The future. Some people are scared of it. Others are looking forward to it.
The summer of 2012 is pretty boring for games, outside of a few gems here and there, but what does the future have in store for us? These games paint vivid pictures, both of how advanced we get, and the threat of our creations. Three out of the five are new IPs, which is refreshing in this current marketplace of trilogies and ever-increasing sequels. Many of the trailers below come from gamescon 2012.

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Watch Dogs

This video sets the stage and shows a world connected. Which will make watching the gameplay of the next trailer easier to understand what’s happening. Basically, Google has taken over the world. And, like, that shit is bad.

I think what stood out to me the most was the animations, and how alive and “filled” the world felt. That’s not even mentioning the cool and unique hacking powers. Anytime a baton is used to whoop ass, I’m sold. The only thing I’m worried about is how open the missions are. Do I have to hack cell phones to get into the building? Do I have to hack the streetlights to stop the cars?

And the multiplayer. I can’t wait to see more of that.
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Remember Me

Remember Me is unfortunately be called a “futuristic Assassin’s Creed”. But is that necessarily a bad thing? I personally enjoyed Desmond and the near future world of Assassin’s Creed. My hope is eventually Desmond himself will don the hood and we’ll play as him in future New York. Remember Me to me blends Assassin’s Creed with the futuristic styling of Total Recall.

The game looks solid, but a little linear. It seemed like the game wanted the protagonist to go down the alleyway just to mind read the guard, then traverse to the one place she could remix the target’s mind. Is there any variation? I’m sold by the concepts and Ghost In The Shell cyberpunk edge, but I’m still skeptical about the game play.

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The Last Of Us

Not all human advances are brilliant. In The Last Of Us, protagonist Joel and Ellie are just trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world, filled with fungal zombies. Yes, you read that right. Fungus. Zombies. I’m not sure if the fungal zombies are a great idea or not, but one thing is for sure, they are definitely scarier.

Lets say what everyone was thinking: Ellie looks like Ellen Page. Seems Ms. Page is the standard for “young tough girls that you must protect” seeing how she’ll be starring in the game Beyond: Two Souls as well.

That being said. The game play looks gritty, brutal, and real. I’m all for it. Ellie will be controlled by an AI, but developer Naughty Dog knows it’s stuff, and hopefully the game will be more than a brutal escort mission.

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Lost Planet 3 & EX Troopers

I liked Lost Planet, and despite others, I enjoyed Lost Planet 2 and spent many hours goofing off with my friends in the multiplayer. Lost Planet 3 is being developed by Spark Unlimited instead of Capcom, and they seem to be focusing on the story, seeing how LP3 is a prequel to Lost Planet. Unlike 2, LP3 seems to focus on one character and his desperate struggle.  I’ll need to see more gameplay before I’m completely on board though.

If that’s not your thing, maybe you’ll enjoy EX Troopers.

EX Troopers is a Lost Planet spinoff featuring a color cast of characters and personality. All the goofiness of Lost Planet 2 seems to have distilled into this game. I love anime. I love over the top action. I love the manga inspired cutscenes and visuals. I’m even digging the jetpack gameplay. What bothers me is the main character’s mismatched appearance and blocky torso. Did you notice the running animation? It’s horrendous. Something about the shoulders just seems off.

That being said, I really want this game to be good.

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So there we have it, five games that take place in the future. Some seem extravagant, some seem bleak. But for the future of video games, I’d say the future looks bright.