With no big groundbreaking surprises, you could say Microsoft played it safe, but the megaton of backwards compatibility was a major highlight of a solid show.
A lot of previous games such as Quantum Break and Scalebound were not at E3, but the heavy hitters like Halo and Gears of War showed some gameplay. While it didn’t bring any big surprises, Gears, Halo and Tomb Raider all looked good.
After the big reveal that Fallout 4 mods would come to Xbox One, the conference lost some steam as Peter Moore from EA came out to announce some expansions to EA access and Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. It continued to drag on with Forza, an indie showcase and a lukewarm Rise of the Tomb Raider gameplay showing. It is unfortunate that Tomb Raider has to go up against Fallout on November 10, and I honestly think it will be purposely delayed or pushed up.
Recore was the only surprise as a new IP, and with the creator of Mega Man and Metroid Prime behind the wheel, the game is immediately promising. Sea of Thieves was announced as an exclusive for Xbox One and a “Rare box” that includes 30 Rare games, so Rare was a solid addition to the conference and helped regain lost energy in the conference.
After another mediocre trailer for Fable Legends, the tech of Hololens was shown off extensively. What was shown was mind-boggling, and raises hopes for what future technology can do.
Ending with Gears of War 4 was a smart choice, but what was shown raised more questions than answers.
Microsoft is bringing Tomb Raider, Halo, a ton of Rare games in one box, and Forza this year, making the Xbox One very appealing for the immediate future. They still teased some stuff for the future including Hololens, Recore and Gears of War 4, so the press conference was well-rounded. It wasn’t the most exciting conference since we knew most of what was going to happen, but it was a really good showing of video gaming.
+Backwards compatibly
+A mix of good and new games
+The Hololens presentation
-A bit weak in the middle
Grade: B
Classic But New 