And so, no matter what you might think of the Xbox One. No matter what DRM issues we have it. No matter what policies are corrupt with it, after that conference the one thing we know it will do is sell. The first thing the conference kicked off with was Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the Konami game that was shown on the sixth. This was a larger trailer than the one saw on the sixth though, and was the perfect way to start the conference. Confirming it for Xbox One.
Next up was the things for the Xbox 360. Microsoft aren’t giving up support for it, and now it seems, it wants to copy PS+. Why? Two free games per month is why. But that’s all that was confirmed for it, as well as the new model of 360 – featuring the exact same pricing model and is supposed to be slimmer than the elite. Those two games are Assassins Creed 2 and Halo 3, coming July to Gold members. Hundreds of games are said to still be coming to the 360, and three of those games were shown with either teasers or full trailers. World of Tanks, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, and Dark Souls II. All look interesting to those who like tank warfare, platformers, and sword fighting action games.
Then it moved fully to Xbox One games. Ryse, a roman war styled game, had a full level of gameplay footage shown. Killer Instinct, a 2D beat-em up, featuring a range of monsters and humans. Sunset Overdrive, an open world shooter featuring a whole lot of gameplay styles. Then a small history lesson was shown about McLaren, before the logo of Forza Motorsport 5 was shown. And then, details of the new AI system. The AI are not fully set; they learn from the world’s driving skills on the game, with a new system called Drivertar. Then an actual trailer was shown full of stunning scenery and cars. It was also said that the developers have gone into the upmost details within the cars, making them look absolutely realistic.
Moving on, it was stated that Microsoft are continuing to bring indie games to the Xbox platform, and to the One. It was then announced that Minecraft would be coming to the Xbox One, featuring bigger maps and bigger multiplayer options. Sam Lake of Remedy then came on stage to talk Quantum Break and show a trailer. Needless to say, the game looked ace, even through that teaser. Another teaser was shown for D4, a murder mystery game. Project Spark was then announced. A game where you can make a game. Using voice control and Smartglass, you can create a world, and then play in it. It’s an interesting concept for a game, and sure appeals to the likes of me. A lot of stuff can be done with the game, as was shown by the many different things people have done with it.
Away from the games for a bit, more talk of Xbox Live and Smartglass features. Using Ryse as a game, Smartglass was setting up a multiplayer game for Killer Instinct. A game was then played on Killer Instinct, and a message then popped up saying that footage had been uploaded. This is where we then got to see the Upload Studio – Microsoft’s in-game video recording software. Another game was played, but this time, it was recorded live with Twitch Live recording. As for Live itself, no restrictions on friend limits with the Xbox One, and Microsoft Points are being exchanged for using real currency. Also, only one Gold member needs to be on the console for all to have access to its features.
Back to the games, and Crimson Dragon was shown – without its sound. Then Dead Rising 3, thankfully with sound, and a lot of it was shown in gameplay. Anything and everything is a weapon. The world is free roam with no loading in game. A lot of weapons can be fused together to make even more powerful ones. Distractions can be used to rid large zombie hordes, and using Smartglass you can even call for additional backup. You can also drive vehicles, but zombies will still be able to get at you. Next up was the completely free roaming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is a multi-region, no loading free roam game featuring a dynamic/tactical battle system.
Then it was the turn of EA with Battlefield 4. Dynamic trailer featuring land/sea/air battles with in-game footage, and the Second Assault map pack will be first on Xbox One. Quickly shown was a trailer for Below, and then announced was five new studios, one of which is called Black Tusk. A teaser was shown of an unannounced game. It was then said, “And here’s another” leading people to believe another studio; another game. Instead, it was a new Halo from 343 Industries, who then came on stage to talk about the series. The One will have a November release date with a price of $499/£429 in 21 markets. Then another exclusive game in the form of Titanfall. Respawn then comes on stage with a new gameplay footage trailer.
Once that was over and done with, the conference ended. Now then, I can’t say it was good, but then again, it wasn’t exactly bad. They focused entirely on games, and improvements. However, no backpedaling on any of the previous things. I suppose we can call compromise if they do that sometime soon. But as I said at the beginning, this thing will sell, simply because of the games. Microsoft knew what they were doing, and the Xbox One will stay in the trending lists for a lot longer. However, at 2:00 am in the morning, this could be changed.
Images Taken From:
The Entire Microsoft Press Conference – E3 2013 | IGN
