E3 2015: 5 Movie Games That Blew Us Away
E3, the gaming world’s annual eye-popping, ear-blasting orgy of hype, is winding down in Los Angeles.
Gone is the era of Atari’s E.T. game, sentenced to a pit in the New Mexico desert for the crime of being an unplayable affront to its source material. Now, thanks to next-gen consoles and sci-fi tech, the latest wave of movie-based games are themselves cinematic works of art, able to shine on their own merits without being propped up by a name franchise.
After three days of E3, we found this quintet of licensed games to be the best.
The year of Star Wars continues apace with what was hands-down the most stunning game of E3. A reboot of the classic franchise that lets you play along to the original trilogy’s most iconic scenes — as hero or villain — EA awed attendees with its playable demos of Hoth and Tattooine battles, featuring a slew of characters and vehicles and the ability to seamlessly shift from first-person to third-person. The best part: the gamemaker will release a free level based on The Force Awakens, a battle set on the desert planet of Jakku, in early December.
Available Nov. 17 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The most amped-up, visceral movie of the summer is about to become the most amped-up, visceral game of the fall. Set in the continuity of the movies but not beholden to their storylines, you’re Max questing through an open-world wasteland, on missions that require you to slug your way and drive your way past the warlord Scabrous Scrotus and his henchmen. It’s loud, violent, and hyper — just how Max likes it.
Available Sept. 1 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Lego’s typically excellent 2015 offerings include the just-released Jurassic World and the holiday-targeted Avengers, both of which let you play through the complete movie franchises. But the brick-slingers and their video-game enablers are taking it next-level with Lego Dimensions, a whimsical mashup of DC superheroes, The Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, Back to the Future, Dr. Who, Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo, The Simpsons, and The Lego Movie. Taking a cue from toy-based games like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, Dimensions lets you build vehicles using Lego bricks (several add-on packs are available as separate purchases, natch) and then bring them into the game.
Available Sept. 27 on all major consoles.
While not technically a movie-based game, Warner Bros. Interactive’s Batman: Arkham saga has been cinematic in scope and a major influence on the look of the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This latest (and presumably last) installment finds the Caped Crusader deploying all his tools, including a souped-up Batmobile that bears a striking resemblance to the new movie model, to take out Scarecrow, Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and legions of lackeys, in brawls that leave everyone bloodied.
Available Tuesday on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The retooled Disney Infinity 3.0 features an updated “Toy Box” mode that allows gamers to mix and match Disney characters from across all films, including Pixar and Marvel, and a slew of new characters, including Olaf, Ultron, and Tron. And while the upcoming Inside Out has its own platform-type game taking place inside Imagination Land, the real selling point is Star Wars. Where Battlefront is hyper-realistic, Infinity takes a more cartoonish approach, transforming the original trilogy (and characters from TV’s Clone Wars and Rebels) into stylized figures. By the time you finish playing through levels based on A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, Disney Interactive should be close to releasing new levels riffing on The Force Awakens.
Available this fall on all major consoles.
Yep, things have come a long way…
