Column: Top 5 anticipated games from E3

There were a lot of exciting announcements at this year’s E3. Many video games were officially announced, and now fans are left to wait in anticipation as the creators give life to their newest releases. Here are the top five most exciting announcements from the conference.

1.“Dark Souls III”

The announcement trailer for the much-anticipated Souls series, developed by From Software, appeared at the conference. The development of “Dark Souls III” has been the subject of a lot of speculation, but it has been confirmed that director and creator of the series, Hidetaka Miyazaki, will be returning in a more hands-on role after his relative departure during the development of “Dark Souls II.” The RPG series centers around the exploration of a vivid, dark fantasy world and the grueling, rewarding battles that come with it. Hopefully, with return of director Hidetaka Miyazaki, “Dark Souls III” will represent a step up in the intricacies of the map design, which are known to be particularly vertical and nonlinear, leading to a particular sense of immersion that cannot be found in other action RPGs. The game is scheduled for release next year.

2.“Mirror’s Edge Catalyst”

It has been a long wait for fans of the cult hit “Mirror’s Edge.” The follow-up to the innovative first-person platform game, now called “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst,” is the prequel origin story of the first game’s protagonist, Faith. It was announced at EA’s press conference that the new game will be open-world, in contrast to the level-based format of the first game. The new structure of the game should fit the parkour theme perfectly, as long as the game gets the feeling of climbing up buildings and jumping through the city right the way the first game did.

3.“Rise of the Tomb Raider”

The follow-up to the reboot of the “Tomb Raider” franchise, “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” is set to continue the story of Lara Croft. The gameplay demo shown at E3 promised a more prominent focus on stealth and survival, as well as hints of larger and more elaborate tombs and climbing puzzles — elements that made the earlier games in the series so iconic. “Rise of the Tomb Raider” will be released on Nov. 10 and is a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 and 
Xbox One.

4.“The Division”

“The Division” is the next game in the Ubisoft-developed Tom Clancy franchise. Interestingly, it promises to be a more tactical and in-depth shared world shooter/RPG hybrid. “The Division” takes place after a post-apocalypse scenario leads to the fall of the world’s governments. Players can form squads and explore the ruins of New York. At E3, Ubisoft specifically highlighted dark zones — areas where you can not only interact with your friends playing the game, but also with other random squads of players whom you can attempt to communicate and work with or attack for resources. This element of player interaction lends a whole new dynamic to the range of scenarios available in an online shooter. The innovative multiplayer elements and range of customizable options of characters and weapons, combined with a seamless open world, “The Division” could serve as the best example of what the new current-generation systems are capable of.

5.“Fallout 4”

This year was Bethesda’s first E3 press conference, and they impressed with an excellent demo of the new “Fallout 4.” The open-world RPG shooter will be set in Boston and feature a huge improvement to the building and upgrading mechanics of previous games, now making it possible to start your own town in the post-apocalyptic wasteland as well as play fetch with your virtual dog. The core role playing elements of “Fallout” are all here as a host of new toys for the post-apocalyptic sandbox you have always wanted. “Fallout 4” might be the most immersive “Fallout” game yet, particularly for players on the PC and Xbox One, as Todd Howard, the creative director of the game, announced that player-created mods will be playable on both platforms. Bethesda takes a long time to develop a game, but it is usually worth the wait when you can spend countless hours wandering them, whether questing or simply sightseeing. To the audience’s surprise, it was announced that “Fallout 4” will be released this year on Nov. 10.

Nathan Reynolds is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.