When E3 2014 officially roars into the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 10th, first time attendees might be surprised to discover that there will be at least a handful of titles that won’t be playable on the showroom floor. Several prestigious media outlets got a taste of this last year when Ubisoft’s highly anticipated new IP Watch_Dogs wasn’t playable in any way, shape or form.
Being that analysts have already predicted that this year’s show will be heavily focused on software, we felt the need to elaborate further on 10 games that we are fully expecting to be playable on day one. These choices are based on several standout games that are already being touted as some of the hottest releases scheduled to hit retailers later this year. The first five games are guaranteed to be playable, while the last five are based on speculation and industry trends.
Safe Bets:
Destiny
Activision Blizzard made headlines earlier this week when they revealed that they have already spent $500 million on developing and promoting Bungie’s upcoming Destiny video game. They also confirmed that a Beta is currently scheduled to debut on the PS4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 sometime in July.
With a worldwide release date already set for September 9th, one can only assume that a playable demo will be accessible to those who are willing to wait in line on the showroom floor.
Evolve
Evolve was easily the best game I played at PAX East 2014. This sci-fi themed co-operative FPS is created by the Left 4 Dead developers and has a legitimate shot at redefining multiplayer games as we know them today.
PAX East was the very first time that Evolve was made playable to the public. Given the overall positive response that the game has received up to this point, I fully expect the shooter to also be playable at E3 2014.
Batman: Arkham Knight
When Rocksteady Studios revealed Batman: Arkham Knight earlier this year, I found it very hard to contain myself. With a brand new villain and full use of the Batmobile already confirmed, every sign points to this as being one of the most ambitious entries in the series yet.
Warner Bros. has already confirmed that this game will be playable at E3. The only question now is if the demo will be accessible to everyone or only those who have VIP access. My guess is it will be everyone so that they can get as much good coverage from the game as possible.
Super Smash Bros.
Nintendo has had a very rough start to 2014 thanks solely in part to the lack of quality title releases on the Wii U. This trend will start to change once Mario Kart 8 debuts exclusively on the struggling console at the end of the month.
Nintendo has made it very clear that they aren’t having an E3 conference again this year. This decision means that they fully intend to have the showroom floor packed with plenty of the latest and greatest games coming to both the Wii U and 3DS platforms. Super Smash Bros. is easily the most important game on their plate right now and will definitely be on full display for all to play.
The Evil Within
During PAX East, I had the opportunity to see a demo playthrough presentation of The Evil Within. Despite some of the harsh criticisms that the game has been receiving as of late, I still found the title promising and had a lot to say about it in my preview.
Bethesda has already confirmed that a playable build of the game will be available at E3. I’m personally looking forward to getting my hands on it to see if this game is truly the survival horror gem we all have been waiting for.
Surprise Picks:
The Order: 1886
After the overwhelming success of inFAMOUS: Second Son, the next Sony exclusive that everyone will be watching out for is The Order: 1886. Truthfully, there are still several details that Ready At Dawn needs to share with us about this action-adventure game.
Sony will most likely limit what they offer on the showroom floor to a ton of third party titles and a few console exclusives, most notably being PS4 remastered editions of certain games. If however they do bring a playable build of The Order: 1886 to the event, then I think this title may very well be the most talked about game at E3.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity
Assassin’s Creed is without a doubt the best selling franchise that Ubisoft is currently working on. Every E3 show prior to this one, the studio made sure that the multiplayer aspect of each title was at least playable in some form or fashion on the showroom floor.
There have been rumors for awhile now that Assassin’s Creed: Unity will have a 4 player co-op story mode and that Ubisoft will reveal this news at their E3 media briefing on June 9th. If indeed this does happen, then I fully expect this feature to be playable the next day during the show.
Sunset Overdrive
At last year’s show, Microsoft had games like Killer Instinct, Ryse: Son of Rome, and LocoCycle on the showroom floor. While everyone would agree that Quantum Break is the next major exclusive title from them, the fact of the matter is that this game may end up getting delayed until 2015.
Sunset Overdrive already has a rumored October release date and seems like a fun game that would do extremely well in a show environment. For this reason and this reason alone, I think this game will definitely be playable during E3 2014.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
2k Australia and Gearbox Software showed a demo preview of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! during PAX East. Fans of the Borderlands franchise will most certainly love this game because it’s more of what they are already accustomed to.
Since the game is coming out this fall, my guess is that 2K wouldn’t want to let E3 pass without this game getting some much needed attention by the press. Going by this theory, I fully expect them to have a playable mission or level ready.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition is one of this year’s most anticipated action RPG titles. BioWare and EA will definitely showcase a ton of this game during the EA E3 conference before the show.
Typically, EA has never really made it a point to have playable builds of their AAA titles at these types of shows in the past. While I do consider this a long shot, I also think it’s possible for them to have a brief 15 – 20 min demo available for those who want to get a general idea of how the finished game will turn out. BioWare has already stated on several occasions that the main storyline is currently in a playable state and it would be awesome if we actually get some hands-on time with this during E3.
Honorable Mentions: (All Most Likely Playable)
Madden NFL 15
EA Sports UFC
Alien Isolation
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Bayonetta 2
EverQuest Next
Deep Down
Lords of The Fallen
Fortnite
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Which games do you think will be playable at E3 2014?
This concludes our list on 10 games that we expect to be playable at E3 2014. Which games do you think will standout the most at E3? Please feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
