E3 2016 Conference Wrap Up
E3 2016 has wrapped up. Many games were shown off, new hardware displayed, and there were a few surprise announcements. But how good were the conferences? Were they filled with cool moments or did they just fall flat? I've finally had some time to collect my overall thoughts over both the Microsoft and Sony press conferences.
Microsoft Conference
With the Xbox One being out for three years now the conference was all about the games. Once again, Microsoft delivered on showing games and it was one right after the other. While many games were ones that were previously announced and expected to be shown (Gears of War 4, ReCore, Scalebound, Final Fantast XV, etc.), there were some surprise announcements. I was a little surprised that while a new trailer for ReCore was shown, there was no true stage demo shown at the conference. I'm definitely interested, but I was left wishing they showed more. We Happy Few looks completely creepy and awesome at the same time. Even better, it's going to be available as part of the Xbox One's Preview Program starting July 26.
It was great to see both Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2 being shown on the zombie sides of things. The trailers that were shown were entertaining and both seems to show that the latest games in both franchises still be sticking with what they are good for. State of Decay 2 will shine in regards to the survivability front, while Dead Rising 4 is clearly going to have crazy weapons and massive hordes of zombies to plow through. While it was rumored, the announcement of Forza Horizon 3 was great. I'm not a big racing game fan, but the perfect mix of simulation and open world arcade style of the Forza Horizon games has me really interested in the new game. Plus is just looks fantastic!
Of the already known games, the trailer for Gears of War 4 looked really good and super action packed. Personally, my favorite announcement about the game was that horde mode is returning. Final Fantasy XV definitely looked impressive and the boss battle gave me a Shadow of the Colossus feeling. Scalebound is a game I've been interested in since it was first announced last year, and the demo shown looked promising. There's co-op play which is always good, and the large scale boss battles with thumping music from the protagonist's headphones give this game a total Dragon's Dogma and Devil May Cry vibe. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be releasing until possibly in February 2017. Rare's new game Sea of Thieves was shown a little more in detail with a trailer showing what appeared like YouTube personalities playing the game with one another. While there are still many questions about the game, it does look like it'll be fun to set sails on pirate ships, attack other ships with cannon blasts, and hunt for treasure with friends.
One the hardware side, Microsoft did reveal the new Xbox One S (slim) console which while the smaller size and 4K support is nice, I'm not interested in it. What I am interested in is the Scorpio. Microsoft waited until the end of the show to finally unveil the latest update in the Xbox console family. While not a ton of in depth detail was given about the components of Scorpio, it's clear it'll be a powerhouse of a console and is going to release holiday 2017. Start saving people! While there was no talk of Hololens, Microsoft did make a comment about the Scorpio featuring full VR support, which makes me think they are partnering up with a third party. Perhaps Oculus? Something else very cool was the announcement of the cross play and Play Anywhere feature. All Xbox One games will be compatible with Windows 10 devices. Even cooler, you only have to buy one copy of an Xbox One game and you'll have the Windows 10 version included, and both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC players can play together.
Overall I felt that Microsoft had a solid conference. I was hoping to see gameplay of Crackdown 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is saving that for Gamescom. While there weren't many completely "mind blowing" moments, the games shown looked great and fun, the Scorpio sounds very cool, and the cross play of Xbox One and Windows 10 games is definitely a strong feature. Good job Microsoft.
Final Grade: A-
Sony Conference
When Sony first started their conference with the orchestra I was thinking it was kind of cool. Then it kept going and I quickly started thinking, "Okay, let's get on with the games." Thankfully it wasn't long until they busted out the first game of the show and it was the new God of War. The new Norse take on the series is certainly different, and the gameplay seems to be a little more open world and slower paced at times. Thankfully the demo still showed some intense action and the God of War gore fans have come to expect. So far the game is shaping up very nicely. Hideo Kojima walked out on stage and proudly announced his new company's game Dead Stranding. The trailer shows the main character (Norman Reedus) on a strange, deserted beach filled with dead fish, crabs, and five ominous figures floating above the ocean in the distance. To say this trailer was strange, mysterious, and left you with a few questions would be putting it lightly.
Of course there had to be a zombie game thrown into the mix and this time it was a brand new IP called Days Gone. At first glance it's easy to pass it off as a clone of The Last of Us and you wouldn't be wrong in doing so. However, seeing the massive amounts of zombies on screen climbing over obstacles and rushing at your character definitely made for some intense moments. While I was hoping to see more actual gameplay of The Last Guardian, it was still great to see a new trailer and finally get an official release date of October 25. Let's hope they stick to that date! A new longer demo of Horizon: Zero Dawn was shown and I'm really liking the whole primitive meets technology vibe the game is going for. It's cool to see these open worlds filled with lush fields, trees, mountains, and then see these robotic animals roaming around and attacking you. It's easy to get a Tomb Raider and/or Uncharted feeling from this game.
Another very interesting trailer that was shown was for the game Detroit: Become Human. From the trailer the game seems to allow players to make different choices that will drastically change the story of the game. Kind of like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel. While story changing decisions isn't anything new to games, Detroit: Become Human seems like it may take that a step further. Unfortunately there was only the cinematic trailer shown and no actual gameplay. One trailer that really got my hyped and my jaw dropping was the trailer for Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. What really shocked me was the presentation of the game. Instead of being the traditional third person view, the game is set totally in first person and looks and feels like a straight up horror game. The developers have said the game will support the PSVR, and that the demo shown isn't representation of the full game. It's speculated the game will release in January 2017, but I'll be following the development of this game closely regardless.
Obviously people knew Sony was going to talk about VR. But I was a little shocked and disapointed that Sony did not go into a ton of strong stage demos showing off the PSVR in action. They did show some games that will be supporting and integrating the PSVR such as Final Fantasy XV, Star Wars, and a new Batman game. Sony did confirm again that the PSVR will be releasing on October 13 for $399 and that already 50 games will be supporting it. While I'm sure Sony will be showing more games and demos of the PSVR at Gamescom in August, I think they definitely needed to show more true experiences with the PSVR to show it's potential to developers and the gaming public.
In the end I felt like Sony had a solid conference. As mentioned before, I would have liked to have seen more actual demos of games using the PSVR on stage, but I'm sure that will come before the October release. I was very impressed with the Resident Evil 7 trailer and while the zombie scene is over saturated in the market, seeing the massive horde of zombies in Days Gone still has me excited for it. Finally, I can't wait to dive into the undoubtedly touching story of The Last Guardian, along with God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and more.
Final Grade: A
So there you have it. Another E3 has come and gone. At least we have new games to look forward to this year and next year, as well as anticipating what the next E3 will bring. What did you think of the big E3 press conferences and what were some of your favorite games shown?
Written By: Alter Ego 83
Microsoft Conference
With the Xbox One being out for three years now the conference was all about the games. Once again, Microsoft delivered on showing games and it was one right after the other. While many games were ones that were previously announced and expected to be shown (Gears of War 4, ReCore, Scalebound, Final Fantast XV, etc.), there were some surprise announcements. I was a little surprised that while a new trailer for ReCore was shown, there was no true stage demo shown at the conference. I'm definitely interested, but I was left wishing they showed more. We Happy Few looks completely creepy and awesome at the same time. Even better, it's going to be available as part of the Xbox One's Preview Program starting July 26.
It was great to see both Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2 being shown on the zombie sides of things. The trailers that were shown were entertaining and both seems to show that the latest games in both franchises still be sticking with what they are good for. State of Decay 2 will shine in regards to the survivability front, while Dead Rising 4 is clearly going to have crazy weapons and massive hordes of zombies to plow through. While it was rumored, the announcement of Forza Horizon 3 was great. I'm not a big racing game fan, but the perfect mix of simulation and open world arcade style of the Forza Horizon games has me really interested in the new game. Plus is just looks fantastic!
Of the already known games, the trailer for Gears of War 4 looked really good and super action packed. Personally, my favorite announcement about the game was that horde mode is returning. Final Fantasy XV definitely looked impressive and the boss battle gave me a Shadow of the Colossus feeling. Scalebound is a game I've been interested in since it was first announced last year, and the demo shown looked promising. There's co-op play which is always good, and the large scale boss battles with thumping music from the protagonist's headphones give this game a total Dragon's Dogma and Devil May Cry vibe. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be releasing until possibly in February 2017. Rare's new game Sea of Thieves was shown a little more in detail with a trailer showing what appeared like YouTube personalities playing the game with one another. While there are still many questions about the game, it does look like it'll be fun to set sails on pirate ships, attack other ships with cannon blasts, and hunt for treasure with friends.
One the hardware side, Microsoft did reveal the new Xbox One S (slim) console which while the smaller size and 4K support is nice, I'm not interested in it. What I am interested in is the Scorpio. Microsoft waited until the end of the show to finally unveil the latest update in the Xbox console family. While not a ton of in depth detail was given about the components of Scorpio, it's clear it'll be a powerhouse of a console and is going to release holiday 2017. Start saving people! While there was no talk of Hololens, Microsoft did make a comment about the Scorpio featuring full VR support, which makes me think they are partnering up with a third party. Perhaps Oculus? Something else very cool was the announcement of the cross play and Play Anywhere feature. All Xbox One games will be compatible with Windows 10 devices. Even cooler, you only have to buy one copy of an Xbox One game and you'll have the Windows 10 version included, and both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC players can play together.
Overall I felt that Microsoft had a solid conference. I was hoping to see gameplay of Crackdown 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is saving that for Gamescom. While there weren't many completely "mind blowing" moments, the games shown looked great and fun, the Scorpio sounds very cool, and the cross play of Xbox One and Windows 10 games is definitely a strong feature. Good job Microsoft.
Final Grade: A-
Sony Conference
When Sony first started their conference with the orchestra I was thinking it was kind of cool. Then it kept going and I quickly started thinking, "Okay, let's get on with the games." Thankfully it wasn't long until they busted out the first game of the show and it was the new God of War. The new Norse take on the series is certainly different, and the gameplay seems to be a little more open world and slower paced at times. Thankfully the demo still showed some intense action and the God of War gore fans have come to expect. So far the game is shaping up very nicely. Hideo Kojima walked out on stage and proudly announced his new company's game Dead Stranding. The trailer shows the main character (Norman Reedus) on a strange, deserted beach filled with dead fish, crabs, and five ominous figures floating above the ocean in the distance. To say this trailer was strange, mysterious, and left you with a few questions would be putting it lightly.
Of course there had to be a zombie game thrown into the mix and this time it was a brand new IP called Days Gone. At first glance it's easy to pass it off as a clone of The Last of Us and you wouldn't be wrong in doing so. However, seeing the massive amounts of zombies on screen climbing over obstacles and rushing at your character definitely made for some intense moments. While I was hoping to see more actual gameplay of The Last Guardian, it was still great to see a new trailer and finally get an official release date of October 25. Let's hope they stick to that date! A new longer demo of Horizon: Zero Dawn was shown and I'm really liking the whole primitive meets technology vibe the game is going for. It's cool to see these open worlds filled with lush fields, trees, mountains, and then see these robotic animals roaming around and attacking you. It's easy to get a Tomb Raider and/or Uncharted feeling from this game.
Another very interesting trailer that was shown was for the game Detroit: Become Human. From the trailer the game seems to allow players to make different choices that will drastically change the story of the game. Kind of like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel. While story changing decisions isn't anything new to games, Detroit: Become Human seems like it may take that a step further. Unfortunately there was only the cinematic trailer shown and no actual gameplay. One trailer that really got my hyped and my jaw dropping was the trailer for Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. What really shocked me was the presentation of the game. Instead of being the traditional third person view, the game is set totally in first person and looks and feels like a straight up horror game. The developers have said the game will support the PSVR, and that the demo shown isn't representation of the full game. It's speculated the game will release in January 2017, but I'll be following the development of this game closely regardless.
Obviously people knew Sony was going to talk about VR. But I was a little shocked and disapointed that Sony did not go into a ton of strong stage demos showing off the PSVR in action. They did show some games that will be supporting and integrating the PSVR such as Final Fantasy XV, Star Wars, and a new Batman game. Sony did confirm again that the PSVR will be releasing on October 13 for $399 and that already 50 games will be supporting it. While I'm sure Sony will be showing more games and demos of the PSVR at Gamescom in August, I think they definitely needed to show more true experiences with the PSVR to show it's potential to developers and the gaming public.
In the end I felt like Sony had a solid conference. As mentioned before, I would have liked to have seen more actual demos of games using the PSVR on stage, but I'm sure that will come before the October release. I was very impressed with the Resident Evil 7 trailer and while the zombie scene is over saturated in the market, seeing the massive horde of zombies in Days Gone still has me excited for it. Finally, I can't wait to dive into the undoubtedly touching story of The Last Guardian, along with God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and more.
Final Grade: A
So there you have it. Another E3 has come and gone. At least we have new games to look forward to this year and next year, as well as anticipating what the next E3 will bring. What did you think of the big E3 press conferences and what were some of your favorite games shown?
Written By: Alter Ego 83
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