These games make up what I believe is the greatest games lineup in Xbox history.” Big words from Microsoft but far from being untrue. The Xbox conference kicked off the E3 conference at 5:30 PM GMT on Monday evening. Here is a quick round-up of everything that was announced at the Xbox E3 conference.
Of course Xbox were bound to start with Halo 5: Guardians so no surprises there. With a short cinematic trailer, some single player gameplay footage and a demo of the entirely new mulitplayer experience ‘Warzone’, which features huge twelve-on-twelve player versus player matches and just as large player versus enemies games. It was also stated that Guardians storyline follows two squads of four characters, one led by Master Chief and the other by Locke.
Moving straight on, we were introduced to ReCore, a breathtaking new franchise coming exclusively to Xbox One from the developers of Metroid: Prime. As one of the last remaining humans, you forge friendships with courageous robot companions and lead them on an epic adventure through a mysterious, dynamic world. Coming Spring 2016.
“Gamers won’t have to pay to play games they already own.” A dream come true for cross console Xbox fans as the next thing announced was that backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games was coming to the Xbox One. Xbox Preview members can already try this feature today, check out the full list of games that are already available here. Coming soon for all other Xbox One users.
Next up was a preview of a slick new Wireless Elite Controller. Pro-level precision, featuring an arsenal of swappable components, Hair Trigger Locks, and limitless customization; you can choose from a variety of thumbsticks, D-pads, and paddles for a tailored feel that provides game-changing accuracy and speed.
“Player freedom is our number one goal.” Todd Howard returned during the Xbox conference to give a roundup on Fallout 4 for the Xbox One . (For those who might have missed the full Bethseda showcase yesterday you can watch it here.) Cheers erupted from the crowds when it was stated that mods created on the PC for Fallout4 will be able to played and shared for free on Xbox One. It was confirmed that Fallout 4 runs on Bethseda’s next gen creation engine, features full physical based rendering and dynamic volumetric lighting. Fallout 4 has now been confirmed for release on the 10th November 2015.
EA turned up to announce that Xbox Live Gold members gets free access to EA unlimited until June 22nd! Sign up for Xbox Live Gold today.
Next up came Dan Greenwalt and Henry Ford III to present Forza Motorsport 6. The next generation of racing game that allows you to collect, customize, and race the cars of your dreams and includes the video game debut of the Ford GT. Night and rain racing are finally coming to a Forza Motorsport game on Xbox One and developers promise that you’ve never seen anything like it. Plus, you’ll never race alone as there’s the option to have up to 24 cars on the track with you both offline and online.
Bandai Namco officially confirmed what we all suspected, that Dark Souls 3 will be coming in early 2016, but that this is also likely to be the final instalment in this series. So far, all we know about Dark Souls 3 is that it is “a dark and brooding fantasy adventure awaits players in a vast twisted world full of fearsome beasts, devious traps and hidden secrets.”
Lara Croft has always been deadly but it was great to see more of an emphasis on exploration and adventure than shooting in a Tomb Raider game for a change. In the E3 gameplay footage of Xbox One Exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider we witness Lara and her ally try to survive an avalanche on a snowy mountainside. Xbox have confirmed that Rise of the Tomb Raider is set for release on 10th November 2015.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Rare Ltd. Rare are collaborating with Xbox to bring you Rare Replay a collection of 30 Rare classics to play exclusively on your Xbox One, including iconic games like Viva Pinata and Battletoads.
Though we were already trying to absord an immense range of fantastic titles at this point, the next item on the Xbox agenda still managed to really stand out. Discussing a collaboration with Occulus Rift, Microsoft announced the official launch of the HoloLens – Holograms mixed with your real world helping to unlock all new ways to create communicate, work and play. We even witnessed this mind blowing demonstration of how this technology can be applied to games such as Minecraft.
We’re not sure which we’re more excited for from The Coalition studios, as both Gears of War Ultimate Edition and Gears of War 4 were officially announced by Xbox alongside gameplay examples. Since Black Tusk studios renamed themselves to The Coalition in preparation for more Gears of War releases, we’re hoping that these first two games launched under this new name willset a high standard for any Gears games that follow.
