Pre-E3 2016 Roundup 6/8 - The Smaller Storm Before the Big Storm

Published: June 9, 2016 9:50 AM /

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E3 2016 General Preview Image

2016's E3 is getting closer and closer, but it seems we're getting some announcements and game reveals earlier than expected. Square Enix and Ubisoft both had some big news to share yesterday, some of the leaks from the other day got confirmed, and even more rumors that are both crazy and not-so-crazy.

Lets start with the news we actually have articles on. Kickstarter success story Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was confirmed to be making an appearance at E3. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that backers of the game will soon be getting a demo of it, a nice surprise for those who want to know their money is going to the right place. Injustice 2 was formally confirmed by Warner Brothers, after having been leaked on Tuesday, and features an interesting trailer that confirms old favorites like Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and The Flash to be returning. It also shows off Supergirl as a new character, a great addition to the roster.

Injustice 2 Batman Flash

Going with something that has a stranger name, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue got a new trailer today. The game is actually a combination of two different games: a remake of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and a new game called Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep 0.2 - A Fragmentary Passage. It also features an original movie called Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover. Finally, the trailer says the game is releasing exclusively on the PlayStation 4 in December, and promises more news on Kingdom Hearts III this winter.

While Kingdom Hearts was nice, Square Enix and Eidos also had a Deus Ex focused stream yesterday. Deus Ex Go was announced during the stream, continuing the mobile love that Square has been showing recently. Some time was also spent showing off some new gameplay for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. A new mode for the game was also announced, called Breach mode. Here you hack virtual servers and take on some fun challenges against your friends so you can earn money to buy better equipment to take on more challenges. Finally, Square Enix also announced they'll be partnering with Open Bionics to help create bionic limbs for people.

Deus Ex GO slam

Square didn't have the only show of the day, as Ubisoft showed off Watch Dogs 2 with their own presentation. It contained about 20 minutes of gameplay, developer interviews, and generally talking about what they wanted to do with the game. They also announced that Watch Dogs 2 will be releasing on November 15th, so we don't have to wait long for this one.

Finally, Epic and GamsBeat are teaming up to bring back the Unreal Awards. Here a few writers and editors from GamesBeat nominate the best and most pretty games at E3 that use the Unreal Engine, and winners get a brand spanking new GTX 1080.

While we'd love to get to all the news that is announced, there's only so many of us and there's so much news to get to, so from here on out this is the first we've reported on some of this. Developer and publisher Natsume has announced what games they'll be bringing to E3, and it includes titles like Harvest Moon: Skytree Village and River City: Tokyo Rumble for the Nintendo 3DS, and Wild Guns: Reloaded for the PlayStation 4.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD

Likewise, Sega also announced what games they're bringing to E3. They said that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III will be showing up during the PC Gaming Show. Other games like Yakuza 0, Persona 5, and 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will be making appearances as well. Sega also showed off a trailer for Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, a new Sonic title for the Nintendo 3DS that will be coming out in September and will include a DVD including episodes of the Sonic Boom television show on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmITKKx8p9I

Nintendo has revised and announced their E3 plans as well, and given an idea of which games they'll be bringing. Of course, we all know that The Legend of Zelda Wii U will be there, as will Pokemon Sun and Moon. Other games that Nintendo will be bringing to E3 include Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, along with a Q&A with the developers of Pokemon Go.

One more publisher that is showing up with a slew of projects will be Deck 13. They will have their own section and will be bringing games like The Other 99, Shift Happens, Hover Cubes: Arena, CrossCode, and more.

Knack 2 why

Knack 2 why 2

Finally it's not E3 without Rumors and other small news. Supermassive Games, developers of hit PlayStation 4 horror game Until Dawn, has announced that they will be bringing on some VR-focused developers. Speaking of VR, stealth game Volume is getting an VR expansion called Coda. The expansion is being marked as an PlayStationVR exclusive, and will be free for all owners of Volume. Likewise, speaking of PlayStation Exclusives, it seems rumors are pointing towards Knack 2 being announced during Sony's conference. Finally, NeoGaf user Enter the Dragon Punch claims that current Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive will be making its way to PC.

Remember: E3 still hasn't happened yet! The news will only get bigger and better as we get closer to the event. It's going to be a good one this year.

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Samuel Guglielmo TechRaptor
| Reviews Editor

I'm Sam. I have been playing video games since my parents brought home a PlayStation whenever that came out. Started writing for TechRaptor for 2016 and,… More about Samuel