E3 2013 saw its fair share of flashy first-person shooters, such as Titanfall and Call of Duty: Ghosts, but it took a whole lot more to impress us here at Just Push Start. We scoured the convention for FPS games sporting innovation, engaging combat and personality. There could only be one winner, and it was a tough fight, but after weighing each one we were able to rank the top three most promising shooters.
WINNER: Destiny
Bungie has left Halo behind and has moved on to a new IP, one that somewhat resembles their iconic franchise of days past but amplifies the scale. Destiny, as it’s called, is an ambitious FPS MMO that places players in the exquisite armor of a Guardian, defenders of the human race. This online world is filled with other player squads roaming the vast, open world taking on extraterrestrial lifeforms, hunting for loot (with a heavy focus on insane weaponry) and much more on their quest to save humanity. The recognizable Halo-style gameplay is all there with new tweaks and it looks exhilarating to jump through the air in a gravity-defying manner and use the Warlock class to unleash space-wizardy upon enemies with flashy “spells”. So far, we’ve seen the Warlock, Titan and Hunter classes in action, and all of them seem like a great deal of fun. Destiny is destined to be the next big development for the FPS genre, and this is why it wins our award for “Best FPS of E3 2013”.
RUNNER-UP: PayDay 2
OVERKILL let us pull off high-stake heists with our buddies back in 2011 with PayDay: The Heist. Now the team is back and is ready to show the concept’s evolution with PayDay 2. PayDay 2 builds off of everything that was great in the first entry and makes it better. Shooting is tighter, enemies aren’t bullet sponges, AI is more creative, customization has been amped up and the RPG elements are rooted deeper in the game’s core. Sure, the game has doubled its predecessor’s price and even sprung for a physical release, but the newfound quality reflects the higher price point. OVERKILL listened carefully to the community and is developing, from what I could tell during my playtime, one of the most rewarding and exciting FPS titles out there. Whether you’re looking to instill the fear of God into helpless civilians with custom-crafted masks or are waiting on a game that truly puts your inner strategist to the test, PayDay 2 has you covered. Given that it has improved in every way possible over the initial installment, PayDay 2 ends up as a solid runner-up in the “Best FPS of 2013” category.
HONORABLE MENTION: Battlefield 4
DICE’s latest Battlefield title deserves a mention, despite falling short of one of the first two spots. Battlefield 4 sees a return of the destruction we’ve all come to know and love from the series thanks to Frostbite 3. The best part? It’s taking it to a whole new level. If you’ve seen the E3 gameplay video, you know what I’m talking about. For those that haven’t, let me tell you what you’re missing: a massive skyscraper comes crashing down. The building is so tall, in fact, that players need to take a semi-lengthy elevator ride to the top to reach a control point. Safety doesn’t exist at this point, however, as enemies can reduce the whole thing to rubble. We saw soldiers base jumping off of the collapsing structure and were left speechless. DICE showed off class and squad tweaks as well as detailed their plans for “dynamic destruction” and other player-impacted changes to the battlefield. Furthermore, the push for 64 players on next-gen consoles (nothing to see here for PC players) has us eager to see more of this popular, competitive FPS in action later this year. Battlefield 4‘s gradual shift back toward its roots earns it an honorable mention on our “Best FPS of E3 2013” list.
So, there you have it. There are the top picks from yours truly. Comment below and let us know what your E3 FPS list looks like.
