Looking back at E3 2006

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The 10 games that stood out... Once again, the time for E3 has come and gone. The lights, the sounds, the games and the babes have all packed up for the year. In its wake, we are left with a plethora of images of new games and news for our

May 16th, 2006 by Al Warwick

I'm sure many of the attendees would agree that we will not be forgetting the unbelievable trailers, projects revealed and news of this years E3. The amount of information of upcoming releases and developments was able to induce a mind numbing state of gaming euphoria. It would take much too long to touch upon every title that was displayed or mentioned, but instead I will look back over the last few days and quickly touch upon the most anticipated and stunning of the new and upcoming releases for the PC.

10. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Blizzard let the Draenei out of the bag when they announced the Draenei as the newest Alliance race in the upcoming expansion The Burning Crusade. "Descended from the Eredar, the same ancient race as Archimonde, leader of the Burning Legion, the Draenei resisted the demonic forces that corrupted their brethren and fled their ancient homeworld of Draenor, devoting themselves to ending the Legion's apocalyptic crusade." The Burning Crusade will also introduce new lands, flying mounts, the Jewelcraft tradeskill as well as socketed items and an increase of the level cap from level 60 to 70. Expect to see The Burning Crusade go live in the 4th quarter of 2006.

9. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

Ascaron brings us the follow up to its award winning "Sacred" with Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Set a millennium before the original Sacred, the player will find himself in a unique seamless 3D fantasy setting which will be playable solo or online with friends.

Sacred 2 will be an action/rpg with six playable races offering diverse gameplay as well as separate good and evil storylines.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow

Join Bethesda Softworks and Captain Jack Sparrow as you relive the legendary captains' misadventures in Pirates of the Caribbean: The legend of Jack Sparrow. Follow Jack, Will, and the lovely Elizabeth though tales retold with Jacks unique twist as they adventure through a Caribbean setting based on the up coming Pirates of the Caribbean 2 movie. The Legend of Jack Sparrow features the voice acting as Johnny Depp and the daring captain, offering an authentic feel to the swashbuckling adventure. Play single player or co-op multiplayer with a friend as you learn if all of Jacks wild stories of sailing away on sea turtles are true!

7. Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Turbine and Midway Home Entertainment brings us a glimpse into the fantastic world of Middle Earth with Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Join the adventure during the evil reign of Sauron. The player will be able to explore and experience Middle-earth as only Tolkin could have imagined it by visiting classic locations of the saga and interacting with all the characters that made Lord of the Rings legendary. Lord of the Rings Online is currently beginning beta and a solid release date is still TBA.

6. Star Trek Legacy

Bethesda and Mad Dog Software brings us Star Trek Legacy, a playable history of the Star Trek lineage from Kirk to Voyager to Enterprise and everything in between.
"As the Admiral of the Fleet you choose the ships, equipment, and captains That you will lead into battle. The game is designed to provide an immersive strategic and tactical experience by emphasizing the dramatic excitement of large-scale battles without the hassle of complex starship management." Combat is large scale and dramatic as dozens of capital ships engage in real time 3D combat in the beautiful vastness of space. Boasting four famous races as playable and 60 technically accurate ships, Star Trek Legacy will offer a tremendous single player experience with campaign play or multiplayer online or Xbox Live. Expect to update your captains' log with a stardate of 3rd quarter of 2006.

5. Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales

Playlogic and Akella have joined forces to release the long awaited Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales. This Action/RPG takes place on the high seas during the hay day of piracy in the Caribbean. With 16 authentic, historically accurate ships to sail, chase, loot, burn and sink, players can take full advantage of unrestricted gameplay regardless of storyline. Command a fleet of four ships as you attack and capture towns and take them for yourself, introducing the new facet of colony management as well as fleet management. Age of Pirates also offers multiplayer for up to 16 cutthroat captains to out do each other in Deathmatch, Capture the Fort, and Convoy Defense. Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales will be sailing our way the 2nd quarter of 2006.

4. Dark Star One

Ascaron straps in and throws the throttle to full with its new Space action adventure Dark Star One. Centuries have pasted since the great galactic war and you find yourself playing the young hero Kayron Jarvis. Making a living as an escort pilot, Kayron discovers mysterious clues that his murdered father had kept hidden. These secrets will pull Kayron to the edge of another galactic war as the centuries old peace begins to unravel due to unexplained attacks. Your ship, the Dark Star is massively upgradeable, taking on the appearance and armaments of your choosing. Don't let the unstable political situation stop you from taking advantage the free form play offered by Dark Star One. Feel free to smuggle, hunt, or trade to your hearts content to earn a living. DarkStar One will be landing June of 2006.

3. Pirates of the Burning Seas

Flying Labs Software is running out the guns with the first MMORPG pirate game, Pirates of the Burning Sea. In a 1720 Caribbean, Britain, France and Spain battle each other over rich resources, which offers great opportunity for any daring sea captain. With cutting edge graphics and with 27 historically accurate ship listing, which is still growing, plundering the Caribbean will never look for amazing. Going for a real cutthroat feel, expect PvP on the high seas as players complete PvE missions that destabilize an area and open it for PvP conquest. Pirates of the Burning Sea will begin beta shortly and a solid release date is still TBD.

2. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Funcom brings us the first official Conan online game that sends you on a brutal journey into the worlds' greatest fantasy hero. Experience the 70 years of Conan history, and step up to the ultimate challenge and befriend the mighty king Conan himself. The game world is enormous with 30 distinct regions spread across the three mighty nations of Aquilonia, Cimmeria and Stygia from the Conan storyline. Explore deep jungles, burning deserts, inhospitable mountains, vast valleys, dark dungeons or gleaming cities, and take part in an incredible journey of exploration and adventure as you build your hero up though single player content before exposing him to the ruthless world of Conan. Age of Conan is the first "Mature" MMORPG with a brutal and complex storyline that does credit to its Conan origins. Combining classic storytelling with an open ended gameplay that is expected of a MMORPG. Age of Conan will be decapitating someone near you in December of 2006.

1. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

Sigil Games and SOE has announced co-publishing of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the next generation in MMORPG. Developed by the original Dev team of the award winning, 7 year old Everquest, Sigil games is taking a new approach on the old school MMORPG feel. Boasting an unheard of 19 playable races and 15 professions, character customization and uniqueness is second to none offering the most advanced character creation system since Star Wars Galaxies. Vanguard has taken the best of everything and has developed ways to sidestep the bad that is often associated with MMORPGs. Sigils' commitment to re-establishing a lasting community within its MMORPG is a refreshing breeze in a genre infested with instancing and faceless pick up groups and is sure to please anyone who misses the "good 'old days of MMORPGs. The 4th quarter of 2006 can not come soon enough with so many waiting in anticipation of this groundbreaking title.

It also appears that 2006 will be the year when Hollywood finally jumps into the gaming world with both feet. Over the past few years we have seen a few titles with the voices and likeness of Hollywood stars. This year however, we will be treated to such titles as Scarface: The World is Yours with Al Pacino, Stranglehold with Chow Yun-Fats, Wheelman with Van Diesel, and Spy Hunter staring The Rock. As the gaming industry becomes more advanced, gamers themselves becoming more mature and demanding of titles released, I expect the trend of Hollywood glitz to polish up high budget titles in the coming years.

With this years E3 now behind us, we look forward to the next year of ground breaking releases for both PC and consoles alike. The titles will continue to amaze and entertain and the industry continues to grow at an exponential rate. If you would have told me 30 years ago that a crude square bouncing between two vertical sticks would have given birth to an industry that we have today, I would have thrown my pacifier at you. Just think how far the industry has come is such a short time, and think ahead to just 10 years from now at E3 2016 and imagine what wonders will await us there. Hell, nevermind 2016, I'm already itching to see E3 2007!