E3 2016 Report

Yeah I know, I didn't mention this in my monthly update. But you have to make surprises some times, right? Anyway so E3 is back and as always we are to expect there to be plenty of games for us to play for the rest of this year and the first half of next year. When I heard that Disney and Nintendo weren't going to be there (especially the latter), I then thought that this year's E3 wouldn't be great considering that Disney had a big presence last year with Infinity 3.0 and Nintendo despite them as a company being years behind everyone else, always being able to entertain while making their announcements. Having said that however, Nintendo did indeed come to E3, but not how we were expecting it. So with that said, I will give you guys my thoughts on each press conference and what things were good and bad about them (as well as any game or technology they announce) and then close with looking at what those who didn't have press conferences announced as well. Plus for the ones that had press conferences or some form of video, I will show you guys those as well. So with that said, let's get to it:



Square Enix
Finding a video of Square Enix's conference has been somewhat tiring, but I hope the link suffices. So SE did a press conference on 8th June (a week before E3) where the main focus was on Deus Ex, more specifically the next main game Mankind Divided. During this conference, a gameplay demo (which the above link will take you to) of the new game was shown and showed off a new mode called Breach. They then also announced a mobile game called Deus Ex Go. So some pretty good stuff. For what else they showed, we got a new trailer for the third Kingdom Hearts compilation coming to PS4 which has a PS4 remake of Dream Drop Distance, a new game featuring Aqua from Birth By Sleep and a cinematic film that tells us of some new beings within the KH universe. On the Final Fantasy front, 4 games were announced including remakes of older games and games that never made it out of Japan, the next main entry and a mobile spin-off game too. Plus in addition to some new IPs in the works, we also get some news on upcoming content coming to Just Cause 3 and Hitman. Compared to last year and despite the main press conference only focusing on one IP, I think Square Enix have done well this time. Let's hope they deliver and who knows, we may get Kingdom Hearts III sooner than you think.

EA

EA in a somewhat change of pace, decided to not do a conference as part of E3, but instead do one as part of their EA Play event that is happening around the same time as E3. Every year, EA seem to be the ones that no one really cares about because of their copy and paste sports games and games that while sell well, no one really cares about. There were a few that I was interested in last year, but of the ones that interested me, the one that I felt was their best was Unravel because it was original, it was beautifully presented and the guy who showed it off really captured the spirit of what E3 is. For developers to show off their games and hope people enjoy them. Its all about the games and not about numbers, hardware gimmicks and buzz words that sound good, but mean something completely different (i.e. Free to Play not actually being free unless you fork over some money). So EA, what did they show us? Well there's a new Titanfall game coming which is nothing more than just a sequel (something that the industry is known for making hundreds of compared to the film industry) and it looks great and unlike before, there will be a single player campaign mode and it comes out in fall of this year (whether people will care for the single player mode in an otherwise sole mulitplayer game, I just don't know). As expected, there are yet more sports games coming out including Madden NFL (which they then start going into doing some kind of tournament which I doubt a number of us care about) and Fifa (no surprise there, but credit to the guy telling us about it as he makes it something to look forward to, unless you hate football like me). Mass Effect 4 (I know its called something different, but that's what everyone is calling it) was shown and its looking great now that its using the Frostbite engine and we'll be getting more info on it in the fall (though still no release date). Plenty of information about all these programs that EA are running which is kind of like their version of PlayStation Plus and Humble Bundle among many other services like them. But despite the rubbish they show, it looks like they are willing to help indie developers after the success that Unravel gave them which is good. There was even one that was shown off as well which looks good. Next, we get news of new content coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic, Galaxy of Heroes and Battlefront (2015) along with another Battlefront game that builds upon the foundations of the first game in the rebooted series and news that a whole load of Star Wars games are coming from various developers within EA. Finishing off, we get news of Battlefield 1 (which gets its name based on the era of which the game is based in, rather than being a reboot or remake of the original). So there is a lot of things that I don't care about in this conference, but I look forward to seeing what EA have in store for Star Wars and how Mass Effect 4 will play out.

Bethesda

So last year, Bethesda were one of a handful of developers that did well and they certainly delivered with the long awaited Fallout 4 game as well as a new Doom game, two games that fans have been wanting for quite some time (and they mentioned what was released since E3 2015 which I think was great). And they are both great games. So what did we get from them this time? Well we're getting a new Quake game and based on what the guy is saying, its been 20 years in the making and based on the trailer, it looks very promising and we will be hearing more on the game in August at QuakeCon. The Elder Scrolls is getting another game in the form of a card game which looks promising, though there was a technical glitch when it was showed, but that's to be expected in these events. Several Fallout 4 DLC packs are on the way, each one looking promising and will almost certainly help in making us more eager to play it. Fallout Shelter is also getting stuff added through the means of updating and it will be getting itself a PC version too. Going back to Elder Scrolls, it looks like Skyrim will be joining the many games from the 7th gen being remade for the 8th gen of gaming and will not only have a graphical improvement, but will also take advantage of the Bethesda mods scheme that Fallout 4 has been using for a little while. We're also getting a new Prey game which just like with Doom, is a reboot of the series even though it initially started out as Prey 2 before Zenimax (Bethesda's parent company) bought the franchise rights and it looks good (comes out in 2017). And just like with Fallout 4, Doom is also getting some DLC added and it looks really promising and will certainly help us be more skilled in combat. And new content for already out games keep on coming as we get news of some more content coming to Elder Scrolls Online. Bethesda are also investing in VR and plan to use the technology for Fallout 4 and Doom and for the moment, they are sticking with HTC Vive, but may do Oculus and PlayStation VR in future. Lastly, a new Dishonoured game is coming which will be a sequel to the original game and its looking good with plenty of information about it given to us. So nothing to really criticise here. Bethesda did well last year and they did well this year and aside from the small technical glitch and giving us way too much information on the last game they showed (though they did that with Fallout 4 last year so no surprise there), they will no doubt deliver on their promises in the months to come.

Microsoft

Much like with EA, Microsoft are ones that often screw up with their conferences. I mean the amount of people pointing out the problems they have, its unbelievable. So what did Microsoft give us? Well a smaller Xbox One to start with and a new wireless controller along with another one with the codename Project Scorpio (definitely stepping up to Sony there). There's a 4th Gears of War game coming with plenty of insight to what the game will be like and a gameplay demo too (plus a little technical hiccup). Killer Instinct is getting more characters from the likes of Battletoads, Halo and Gears of War. Another Forza game is on the way (not that I care or anything, but still). ReCore gets another trailer and Final Fantasy XV is shown off too (both looking great). Ubisoft then step up to show off the next Tom Clancy's The Division game and EA show off Battlefield 1 once more. We then hear about how Xbox Live has become great which isn't really necessary, but we get it anyway and there is lots to look forward to. Minecraft then takes centre stage which shows off some of the things that we get through Xbox Live as well as some other interesting things too, but its at this point where I find the presenters to be a bit robotic like showing no emotion and no enthusiasm which was a big deal last year, but its not as bad this time. We then get a video on making our Xbox One controllers customizable followed by a new IP from the creators of Limbo. Following on from that, just like with EA, Microsoft are also willing to help indie developers with their work which again I think is great. Really shows how much they care about the work of indie developers. We then get a look at a BioShock like game called We Happy Few which looks weird, but somewhat promising. Then from the people who gave us the Witcher series, we're getting the card game Gwent as a standalone game which is one of the popular things from the games so great. Next came Tekken 7 which looks great and features a character from Street Fighter (I initially thought this would be Namco's take on a Street Fighter and Tekken crossover, but it wasn't). And next we get Dead Rising 4 with the return of Frank West who was absent for 3 and its got a Christmas theme going. Scalebound was then shown and it looks amazing I have to say. Sea of Thieves was then shown with a trailer and gameplay from real gamers and I'm actually looking forward to it, though I'd doubt about it being any better than Black Flag which raised the bar high for pirate games. We then get trailers for State of Decay 2 and Halo Wars 2 (the latter of which has a beta which happened last week). Then the show ends with Phil Spencer wrapping up the show. I'd say there has been an improvement on the presenting this time as opposed to last year and I'm glad they spent little time on hardware and more on games which is great.

PC Gaming Show

The PC Gaming Show came as a surprise at E3 last year, but a good surprise in the sense that PC gaming is getting more attention in the industry than ever before which is great. So what do us PC gamers have to look forward to this time? Well after one technical hiccup, we get started with Dawn of War III, a strategy game currently in development (though you could say the majority of the games at E3 are in development in some state or form). Then from the creators of Don't Starve, we get Oxygen Not Included, followed by the creators of Ark: Survival Evolved showing some new content coming to that game. We then get some trailers for upcoming indie games, some being bizzare and some being obnoxious, but I guess that's what you get in indie games. Moving on, we then hear of Mount & Blade 2 which is a medieval set game which again looks promising. The Surge comes on next which is a Dark Souls inspired game so expect it to be hard. Next, Cliff Bleszinski comes on stage to talk about a game of his. Then we take a break to hear the e-sports crowd on their gaming experiences. The CEO of AMD then comes on to talk about the new AMD core processor which looks good (though personally I'm more of an Intel person). Then from the creators of Life is Strange, we get a trailer for their upcoming game Vampyr which looks like the Order: 1886 so let's just hope it delivers on gameplay and not just the graphics alone. Killing Floor 2 then gets some love as we find out what's been happening with the game and when it will exit early access as well as hearing how it will have VR support. SuperHot VR also gets shown too. Coming from Obsidian (who created South Park: Stick of Truth) we then get a trailer for a new game of theirs, an RPG called Tyranny. Following from that, we then get some news on a game called Observer which at first looks to be a horror game, but I may be wrong. That's then followed by a number of indie games being shown and indie games have always had a place among PC gamers which is good. Its no different to last year's show in that its in the form of a chat show and I think it works well in that sense so yeah.

Ubisoft

So funnily enough, Ubisoft decided to show off one of their new games in the works a week before E3 which was the long awaited sequel to Watch Dogs which hopes to build upon what the last game gave us and hopefully anyone that gets a console version of the game won't have to put up with bad graphics that the first game had. So aside from Watch Dogs 2, what else have Ubisoft got for us? Well the conference opens with Queen being played so that's a good start, but that unfortunately ties into a new Just Dance game which is fine, but its not my cup of tea. The conference then pays their respects to the people of Orlando (because of shootings) which is a nice touch, don't normally see that at E3, but there you go. The company are 30 which is a sign that I'm just getting old. Our first trailer is of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands followed by some gameplay footage with what sounds like what Ubisoft think players in online multiplayer would say (boy how wrong they are). Moving on, we go to South Park as we get some gameplay footage and a funny trailer of The Fractured But Whole plus anyone who pre-purchases the game can get its predessor for free on 8th gen platforms and Steam. We then get some more details on The Division, followed by some gameplay of a VR game Ubisoft is working on which is all about flight. Continuing the theme of VR, Ubisoft then show us a VR game where we can live long and prosper and it looks great. We then get a lengthly trailer for the game For Honour with the awesome bearded dude from last year presenting it. We then get Grow Up, the sequel to Grow Home which looks like fun. We then go back to the 90s with a game where the trailer feels like those old 90s adverts for action figures (it was awesome). Of course no Ubisoft conference would be complete without Assassin's Creed and while we may not be getting a game this year, we are however getting a film and just by what has been said about it in the press conference, I'm looking forward to it. I hope it does better than Ratchet & Clank and Warcraft, but with the amount of talent involved in the film, it should do well (I didn't mention Angry Birds because based on its rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it did better than the two films I mentioned). And it then finishes with Watch Dogs 2 and a new IP in the form of Steep which is to do with winter sports. So Ubisoft, I think did well this year so let's hope they deliver on the goods.

Sony

I guess in a way, you could say that Sony managed to announce what would've been their big hardware reveal which was a new PS4 that's capable of 4K, therefore making Microsoft wet their pants, until their own press conference of course. So Sony, what are you going to give us this time? Well it kicks off with the reveal of a new God of War game with a live orchestra and gameplay, this game I would presume takes place after God of War 3. Sony then also pay their respects to the shootings in Orlando, may the victims rest in peace and the madman responsible to be bought to justice. We then get a trailer from Bend Studios for a game called Days Gone (which we see gameplay of later on) followed by a trailer for The Last Guardian and a release date for the latter (finally). We then get some gameplay footage for Horizon: Zero Dawn which looks amazing. That is then followed by a trailer for Quantic Dream's new game Detroit which looks good, but whether it will be as predictable as their other games not to mention how they do cinematic games, I'm just not sure. Then we get a trailer which looks to be like a new IP in the horror genre, only to then be ruined by the fact that its yet another Resident Evil game which isn't a bad thing, its just annoying that you have a great trailer and then you find its just a new entry into an already established franchise rather than a new IP. At least the game will take advantage of VR and speaking of VR, the PlayStation VR comes out later this year with over 50 games released at launch including Farpoint, a Star Wars game (which is most likely one of the many Star Wars games EA are working on) and a Batman Arkham game. Final Fantasy XV is once again showed off, followed by the announcement that it will have a VR experience included which is great. More gameplay footage is shown, but this time from the next Call of Duty game (again, lots of promises and then you hear the name of the game) which looks good, but I suspect it will suck like the rest of the series. And it looks like Morden Warfare is getting remastered for the 8th gen. Crash Bandicoot (last seen in Uncharted 4) is back with a compilation of his original games getting remade for PS4 and the furry guy himself will be joining the Skylanders and you can create your own in the next game in the series. Returning to a galaxy far far away, we get a trailer and some news on LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, followed by Andy House making an appearance and then the legendary Hideo Kojima (with music from Mad Max: Fury Road to accompany the latter) who then shows us that Norman Reedus game he's been working on called Death Stranding. Insomniac Games then appear and show us a Spider-Man game they have been working on and it looks promising. The show then ends with a montage of games coming out over the next several months, some of which wasn't mentioned in the conference and there seems to yet again, be no mention of the Vita. Guess Sony want to forget about it. A pretty solid press conference with plenty of games, plenty of news on VR as well as the return of a beloved PlayStation character and a live orchestra. Doesn't get any better than that, though I was disappointed with the reveal of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Resident Evil 7 as they both had great trailers, only to be ruined by the names of the games.

Nintendo

Even though they are years behind on technology, Nintendo are the sorts of people who love to entertain us while give us news on things coming in the next several months and while they have opted out of doing a digital event or press conference, they are still giving us something to watch and livestream. So Nintendo, what do you have for us this time? Well following suite with Ubisoft and Sony, they too pay respects for the those affected by the shootings in Orlando. We then get a look at the new Legend of Zelda game and it looks amazing especially for Wii U standards and its coming to NX as well. We then move on Pokemon Sun and Moon and get some news on the two games. Also Pokemon are celebrating 20 years which is another sign that I'm getting old. The rest or rather the majority of the video was all to do with Zelda which isn't a bad thing, but considering that this is E3, we do want other things as well. Not the best Nintendo video ever, but its good to know that the NX exists as well as seeing some footage of Zelda for Wii U and NX and it has a name too.

Everyone else
With the exception of all that I mentioned above, here's what others are showing off at E3 this year. The second year of LEGO Dimensions looks promising with such franchises like The A-Team, Gremlins, Goonies, Harry Potter, ET, Adventure Time and many others joining the fun along with some other new content coming to the game as well. Injustice 2 is in the works and the trailer for the game shows us that upgrading armor will be a big deal in the game and will feature plenty of well known and not so well known DC characters. TellTale give us a trailer for season 3 of their Walking Dead series which looks promising and they also show off some screenshots for their upcoming Batman game, also looking promising. Mafia III gets another trailer and it once again, looks pretty darn good. LEGO Worlds is getting online multiplayer and is looking to be the Minecraft of LEGO games (believe me I've played it and its just like Minecraft, but in LEGO form). There's also (as mentioned above) loads of indie games in the works which you will want to see and play because they all look great. Dragon Quest fans, there is a building game coming your way for PS4 and PSV (guess there really is some love out there for the Vita after all). That and a whole lot of other things coming our way too.

Its been a pretty good E3 (even though once again, I didn't go) and its clear that VR is the big thing. I also think its nice that some of the people mentioned the Orlando shootings (and I was for a while wondering what those colourful ribbons were all about) even though this is a gaming event. Some good things, some bad things and some things need improvement on, but otherwise, E3 has been good this year. Now onto the question you guys will no doubt have for me. Who won E3? Square Enix I was unable to find any footage of their Deus Ex event (hence where there is a link to a video of something they showed). EA are just doing what they do best (normally being complete garbage), but I do give them credit for looking into indie games and having a lot of promise for the upcoming Mass Effect game and the Star Wars games. Bethesda are awesome as always. Microsoft are getting better with their presenting skills, but it still needs improvement, not to mention that their answer to what Sony announced prior to E3 is a direct rip off of the new PS4. PC Gaming Show was a good one, however watching the video, it had some technical difficulties and it cut off too (hence why the last bit of that paragraph was vague). As much as I love Ubisoft, I feel the presenter they have every year is trying too hard to be funny, but they did entertain me and managed to mention all new things coming to their franchises which was good. Despite the trailers for the new Call of Duty and Resident Evil games, the orchestra and Kojima's return and a release date for The Last Guardian made Sony's press conference a good one. I wished to have seen another Nintendo Digital Event, but what we got instead was just Zelda gameplay with Pokemon and the NX slapped on which for a major company like Nintendo, it isn't enough to wet my appetite. So I think in the end (and I'll probably get roasted for this), Sony win this year because it isn't often that you have a live orchestra accompany a press conference and what they announced made me excited to see what they have in store for the future.

Thanks for the 100 views guys. Much appreciated.