How the heck does one rank the best FPS when the level of exposure isn't equal? Doom Eternal had a cinematic trailer that lasted about 2 minutes, it doesn't tell us anything about the gameplay.
So, can't say what's the best. But if we equate "best" with "most interested," then for me it goes Halo Infinite>Doom Eternal>Rage 2>Battlefield V
Well, I didn't catch every single thing that was at E3 (nevermind the assorted concurrent reveals that weren't)
Doom - Got no idea, decent concept art I suppose?
Metro - Slightly better lit this time around, boring slogfest with generic gameplay
Rage - Looks like off brand Destiny with no co-op. Which isn't terrible, but kind of reductive
Halo - Based on your image, got equally no idea cause cinematic means nothing
Battlefield - Its probably fine, though I'd prefer to just have a Planetside that didn't have pay-to-win stuff jammed up its ass because Free-to-play (or hell, a sequel to Command and Conquer Renegade which was proto-battlefield with cooler toys, since EA's dredged up that grave)
I dunno even wtf the last one is, but it looks like more of the same generic MMS stuff.
Also yo missed Prey Mooncrash(though thats forgivable, since they've bundled the essentially standalone game as DLC rather then by itself), Fallout76, Cyberpunk, Wolfenstein (presumably) and Starfield (probably anyways)
It's probably the best of the bunch, actually, if we don't count Cyberpunk 2077. I'm basing this mostly on the fact that I enjoyed the first Insurgency more than I enjoyed the predecessors to the other titles.
Despite being essentially a modern military shooter, first one is an absolute adrenaline rush and no other game feels like it. So it's really unique in that regard. I still play it from time to time. No hand-holding whatsoever really makes it stand out in today's multiplayer fps market. I really hope the second one does well. These games tend to live or die based on the player base during the first couple of months.
They seemed to have taken the art style feedback to heart in Halo Wars 2 and the trailer. And the their upcoming fix for MCC is heavily influenced by the community. So we'll have to see for what H6 brings.
Considering we already had a remake with the anniversary edition (or is that considered a remaster?) I hope not. Although the trailer kinda does give off a "going back to our roots" vibe especially with the Master Chief wearing the original Mark VI design from Halo 2 and 3.
Considering we already had a remake with the anniversary edition (or is that considered a remaster?) I hope not. Although the trailer kinda does give off a "going back to our roots" vibe especially with the Master Chief wearing the original Mark VI design from Halo 2 and 3.
Remasters typically only just improve performance, iron out bugs, upgrade resolution etc. Halo: CEA did all that....and then added in new features (Terminals, Achievements) added completely new models and textures and upgraded the game almost to be up to modern standards.
Halo Wars 2 has an excuse to use the old art style in that (as far as I understand) the Spirit of Fire is over 20 years removed from the H4-onwards time period. There's a reason for them to look the way they do. The stuff in Infinite? Less so.
Thing is, I actually prefer Bungie's art style, but I'm iffy about the art style change because:
a) It's jarring in-universe to suddenly return to the original appearance of stuff after all the advances in technology the UNSC has had.
b) It's creatively bankrupt - instead of trying to do their own thing, 343 is just trying to emulate Bungie.
I mean, I am interested in Halo Infinite, but make no mistake, it's trying to press the nostalgia button. And nostalgia is like sugar - tastes nice, feels nice, but it isn't good for you in the long run.
Halo Wars 2 has an excuse to use the old art style in that (as far as I understand) the Spirit of Fire is over 20 years removed from the H4-onwards time period. There's a reason for them to look the way they do. The stuff in Infinite? Less so.
Thing is, I actually prefer Bungie's art style, but I'm iffy about the art style change because:
a) It's jarring in-universe to suddenly return to the original appearance of stuff after all the advances in technology the UNSC has had.
b) It's creatively bankrupt - instead of trying to do their own thing, 343 is just trying to emulate Bungie.
I mean, I am interested in Halo Infinite, but make no mistake, it's trying to press the nostalgia button. And nostalgia is like sugar - tastes nice, feels nice, but it isn't good for you in the long run.
Halo Wars 2 doesn't just simply use the old art style, they improve upon it. I'm also not only talking about the spartan armors, I'm talking about the whole look including the entire covenant.
The armor from Halo 3 went from looking something like this
To this
Halo 2/Wars elite
Halo 4/5 elite
a) From being pretty simplistic to being in 600 different bits and pieces, way too noisy. 343i's change in art style is the jarring one, have you even seen the elites for an example? They went from being slender, agile and elegant to bruteish looking and super slow. How did elites entire anatomy change between Halo 3 and 4/5? Why does the arbiter still look the same in the Halo 2 anniversary when he's talking to Locke?
b) If they wanted to do their own thing maybe they should've made a new IP instead? You can't pick up a series like Halo and go ''Fuck all of this, lets drastically change the look and feel of everything''. The change they made was bad, I don't think I've ever seen a developer receive so much negative feedback about the change in art-style and that must be saying you SOMETHING.
It's not pressing the nostalgia button, it's actually staying truthful to the original art style like pretty much every successful video game series is doing.
a) From being pretty simplistic to being in 600 different bits and pieces, way too noisy. 343i's change in art style is the jarring one, have you even seen the elites for an example? They went from being slender, agile and elegant to bruteish looking and super slow. How did elites entire anatomy change between Halo 3 and 4/5? Why does the arbiter still look the same in the Halo 2 anniversary when he's talking to Locke?
Before you say anything, not quoting the pictures because they'd take up far too much room.
But obviously, yes, I have seen the sangheili. However, it never really bothered me too much - they're obviously the same species, and any changes in anatomy I could attribute to existing variances in sangheili biology (even under Bungie we saw that with the kig-yar). After all, variation exists in the human phenotype, but do we expect all aliens to look the same? While I prefer the look of the old sangheili, I'm not opposed to a new take on them.
b) If they wanted to do their own thing maybe they should've made a new IP instead?
That's hyperbole, but it touches on a subject that's far too wide-reaching to deal with in a single post here. All I can say is that visually, Halo is still recognizably Halo. Has a different art style to an extent, but that's the least of my gripes with 343. If I had to summarize those gripes, it would be:
1) Halo really didn't need a continuation post-Reach
2) The continuation we did get didn't feel like a natural one in the post-H3 context, and arguably even undermines previous lore (that's a whole bag of worms in of itself, so I won't go there)
3) Halo 4, garbage fire that it is aside, feels systemic of having a lack of confidence in one's ability to do something with an IP.
4) Halo 5 finally introduces something new to the series (thematically at least), but is blasted (for reasons I don't get, but given the next point, is academic)
5) Halo Infinite comes along, and every indication is that we've gone full on emulation, trying to capture the feeling of Combat Evolved.
343 isn't the only one guilty of this (looking at this thread, Doom is just as guilty for instance), but while I'm still interested in Halo Infinite, everything about it feels reactionary. A reversal in art style, as jarring as it is (least for the UNSC), is systemic of what appears to be a wider issue.
The change they made was bad, I don't think I've ever seen a developer receive so much negative feedback about the change in art-style and that must be saying you SOMETHING.
-Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
-Castlevania: Judgement
-Command & Conquer: Generals 2 (not really the art style per se, but more the 'cinematic style', so to speak)
-Command & Conquer: Tiberian Twilight
-Diablo III
-The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
-Metroid Prime: Federation Force
-Spyro the Dragon (if you count Skylanders as part of the Spyro moniker)
-StarCraft II
Whether the backlashes are bigger or smaller in these examples is debatable, but negative reactions about art style are common, whether justified or not (course, what counts as "jusified" is down to personal interpretation)
It's not pressing the nostalgia button, it's actually staying truthful to the original art style like pretty much every successful video game series is doing.
Right, because no series ever changed its art style and remained successful...
Except Ace Combat. And Castlevania. And Diablo. And Doom. And Defence of the Ancients. And Final Fantasy. And Legend of Zelda. And Prince of Persia. And Quake. And Team Fortress. And Warhammer Fantasy Battle. And Warhammer 40,000. And Xenoblade. And...well, you get the idea.
Changes in art style aren't make or break in the success of a series.
But back to your claim, of Halo Infinite not pressing the nostalgia button...
...it is. It really is. Not just in art style, but in premise. Everything about it is channeling Combat Evolved - we're on a Halo ring (again), and if we equate the trailer with gameplay/narrative, we can assume that John is spending a lot of time driving around the Halo picking up marines (like CE's early mission(s). Based on reported leaks, that:
Cortana is leading the Covenant (why?!), in an apparent attempt to minimize the presence of Prometheans and Guardians (which weren't in CE), along with the theory that John's new AI is called Durandal (another Marathon reference, because if Bungie referenced Marathon liberally, why shouldn't 343?)
it's clear that (assuming this is true), Infinite is really, really, REALLY trying to channel Combat Evolved, from its setting, to its art style, to its plot.
And look, I'm not saying the game won't be good. You can drench a product in nostalgia and still make it good. But let's be honest that nostalgia is what 343 is going for - a reversion in art style is part of that. Which, under the assumption that Halo will continue beyond Infinite (which it almost certainly will), it leaves me to ask what happens next when the main games up to this point have been a combination of one step forward, two steps back.
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