So right off the bat, I already new I was going to have much more to talk about than EA's ... whatever that was. Unfortunately I made the mistake of watching it live on GameSpot, and their video player kept hanging up on me so for about the first 10 minutes, I missed a lot of stuff off and on trying to keep refreshing the page.
When it finally came up, I saw some footage for a game called Outerworlds. I don't really know much about this game at all, but from what I caught, it looked like a Borderlands style game.
Someone from Ninja Theory came out to reveal a World Premier for Bleeding Edge. What I did get from what they said was that the game was already in development before they got picked up by MS, which was good to know, because when the footage of Bleeding Edge got leaked a couple days ago, there was concern that MS was forcing Ninja Theory to start making multiplayer shooters. Since they were already making this before MS picked them up, it's safe to say that this is what NT wanted to do themselves. But what do I think of the game? I don't care. I'm not into those Overwatch style games. I will say this, though. Competitive shooters is a very competitive market and I don't think Ninja Theory has the track record to really contend. They're good developers, but they're not really outstanding enough to butt into the ring against Overwatch and Apex Legends. We'll see, though.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was shown next, but ... this was shown already at E3 2017. Not that it's a bad thing, but we all know this was coming and it wasn't much of a surprise, even with the new footage shown. Still, it looks wonderful and I can't wait to play it. Like I said the past two years, I loved the first game, and this will be a treat for both fans of the first and those new to the series. I'll also have a 4K TV and Xbox One X to play this on this time, so I can only imagine how much more stunning the graphics will be.
Didn't expect the next one, which is a new Minecraft game called Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon crawler style game with all the wonderful Minecraft aesthetics that fans will love. I'm not really that huge into the genre, but I think fans of both the franchise and the genre will probably really enjoy this one. Since MS has a deal with Nintendo for Minecraft, I wouldn't be too surprised if we see this come to the Switch. It will definitely be a perfect fit for the platform.
Phil Spencer came out to talk more of his usual filler. "Blah blah blah, games. Blah blah blah developers. Blah blah blah great games come from great developers. Blah blah blah this is me as I was ever since I started doing E3 conferences." Spencer, you boring fuck....
And then GS shit the bed again with its video player at the worst time, because a new trailer for Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order was shown and the only thing I really was able to see that got me hyped up was him climbing a FUCKING AT-AT!! I let out a major WOOOOOO at that, and that moment sold me on the game. I am pre-ordering it today!
Then a trailer for a horror game was shown, and I noticed in the chat that people were trying to figure out if this was a new Alan Wake or Outlast game, but as it turns out, it's actually a Blair Witch game. I didn't realize anyone actually cared about the franchise anymore. But, it does look good. The modern remake movie actually ended up surprising me, so who knows? Maybe this game will surprise me too. I'll keep an eye on it.
GS's shitty player hung up on me for the last time while Cyberpunk 2077 was showing. At this point, I told GameSpot to fuck off and switched over to Youtube at just the last moment when I saw a rendered version of Keanu Reeves crouching to get the player back up. Mr. Neo Wick himself comes out on stage to announce a trailer that reveals the game's release date of 4/16/20.
Another World Premier played for a game called Spiritfarer. This looks like an interesting game, kind of like a 2D life simulator in the vein of games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. Looks very relaxing, but I doubt it'll stay on my radar.
The next reveal was like someone blowing the aroma of an amazing meatball sandwich my way, then pulling down my pants and shoving that sandwich down my shorts. The Battletoads start menu music played, that catchy UNCE UNCE UNCE, if you remember that. My ears perked up and I was like "HOLY SHIT IT'S COMING!" Jaws ready to receive MEATBALL SANDWICH AND THEN... that's when it was deposited in my shorts. This game's aesthetic is UGLY. It's similar to when they took the old Transformers cartoon and turned it into Armada. I can only hope the gameplay is good... but right now, I can't stop thinking of the unpleasant feeling of marinara, mozzarella, and meatballs in my shorts...
Next was a reveal of a really cool looking game called The Legend of Wright. It looks to be a side scroller with some puzzle solving elements in it, but it's all hand-drawn in a comic book. Plus, there's an overworld that looks to be inspired by the DIY Yoshi games I'll have to keep an eye on this one, too. I would love to have a game full of genuine imagination for my Xbox One.
The next segment was all about Xbox Gamepass preluded with a montage of games. Nothing really caught my eye. Someone from Gamepass came on stage to talk more about the games and services and said they'd all be available on Gamepass from day one, and everyone can sign up for just a dollar. Cool, but I'll never be into a game subscription service unless it's my only option.
Apparently, Microsoft's Flight Simulator franchise is still popular enough to reserve a World Premier
trailer. It looks very realistic, but it's certainly not my speed. I only really enjoy watching those Youtube videos of control tower people trying to manage the chaos. Looks like this is going to be a flight I won't mind missing.
Age of Empires II Definitive Edition was then shown. I know there's a following for this franchise, but it's also a genre I don't really play. Cool for people who do.
The next game caught my eye but only because it takes place in Colorado Springs. A prospector talks about how there's all this crazy action taking place in Colorado Springs and invites you down to try to strike it rich, but of course there's danger all along the way. The game's called Wasteland 3 and to be honest, I didn't even know there was a Wasteland 1 and 2. Most likely will pass on this game as well.
Phil Spencer came out again, and I almost ignored him and went back to playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, which is a really good game, mind you. Then I heard two things: Double Fine and Tim Schaeffer. WHAT?! MS BOUGHT DOUBLE FINE?! Apparently so, and Tim Schaeffer came out to reveal a new gameplay trailer for Psychonauts 2. Man, THAT got me excited! This is one of the definite exclusives I'm going to be buying for the Xbox One X. Absolutely loved the first and cannot wait for the second! Good job, Microsoft!
The next World Premier is for a Star Wars Lego game, which I thought was going to be based on Rise of Skywalker, but as it turns out, it's actually a compilation of all nine Lego Star Wars games. The collection will be called Skywalker Saga, which seemingly will have The Last Jedi that they never made and then Rise of the Skywalker. I might have to get this, just for The Last Jedi. But, if they release The Last Jedi and Rise of the Skywalker separately, I'll just get those two. I'm not looking forward to replaying a lot of segments again from the older games. I don't even want to imagine what the achievement list will look like for that...
The next showing was for a new Dragonball game called Project Z. It looks amazing, very beautiful, just like the anime, but I'm not really a Dragonball fan, so this is yet another game that won't be on my radar.
A World Premier for a game call 12 Minutes played after, and this is an intriguing little title. It starts off with a top down shot of a room with two adults, a couple probably married, and the woman has a gift for the man. Before he even opens it, he knows what it is. It's baby clothes, because she's pregnant, and she asks him how he knows that. He says this has happened before, and there's going to be trouble really soon. The cops then knocked on the door, and they fought them, but then there was a flash, and he was on the floor by himself, then another flash, and he's being arrested. Looks very interesting. I do enjoy a good thriller game, so I'll keep track of this ones.
I'm still waiting for Untitled Goose Game, but until then, there's Deer Simulator, actually titled Way to the Woods. It's a beautiful game about a deer and his fawn, and it looks like they're looking for their way back to the woods through the city. There was a funny little scene of the deer ramming a vending machine until some food came out. Looks good, so I'll follow this game.
Gears of War 5 was shown, but by a weird, trippy trailer of the female character, who I can't remember her name, was struggling with what looked like personas of other characters trying to escape from her. They got sucked back in, and then other characters tried to come out. Again, very trippy, and so was the music. The subtitle was revealed to be Bound By Blood and it will release on September 10th, so that will be my game for September. A trailer was also shown for a mode called Escape, which will be a three player co-op mode. Also, if people pre-order within the first week, they'll get a Terminator: Dark Fate character pack, which I don't really care about. Never was a fan of pre-order bonuses like those.
Xbox apparently thought it felt as if they needed to spend time revealing their new Elite controller. Now, if Xbox could spend the same amount of time and money getting high quality exclusives as they do with their myriad number of controller options they have, they'd be in much better shape.
Then we have yet another Dying Light 2 trailer. As much as I'm hyped for this game, seeing yet another trailer that was revealed at previous E3s didn't do much to elevate my hype level. Still, this is going to be one of the few must haves I'm going to get in the near future. Loved the first game, can't wait for the second.
When I saw Forza Horizon 4 as the next game, I groaned. WHY?! What on Earth could they possibly have to ... And then I heard the music. "Everything is awesome!" No way! LEGO has invaded the land of Forza with the LEGO Speed Champions expansion available next week. I just couldn't get over this! LEGO in Forza?! I was laughing so hard, I was in tears! I might have to check this out being the big LEGO fan that I am. It looks great!
But my excitement died down a little when I saw the next trailer. It was for the Funko Gears POP mobile game for iOS and Android. It looks cute... but, it's a mobile game. It's the exact same microtransaction filled crap we see all the time in this industry. It would be awesome to have an actual Gears of War game on the phone, but nope. We're stuck with this....
Then there's an announcement for a State of Decay 2 expansion called Heartland. State of Decay 2 didn't look good enough for me to get, but I know people who were really thirsty for an MS exclusive found enjoyment out of the game. I just wasn't THAT thirsty. Hell, I even passed on Days Gone, so I'm not really in the mood for zombie games right now.
Another World Premier played announcing that Sega's Phantasy Star Online 2 was finally coming to the States. I have wanted to play this game for a LOOOOOONG time and got excited when I heard it was supposed to come to the Vita a few years ago, but that never happened. Now that I decided to continue FFXIV with the upcoming Shadowbringers expansion arriving at the end of this month, I simply do not have the time for another MMO, which is a good thing, because if I thought I had it bad with FFXIV, I definitely had it bad with the first PSO.
World Premier has been used so often during this conference, MS should trademark it. The next one was for a game called Crossfire X. No gameplay (now that I think about it, most trailers in this conference didn't have gameplay), just cutscenes of bros with guns, but then it got a bit interesting. A building got blown up with them in it, and suddenly they're swimming in the water. I got to admit, that got me intrigued, so I want to see some gameplay to see what this game is like.
Tales of Arise was the next World Premier trailer that rolled out, and this fills a gap in Xbox's library that MS is slowly working on filling - JRPGs - and it looks like a great one. I'm so far behind in the Tales games, though, I doubt this is going to make it on my radar.
Borderlands 3 was shown, but since I haven't played any in the series, despite owning the Handsome Collection, I'm not interested in it at all right now. But, I know the following is huge, and it will be a fantastic game for fans. Sadly, it's been caught up in the whole Steam Vs Epic Store fiasco. I wish that feud would just end. All that happens with corporate feuds is that customers get caught up in the middle. Greed sucks.
We got a World Premier for The Elden Ring, which is the new From Software game that Hideko Miyazaki and George "ARR ARR" Martin are making. It's a teaser, though... showing nothing much of interest. I get some of these games are far off in the distance, but when you have one gameplay-less trailer after another, you get tired of it by the end of show. I really miss stage demos during conferences.
Phil Spencer came out again, this time to finally talk about their next console. He played a video showing team members talking about everything the next Box could do. I found it funny that they're talking about no more load screens, piggy backing on Sony when they did it first with the PS5. They mentioned that it will be roughly 40 times greater in terms of power compared to the previous generation's leap. We'll see. The current title of the next Box is Project Scarlett and I hope they just call it Xbox Scarlet, because MS sucks at numbers. It'll come out during the holiday season of next year and it will launch with Halo Infinite.
Of course, we all knew that MS would close their show with a trailer for Halo Infinite. Again, no gameplay was shown, just a cinematic trailer. It showed a pilot in a crippled ship that came across the drifting body of Masterchief. It's been a very long time since I've played Halo 3. I know I played Halo 4, but I have no recollection of that game and never bothered with Halo 5, so I'm not sure where this places Masterchief in the timeline. Regardless, it looks like they've nailed the direction, but MC still sounds like a fucking drone. He has personality in the books, and I seriously wish they'd start reflecting in the games. Anyway, I'm definitely sold on Scarlet and Halo Infinite because I haven't played a Halo game on a launch of a new Xbox since the first Halo. This should be pretty exciting, regardless of my reservations.
So how did MS do overall? Decent. I mean, they're pretty much winning by default at this point, because EA didn't really have a conference....? And Sony's not having one at all. Nintendo's is just a bunch of Tree Houses to talk about games that we already know are coming so I'm not expecting any new surprises. MS managed to play a trailer to sell me on Fallen Order and most likely Lego Forza, and Gears of War 5 was already a given before their trippy teaser. There's some cool looking indies in the pipeline, but I'm annoyed that Ori 2 still seems so far off after being revealed two years ago already. Yeah... MS pretty much just phoned this one in.
Overall grade: C+
No comments:
Post a Comment