Microsoft's E3 Conference Review and Wrap Up

Microsoft’s E3 conference started off with a big Halo bang. A single player and multiplayer trailer kicked off the show, demonstrating an emphasis on quality and player experience. After 343’s Master Chief collection debacle it only makes sense that they’d be focusing so heavily on stable and accessible game play.

Microsoft’s first new IP, Recore, had a teaser trailer that demonstrated what kind of game the players should expect. Recore is made by Inafune, the mega man co-designer. Recore seems like it will be following a female lead protagonist as she collects core’s and places them in robots to help her fight, and potentially solve different types of puzzles. The game focuses on battling against red cored robots with your blue cored robots.

Next, a huge announcement from Microsoft is the new backwards compatibility of the Xbox One. Starting this holiday season for all players, and earlier for members of Game Preview, backwards capability will include over 1000 titles including Mass Effect and Rainbow Six Vegas.

The new Xbox “Elite” controller took the stage, designed for elite gamers on the Xbox One. New features of the controller include: four interchangeable paddles on the back, hair trigger locks for shooter precision, button remapping, and swappable components. The Elite Controller his retail in October at the price of $149.99.

Longtime partners of Microsoft, Bethesda took the stage to demonstrate even more Fallout 4. Specifically, Todd Howard wanted to emphasize that mods made for Fallout 4 on PC will be usable on the Xbox One version of the game.

The second big company at Microsoft’s conference was EA who demonstrated new games and features coming to EA access including Titanfall this week and Dragon Age Inquisition later this year. The big selling point for EA access is the ability to play some of Ea’s newest games before release. EA access will be free to Xbox One Gold members this week.

For its first appearance at E3, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 showed off a trailer, and gameplay later at the EA showcase. Some unique playable classes, new missions, and new drops will be available in the new game.

Forza Motorsports 6 was announced for a September 15^th release, with 26 tracks and hundreds of cars, Forza looks to celebrate its 50^th anniversary with a bang.

In Big News Bandai Namco showed off a Dark Souls 3 trailer at the Microsoft conference. The new Dark Souls seems to see the return of the Giants to the world. Fans of the series will recognize the giants the invading force of Drangliec, and the originators of the boss souls.

Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft, hit the stage to show off all of the brand new Tom Clancy game line up including The Division and Rainbow Six Siege. The Division is an MMO shooter for consoles, where players travel through a post-apocalyptic New York stuck in a perpetual black Friday/ Christmas season. Rainbow Six Siege, due out later this year, is a squad based player vs player shooter that focuses on the utter destruction of environments. Siege will also include backward compatible copies of Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 for the Xbox One.

Independent developers and games took up a huge part of the Microsoft conference, over a dozen independent exclusives were shown at the Microsoft conference with brief 1-2 second clips of each. The three biggest indie games shown were ION, Tacoma, and Cuphead.

Timed Exclusive, Rise of the Tomb Raider, had a massive gameplay demo. Showing cinematic and gameplay features, the trailer showed Lara Croft scaling an ice covered mountain, surviving avalanches, long jumps, and a massive Storm. The rest of the trailer showed brief glimpses of what players can expect from the game, demonstrating the diversity in environments and hinting at some supernatural elements of the game.

Rare fans rejoiced as Rare announced the release of “Rare Replay,” a collection of the 30 best rare games available to play on Xbox One. Rare Replay includes favorite titles like Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

Rare wasn’t only announcing the re-release of its old games, but also a brand new IP titled “Sea of Thieves.” Sea of Thieves is a pirate-focused MMO. Playing with other players, you will create a crew and battle for control of the seas against other pirate factions. Players will also battle supernatural forces as they hunt for new lands and treasure.

There was a brief focus on the free-to-play asymmetric 4v1 game, Fable Legends, which is still playable across Window 10 platforms.

Microsoft then made a huge announcement that they were pairing with valve to work on Virtual Reality technology, and then quickly moved on to oculus, and even more quickly onto the Microsoft Hololens. Microsoft officially announced its Minecraft as an amazing app for gamers on the hololens. Gamers across platforms will be able to play in the same world as a player using the hololens. Hololens players will have god-like abilities, like the ability to control the weather, and see areas not yet accessed by players playing normally.

The last major title to hit the Microsoft was from the Gears of War team, announcing an HD rerelease of the original Gears of War, and a Gears 4, a brand new game in the series. The demo for Gears 4 was incredibly dark, which made the graphics and the game play really hard to see. However, the game did look really fun, and presumably it won’t be pitch black the entire time.

For more E3 news during the event you can follow me on Twitter @forgedinflames or stay here for the Sony E3 summary and wrap up report!

Bethesda E3 Review

 Bethesda’s first-ever E3 conference opened with applause and a video message from the Bethesda team. The team discusses what makes them love games so much, and how they put this passion into their own games so that everyone can love their games as much as they do.

As the video fades to black Pete Hines steps out on stage and officially begins the conference. Hines introduces Marty Stratton, the executive producer of id software, who introduces the brand new Doom. Stratton states that Doom has always been about three things: badass demons, big f*ing guns, and moving really fast. Stratton states that these are the ideas that they focused on when creating the new Doom game.

Doom takes place on a base on Mars and players make their way from the base into the very depths of hell. The gameplay demo shown during the conference certainly looked like the game was a true successor to the original Doom. Doom will be an fps, gory, shoot ‘em up, that includes a large array of weapons includes the double-barrel shotgun, a massive chainsaw, plasma rifles, and more. The graphics looked amazing, but players should never expect a final product to look as good as it does during E3.

id Software is also bringing the beloved multiplayer to the new generation that will include maps from Mars and Hell, demonic power-ups, vertical traversal, and customizable levels. Customization is huge in the new Doom in the form of “Doom SnapMap,” id software’s new content and mission creator that looks a lot like the level creator from TimeSplitters.

After Doom’s announcement ended with gameplay from Hell, Pete Hines returned to the stage to announce Bethesda.net. Hines stated that Bethesda.net will be the “heart of all our games going forward.” Players will be able to find all information about Bethesda and it’s games on Bethesda.net instead of having a bunch of different domains.

Next, the Battlecry team gave a brief glimpse at their MOBA shooter. There weren’t many details about the new game save for the introduction of a new playable class. The Battlecry announcement ended by the opening of the Battlecry beta registration officially opening at Battlecrythegame.com

The next big announcement came from Bethesda’s Arkane studios. The announcement included a trailer for the highly-anticipated Dishonored 2, and an HD remake of the original Dishonored that will include all of the DLC for current-gen consoles.

Dishonored 2’s trailer showcased a “new” female protagonist that was later revealed to be Emily Caldwin, the girl Corvo saved from the first game. The Arkane studios team announced that both Emily and Corvo will be playable characters in Dishonored 2, both with unique moves and abilities to tackle each mission from a large variety of ways.

Dishonored 2 will be taking place in a new coastal location, where a supernatural being has taken control. The story follows an older Emily and Corvo attempting to take down the new tyrant using their supernatural powers and steam-punk weapons.

Next, A brief message from the Zenimax team showed the future of Elder Scrolls Online, which was just released on Consoles. New additions to the game will include new content like the infamous Dark Brotherhood.

Piggybacking on the update from the Elder Scrolls Online, Pete Hines announced the release of a new Elder Scrolls themed strategy card game “Edler Scrolls Legends,” that looks like a good competitor for Hearthstone. Legends will be available on PC and Tablet devices.

Pete Hines then announced that that was the end of Bethesda’s first E3 conference only to be met with boos and screams that he forgot about something important. Pete Hines then happily welcomed Todd Howard, the game director of Bethesda Games, to the stage.

Todd Howard ushered in new gameplay footage from the new Fallout 4 game.  Fallout 4 was announced before E3, but all players had received was a new trailer, now players are able to see what they can actually expect from the game.

Fallout 4 begins right before the bomb drops, allowing players massive customization of their male and female players, both with full voice acting. While players will only play as the sex that they exit the creator from, any changes made to the other sex will remain, and a baby will be created that will have features from both parents. After exiting the creator players are met with a door-to-door salesman where they pick their SPECIAL skills, which is the system Fallout uses for player attributes like strength and luck. Shortly after, the town goes is instructed to run to Vault 111 because the nuclear war between China and the US has officially begun.

Time in the vault is not shown for the sake of keeping that part of the game unspoiled, but Pete Hines stated that the player is the sole survivor of the vault and leaves it 200 years after the bomb dropped. Shortly after exiting the vault players meet their dog, who is now command-able. Later in the showcase Howard proudly announced that Fallout 4 will include a layered armor system, customizable weapons and power armor, and the ability to create multiple settlements using parts from around the world.

Fallout 4 will be available to consoles on November 10^th, 2015. A collector’s edition of the game will include a wearable pip-boy that houses a mobile device. The purpose of holding the mobile device, is that a pip-boy app will be available at the game’s release that will work like a “second-screen” experience that will allow players to use their pip-boys from their phone instead of in game if they choose.

Later, at the Microsoft conference, Todd Howard announced that PC mods for Fallout 4 will be usable on the Xbox version of the game. No announcement for a similar feature has been made at Sony, but the Sony conference may prove otherwise.

A full Fallout 4 announcement review will be available here in a while.

The first-ever Bethesda E3 conference ended by announcing that attendees of the conference would receive unique mini-figurines from Fallout, Doom, and Dishonored.

Our Take: Very, very, very excited for the upcoming year of Bethesda games.

Lego: Dimensions Announced and it Looks Amazing

Warner Bros. Released a number of teasers out yesterday with pictures of various Lego silhouettes standing in front of a large blue circle with the hashtag "break the rules." These images could have teased a new Lego movie or game, and as it turns out, was indeed teasing the next Lego game by Traveller's Tale who has made every previous themed-lego game.

Lego: Dimensions is set to launch on September 27th this year for Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the Wii U. The game will operate much like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, in that it will require a gamepad, the game, and collectible figures to play.

The starter pack is available for $99.99 (US) and includes the game, a Lego Toy Pad, a Lego Dimensional Gateway, and a Lego Batmobile. As usual with toy-themed games the starter pack will include three characters: Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle (from The Lego Movie).

The purpose of the game seems to be to blend all of the Lego franchises into one game to interact and assist each other. The dimensional aspect seems to imply that the dimensional transport will allow characters to travel between different Lego worlds (presumably as long as you own the corresponding world piece).

A large number of packs for the game have already been announced. These packs include: (list taken from IGN, prices suggested by retailers)

• Back to the Future levels with a Marty McFly minifig ($29.99)
• Ninjago team pack with Kai and Cole figures ($24.99)
• Ninjago fun packs with Jay, Nya, and Zane figures ($14.99)
• DC fun packs with Wonder Woman and Cyborg ($14.99)
• Lord of the Rings fun packs with Gollum, Gimli, and Legolas ($14.99)
• The Lego Movie fun pack with Emmet, Bad Cop, Benny, and Unikitty ($14.99)
• The Wizard of Oz fun pack with Wicked Witch of the West ($14.99)

My take away: It's about time. I think a lot of people will see this as greedy marketing, but if any company had the right to follow this model for video games it was Lego. Lego has first and foremost been a creative toy company, and with the wild success of all of their licensed games it was only a matter of time until the actual Lego versions would be available for purchase.

Not only that but the game sounds like a dream come true. Just like the Lego movie (and the very real afternoons of my childhood) you'll be able to mix and match a large number of franchises in a way that is pure fun. Batman and Marty Mcfly kicking Sauron's metal butt sounds exactly like the uninhibited fun I remember from childhood. I for one cannot wait to get my hands on this game.

Xbox 360 Receiving a Hard Drive Update

Xbox Live's update preview program members will be able to utilize up to 2-2TB hard drives on their Xbox 360s in the next update.

All other Xbox Live users will have access to this update later this year according to Major Nelson's blog.

This update will allow users to connect up to 2-2TB hard drives to their consoles to store downloaded games, profiles, save files, etc. from their consoles.

Previously, users were limited to only being able to use up to 32GB of space on an external hard drive, so this update will give users access to significantly more space.

Another previous requirement of the Xbox 360's external hard drive policy was a pre-format of space on the hard drive. This would section off the desired portion of the hard drive up to 32GB to put aside for future file saves. This update will remove this requirement and will allow users to only use the amount of space they're actually using at the time.

Our Take: This update is amazing, but it's too little, too late. This update would've been amazing about two years ago. I'll still be using this to download all of the games I've purchased over the years and to get all the amazing Games with Gold, but I really needed this years ago. Hopefully Microsoft learns their lesson and updates the Xbox One with this soon, and the PS4 soon after.

Bound by Flame developer announces new game The Technomancer

"On the run from the Secret Police and confronted by the harsh realities of the Red Planet, you must undertake a quest that takes you through tribal communities, cities lost under the ice, and dystopian shanties sprawled across Mars' dusty embrace."

This is the official description of Spider's (Bound by Flames developer) upcoming RPG The Technomancer.

Technomancer takes place on Mars during an event known as the War of the Water. Players will play as the Technomancer, described as a"combat proficient warrior," who uses both cybernetic and magical abilities as he fights through the various sides of the War.

Common RPG elements like crafting and a leveling system will be an integral part of the game's mechanics. Spider claims, however, that many of the missions throughout the game will have upwards of 5 different endings. To be clear, the game doesnt have up to five endings, each mission within the game will. This, presumably, means the game will have a large diversity of endings depending on the choices made by the player.

The Technomancer will also be accompanied by dynamic companions who will assist his quest throughout the war.

The Technmoancer is set to be released sometime in 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Our Take: Science-Fiction RPGs seem to be getting announced fairly regularly now, and we're excited! Games like Mass Effect and Rage are usually pretty fun and innovative. Spider's take on the genre, so far, sounds pretty good. It also sounds like they have a way to go until the concept becomes a reality, so we're excited to see further news and trailers for the game. 

Dante's Inferno

 

Dante's Inferno made by EA and Visceral Games is a disturbing action adventure game that sends you on a disturbing descent down Dante's eight layers of hell. You battle through progressively harder levels and enemies all the way to the eighth layer all in the name of...love. That's right, that is what warrants this rampage through hell, love and an unhealthy need to be absolved for all the people you've killed. This game is fun and addicting as you meet new enemies and solve new sin-themed puzzles all the way to the devil himself to save your dear loving Beatrice.

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Pros: Constant action, Highly detialed enviroments, compelling story, fun combat system, Amazing boss battles, tons of gore and intense and emotionally powerful landscapes 

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Cons: main character is uninteresting and overall is depicted as a real jerk, the constant change of enemies and environments makes the learning curve spike randomly, many special attacks seem to lack any real punch and enemy glitches can make some fights seem dull or just plain aggravating.
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Dante's Inferno is a great game, if not significantly disturbed in almost every sense of the word. The depiction of hell is exciting and provides a unique videogame experience that is both fun and challenging. While many players might find it hard to slaughter a hoarde of unbaptized babies or may feel sick seeing the lust goddess constantly flail giant tongues out of her breast, once you get passed the openly demented game you'll find a pretty bad ass hack and slash game.

While many might argue that it's a lot more than a hack and slash it really isn't, you may learn new ways to hack and slash and occasionally may have to time blocks and counters just right it doesn't change the fact that every level you have to find a new way hack through your enemies and slash them to pieces.

However this never takes away from the game. In fact it actually adds to it. You play as Dante, a pissed off and heart-broken crusader whose one true love has been stolen by the devil himself to be his queen of hell. This is all because she made a deal with the devil that Dante would stay faithful during the crusades. Spoiler: he doesn't. So her soul becomes Lucifers and it's Dante's job to kill every damned soul, demon, and guardian to get the soul of his beloved wife back. Many of the figures you fight or see in the game were real historic figures who messed up enough in life to find themselves in hell. Some of these you get a chance to "absolve" or give their soul a pardons, this is strongly recommended for late game strategy.

You're constantly faced with new enemies and new puzzles. Most are incredibly hard to fight or solve without knowing the specific tactic to defeat each. But I once you learn every enemy's Achilles heel it becomes incredibly easy to just mow through enemies. If you find yourself running really low on health half way through battles try to max out your health bar and grab the last perk on the holy side. Dante's inferno is huge on collectible items, so search every square inch of the map and solve every puzzle to get every coin and item, it not only drags the play time out but it helps give you that little extra boost you may be looking for.

Overall once you get past a lot of the horrifyingly disturbing images that'll make you want to bathe every time you play Inferno is one hell of a game. Definitely worth the $15 it now cost. If nothing else it's great to crank up the difficulty and give yourself a little bit of a challenge between your other video games. Inferno takes about 20-35 hours to complete depending on your play style and need for achievements, I love achievements so it took me a little around 40. Definitely worth checking out but I'd give replay value a 6/10 it's really a one and done kind of game.

Bloodborne (PS4) review

Blood-borne is made by gaming developer From Software and is the spiritual successor to the action/adventure RPG Souls series.

Bloodborne is set in the Gothic land or Yarnhem, where Grimm fairy tales and steam punk collide in a grotesquely beautiful fashion.

Bloodborne shares a lot of its mechanics and themes with previous entries in the series, while offering up new features that make the game feel unique.

The game, while punishing, still welcomes new players and long time fans of the series by creating beautiful environments, intense enemies, and a dark and mysterious narrative that entices players to push forward through the gruesome gothic world.

The game utilizes the capabilities of the ps4 to present a beautifully detailed world and stunningly grotesque enemies, with flowing bandages, ripping skin, and other haunting qualities that make each enemy unique. While there are some distracting visual and auditory glitches on occasion, the overall game looks very well designed.

The mechanics of the game feel intuitive and incredibly responsive. Movement and attacks feel fluid, but the game still suffers from some hit-box problems that can be frustrating and make some combat feel unrealistic. Occasionally the dodge/ roll mechanic won't let the player properly maneuver around an enemy or piece of the environment where it clearly should, again pulling the player from the game and causing some undue frustration. Otherwise the gameplay feels amazing and natural.

This game is definitely not for the faint of heart as it reaches deep into some primal fears to create feelings of dread and despair. Playing through the game left me feeling angry, scared, and occasionally elated when I finally mastered an area that I was having particular trouble with.
The game is grueling but satisfying in the most masochistic of ways, and no matter how challenging it became I always found myself crawling back to its devastating jaws.

As with previous Souls games, Bloodborne is filled with diverse and memorable Boss fights that require planning, strategy, or sometimes, just plain dumb luck. Each boss offers unique fights, and often through many attempts feel incredibly satisfying to finally vanquish.

One of the best, and perhaps joyfully unnoticed qualities, is the seamlessness of the world. There is absolutely no load screens in between areas and it possible to travel from one end of the map to the other without a single load screen. This allows the open world to feel even more immersive, but this unfortunately leaves the post-death load screen to take even longer to process the entire world of the game. It should be noted that From Software has promised to fix the 40-second loading time in a future update for the game.

The weapons of Bloodborne are scarce but unique. In previous souls games weapons were frequent, but many lacked diversity or any truest great qualities. However, in Bloodborne this problem is solved by only giving the player access to a small number of unique weapons that all hold interesting abilities that require the player to think strategically about combat. Luckily the diversity of the weapons, and the ability to switch between two different weapons, allows players to be ready for a variety of encounters.

One aspect that did not seem to improve since Dark souls 2 was the new transportation mechanic. In the previous entry players could travel to any rest location that had been unlocked from any of the other locations. In Bloodborne, however, it is only possible to travel to the players main hub from the game world, but players can travel to any rest locations from the main hub.

Despite its various glitches and extended loading times, Bloodborne is a fantastic entry into the Souls series, and should please old fans of the series, while still feeling welcoming to those new to the punishing world created by From Software