Warner Bros Booth Tour at E3 2018
Warner Bros did not disappoint at E3 2018! I didn’t realize it until my booth tour was over with WB, but villainy was definitely the theme. I only played two titles, but I was a Hitman in one and a DC villain aiding the Joker in a prison escape in the others. I am now realizing how infrequently play villains, and I have say, I loved it. Another delightful surprise, both of these games will release before the end of the year, so players will get a chance to try on the feeling of being wicked in not too long.
LEGO DC Super Villains
Character creation was inspiring, as you get to choose not only your appearance, but also weapons, special abilities and animations! Honestly, this took 10 minutes of my 15 minute time slot. I had to get into a role playing mindset for a minute to come up with a coherent villain. This helped with the many decisions as I customized my very own super-villain. Should I be armed with a broom or a vaporizer? So I have scars? A beard? Hair? I chose a masked villain with a vaporizer and super speed….this time.
The game starts with, of course, a prison break. We get to break out of prison with the Joker. As the game progresses you learn that you can switch between players, so you get to switch from your villain to the Joker to complete some tasks. There are a couple of things that took me longer to discover, as I played the demo on PS4. Luckily, there was a WB coach standing nearby to tell me when I was missing the obvious. One nice additional feature is the ability to ask for tips and if you don’t ask for a tip, but keep missing the objective, the tip will appear on the screen.
This gameplay was enjoyable and I look forward to having a longer time to play it. I also think it will be good to play as a family game. Luckily, for this title, we don’t have long to wait. Lego DC Super-Villains will release October 16, 2018 on the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, XBox One and PC.
Hitman 2
I’ve never played Hitman before, but luckily they had a WB demo concierge sitting next to me, walking me through the gameplay. There are many ways to complete each mission, and the player gets to choose their approach. My WB demo concierge assured me that in the actual gameplay at home players get clues and tips from the integrated guides comments as well as from listening to conversations happening in the crowd. This mission in the demo is to assassinate a woman who will be driving at a racing event. While you have open choices to navigate the environment and you have the option to attempt to “subdue” pretty much everyone, the goal is to be discrete and not get arrested or even be noticed. Remember, you are a hitman!
Full disclosure, I first tried to sabotage the car, but could not get what I needed to get in the garage. While I think I could have done it with a little more time and effort, I switched my approach to the assassination. Time was of the essence. So, with the guidance of my expert Hitman 2 demo concierge, I was able to find disguises, hide bodies, create diversions, and ultimately execute an assassination by sniping the racecar as our target drove past on the racetrack. The display of the car flipping and exploding, followed by the confirmation that the mission was a success was definitely exhilarating.
For the short time I got to play it, this game was generally satisfying. I’m not convinced I would enjoy gameplay as much without the tutelage of a trained WB demo person, but I think it’s worth a try. The element of planning an assassination and then executing it are equally satisfying as the well designed levels and interaction with NPCs. Hitman 2 will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 13, 2018.
There was other things be shown off at the booth, but these are the two titles I had the opportunity to go hands on with! More great Warner Bros titles are on the way, so stay tuned to GamesReviews for those reviews and news items!