E3 is approaching, and everyone wants to know what’s going to be there and talked about. Instead of covering what has been announced, I’m going to go ahead and tell you all what I WANT to be there. As of writing none of these games have been confirmed, so if any do show up, you can send your thank you letters to MonsterVine HQ. Let’s start:
Kingdom Hearts III
Once upon a time, there was an adorable 11 year old named Ryan who fresh off of beating Final Fantasy X and watching Hercules, thought it’d be cool to combine Final Fantasy and Disney so…okay so that’s a lie. Like many I saw the commercials and thought it was a ridiculous idea, but I was wrong, really, really wrong. It was amazing, funny, challenging, exciting, heartbreaking, but most of all: Fun. I fell in love with the series, even then they got a little crazy with their ideas (like a handheld game that had an entire combat system based on essentially a card game). Kingdom Hearts II came out in 2005, and we haven’t seen a game since…not counting the almost dozen side games and remakes on nearly as many consoles. That being said while Birth By Sleep is fun and 358/2 Days charming, they weren’t the game that we want, and that’s a true sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and so on, going to fight Hades and save Rapunzel or ride around San Fransokyo. We’ve seen more updates about Kingdom Hearts III in the past year than almost the entire decade before it, so there’s a very good chance they’ll make an appearance at E3, here’s hoping.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Yep, I’m going to be that guy and further spread this rumor. It’s all over Twitter, trending on Facebook, and every gaming site is giving their own spin. By now we’ve seen countless “CONFIRMED AT E3” from basically everybody except Rockstar themselves. Now why is this game such a big deal? Well let me make a rather bold statement: While everybody loves Grand Theft Auto, I make the claim that Rockstar is at their best when they’re adventuring away from their top franchise. It forces them to innovate, and get creative. My favorite games from them are (of course) Red Dead Redemption, Bully, and you know that L.A. Noire was awesome, if a little dragged at the end. One of these rumors is that RDR2 will take place a little further back than RDR, which I love even more, it sends you back deeper into the Old West as opposed to the end of the cowboy era of RDR. In short: I am excite.
The Last Guardian*
Now, do I actually expect this game? Not necessarily, but at this point hoping for The Last Guardian to be at a gaming expo is on par with shouting “Freebird” at the end of a concert, regardless of what band’s playing (way to let me down Beiber). If you ever played Fallout 4, you know of The Institute. They made a big impact years prior, their works are everywhere, but they haven’t been seen or heard from so long people doubt they exist. Team Ico is The Institute. We loved Ico (the game) and were BLOWN AWAY by Shadow of the Colossus, all we need now is that last piece, The Last Guardian. While many will be happy if/when the game finally comes out, I added that asterisk for a reason. I want this game at the expo and dag nabbit I want a release date, otherwise, even if there’s gameplay, I’ll just shrug and assume we’re going to get Half Life 3 before The Last Guardian.
Stay tuned to MonsterVine for more thoughts, predictions, and reactions as E3 approaches. What games are you most excited for?
