The 2014 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo kicked off today with the Microsoft press conference that happened live in Los Angeles. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, started the presentation off by saying that they were going to dedicate the entire briefing to games and they did not disappoint, as we were treated to game presentations for almost the entire 90 minute show.
Here’s what we took away from the Microsoft E3 Press Conference:
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare: Fans of the franchise or shooters in general should definitely check this one out. They’ve given this iteration of Call of Duty more fluid movement and the implementation of realistic A.I. showed off the XBOX One’s capabilities right away. The demo briefly shown at the conference featured a downed helicopter and was rather impressive, as Advanced Warfare looks like it’s going to live up to its name. The presentation also showed off swarm of locust-like robot enemies, mech-suits and also showcased the player’s ability to see how much ammo is in your clip though your gun, x-ray style now.
Forza: Horizon 2: Up next was Forza: Horizon 2 and by the looks of the demo, the newest entry into the Xbox racing simulator series will, as always, feature the most ultra-realistic graphics available on the current hardware. Other features fans can look forward to are a full day/night cycle, dynamic weather patterns and open-world freedom. With dedicated servers, players get instantly join a race- there are no lobbies and no waiting this time. Expect Forza: Horizon 2 to be available on September 30.
Evolve: From the creators of Left for Dead comes Evolve which is debuting with the Beta and DLC first on Xbox. At first the demo seemed like your normal team-based combat gam with a group of players from various classes, but there were a few surprises. The demo shows characters moving fast through a large cave, hunting some kind of monster but the big reveal on Evolve was that you can play as the huge monster that the team is hunting, pretty cool.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity: Ubisoft showed off Assassin’s Creed: Unity during the Microsoft press conference. This entry into the series takes place of the eve of the French revolution in 1789 and having playing the previous AC games, I immediately notice the smoothness where the main character scales walls or moves across rooftops. The crowds of NPCs also seemed much more dynamic than in previous versions. A new feature that was revealed for Assassin’s Creed: Unity is the ability to form your own brotherhood with three other people so that you can play as a team together on XBOX live.
Sunset Overdrive: The next game was very different from everything we’d seen so far and looked like a lot of fun for horror fans. A rather zany premise, the world of Sunset Overdrive features mutants who have been turned due to contaminated energy drinks and you’re given crazy weapons, destructive environments and snarky narration while dealing with killing them off. The demo showed off the game’s highly-stylized animations as the main character was tasked with taking out a team of mutants with various melee weapons.
Dead Rising 3 DLC: During the Microsoft Press Conference, Dead Rising 3 revealed some DLC content for fans that includes an arcade adventure mode where players can cosplay as Capcom characters in celebration of Capcom’s 31st anniversary. The Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha is coming soon in addition to the DLC that was content revealed.
HALO: Now on to the big one, all things HALO. After a crazy epic cinematic showing Master Chief parachuting from space, Bonnie Ross from 343 Industries introduces Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Leading up to Halo 5: Guardians, this game is meant to introduce new players to the Halo world and bring fans back to Halo in all its re-mastered glory. For the first time ever, the first four Halo games will be made available with all campaign levels unlocked and accessible from a master interface, also available on a single disc. It will have every multiplayer map from Halo 1-4, working out to 100 maps total on dedicated servers.
All games are being remastered in 1080p, running at 60fps and oh yeah, it also includes a 4000 gamer score! Also being included in the collection is the Ridley Scott produced live-action series Halo: Nightfall as well as the ability to access the Halo 5: Guardians beta in December 2014. Halo: The Master Chief Collection hits stores on November 11, 2014.
Rise of the Tomb Raider: Lara Croft is back for more adventures in Rise of the Tomb Raider which world premiered during the Microsoft presentation. It seems that the game provides rich flashbacks to past events from Lara’s life and apparently everyone’s favorite heroine is dealing with some trauma as well. Game looks much darker than previous entries.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: From the presentation, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt seems to be a game that fantasy fans out there should keep an eye out for. The 3rd person RPG features environments that seem Skyrim-esque and almost cinematic in nature. The Witchers are characters that are trained from birth to hunt monsters so expect that to be a lot of the focus of the game once its released. The world looks vast and immersive though, so players should get a lot of game play out of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Other notable titles announced during the Microsoft Press Conference included Inside, Phantom Dust, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Scalebound (Xbox One exclusive), Crackdown and a few fantasy-based titles as well including Dragon Age: Inquisition,Fable Legends, Project Spark and Ori and the Blind Forest.
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