WorthPlaying's Best of E3 2013 - Finalists
(in alphabetical order)
Disney Infinity (3DS/WiiU/Wii/PS3/X360/PC)
Disney Infinity is the digital manifestation of creativity. The toy box mode certainly fits that bill, but the game's true creativity is in the hands of the players. With the ability to sculpt their own worlds and establish a robust set of logic controls, players can make their own game worlds.
The game also has the potential to access any Disney property past, present, and future. Particular play sets allow you to play as the Disney characters you love while in their own particular worlds, and those same characters can be used in the toy box in any combination. The title appears to be geared for children, but in reality, it appeals tp Disney fans both young and old.
Fantasia: Music Evolved (XOne/X360)
Fantasia: Music Evolved is the conceptual culmination of 73 years of Disney's exploration of animation, as well as over a decade of Harmonix's ideas of exploring music with games. An observant player can see the lineage of Amplitude, Dance Central, Rock Band, and even EyeToy Antigrav in a game that invites you to add creativity to the boundless supply that it provides. There's history and beauty here like few things we as gamers have ever seen, making this the real killer app for Xbox One — though there is an also-pretty Xbox 360 version. too.
Thief (PS4/XOne/PC)
The stealth adventure style of Thief has finally returned with new polish and old sensibilities, producing a showcase for the next-generation consoles while keeping things as difficult as in the original series. The reboot keeps what matters and dispenses with almost nothing except for a few obtuse bits. It also shows off how much beauty Eidos can slip into a game. Square Enix has a probable hit and surefire classic on its hands, and it's going to be great to play it next year.
Titanfall (XOne/X360/PC)
Titanfall is the mindspawn of Vince Zapella and the crew at Respawn Entertainment. Featuring epic single-player cinematic style applied to multiplayer, free-running ground troops, and the ability to summon and ride giant robots, and a wonderful sci-fi setting, Titanfall sets the bar for a new generation of multiplayer shooters.
Watch Dogs (WiiU/PS4/PS3/XOne/X360/PC)
Making an open world game that stands out is a difficult prospect, but Ubisoft Montreal appears to be up for the task with Watch Dogs. Over the course of E3, we saw three different, real-time demos that convinced us that Watch Dogs is a game to watch. The core hacking mechanic is much more than a superficial gimmick, integrating nicely into all levels of play. Whether you are helping a partner to evade capture or dodging the police yourself every cell phone, traffic light, web cam and Wi-Fi access point is a potential asset.
Even the multiplayer elements incorporate the hacking motif. On the co-op front, Watch Dogs allows a friend to offer assistance by connecting to your game with an Android tablet to neutralize threats via hacking and clear a path for the first player. On the competitive side, players can "hack" each other's games, appearing as a non-descript civilian until identified by the primary player.