Monday is the biggest day of E3 that isn’t actually happening during E3. But that doesn’t belittle the importance of the day, because we heard about all the latest and greatest stuff from Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony. Rather than do individual posts for every conference, this year I thought I would switch it up and just do a full day overview about all the stuff I saw today. Here are my highlights from Day Zero!
Halo 5: Guardians
Microsoft kicked off their press conference with a bang with a live co-op demo of Halo 5: Guardians. The demo showed a mission that followed Spartan Locke and his team (including the return of Nathan Fillion as now-Spartan Buck) tracking the Master Chief through a Covenant city, and it looked absolutely gorgeous. While very little was revealed about the story, the frenetic action was gripping and smooth thanks to the new engine built from the ground up for Xbox One. 343 Industries also announced a new multiplayer mode called Warzone, which pits teams not just against each other, but also against Covenant and Forerunner enemies, ensuring absolute chaos and tons of fun. I’m looking forward to hunting the truth, and my friends, when Halo 5: Guardians launches on October 27.
Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility
Fans have been consistently asking for this feature, and Microsoft is finally delivering it to Xbox One owners. Starting this holiday, Xbox 360 games will become available to download on Xbox One using the games you already own. Just insert the 360 disc of the game that is available for backwards compatibility, and you can redeem your copy of the game. You can even play games online with your friends who haven’t upgraded yet, all while using the social features built into Xbox One. While there are still a few questions to be answered about how this will all work, it’s very exciting to see this feature, and will surely help Microsoft move systems as players migrate to the new hardware.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
From the demo shown at Microsoft’s press conference, it looks like Crystal Dynamics went with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach with Lara Croft’s latest adventure. But that is definitely not a bad thing, as Rise of the Tomb Raider looks to live up to its predecessor, at least from this short demo. The demo featured Lara and Jonah traversing an icy and dangerous mountain, and as one might expect, Mother Nature (or something more unnatural) throws a damper in Lara’s plans. Crumbling cliffs and an avalanche force Lara to think on her feet, and whether or not she’s able to survive will be determined when the game launches on November 10, alongside Fallout 4.
Indie Games
Sony prides itself on being a champion of the indie game developer, but Microsoft made a case for themselves this morning. After a smash cut montage of indie games coming to Xbox One through the ID@Xbox program, four indie developers showed off four wonderful looking games: Fullbright’s Tacoma, Aurora44’s Ashen, tiger and squid’s Beyond Eyes, and Studio MDHR’s Cuphead. All of these games are coming first to Xbox One and Windows 10, and all of them are looking very good in very different ways.
Minecraft for Microsoft Hololens
In the most unbelievable tech demonstration of the day, Kinect pioneer Kudo Tsunoda introduced a version of Minecraft built for Microsoft new Hololens technology. It was cool enough that a game screen would appear in the lens and allow you to play the game with a controller like you would on a console or a PC. It was another thing entirely to see a Minecraft world appear on a table and allow the Hololens user to manipulate the world like a god. After the stunning demonstration, it’s hard not to be sold on the technology at the heart of it.
Mass Effect Andromeda
Still no gameplay footage, but a new trailer for the next game in my favorite series is enough to get me pumped, especially when it features the music of Johnny Cash. The trailer was produced in-engine, but didn’t show or tell too much about what to expect from the game. Regardless, I’m a huge Mass Effect fan and I can’t wait to get my hands on this game when Holiday 2016 rolls around.
Unravel
EA tends to show off the biggest and craziest ideas at their E3 press conferences. So when they decided to spend a good amount of time on a side-scrolling platformer about a little guy made of yarn called “Yarny,” I was confused, but intrigued. The idea behind Unravel is to make a game about things in life that connect us or separate us, and doing that through Yarny is an interesting idea. It looks to be an emotional experience akin to Microsoft Studios’ Ori and the Blind Forest, and I’m looking forward to playing it whenever it releases.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Another game I have been waiting for since 2008, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst made an appearance at this year’s E3. Much like Mass Effect Andromeda, however, we didn’t get to see any gameplay footage. Another in-engine trailer showed us a little bit more of the game, but left me wanting more. There was some good news to come from the trailer, though, as we learned that we will be able to start running again on February 23, 2016.
Star Wars Battlefront
When I was in high school, I used to frequent a place in my hometown called Impact Gaming Center, which was like an Internet café for PC gaming. While my sister and her friends got together to play World of Warcraft, I spent my hours on the FPS computer playing many games, including Star Wars Battlefront. Playing online against other people in a world that I loved so much growing up was something that resonated with me. So when EA announced that DICE, the Swedish team behind Battlefield, was going to revive the series, I was thrilled. The first trailer showed how amazing the game looks running on the Frostbite engine. But today, EA and DICE showed the fruits of their labor with the first gameplay footage, and it was jaw-dropping. The gameplay looks incredibly smooth, even with the multiple spectacles happening at once, and the variety of the gameplay – between the first- and third-person shooting, driving the X-Wing and AT-ATs, and controlling the “champion” characters – is something that is very true to the series and something that had me overjoyed. This proves that DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront is the real deal, and I can’t wait to play it for myself on November 17.
For Honor
Lots of times, Ubisoft will leave a new experience to cap off the show. Most notably, they did this at E3 2012 with Watch_Dogs. But this year, the French publisher decided to start the show with something fresh, and that was multiplayer action game For Honor. In a live 4v4 demo, Ubisoft showed off the intimate action in the midst of an epic battle where medieval warriors fought each other to the brutal, bloody death. It was short, but it looked pretty fascinating, at least enough to get me interested in signing up for the beta.
Rainbow Six: Siege
Rainbow Six: Siege looked excellent when it capped Ubisoft’s press conference last year at E3. This year was no different, and the game showed up with a couple of cool new announcements to boot. The first is the involvement of Academy Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, who takes on the role of 6, the leader of Rainbow Squad. It’s sort of an odd announcement considering that there seems to be no in-depth story from what has been shown, but I may be proven wrong in the coming months. The second announcement was the return of Terrohunt, and single player and cooperative mode which provides challenge missions for one to five players against A.I. opponents. It looks to deliver action and tension equal to the PvP multiplayer, and I’m looking forward to experiencing the full game when it launches on October 13.
The Last Guardian
First revealed at E3 2009, this final chapter in the Team Ico trilogy has become a legend in the video game industry. After suffering numerous delays and millions of rumors of cancellation, The Last Guardian finally made a return at Sony’s press conference. And what a return it made. Featuring a seven-minute demo of larger-than-life platforming, the game looks to be everything gamers have been hoping for. We’ll find out for sure when the game launches in 2016.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
After ten years with the acclaimed Killzone franchise, Dutch developers Guerrilla Games is tackling the third-person action genre with the spectacular-looking Horizon: Zero Dawn. After humanity is largely wiped out, the survivors form tribes to survive by hunting… animal-like machines. It sounds a little far-fetched, but seeing the game in action is another thing entirely. The action is fluid, the enemies are tough, and the spectacle is awe-inspiring. Whenever the game releases, I look forward to experiencing it for myself.
No Man’s Sky
I have been raving about this game since its reveal at Spike’s Video Game Awards in December 2013, and feel totally comfortable calling it one of the most ambitious games I have ever seen (the fact that four people are making it goes a long way for that statement). It made another appearance at Sony’s conference, and it dazzled me yet again. Complete with terrestrial exploration, dogfights, and big, scary robots, the guys at Hello Games reminded me that I will be with them day one, whenever that day comes.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Just when all hope seemed lost, and when it seemed as though Square Enix would simply troll its fans until the end of time, the Japanese publisher shocked us all with the announcement of a true Final Fantasy VII remake. Appearing “first” on PlayStation 4, it is a true overhaul of the beloved PSOne RPG, one that I missed out on back in the day. Whenever the game launches, I will be more than happy to jump into the conflict with the Shinra Corporation and see what all the fuss is about.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Over the years, Naughty Dog has established themselves as one of the premiere game developers in the business. Anyone who has read this blog over the past two years has more than likely heard me rave about The Last of Us, which is a strong contender for my favorite game of all time. So when I heard that the directors behind that marvelous game were taking the reigns on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, I was thrilled. Seeing the demo at Sony’s conference only validated that thrill for me. After a short technical hiccup, the demo showcased the great banter and epic action that the series is known for, as well as a sequence that put Nathan Drake at the wheel for the first time (which resulted in a clever quip from Sully). This looks to bring the series back to the heights of Uncharted 2 (another personal favorite), and I’m looking forward to the finished product when it releases in March 2016.
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Of course, these are just a small number of games that were shown off today, so I want to know: What caught your attention or got you excited for the future of games? Feel free to comment on this blog or on the Facebook page to share your thoughts!
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