Microsoft started big with a Halo 5 Guardians trailer. Then straight into gameplay. Now this gameplay had great looks, and cinematic gameplay. A second trailer was switched to. Both trailers gave us story hints, as well as a look at the game overall. The game itself will feature drop-in drop-out co-op in its campaign, and something big comes in Warzones. Massive online campaigns where teams join up to face off against AI controlled enemies. The game is playable on the show floor.
From the makers of Metroid Prime comes recode, featuring a female protag and her robot dog. In the trailer, they come across a deactive robot and then have to defend themselves against spider-like bots. The dog realises they can't win and unleashes all its energy to gain victory. It is turned into a power orb, which the female places inside the deactive robot. The robot activates and has the memory of the dog. A simple enough trailer that introduces the characters without givng away too much.
Taking a break from games to announce backwards compatibilty with Xbox 360 games. The games are able to use Xbox One features, like screenshots and game sharing. It appears that some sort of reroll needs to be activated to play them though, since not all games will be available once it becomes available to use. Also shown off was a new controller, which has swappable buttons and sticks and offers more precise control with switch locks, which stop analogues from moving all the way.
Bethesda come to show off Fallout 4, which is the same footage from their conference. The main reason for coming on was to announce that PC mods are fully playable on the Xbox One version, as well as Fallout 3 being free with Fallout 4 on Xbox One. EA talk about EA Access, adding that Titanfall and Dragon Age: Inquisition will be in the Access Vault in the future. In celebration of it being E3, EA are unlocking the Vault to all Xbox Gold subscribers for this week. A new game announcement from them - Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2.
Forza Motorsport 6 only had a small showing, which was mainly showing off a new Ford GT as part of its 50th anniversary. The game also got a release date of September 15th. Bandai Namco and FromSoftware Inc. show off Dark Souls III, and Ubisoft show Tom Clancy's The Division. There will be an exclusive beta for the game in December, but before that will be a new Rainbow Six - Siege. Releasing October 13th, Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 will be free with it.
Windows 10 gets in on the action with Gigantic, a colourful Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game. With five on five battles, it has an August beta.
Indie showcase of games, with some given focus after the trailer. Tacoma is an exploration game set on a space station. The main character is asking questions to the on board artificial intelligence while exploring. Ashen is a simple styled, cel-shaded exploration game where the main character is a wonderer in search of a place to call home. The main character of Beyond Eyes is a blind 10 year old girl in search of a cat. Using sounds, you must guide the character around, due to not being able to see a great deal on screen. Cuphead is a run-and-gun game with a style of 1930's cartoons.
Microsoft is going Early Access with Game Preview, a system that works by allowing devs to put work in progress games onto the store and recieving feedback on how they can improve. New game Ion will be one of the first to use this system.
Rise of the Tomb Raider had gameplay shown off, and it is very cinematic. From huge leaps over gaps to scrabbling on an icy slope, it is very like Uncharted in its gameplay. The trailer that followed game a hint to the story, as well as a look at a place that wasn't full of ice and snow.
Rare are giving thirty of their games to one collection, including Conker's Bad Fur Day, Battletoads, and Viva Pinata. As well as this, they showed off their new game - Sea of Thieves. A pirate theme, the game itself is multiplayer based.
Another Windows 10 and Xbox One game - Fable Legends - is free to play and allows for one save across both versions, as well as playing with the other version in multiplayer.
Microsoft say about their partnership with Valve VR, and that it is very much compatible with Windows 10 and Xbox One controllers, then move on to talk about their own Virtual Reality headset.
HoloLens is more about creating worlds within a room than immersing you in the game. The game used to show this off was Minecraft, where the world was placed on a table, and the current stage guest was shown interacting with the world as someone else moved around it. It looked great, though I can't really say how beneficial it really would be.
Last off was Gears of War, and the first Gears game is getting a full rebuild in Gears of War Ultimate Edition. Launching August, the game has a multiplayer beta starting today. Gears 4 was also announced. The gameplay shown was atmospheric, what with it being set at night during a storm.
Overall, the conference was fun to watch, even if there was not a lot to interest me. While I am getting into first person shooters, I'm not one for buying many of the same genre all at once. In fact, all shooters I'm getting into more, but I'm still not going to mass buy them. The next one I'll probably buy is Star Wars Battlefront. Forza only got a small look, and that was something I wanted more on. There was a lot of things within the conference, but as per normal with Microsoft, it felt the focus was too much on the shooters.
