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My yearly round up of E3 events is here again.
I'm going to focus on the big three to start with, with more to come when my fingers recover in part 2.
Microsoft
While some have accused Microsoft of being on the back foot since the Xbox One launch, based on their showing at E3 Microsoft look like they're not only back on track but have stoked up the furnace ready to roll full steam over the coming year.
Backward Compatibility was the first step in their push to get more 360 owners on to Xbox One. Currently available to Preview Programme owners (with 21 games available), the service will eventually roll out to everyone on Xbox One by the end of the year with the ability to play 100 Xbox 360 games if you previously owned them digitally or have the disc.
Recore, a new IP from Keiji Inafune, looks interesting but the trailer really offers nothing more than a glimpse. Since the game is slated for Spring time next year, we'll probably hear and see more on this soon enough.
Fallout 4 was highlighted with a surprise announcement that free mods would be coming to Xbox One (and other platforms) to the delight of the audience.
No surprise again, but Forza 6 looked stunning and will hopefully be a much more fleshed out experience than the launch game Forza 5, which felt like a bit of a rush job content-wise, even if it did look and play well.
Indie game Beyond Eyes is getting Early Access, Microsoft’s take on the Steam idea of letting people play games before they come out (in my day we had demos…), as is Elite Dangerous. It looks quite nice so we’ll be jumping on that this week.
Microsoft’s timed exclusive of Tomb Raider meant that they had more to show off from the game. The scenery is different but it looks like more of the same.
Fable Legends is an interesting concept that still needs to be tested. It could work well and there have been some positive murmuring from the beta so far.
Rare were around for a dip into their history with the forthcoming Rare Replay, out in August. The £20 price point nets you a bunch of games from their past as Ultimate on 8-bit computers right through to the recent Banjoo Kazooie hits. Obviously no Goldeneye or Nintendo owned licences, though, which is a pity.
Talking of Rare, their new game Sea of Thieves was announced with a rip-roaring trailer full of pirates and plunder. Pretty much all the Pirate tropes are included, which is no bad thing.
Halo 5 looks as stunning as ever but with the issues surrounding the Halo Master Chief Collection, all eyes will be on the team to see if they can release this bug free.
The Gears of War Remaster gets a beta starting now (check your inboxes on your Xbox One, folks) and is out October 25th, paving the way for the new Gears of War Game that gets a nice trailer but we don’t really find out much more than that.
Finally, the demo of Minecraft on HoloLens was stunning. It may not be a piece of tech that everyone will pick up, but Minecraft was certainly the perfect choice to highlight what it can do.
Sony
Sony didn’t really have a huge catalogue of 2015 games to fall back on, but they probably didn’t think they needed it, either. However, there were so many surprises that I was half expecting Cilla Black (80's reference ahoy!) to turn up.
First up, to the delight and surprise of those watching, was The Last Guardian. Yes, that game which was first shown at E3 2009. While Team Ico confirmed (to no-one’s surprise) that this would now be a PS4 game rather than on PS3, the demo was a nice surprise and actually showed us for the first time what the game would be like. It was certainly great to get a feel for the mechanics and gameplay behind the often teased game that felt, at times, like it would never see the light of day. The 2016 release date at the end sealed the deal.
Guerrilla games and their new IP Horizon: Zero Dawn showed a very nice looking mix of futuristic post-apocalypse jungle, robotic wildlife and stealth. This could well be one to watch, if only for Robot Dinosaurs. Me Grimlock!
The new Hitman looks like a reboot of the franchise and gets a Playstation exclusive beta of the game. Sony seem to be going all out on grabbing timed exclusives, possibly as an answer to Tomb Raider. Talking of exclusives, there’s Street Fighter 5, PS4 console exclusive game. It looks…well, like Street Fighter.
Hello Games’ Sean Murray was on stage to present No Man’s Sky again and he takes everyone on a trip to a planet. After telling everyone that it’s not populated we see fish, robot guards and other creatures. Better check that sensor, Sean! It still looks stunning and until it arrives I don’t think anyone can still really believe that this game is possible. Just the scope alone is mind boggling. I'd just like to point out that Sean is a really nice guy, too. I had the pleasure of chatting to him back when Joe Danger came out on iOS.
Media Molecule’s Dreams up next and it’s a…well, it’s not a game as such, it’s more like a collaborative art program with animation. It's...er...well....confusing!? Still, it looks interesting and it’s Media Molecule, so it’ll be good.
Firewatch is another one of those exclusive titles for console. It’s a survival horror type thing and the trailer doesn't give much away other than it seems to be set in a big forest. So getting lost among lots of trees in the dark, then.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate gets more exclusive content for PS4 (pretty much a given for Ubisoft and Sony now) and more action being shown off. Will it be the one to turn the franchise around? I don't know, but expect 'hilarious' English accents and references.
Final Fantasy gets a new Chibi style game for the PS4 and Vita (the only time the Vita gets in on this year’s E3, it seems) and then the big one, FF7 remake, the one everyone has been asking for and no-one expected. Nice.
To top it all, though, Sony go and invite Yu Suzuki on stage for probably the biggest reveal this year; Shenmue 3. It’s one of those games that has been dreamed about by many gamers for many years without the possibility of ever seeing it happen, but now here it is. It’s a kickstarter, apparently. £2m is the asking price to get it started (nothing compared to what it will really cost to make the game, I’m sure) and Sony seem to be behind it. Well, that’s my mind blown.
Batman gets official Scarecrow missions and the trailer looks pretty good for these. Call of Duty gets timed exclusive DLC (that might hurt Microsoft’s pride a bit).
The show finishes off with a smattering of Battlefront (which looks nicer every time I see it) and then Uncharted 4. Any usual E3 and this would be a big thing, but even Uncharted can’t top the FF7 and Shenmue announcements. It is a really lovely demo of the gameplay, mind you, even if it does go a bit wrong in the middle.
Nintendo
Well that was...odd. You can’t accuse Nintendo of towing any sort of line, really. They’re both a very unique company that knows its own history and arguably one that seems to be less in touch with gamers over the last few years.
That said, they know that their Wii U offerings are slim pickings over the next 2 years and it’s clear that their gearing up for next year’s new console reveal, codenamed the NX. Despite this, their 2015 line up for the rest of the year isn’t really that bad and has more first party titles than Sony. But E3 is more about looking forward to 2016 and Nintendo felt bereft of exciting new material for its home console, mostly focusing on the 3DS.
Starfox was undoubtedly the focus of the day, hammered home with a short sketch where Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto appear as puppets and turn into Starfox characters. Yes, puppets! I’m not making this up! The new game uses the Wii U Gamepad to great effect and even has the transformation sequence from Airwing to robot that would have appeared in Starfox 2 if it had ever been released.
One thing was clear, though, and that was the highlight that most of these games are due out this year. While Sony and Microsoft kept showing 2016 in big letters after each big game announcement, Nintendo quietly dropped release dates that all ended in 2015. StarFox Zero, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Super Mario Maker, Mario Tennis, Xenoblade all out this year on Wii U.
Meanwhile, most of 2016’s titles (yes, there were some) were for 3DS. A new Metroid,Federation Force, that isn’t a Metroid as such (no Samus) but a multiplayer shooter with a sports element. A new 3DS Zelda with Triforce Heroes and Fire Emblem too, alongside a brand new Paper Mario and 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors. It’s looking pretty good for the handheld but not so much for next year’s Wii U releases.
However, Nintendo do, perhaps, hold their cards closer to their chest at E3 than other companies and they tend to prefer announcing titles during their regular Nintendo Direct video announcements. Whether this is a good idea, considering E3 builds more hype and therefore sales for consoles, can be debated, but they certainly do tend to do things their own special way.
I'm going to focus on the big three to start with, with more to come when my fingers recover in part 2.
Microsoft
While some have accused Microsoft of being on the back foot since the Xbox One launch, based on their showing at E3 Microsoft look like they're not only back on track but have stoked up the furnace ready to roll full steam over the coming year.
Backward Compatibility was the first step in their push to get more 360 owners on to Xbox One. Currently available to Preview Programme owners (with 21 games available), the service will eventually roll out to everyone on Xbox One by the end of the year with the ability to play 100 Xbox 360 games if you previously owned them digitally or have the disc.
Recore, a new IP from Keiji Inafune, looks interesting but the trailer really offers nothing more than a glimpse. Since the game is slated for Spring time next year, we'll probably hear and see more on this soon enough.
Fallout 4 was highlighted with a surprise announcement that free mods would be coming to Xbox One (and other platforms) to the delight of the audience.
No surprise again, but Forza 6 looked stunning and will hopefully be a much more fleshed out experience than the launch game Forza 5, which felt like a bit of a rush job content-wise, even if it did look and play well.
Indie game Beyond Eyes is getting Early Access, Microsoft’s take on the Steam idea of letting people play games before they come out (in my day we had demos…), as is Elite Dangerous. It looks quite nice so we’ll be jumping on that this week.
Microsoft’s timed exclusive of Tomb Raider meant that they had more to show off from the game. The scenery is different but it looks like more of the same.
Fable Legends is an interesting concept that still needs to be tested. It could work well and there have been some positive murmuring from the beta so far.
Rare were around for a dip into their history with the forthcoming Rare Replay, out in August. The £20 price point nets you a bunch of games from their past as Ultimate on 8-bit computers right through to the recent Banjoo Kazooie hits. Obviously no Goldeneye or Nintendo owned licences, though, which is a pity.
Talking of Rare, their new game Sea of Thieves was announced with a rip-roaring trailer full of pirates and plunder. Pretty much all the Pirate tropes are included, which is no bad thing.
Halo 5 looks as stunning as ever but with the issues surrounding the Halo Master Chief Collection, all eyes will be on the team to see if they can release this bug free.
The Gears of War Remaster gets a beta starting now (check your inboxes on your Xbox One, folks) and is out October 25th, paving the way for the new Gears of War Game that gets a nice trailer but we don’t really find out much more than that.
Finally, the demo of Minecraft on HoloLens was stunning. It may not be a piece of tech that everyone will pick up, but Minecraft was certainly the perfect choice to highlight what it can do.
Sony
Sony didn’t really have a huge catalogue of 2015 games to fall back on, but they probably didn’t think they needed it, either. However, there were so many surprises that I was half expecting Cilla Black (80's reference ahoy!) to turn up.
First up, to the delight and surprise of those watching, was The Last Guardian. Yes, that game which was first shown at E3 2009. While Team Ico confirmed (to no-one’s surprise) that this would now be a PS4 game rather than on PS3, the demo was a nice surprise and actually showed us for the first time what the game would be like. It was certainly great to get a feel for the mechanics and gameplay behind the often teased game that felt, at times, like it would never see the light of day. The 2016 release date at the end sealed the deal.
Guerrilla games and their new IP Horizon: Zero Dawn showed a very nice looking mix of futuristic post-apocalypse jungle, robotic wildlife and stealth. This could well be one to watch, if only for Robot Dinosaurs. Me Grimlock!
The new Hitman looks like a reboot of the franchise and gets a Playstation exclusive beta of the game. Sony seem to be going all out on grabbing timed exclusives, possibly as an answer to Tomb Raider. Talking of exclusives, there’s Street Fighter 5, PS4 console exclusive game. It looks…well, like Street Fighter.
Hello Games’ Sean Murray was on stage to present No Man’s Sky again and he takes everyone on a trip to a planet. After telling everyone that it’s not populated we see fish, robot guards and other creatures. Better check that sensor, Sean! It still looks stunning and until it arrives I don’t think anyone can still really believe that this game is possible. Just the scope alone is mind boggling. I'd just like to point out that Sean is a really nice guy, too. I had the pleasure of chatting to him back when Joe Danger came out on iOS.
Media Molecule’s Dreams up next and it’s a…well, it’s not a game as such, it’s more like a collaborative art program with animation. It's...er...well....confusing!? Still, it looks interesting and it’s Media Molecule, so it’ll be good.
Firewatch is another one of those exclusive titles for console. It’s a survival horror type thing and the trailer doesn't give much away other than it seems to be set in a big forest. So getting lost among lots of trees in the dark, then.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate gets more exclusive content for PS4 (pretty much a given for Ubisoft and Sony now) and more action being shown off. Will it be the one to turn the franchise around? I don't know, but expect 'hilarious' English accents and references.
Final Fantasy gets a new Chibi style game for the PS4 and Vita (the only time the Vita gets in on this year’s E3, it seems) and then the big one, FF7 remake, the one everyone has been asking for and no-one expected. Nice.
To top it all, though, Sony go and invite Yu Suzuki on stage for probably the biggest reveal this year; Shenmue 3. It’s one of those games that has been dreamed about by many gamers for many years without the possibility of ever seeing it happen, but now here it is. It’s a kickstarter, apparently. £2m is the asking price to get it started (nothing compared to what it will really cost to make the game, I’m sure) and Sony seem to be behind it. Well, that’s my mind blown.
Batman gets official Scarecrow missions and the trailer looks pretty good for these. Call of Duty gets timed exclusive DLC (that might hurt Microsoft’s pride a bit).
The show finishes off with a smattering of Battlefront (which looks nicer every time I see it) and then Uncharted 4. Any usual E3 and this would be a big thing, but even Uncharted can’t top the FF7 and Shenmue announcements. It is a really lovely demo of the gameplay, mind you, even if it does go a bit wrong in the middle.
Nintendo
Well that was...odd. You can’t accuse Nintendo of towing any sort of line, really. They’re both a very unique company that knows its own history and arguably one that seems to be less in touch with gamers over the last few years.
That said, they know that their Wii U offerings are slim pickings over the next 2 years and it’s clear that their gearing up for next year’s new console reveal, codenamed the NX. Despite this, their 2015 line up for the rest of the year isn’t really that bad and has more first party titles than Sony. But E3 is more about looking forward to 2016 and Nintendo felt bereft of exciting new material for its home console, mostly focusing on the 3DS.
Starfox was undoubtedly the focus of the day, hammered home with a short sketch where Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto appear as puppets and turn into Starfox characters. Yes, puppets! I’m not making this up! The new game uses the Wii U Gamepad to great effect and even has the transformation sequence from Airwing to robot that would have appeared in Starfox 2 if it had ever been released.
One thing was clear, though, and that was the highlight that most of these games are due out this year. While Sony and Microsoft kept showing 2016 in big letters after each big game announcement, Nintendo quietly dropped release dates that all ended in 2015. StarFox Zero, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Super Mario Maker, Mario Tennis, Xenoblade all out this year on Wii U.
Meanwhile, most of 2016’s titles (yes, there were some) were for 3DS. A new Metroid,Federation Force, that isn’t a Metroid as such (no Samus) but a multiplayer shooter with a sports element. A new 3DS Zelda with Triforce Heroes and Fire Emblem too, alongside a brand new Paper Mario and 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors. It’s looking pretty good for the handheld but not so much for next year’s Wii U releases.
However, Nintendo do, perhaps, hold their cards closer to their chest at E3 than other companies and they tend to prefer announcing titles during their regular Nintendo Direct video announcements. Whether this is a good idea, considering E3 builds more hype and therefore sales for consoles, can be debated, but they certainly do tend to do things their own special way.
Hannard wrote:
Good roundup, though I'm afraid Matt Lees beat you to it.. before E3, in fact.
Heh. Videogamer was better with Lees there. They pretty much lost everyone good.
Good roundup, though I'm afraid Matt Lees beat you to it.. before E3, in fact.
Heh. Videogamer was better with Lees there. They pretty much lost everyone good.
Good roundup, though I'm afraid Matt Lees beat you to it.. before E3, in fact.
My yearly round up of E3 events is here again.
I'm going to focus on the big three to start with, with more to come when my fingers recover in part 2.
Microsoft
While some have accused Microsoft of being on the back foot since the Xbox One launch, based on their showing at E3 Microsoft look like they're not only back on track but have stoked up the furnace ready to roll full steam over the coming year.
Backward Compatibility was the first step in their push to get more 360 owners on to Xbox One. Currently available to Preview Programme owners (with 21 games available), the service will eventually roll out to everyone on Xbox One by the end of the year with the ability to play 100 Xbox 360 games if you previously owned them digitally or have the disc.
Recore, a new IP from Keiji Inafune, looks interesting but the trailer really offers nothing more than a glimpse. Since the game is slated for Spring time next year, we'll probably hear and see more on this soon enough.
Fallout 4 was highlighted with a surprise announcement that free mods would be coming to Xbox One (and other platforms) to the delight of the audience.
No surprise again, but Forza 6 looked stunning and will hopefully be a much more fleshed out experience than the launch game Forza 5, which felt like a bit of a rush job content-wise, even if it did look and play well.
Indie game Beyond Eyes is getting Early Access, Microsoft’s take on the Steam idea of letting people play games before they come out (in my day we had demos…), as is Elite Dangerous. It looks quite nice so we’ll be jumping on that this week.
Microsoft’s timed exclusive of Tomb Raider meant that they had more to show off from the game. The scenery is different but it looks like more of the same.
Fable Legends is an interesting concept that still needs to be tested. It could work well and there have been some positive murmuring from the beta so far.
Rare were around for a dip into their history with the forthcoming Rare Replay, out in August. The £20 price point nets you a bunch of games from their past as Ultimate on 8-bit computers right through to the recent Banjoo Kazooie hits. Obviously no Goldeneye or Nintendo owned licences, though, which is a pity.
Talking of Rare, their new game Sea of Thieves was announced with a rip-roaring trailer full of pirates and plunder. Pretty much all the Pirate tropes are included, which is no bad thing.
Halo 5 looks as stunning as ever but with the issues surrounding the Halo Master Chief Collection, all eyes will be on the team to see if they can release this bug free.
The Gears of War Remaster gets a beta starting now (check your inboxes on your Xbox One, folks) and is out October 25th, paving the way for the new Gears of War Game that gets a nice trailer but we don’t really find out much more than that.
Finally, the demo of Minecraft on HoloLens was stunning. It may not be a piece of tech that everyone will pick up, but Minecraft was certainly the perfect choice to highlight what it can do.
Sony
Sony didn’t really have a huge catalogue of 2015 games to fall back on, but they probably didn’t think they needed it, either. However, there were so many surprises that I was half expecting Cilla Black (80's reference ahoy!) to turn up.
First up, to the delight and surprise of those watching, was The Last Guardian. Yes, that game which was first shown at E3 2009. While Team Ico confirmed (to no-one’s surprise) that this would now be a PS4 game rather than on PS3, the demo was a nice surprise and actually showed us for the first time what the game would be like. It was certainly great to get a feel for the mechanics and gameplay behind the often teased game that felt, at times, like it would never see the light of day. The 2016 release date at the end sealed the deal.
Guerrilla games and their new IP Horizon: Zero Dawn showed a very nice looking mix of futuristic post-apocalypse jungle, robotic wildlife and stealth. This could well be one to watch, if only for Robot Dinosaurs. Me Grimlock!
The new Hitman looks like a reboot of the franchise and gets a Playstation exclusive beta of the game. Sony seem to be going all out on grabbing timed exclusives, possibly as an answer to Tomb Raider. Talking of exclusives, there’s Street Fighter 5, PS4 console exclusive game. It looks…well, like Street Fighter.
Hello Games’ Sean Murray was on stage to present No Man’s Sky again and he takes everyone on a trip to a planet. After telling everyone that it’s not populated we see fish, robot guards and other creatures. Better check that sensor, Sean! It still looks stunning and until it arrives I don’t think anyone can still really believe that this game is possible. Just the scope alone is mind boggling. I'd just like to point out that Sean is a really nice guy, too. I had the pleasure of chatting to him back when Joe Danger came out on iOS.
Media Molecule’s Dreams up next and it’s a…well, it’s not a game as such, it’s more like a collaborative art program with animation. It's...er...well....confusing!? Still, it looks interesting and it’s Media Molecule, so it’ll be good.
Firewatch is another one of those exclusive titles for console. It’s a survival horror type thing and the trailer doesn't give much away other than it seems to be set in a big forest. So getting lost among lots of trees in the dark, then.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate gets more exclusive content for PS4 (pretty much a given for Ubisoft and Sony now) and more action being shown off. Will it be the one to turn the franchise around? I don't know, but expect 'hilarious' English accents and references.
Final Fantasy gets a new Chibi style game for the PS4 and Vita (the only time the Vita gets in on this year’s E3, it seems) and then the big one, FF7 remake, the one everyone has been asking for and no-one expected. Nice.
To top it all, though, Sony go and invite Yu Suzuki on stage for probably the biggest reveal this year; Shenmue 3. It’s one of those games that has been dreamed about by many gamers for many years without the possibility of ever seeing it happen, but now here it is. It’s a kickstarter, apparently. £2m is the asking price to get it started (nothing compared to what it will really cost to make the game, I’m sure) and Sony seem to be behind it. Well, that’s my mind blown.
Batman gets official Scarecrow missions and the trailer looks pretty good for these. Call of Duty gets timed exclusive DLC (that might hurt Microsoft’s pride a bit).
The show finishes off with a smattering of Battlefront (which looks nicer every time I see it) and then Uncharted 4. Any usual E3 and this would be a big thing, but even Uncharted can’t top the FF7 and Shenmue announcements. It is a really lovely demo of the gameplay, mind you, even if it does go a bit wrong in the middle.
Nintendo
Well that was...odd. You can’t accuse Nintendo of towing any sort of line, really. They’re both a very unique company that knows its own history and arguably one that seems to be less in touch with gamers over the last few years.
That said, they know that their Wii U offerings are slim pickings over the next 2 years and it’s clear that their gearing up for next year’s new console reveal, codenamed the NX. Despite this, their 2015 line up for the rest of the year isn’t really that bad and has more first party titles than Sony. But E3 is more about looking forward to 2016 and Nintendo felt bereft of exciting new material for its home console, mostly focusing on the 3DS.
Starfox was undoubtedly the focus of the day, hammered home with a short sketch where Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto appear as puppets and turn into Starfox characters. Yes, puppets! I’m not making this up! The new game uses the Wii U Gamepad to great effect and even has the transformation sequence from Airwing to robot that would have appeared in Starfox 2 if it had ever been released.
One thing was clear, though, and that was the highlight that most of these games are due out this year. While Sony and Microsoft kept showing 2016 in big letters after each big game announcement, Nintendo quietly dropped release dates that all ended in 2015. StarFox Zero, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Super Mario Maker, Mario Tennis, Xenoblade all out this year on Wii U.
Meanwhile, most of 2016’s titles (yes, there were some) were for 3DS. A new Metroid,Federation Force, that isn’t a Metroid as such (no Samus) but a multiplayer shooter with a sports element. A new 3DS Zelda with Triforce Heroes and Fire Emblem too, alongside a brand new Paper Mario and 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors. It’s looking pretty good for the handheld but not so much for next year’s Wii U releases.
However, Nintendo do, perhaps, hold their cards closer to their chest at E3 than other companies and they tend to prefer announcing titles during their regular Nintendo Direct video announcements. Whether this is a good idea, considering E3 builds more hype and therefore sales for consoles, can be debated, but they certainly do tend to do things their own special way.
I'm going to focus on the big three to start with, with more to come when my fingers recover in part 2.
Microsoft
While some have accused Microsoft of being on the back foot since the Xbox One launch, based on their showing at E3 Microsoft look like they're not only back on track but have stoked up the furnace ready to roll full steam over the coming year.
Backward Compatibility was the first step in their push to get more 360 owners on to Xbox One. Currently available to Preview Programme owners (with 21 games available), the service will eventually roll out to everyone on Xbox One by the end of the year with the ability to play 100 Xbox 360 games if you previously owned them digitally or have the disc.
Recore, a new IP from Keiji Inafune, looks interesting but the trailer really offers nothing more than a glimpse. Since the game is slated for Spring time next year, we'll probably hear and see more on this soon enough.
Fallout 4 was highlighted with a surprise announcement that free mods would be coming to Xbox One (and other platforms) to the delight of the audience.
No surprise again, but Forza 6 looked stunning and will hopefully be a much more fleshed out experience than the launch game Forza 5, which felt like a bit of a rush job content-wise, even if it did look and play well.
Indie game Beyond Eyes is getting Early Access, Microsoft’s take on the Steam idea of letting people play games before they come out (in my day we had demos…), as is Elite Dangerous. It looks quite nice so we’ll be jumping on that this week.
Microsoft’s timed exclusive of Tomb Raider meant that they had more to show off from the game. The scenery is different but it looks like more of the same.
Fable Legends is an interesting concept that still needs to be tested. It could work well and there have been some positive murmuring from the beta so far.
Rare were around for a dip into their history with the forthcoming Rare Replay, out in August. The £20 price point nets you a bunch of games from their past as Ultimate on 8-bit computers right through to the recent Banjoo Kazooie hits. Obviously no Goldeneye or Nintendo owned licences, though, which is a pity.
Talking of Rare, their new game Sea of Thieves was announced with a rip-roaring trailer full of pirates and plunder. Pretty much all the Pirate tropes are included, which is no bad thing.
Halo 5 looks as stunning as ever but with the issues surrounding the Halo Master Chief Collection, all eyes will be on the team to see if they can release this bug free.
The Gears of War Remaster gets a beta starting now (check your inboxes on your Xbox One, folks) and is out October 25th, paving the way for the new Gears of War Game that gets a nice trailer but we don’t really find out much more than that.
Finally, the demo of Minecraft on HoloLens was stunning. It may not be a piece of tech that everyone will pick up, but Minecraft was certainly the perfect choice to highlight what it can do.
Sony
Sony didn’t really have a huge catalogue of 2015 games to fall back on, but they probably didn’t think they needed it, either. However, there were so many surprises that I was half expecting Cilla Black (80's reference ahoy!) to turn up.
First up, to the delight and surprise of those watching, was The Last Guardian. Yes, that game which was first shown at E3 2009. While Team Ico confirmed (to no-one’s surprise) that this would now be a PS4 game rather than on PS3, the demo was a nice surprise and actually showed us for the first time what the game would be like. It was certainly great to get a feel for the mechanics and gameplay behind the often teased game that felt, at times, like it would never see the light of day. The 2016 release date at the end sealed the deal.
Guerrilla games and their new IP Horizon: Zero Dawn showed a very nice looking mix of futuristic post-apocalypse jungle, robotic wildlife and stealth. This could well be one to watch, if only for Robot Dinosaurs. Me Grimlock!
The new Hitman looks like a reboot of the franchise and gets a Playstation exclusive beta of the game. Sony seem to be going all out on grabbing timed exclusives, possibly as an answer to Tomb Raider. Talking of exclusives, there’s Street Fighter 5, PS4 console exclusive game. It looks…well, like Street Fighter.
Hello Games’ Sean Murray was on stage to present No Man’s Sky again and he takes everyone on a trip to a planet. After telling everyone that it’s not populated we see fish, robot guards and other creatures. Better check that sensor, Sean! It still looks stunning and until it arrives I don’t think anyone can still really believe that this game is possible. Just the scope alone is mind boggling. I'd just like to point out that Sean is a really nice guy, too. I had the pleasure of chatting to him back when Joe Danger came out on iOS.
Media Molecule’s Dreams up next and it’s a…well, it’s not a game as such, it’s more like a collaborative art program with animation. It's...er...well....confusing!? Still, it looks interesting and it’s Media Molecule, so it’ll be good.
Firewatch is another one of those exclusive titles for console. It’s a survival horror type thing and the trailer doesn't give much away other than it seems to be set in a big forest. So getting lost among lots of trees in the dark, then.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate gets more exclusive content for PS4 (pretty much a given for Ubisoft and Sony now) and more action being shown off. Will it be the one to turn the franchise around? I don't know, but expect 'hilarious' English accents and references.
Final Fantasy gets a new Chibi style game for the PS4 and Vita (the only time the Vita gets in on this year’s E3, it seems) and then the big one, FF7 remake, the one everyone has been asking for and no-one expected. Nice.
To top it all, though, Sony go and invite Yu Suzuki on stage for probably the biggest reveal this year; Shenmue 3. It’s one of those games that has been dreamed about by many gamers for many years without the possibility of ever seeing it happen, but now here it is. It’s a kickstarter, apparently. £2m is the asking price to get it started (nothing compared to what it will really cost to make the game, I’m sure) and Sony seem to be behind it. Well, that’s my mind blown.
Batman gets official Scarecrow missions and the trailer looks pretty good for these. Call of Duty gets timed exclusive DLC (that might hurt Microsoft’s pride a bit).
The show finishes off with a smattering of Battlefront (which looks nicer every time I see it) and then Uncharted 4. Any usual E3 and this would be a big thing, but even Uncharted can’t top the FF7 and Shenmue announcements. It is a really lovely demo of the gameplay, mind you, even if it does go a bit wrong in the middle.
Nintendo
Well that was...odd. You can’t accuse Nintendo of towing any sort of line, really. They’re both a very unique company that knows its own history and arguably one that seems to be less in touch with gamers over the last few years.
That said, they know that their Wii U offerings are slim pickings over the next 2 years and it’s clear that their gearing up for next year’s new console reveal, codenamed the NX. Despite this, their 2015 line up for the rest of the year isn’t really that bad and has more first party titles than Sony. But E3 is more about looking forward to 2016 and Nintendo felt bereft of exciting new material for its home console, mostly focusing on the 3DS.
Starfox was undoubtedly the focus of the day, hammered home with a short sketch where Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aimé and Shigeru Miyamoto appear as puppets and turn into Starfox characters. Yes, puppets! I’m not making this up! The new game uses the Wii U Gamepad to great effect and even has the transformation sequence from Airwing to robot that would have appeared in Starfox 2 if it had ever been released.
One thing was clear, though, and that was the highlight that most of these games are due out this year. While Sony and Microsoft kept showing 2016 in big letters after each big game announcement, Nintendo quietly dropped release dates that all ended in 2015. StarFox Zero, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Super Mario Maker, Mario Tennis, Xenoblade all out this year on Wii U.
Meanwhile, most of 2016’s titles (yes, there were some) were for 3DS. A new Metroid,Federation Force, that isn’t a Metroid as such (no Samus) but a multiplayer shooter with a sports element. A new 3DS Zelda with Triforce Heroes and Fire Emblem too, alongside a brand new Paper Mario and 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors. It’s looking pretty good for the handheld but not so much for next year’s Wii U releases.
However, Nintendo do, perhaps, hold their cards closer to their chest at E3 than other companies and they tend to prefer announcing titles during their regular Nintendo Direct video announcements. Whether this is a good idea, considering E3 builds more hype and therefore sales for consoles, can be debated, but they certainly do tend to do things their own special way.