Top 7 Guns and Cars Games from E3 2013

At E3 2013, there were many titles to enjoy once more and the reveal of new consoles added an influx of bold, new games as well. Then again, certain circles also groaned at the capacious amount of complacent games, which mostly featured cars and guns and more cars and more guns. With the massively watched press conferences alone, there were a dozen of these features to be displayed on center stage; sometimes back to back. For instance, Ubisoft announced 2 major intellectual properties (IP) and both contained these elements, on top of similar games like Splinter Cell Blacklist and Watch_Dogs. It seems that the formula for success of late simply involves either a few vehicles, a series of skill shots or both.

Still, it's important to remember why this model is used so often. For one, they're entertaining and offer a high level of excitement, with perilous situations that enhances the player's adrenaline level, to make them feel like they're a part of the setting. Moreover, when done appropriately, there are few games that can reward someone both as quickly and as highly as one of these active genres. Therefore, let us not stop at the negative side of this saturated market, but look to those games that use guns and cars to their advantage.

7. Call of Duty: Ghosts

One of the big absentees of the conferences was Activision's money horse, which is a welcome change from past years. Ironically, perhaps with the new consoles, Call of Duty: Ghosts would have been a better fit than its previous iterations to hop on stage. With the new technology and a novel model, this shooter cuts away from the trickled down innovation its past versions have offered and finally gives us that “new” Call of Duty fans and detractors alike have been demanding. This isn't just about the dog companion either.

Dynamic maps open up the world of the military shooter, taking it away from corridor shooting galleries. Now, players will be able to affect their surroundings by altering or destroying sections, reshaping the battlefield as they see fit. Moreover, aforementioned dog soldier Riley will serve as a new stealth element introduced in the game, so no more one man army machismo with this one. Most impressively, taking the fight underwater also adds a tropical touch. Lush sea beds welcome the player in a colorful yet dangerous environment that changes the scenery from the often criticized, monochrome desolations of shanty towns and destroyed buildings. As always, Call of Duty will be a tough adversary to beat.

6. Forza Motorsport 5

Many racing games this year showed how pretty they are or just how tuned with demand they have molded their design. However fine that may be, Forza 5 already laid out that plan at previous reveals and used this momentum to shoot ahead of the curve for their next gen title. Sure, it also offers a series of absolutely stunning vehicles, which are rounded out to perfectly fit the form of their model. That's still a plus. Yet, the true strength for this game comes from its racing panache and the forethought it uses to make the best of a new generation.

With the use of the Xbox One's online system, Forza stores player data on a cloud and then uses it for artificial opponents in races. This means that vehicles in the game react in a humanlike manner, adjusted to the player's driving, at all times. More so, this simulated drone is used against matched players online, which ensures a vast network of finely tuned cars that feel like they're driven by other players, even when they're not. This could mean the death of pre-programmed racetracks, as a big win for driving titles is the fact that human opponents transcend artificial ones.