Destiny is sure to be a hit but it needs to be a blockbuster.
Don't go to E3 if you have a hangover. The biggest video gaming conference in the world is a cavalcade of bright lights and loud noises. Game demos play on cinema screens at deafening volumes.
Super cars, batmobiles, promo girls, waxwork figures, huge model monsters and tanks fill every inch of floor space not taken up by one of the estimated 48,000 attendees. It's overwhelming, seizure-inducing and a lot of fun.
The showy spectacle masks a nervousness creeping into the gaming world. Big companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are facing a battle to be the best at the traditional business of delivering profitable console games while staying at the forefront of an industry flooding with new ideas and technology.
Read more:
• Day 1: Highs and lows of a gamer's paradise
• Day 2: Monsters, cars and creeps at E3
• Day 3: Virtual reality motion sickness
In that spirit, here are my E3 awards, given out to the games and gear that stood out as exciting and innovative even with the neon shining and speakers blaring.
The Waterworld Trophy for most risky and expensive project
Winner: Destiny
Activision has gone all-in on Destiny. The bill for the space-shooter odyssey is at US$500 million. To put that figure in perspective, it could buy you 255 pandas, 250 houses in Herne Bay or fund every Wes Anderson feature film two-and-a-half times. It may be the most expensive game ever made.
Was the investment worth it? From the 20-minute demo I got to play at E3 I'm ready to say "probably". The action is beautifully rendered and a lot of fun, the co-operative gameplay is effective and the story, where you work to reclaim a ruined Earth from the "Fallen", is absorbing if a little familiar.
Questions remain over whether the game's three playable characters will captivate fans like Master Chief from game developer Bungie's original franchise Halo. Destiny is sure to be a hit but it needs to be a blockbuster.
The Lannister Trophy for best use of disembowelling and limb severing
Runner-up: Bloodborne (PS4)
It's messy being in Bloodborne. The latest game from Dark Souls creative genius Hidetaka Miyazaki is a gothic horror that he wants to possess a real "sense of peril". That means blood. Lots of blood. It spatters your coat, gets in your hair, sprays from torsos and severed limbs. The only way to shake it off is to keep waving your gnarly modified saw at more enemies.
Winner: Mortal Kombat X
A staggered fighter swayed on her feet as the sword came down. Two sides of her body fell in different directions as those classic words came up on screen: Fatality. Everyone erupted in cheers.
I went to the LA Museum of Death a few days after seeing the demo for Mortal Kombat X. I'm still not sure which of the experiences was more gruesome.
The Jeff Goldblum Award for supporting acts that stole the show
Runner-up: Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime (XBox)
The people behind this indie title are the Walter Whites of game design. I was addicted after just a few minutes rushing around the galaxy in a cartoon space station shooting bunnies free from alien captivity.
Winner: Shadow of Mordor
There's no lengthy elven council meetings or morose dwarf songs in this one. Shadow of Mordor plunges you straight into the action as a Viggo Mortensen look-alike charged with bringing down the gathering orc armies of Sauron. Its innovative "nemesis" gameplay system means enemies can remember you and hold grudges. You're also able to "dominate" your opponents and assemble your own orc army to take on the Dark Lord at his own game.
The Not Michael Bay, Dan Brown or Adam Sandler Trophy for best original concept
Winner: No Man's Sky
The tagline for E3 is "the future revealed". More often than not that just looks like a parade of rehashed past hits. No Man's Sky bucks the trend. It's a true original, with an "infinite" procedural universe for gamers to explore. Better yet, developer Hello Games is taking on the might of the major studios with a team of just 12 people.
The Beyond 2000 Cup for cutting edge technology
Winner: Project Morpheus (Playstation)
The future of gaming is coming. It looks like a virtual reality truck crashing into my virtual reality street luge. I sucked at the 3D gaming system Sony has dubbed Project Morpheus, crashing at both low and high speed on a virtual luge course before emerging dispirited to be told I had recorded the 113th best time at E3. I'd better improve quickly. Along with its rival Occulus Rift, Project Morpheus proves virtual reality gaming isn't going away.
A man tries out Playstation's Project Morpheus system at E3. Photo / AP
The Gilmore Girls Cup for co-operation
Joint winners: Fable: Legends (XBox One), Evolve
Evolve came out of nowhere to create huge buzz as a potential game of the year at E3. Fable: Legends is a prequel to the long-running XBox franchise. Despite their differences, the two games sport the same central gameplay feature: Four complimentary characters combining to take down a player-controlled enemy. Multi-player doesn't get much more fun.
The Not George Clooney Cup for not ruining Batman
Winner: Batman: Arkham Knight
"This isn't combat, it's surgery," screamed the man guiding us through the Arkham Knight demo as Batman took down a trio of opponents in quick succession. I wasn't quite as excited as him about the game, but that's not to say it doesn't look great, with its new on-call batmobile and improved verticality. I just haven't been as excited as he was in my life.
The Macaulay Culkin Award for creating quality family entertainment
Runners-up: SingStar (Sony), Disney Infinity
Good news Playstation owners. You can go back to having SingStar parties. Better yet, you don't need to buy a microphone for the game. Just download the SingStar app on your smartphone. Unfortunately this also means you can't tactfully keep the microphone away from certain people.
Meanwhile, Disney Infinity has added Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man and Hulk to its universe. The move is sure to be popular with Infinity's legion of young fans and less so with parents who will face constant demands for more superhero figurines.
Winner: Little Big Planet 3 (PS4)
Sackboy returns with an expanded cast of friends in the latest incarnation of Playstation's hit puzzle game. My favourite was Toggle, who can flick between a slow heavyweight and a tiny ball of knitting depending on whether you want power or manoeuvrability.
The Tom Cruise Cup for possessing timeless beauty
Runner-up: The Order - 1886 (PS4)
The Order - 1886 is the only game I've ever seen where the quality of the graphics doesn't change in transition between cut-scenes and gameplay. Ready at Dawn's debut action adventure shows the possibilities of next-gen graphics engines.
Winner: Ori and The Blind Forest (XBox One)
Game designer Thomas Mahler was concerned about the trailer for Ori and The Blind Forest. "I thought people would just think it's a pretty game, making you cry," he said. The art and design on this XBox-exclusive platformer is almost enough to make you weep. It looks like Spirited Away crossed with raw emotion. But Mahler shouldn't worry. The gameplay's great too.
The Betty White Award for best-preserved precious relic
Runner-up: Grand Theft Auto V
The blockbuster hit is being remastered for PS4, to the delight of nearly everyone.
Winner: The Master Chief Collection (XBox One)
This may be the best video game reissue ever. Every Master Chief title is assembled on one disc, complete with remastered multiplayer modes and the ability to switch seamlessly between next-gen and original graphics. Halo fans soiled themselves in excitement when this was announced at the Microsoft press conference last week.
The Murderous-Clown-Emerging-From-a-Drain-to-Stab-You Award for most terrifying experience
The Evil Within showcase at E3. Photo / AFP
Joint winners: The Evil Within, Alien: Isolation
I didn't get to play The Evil Within, but I've heard enough excited reports about the latest game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami to say it'll be blood-soaked and spine-tingling. Alien: Isolation accurately simulates the experience of surviving virtually unarmed on a small space station with a merciless, highly evolved Alien predator. I died at least 10 times in 20 minutes.
The Lars von Trier Award for a good creation spoiled by stupid comments
Winner: Assassins Creed: Unity
Assassins Creed might have had the most impressive demo of any at E3. Its setting in revolutionary Paris, co-operative multiplayer features and next-gen graphics made it looks like a big step forward for the franchise. Unfortunately technical director James Therien went on to make a terrible excuse for the game's lack of playable female characters. "A female character means that you have to redo a lot of animation, a lot of costumes. It would have doubled the work on those things," he said. A fellow designer estimated the changes would have taken two to three days.
- TimeOut
The Kiwi actor has been part of the Star Wars universe for more than 20 years.