Over the past week we have seen many titles announced at E3
as Sony's PS4 went head to head with the Xbox One. Yes Sony triumphed over
Microsoft at the pressers, but that was mainly down to the hardware. Ultimately
the games and exclusive titles are going to be a major impact on those people
who haven't yet decided of which console to choose.
Xbox One Exclusive Titles (Note: some are made available on the Xbox 360)
Ryse: Son of Rome (Launch Title)
Quantum Break (2014)
D4
Below
Fantasia: Music Evolved (Kinnect)
Black Tusk Studios – Tech demo showed off- Untitled
Titanfall (2014)
Project Spark
Sunset Over Drive
Dead Rising 3 (Launch)
Forza 5 (Launch)
Next-Gen Halo (Halo 5, 2014)
Kinect Sports Rivals (Kinect- Launch Title)
Killer Instinct (Free to download- Launch Title)
Crimson Dragon
Minecraft
Zoo Tycoon
Max and the Curse of Brotherhood
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare
Powerstar Golf
Rabbids Invasion
Loco Cycle
Zumba Fitness: World Party
PlayStation Exclusive Titles (Note: some titles may be available on PlayStation 3 and Vita)
Blacklight: Retribution
Contrast
Daylight
Knack
DC Universe Online
Diablo III
Doki-Doki Universe
Don't Starve
Final Fantasy XIV
Hohokum
Deep Down
Driveclub
Galak-Z
Infamous: Second Son
Killzone: Shadow Fall
The Order 1886
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee New ‘n’ Tasty
Outlast
The Pinball Arcade
Planetside 2
Primal Carnage: Genesis
Basement Crawl
Secret Ponchos
Super Stardust (spiritual successor)
Mercenary Kings
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Project Heart and Soul
Ray's the Dead
Rocketbirds 2: Evolution
Super Motherload
Tiny Brains
Transistor
War Thunder
Warframe
The Witness
Out Fot Both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (Note: some are available for current gen hardware)
Microsoft have been at the centre of attention over the past
few weeks, and not for the right reasons. E3 was Microsoft’s chance to prove to
millions of people watching worldwide why they should choose their console over
the PS4.
How did they do? Let’s go through it.
The Start
The show started with a play through of the latest title in
the Metal Gear franchise, The Phantom Pain (or Metal Gear Solid V: The PhantomPain). After the announcement last week that the new voice of Solid Snake will
be 24’s Kiefer Sutherland,
the hype factor for this game was definitely on. This is the first true Metal
Gear title to feature on the Xbox platform (not including Metal Gear: Rising
out last year that was more of a spin-off) and was a very interesting way for Microsoft
to start its press conference. Gameplay looked good, fluid and the most immersive
stealth looking experience on the platform, if that short piece of footage is
anything to go by.
Xbox 360
To begin Microsoft saw fit to do the segment on the 360 first,
fair enough. People was expecting a price drop on the current gen hardware but
instead a new model was released that looks similar to the Xbox One. The price
is expected to drop from its current £199 price tag before the holiday.
On top of this, an announcement was made to an update to
Xbox Live. Starting from July 2013 Xbox Live Gold Members will receive two free
game downloads a month, though details on this was thin with only two titles
shown that will be available in the coming months (Halo 3and Assassins Creed 2).
The free to play World of Tanks is also coming to Xbox 360
this year, though this wasn’t made clear whether it will be ported over to the Xbox
One at a later date.
Xbox One
After all this information regarding the 360, we now move
onto Xbox One. The first game we was shown was ‘Ryse: Son of Rome’. We first
saw this game back at E3 2011 and was originally a Kinect only game. It’s fair
to say that this game is looking a lot healthier than its predecessor of a
trailer. If you want to compare the two, both are below.
Ryse original trailer from 2011
Ryse new trailer from 2013
Graphically Ryse did look interesting and this is a genre that
hasn’t really made it on the Xbox. But it appeared robotic at times and very
unnatural movements made the AI seem unrealistic. For this to be dubbed Xbox’s
answer to God of War, I doubt it is a fight it will be able to win. Saying that it could still be great but more
needs to be shown in order to win the masses over.
The Killer Instinct reboot to Rare’s 1995 fighting game was
then introduced on stage, though without Rare’s presence. The new fighting game
is being developed by Double Helix and after the press conference it was
confirmed that it will be free to download on the Xbox One at launch. Though it’s
free to download, you will only have access to one character, Jago, and then
required to pay a fee to access the rest of the characters.
Insomniac then introduced the trailer to their new an
exclusive Xbox One game Sunset Overdrive and following that we had another look
at Forza 5. Forza looked beautiful and so far looks the best racing game,
graphically at E3 this year. New features included a smart AI system that
involved the computer learning from your in-game behaviour and playing whilst
you not even at your console. Clever yes, but the benefit to this wasn’t really
explained. Why buy a game that plays for you after a few days of game time?
With the current gen arcade titles not being compatible on
the ‘One’, Microsoft saw to solve the problem of transferring the most
downloaded XBLA title to the new Xbox, Minecraft. This is bound to allow more
freedom and a bigger world for players to expand their creative side. It’s
still highly unlikely to be as big as the PC version but it would be anything more
of a disappointment if it wasn’t an improvement on the current updated version
of the XBLA title. A release date wasn’t announced and neither was the price. I’m
sure more details will follow very soon.
At the Xbox One unveiling a few weeks back we got a quick glimpse
at the Xbox One exclusive title, Quantum Break. This took to the stage to show
us some footage running in engine on the ‘One’, though no gameplay was shown.
Quantum break is seeking to be like a TV show and hopefully it’s more of a success
than the last Xbox game to attempt such a challenge, 2008’s Alone in the Dark reboot.
On top of this we got the announcement of a new exclusive
title called D4 and then a demo of the impressive creative game Spark. Again
and Xbox exclusive, Spark showcased a creative experience for players to build
and create a game within a short few minutes. It will be interesting to see
what can be done in a week of playing. The demo showed how landscapes can be
moulded into whatever you like and turning rocks into warriors. Also to note
the Kinect was used with this game via voice controls and a tablet so expect a
Smart Glass integration for Project Spark.
Xbox Features
Segment
Xbox Smart Glass then got a few moments of attention though
the majority of this part was ignored and quickly forgotten due to the cringe
worthy Killer Instinct fight involving the producer of the game. One new
feature showcased was Smart Match that allowed you to jump straight into a
match instantly after playing another. Microsoft
also used this segment to announce their new partnership with the streaming
service Twitch, this will be available on the Xbox One come its release.
The long outdated and limited 100 friend rule was also
quashed. The Xbox One will allow an unlimited number of friends on the new
console along with the extinction of Microsoft Points. From soon onwards real
currency will take the place of MS points.
Apart from this no other information regarding the system
features was announced. We didn’t get clarification behind why used games may
require a fee and this always online saga. A lot of people including myself was
hoping Microsoft addressed these issues before Sony’s press conference at the
end of the day.
Back to Games
Once we got back to the games we got a visual video of
Crimson Dragon, I say visual video as the sound completely failed at this point
and we was left with nothing but the visuals. This fault returned for
Battlefield’s presence on stage when showing a level in the campaign, creating
the most awkward moment of E3. Battlefield also announced that, like COD map
packs will be available first on Xbox One. View the awkward moment below:
Dead Rising returned to give us a grittier instalment to the
previously comedic take on a zombie game. Another exclusive to Xbox One and again
no details if this is a launch title. The same can be said about Witcher 3 that
was showcased imminently after Dead Rising. The Witcher looked good and like
the majority of other games shown was graphically great.
Microsoft announced that they are also investing in five new
studios and assembling an all-star team to produce these exclusive triple A
games for the Xbox One to create games with these memorable characters like
Master Chief.
Speaking of Master Chief, the next Halo was teased to us,
though out in 2014. Trailer below
Price and Release
Date
Now came the pricing. Microsoft announced that the Xbox One
will be out in November this year and will retail at $499 and £429. Then there
was that awkward pause where people didn’t know what to do until you heard a
short unconvincing applaud. Plus Microsoft currency calculator appears to be
broken because if we in the UK wish to purchase the Xbox One we will be paying
the equivalent of $666 and with no explanation why there is that much of an
extra cost, hardily fair for Xbox’s UK fans. Microsoft had a stubborn few days especially
when Don Mattrick’s interview with Gametrailers.com host Geoff Keighley, that was aired yesterday
but conducted prior to E3. See the calamity below:-
Yes Don did just say that if you don’t have an internet
connection then buy a 360. A PR disaster of a statement to make especially as
this was aired after the PlayStation conference where they undercut the Xbox price
and said they won’t charge for used games nor will they require an always
online connection. A dumb move Microsoft.
We ended on Titanfall, Respawn’s exclusive title for Xbox
coming in 2014. It looked great but it felt overshadowed by the price news
shown momentarily before. Titanfall looks an exciting game and currently looks
a must have if you are going to own an Xbox One.
Overall I would give the Microsoft press conference a 7/10.
When it comes to games yes it delivered and for once we didn’t see all these Kinect games, that only appeal to the minority, shown on stage in the middle of showcasing different TV features.
People have been complying that Microsoft hasn't done enough for gamer's by
showing little exclusive games. Xbox One has some great exclusives and the
biggest line-up of exclusives as long as I can remember. Third party content is
well supported but this wasn’t the year people wanting solely this. This
approach to E3 would be perfect next or last year, but this year we needed
answers to the questions that have been damaging Microsoft’s reputation over
the past few weeks as they stood by as the ship sunk. We need some positivity instead
of restrictions. We need to know the benefits of having consoles always online
and having used game fees. A simple ‘we will require a fee for used games but
when new games are released they will be half the price’ is what can win people
over. By not showing their hand they have allowed people to pre-order the PS4.
This is a disaster at a business point of view as they are losing out to their competitor.
Microsoft need another press conference to go through everything about this console
and why they think this is the right direction to head towards. And no a simple
press release wont suffice, as we have seen over the past few weeks that
Microsoft clearly has a problem of making things clear in writing where they
create more confusion than detail information
Microsoft have unveiled an exclusive commemorative controller available to
people that pre-order the Xbox One console.
Microsoft said: “Reserve your Day One Edition today
and in addition to the best console we've ever made, you'll also receive a
commemorative controller and an exclusive achievement.”
The controller is labeled "Day One 2013", but it has been stated that these controlers are "available in limited quantities while supplies last, at select retailers."
No it’s not some fancy looking thing that is easily recognizable but on top of that, people who pre-order will receive an exclusive achievement
towards their Gamerscore, which will cross over to the Xbox One.
The Xbox One is out in November this year in the US, retailing at $499 and in the UK at £429.
Sony released a video after their E3 press conference on Monday via their official YouTube channel (Playstation). This video completely twists the knife that Sony firmly planted into Microsoft following their landslide victory after the two press conferences in LA at E3 2013.
The video follows the whole one minute applause from the crowd, attending their press conference, after Sony officially announced that the Playstation 4 will not restrict or charge a fee for used games. Microsoft has suffered somewhat of a PR disaster since their unveiling three weeks ago and failed to address the problems that has been circulating the Xbox One's policy's around used games and always online. Microsoft need to hold another conference showcasing the Xbox One, showing their plan and explain what benefit it is to the consumer to have these features, other than just a press release that is likely to contradict its self, as it has in the past few weeks.
