Top Ten New Video Games for E3 2012
04 -- Forza Horizon
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Turn 10 Studios
Platform: Xbox 360 Exclusive
Release Date: 23 October 2012The first important factoid that should be quickly embraced and accepted when the subject of the upcoming game Forza Horizon is the subject of conversation is that it is not, in fact, a sequel in the long-running Forza Motorsport series of video games. That is to say it has absolutely nothing to do with any of the games and is not a part of that series technically or otherwise.
Intended to present an intense, action-centric thrill-ride of a racing game outside of the usual highly-structured and organized track and race environments, Horizon delivers an informal set of challenges that permits Forza fans to casually race or simply drive outside of the box. The unique and often challenging road surfaces that are present in off-track environments like government-maintained roads networks means that potholes happen.
Set against the backdrop of the Rockies, placed outside of the traditional structured racing environments and complete with bitchen tunes, lots of choice, and everywhere to go, the winding and complex road surfaces and expansive landscape gives Horizon a focus that leans towards mastery of both driving maneuvers, surfaces and, to a lesser extent, individual cars -- along with a rousing soundtrack and visceral moment-to-moment style of game play intended to reinforce the risk-vs-reward nature of the style of racing on public thoroughfares that is the actual gravy that adds pleasure for most of the informal tuner-drivers the world over.
Factor in the Achievements, and your own personal favorites with respect to car, music, venue, and mocha latte, and there you have it, a very cool idea for the Forza series. Now, about the mocha latte?
03 -- Star Trek the Game
Publisher: Paramount Digital Entertainment
Developer: Digital Extremes
Platform: Xbox 360 / PC / PS3
Release Date: 30 March 2013
Now that we have arrived at the Top Three of the Top Ten New Games for E3 2012 the presence of this particular title likely did not come as much of a surprise to the members at GU -- the high quality of the game along with our previous coverage, having chosen it as an early in-depth coverage subject (An in-depth look at Star Trek the Game @ E3 2012) made it pretty obvious -- but even if you did not read that piece, the overall high quality of the game as illustrated in its trailer is such that it just makes sense that it would be right up there at the top.
Back in the 1940's and 50's Crosby and Hope made a lot of money -- and a lot of people happy -- portraying the bumbling best pals that are part of the formula required for Buddy Films, with their long-running "Road To" pictures standing out as a sort of proof-in-concept that sometimes the relationship is as important as the script.
When Star Trek the TV show first aired in the 1960's the close friendship between Kirk and Spock very obviously translated through the small screen, and even with the built-in amusing awkwardness that Spock's wry looks often sparked and his sometimes obtuse failure to "get it" when a joke was sent his way, it was a relationship that worked.
The events in the game take place between the events of the first Abrams epic Star Trek movie made in 2009 and the second Abrams movie that is coming next year; and as the E3 game demo unfolded the identical character roles from movie and game made it clear that somebody at Digital Extremes grokked that the chemistry from the movie would very likely work in the game -- hence the same characters and their instantly recognizable faces and voices making instant sense -- and as the demo unfolded it was clear that the chemistry did in fact work, though not for the Gorn of course.
Clearly when it came to the Gorn there as a serious chemistry error, since they appeared to be infecting the poor Vulcans whenever they appeared in the same general neighborhood, which once the first Vulcan was infected you would think might have caused one of the other thousands of not-yet-infected Vulcan's to at least tell someone, or put out a radio beacon warning that the planet was under quarantine, you know, that sort of thing?
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