E3 2014 Puzzle and Adventure Games You’ll Love – and What was Missed
E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) is the event for all electronic gaming launches on the horizon. Unlike gaming conventions like Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), E3 is locked down and restricted to industry only. It hasn’t even been a decade since a gamer outside the industry could slip in by knowing someone who knows someone at a game company. E3 started cracking down on fandom attendance to get it back to its insider industry roots.
It’s tough as nails to get in without knowing the right people. That said, gamers must be content sitting on the Internet sidelines, waiting for E3 news to trickle out of their browsers. Googling “E3 news” can return an overwhelming number of updates. Who has time for that? Fear not: I have compiled my picks for puzzle and adventure announcements plus disappointing shortfalls.
Girls Rule Hyrule: You can finally play as Zelda or Midna
Finally. FINALLY. Nintendo confirmed that HYRULE WARRIORS will allow you get to hold the sword (or bow and arrow, as it were) as Zelda or Midna as you fight with your allies Link and Impa through the Hyrulian battlefields. HYRULE WARRIORS is a collaboration between Tecmo Koei Games and the Legend of Zelda team that promises the tactical, over-the-top army battles as seen in Dynasty Warriors. It might not be a walk through the Kokiri Forest, but our Princess needs no saving this time around.
Gameplay will allow for two players simultaneously, utilizing a combination of the WiiU controller and traditional television play. This is another opportunity for Nintendo to flex their WiiU chops and see what a third-party developer can do with the new multifunctional controller. Hopefully this partnership will invite more developers to create games for the WiiU platform–which means the rest of us will get in on more gaming goodness.
Lara Croft takes on Egyptian Gods in puzzle co-op
Developer Crystal Dynamics took a bet on–and won–developing 2010′s Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, a smart puzzle-action-adventure game. Fans were pleasantly rewarded with the announcement of the next in the third-person cooperative series with Lara Croft and the Tomb of Osiris (release date to be announced).
This new contender will have its work cut out for the series, as Guardian of Light returned with a high Metacritic score of 85 out of 100. Initial play trials at E3 2014 sound promising – being able to play four-person co-op as Lara, her rival Carter Bell, God Horus, or Goddess of the Sun Isis, clever puzzles and action sequences have reported a positive experience.
Keep your eyes peeled for the title on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.