E3: Microsoft 2017

Posted on 12 Jun 2017 by
Max Halcomb

I’m a huge gamer who looks forward to E3 every single year. I don’t know if it’s the aching for new games or the great potential the many announcements bring for toilet reading… whatever it is, I just can’t get enough of it. And today in the world of gaming we had Microsoft’s conference confirming a couple of leaks, as well as bringing with it a few surprises, so lets dig in!

Life is Strange: Before The Storm

So the rumors about a prequel to the sleeper hit Life is Strange were true. Taking place before the events of the main game, this should bring us some backstory to the events referenced in dialogue during the first one. This seems to be a limited run compared to the original as Life is Strange: Before The Storm is only 3 episodes. With the original being developed by DONTNOD Entertainment, this prequel is being developed by Deck Nine Games instead, so it will be interesting to see how a new studio handles an already established property that’s well beloved by its fans (fingers crossed for new bad-ass time powers?!). Episode 1 of 3 will be available August 31st.

Metro Exodus

Another rumor confirmed, a new entry in 4A Games fantastic Metro franchise (based on Dmitry Glukhovsky‘s novel of the same name). This one seems to have a much larger budget with the polishing of animations and interactions with the environment. Huge maps are shown revealing that a dynamic weather system is in place. This will be a great change from the previous titles in the series that took place in damp sewers and linear outside environments, albeit, very gorgeously crafted environments. So strap on your gas masks for another adventure in the Russian wasteland, scheduled for release sometime in 2018.

State of Decay 2

Here is one that I’ve personally been looking forward to for a while, the sequel to the 2013 zombie sandbox title State of Decay, by Undead Labs. This trailer starts off with a Matthew McConaughey sound alike narrating while we get various shots of wicked looking zombies. In what appears to be the inclusion of various “special” zombies, like a tank-ish variant, also with the addition of Co-Op, a highly requested feature that the original game lacked, this should make the zombie slayin’ way more fun with your buddies. Can’t wait to bust some zombie heads with the door of a moving car sometime in the Spring of 2018.

Crackdown 3

This here is the third entry in the formerly Xbox exclusive superhero sandbox franchise, Crackdown. You play as an agent in….the Agency, basically you are a superhero taking out crime in the city in a plethora of deliciously constructive ways. The trailer starts out with Terry Crews (a newly christened brother of the PC Master Race) taking about… well, blowing shit up essentially, then we see some gameplay showing just that, glorious destruction. This seems to be putting heavy emphasis on Co-Op gameplay, similarly to the second title in the franchise. If you like blowing shit up, this will be your cup of tea, which you’ll be able to take a sip on this November 7th.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Here’s one for a nice surprise, the sequel to the wonderful Ori and the Blind Forest. The trailer shows off beautifully painted visuals and gives off a very Disney-esqe vibe. We even get some shots of burned and barren environments not unlike those you would see from The Lion King. At the end of the trailer we see a very sad looking purple owl looking off into the distance with the protagonist, Ori, leaning up next to him, both looking at the ruins of something once beautiful.

Sea of Thieves

Something refreshing, a brand new IP, and a neat looking one at that. The trailer depicting a multiplayer first person pirate simulator, instantly reminded me of Blackwake mixed with the art style and charm of Fable. We see the players diving into the ocean and recovering some sunken treasure, and from the trailer it seems there will be similar gameplay to Blackwake, that being functioning as a team to control the ship and fire cannons. It also shows battles with the undead and getting eaten by big ass sharks (cue the theme from Jaws). If you’ve ever wanted a multiplayer version of Pirates of the Caribbean, this seems to be just that. So far its an Xbox exclusive with no word on if it will come to PC later on, here’s hoping it does.

Forza Motorsport 7

And here we are greeted to the latest entry in Microsoft’s flagship racing franchise with Forza Motorsport 7. The trailer shows a variety of jaw dropping locations with dynamic weather conditions to race in. The examples in the trailer instantly reminded me of the immensly gorgeous Project CARS series, even to the point of wondering if they are doing it on purpose. If the game controls anything like it looks, then adrenaline junkie gear-heads will be in store for a real treat when Forza 7 drives off the showcase lot this October 3rd.

Assassin’s Creed: Origins

This is probably my most anticipated title of the year, the newest entry to the long running critically acclaimed Assassin’s Creed franchise after a year long absence. This time Ubisoft is going back, wayyyyyyy back, to ancient Egypt in order to show us the birth of the Brotherhood of Assassins. The trailer showcases a new hero with new weapons, such as a bow and arrow, Khopesh (curved sword) and spear. Apparently in Ancient Egypt they had the ability to slow down time when aiming with the bow and the ability to possess an Eagle… and mark targets. With this new setting and seemingly huge open world, this should be a nice way to hopefully take the ass out of AssCreed.

Anthem

So this is what Bioware has been up to for the last little while, a brand new game titled Anthem, which is essentially the Mass Effect sequel we always wanted. The trailer starts off showing a very ‘Diamond City looking… well city. Then we have a classic example of “player talk” emphasizing multiplayer interaction using dialogue that no gamer would EVER use. We see the player get into a sweet Mech suit, and then it basically turns into Titanfall 2 meets Mass Effect… with some “Iron Man flying” thrown in there for good measure. If this can deliver what Mass Effect: Andromeda failed to do, we could be looking at a real doozy of a game here.

Tacoma

Here is the upcoming game from Fullbright, the makers of Gone Home. This sci-fi adventure is set on a space station with the player documenting the activities and fate of the crew. In a similar fashion to Scanner Sombre, we get to find out what exactly happened by exploring the space station inch by inch. Something a little different, Tacoma could be something interesting that gamer’s might want to watch out for, set to launch this August 2nd.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

And here we have some more exciting gameplay from the sequel to the sleeper hit, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Suit up as Talion again, and get ready to make some enemies (and friends) with Orcs through the Nemesis system. Build up an incredible army and then take down other ferocious Orcs that are in power one by one, and take part in massive battles that are absolutely jaw dropping in scale. Get ready to use your wraith abilities to shoot light arrows into Orc after Orc and fight the Dark Lord himself… Sauron, along with his Nazgûl minions until there stands only one victor. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is set to release this October 10th.

Code Vein

This one comes in looking pretty bad-ass in my opinion. Here we have a new IP from Bandai Namco that, judging by the trailer, seems to be a “Souls” like third person action title. The trailer showed some gorgeous environments and an awesome combat system, and with the Dark Souls series over, its no surprise that Bandai Namco has a similar title to fill that void.

Super Lucky’s Tale

With the resurgence of old school platformers as of late, with games such as Unbox and Yooka Layle, comes another solid looking entry to the genre. Super Lucky’s Tale is a stunning third person platformer that reminds me of Conker’s Bad Fur Day minus the adult humor… and Conker, that will be available this upcoming November. The trailer shows players jumping through colorful environments and really shows off the beautiful colorful art style. Very interested in seeing more on this charming little title.

Cuphead

Another really unique looking platformer with a silly little name, Cuphead, which should set itself apart from the many others in that genre. As shown in the trailer, this game boasts a very Steamboat Willie like art style. Everything about the game looks wonderful and it has a very charming hand drawn look that is rarely seen nowadays. We’ll be able to get our sweaty palms on Cuphead this September 29th.

Dragon Ball Fighters Z

This is a great one for all of you fighter and anime fans out there. Another new fighting game featuring the characters from Akira Toriyama’s world famous Dragon Ball Z anime. The game boasts the hand drawn visuals the series is famously known for and looks to be an extremely faithful addition to the booming franchises many, many, many game adaptations.

Final Thoughts

So this year’s Microsoft conference has made it clear that they want to unite Console and PC gamer’s under the title of XBOX, which is really great for them to be showing an interest in PC gaming finally (more so then what we’ve been used to in previous years). One thing that needs to be noted is that on all of these PC included titles, which are listed as “XBOX Play Anywhere“, and in previous cases, Windows 10 implies that it will be sold on the Windows Store exclusively, as opposed to being available on Steam or Origin. Only time will tell, but regardless of its digital distribution platform, Microsoft is starting to show PC gamer’s some much appreciated love, and I for one applaud them for it. 

And with the new variant of the Xbox One, Microsoft’s Marketing Department really outdid themselves on the name here… Xbox One X… with claims of delivering “true 4K gaming”, hopefully we will see games get much better PC ports and surpass the console hardware limitations that have been holding developers back for many years. The world of gaming in 2018 is sure to be an interesting year, so stay tuned later today for our coverage on the PC Gaming Show, and then with the Ubisoft conference happening soon after. 

Comments (1)


Posts: 349
L Coulsen
Posted 12 Jun 2017, 14:17
More Metro? That's good enough for me. Now just gotta' wait for that 2035 translation. Get on that dick Bromfield