After a stellar E3 presentation at E3 2014 loaded with games and little filler, Microsoft may again deliver another bombastic press conference this year. What will they show? Here’s what we think Microsoft will show and what we hope will appear.
What We Expect To See
Killer Instinct: Season 3
Killer Instinct, a free-to-play fighting game, has recently been wrapped up for its second season from Iron Galaxy (who took over Double Helix Games’ development due to Amazon’s acquisition), and now the question is: what is next? Aria has been added to the roster as the last character for Season 2, and the story mode for Killer Instinct is currently being developed. However, with Street Fighter V being exclusive on PS4 and PC, perhaps Microsoft can step up development for Season 3, as there is a void left from the lack of Capcom’s fighter.
Halo 5: Guardians
~ Written by Eleni DiCarlo ~
Microsoft will no doubt make good use of the publicity E3 generates and use their presentation time wisely. For every company there are certain titles gamers expect to hear about, and Halo 5: Guardians is one such title. In this upcoming game, the worlds are under attack and Master Chief is missing! So who is going to save the galaxy? Spartan Locke is the one who must find Master Chief and save the entire galaxy. This is all the information from the story we are given about Halo 5, but it’s highly assumed that Microsoft’s E3 2015 presentation will show us more of the mystery that surrounds Master Chief’s disappearance and learn who’s attacking the colony worlds.
Since Halo 5: Guardians is slated for this October 27th, 2015, it’s the right time for Microsoft and 343 Industries to give gamers more info about the game. Most likely we’ll see an enormous trailer, or better yet, Locke himself making a live appearance onstage to rile up viewers on the convention floor and at home. Continuing the Halo franchise is a great way to bring in Xbox 360 fans to Xbox One and it’ll most likely be the game that convinces fans on the fence. Just because it’s part of an established series doesn’t mean Microsoft should keep the fans in the dark as to what the game’s all about. Hopefully, the representatives will show us an in-depth video or talk about what to expect from Halo 5: Guardians.
Minecraft
~ written by Tim Gruver ~
With Mojang officially under the Microsoft banner, it’s probably a question of how rather than if Xbox touts something Minecraft-related on Xbox this E3. Though by no means an Xbox exclusive, the Microsoft label’s gotta count for something. The IP’s $2.5 billion price-tag’s just too big for Microsoft to ignore just under a year later and surely Microsoft’s got some way to stick a flag in their newest acquisition.
Maybe it’ll be an exclusive animal that shows up in the Xbox One version or maybe it’ll some new Xbox exclusive story mode mission that Microsoft shows off. And we do know that Telltale and Mojang are collaborating on some mysterious “story-mode” that Microsoft’s surely given some attention to as well. Whatever the case, Minecraft‘s probably the perfect distraction from everything Forza and Halo to prove the Xbox’s got families in mind too.
Fable Legends
~ Written by Eleni DiCarlo ~
Fable Legends is an odd franchise that has gotten both love and hate from players. The last few Fable games have been poor, but it is the nostalgia of the first Fable that keeps gamers interested. In Fable Legends, the true RPG elements of having heroes and a villain come to life. Four heroes must work together to complete quests while trying to thwart the evil villain who commands a creature army. This game will give players the option of being the villain or one of the heroes, and it offers two ways of playing. One option allows a player to play the game completely on their own and use the AI fill-ins as the other characters. The second gives the player a single character to play with other gamers to complete the roster.
One of the quests has been revealed already: The ancient artifact “The Moon on the Stick” which the children of Albion used to make wishes to, still exists and the heroes must find it. While being seventh in the series, the quests need to be interesting enough to keep old Fable fans wanting to play. Hopefully there is more to the “Moon on the Stick” quest or the other quests that will be appetizing enough to bring the fans back. Fables Legends is going to be released on Windows 10 and on the Xbox One sometime in 2015. Microsoft and Lionhead Studios should have a definite date set by now, and will hopefully announce it at E3 along with a new trailer or fun presentation. Looks like we’ll just have to wait until the conference to see if Microsoft will be giving us a worthy quest!
A Rare Game
Older Rare properties have been making waves in the recent gaming landscape. Games such as Banjo-Kazooie and Battletoads have been without a new game, but have showed up for a few cameos here and there in games such as Shovel Knight, and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. However, things have been brighter for Rare fans as of late, as Killer Instinct is currently in its second season of content and Conker has a level pack in Project Spark. How about another game from a Rare property other than Killer Instinct?
Phil Spencer’s teased Battletoads at a Windows 10 Live Conference when he appeared with a shirt showcasing the game. Simon Woodroofe, the studio creative director at Rare said on Twitter, “E3 will tell the world what Gregg Mayles’ new project is about.” Gregg Mayles is a veteran developer at Rare, who is supposedly the director of Rare’s next project. Here’s hoping we hear more at E3.
Scalebound
~Written by Tim Gruver~
Dragons. Hipsters. Swords. In just the 30 seconds of it that we saw last year, Scalebound already promises everything we could expect or want out of a Platinum Games production. The otherworldly, forested setting provides an eye-grabbing contrast with its sword-wielding, headphones-wearing wise guy and it’d be interesting if either says something deeper about the plot in question. Time travel? Outer space? As one of the best-looking games we know nothing about, we’d love to know more.
Since last E3, the Xbox One’s enjoyed quite the turn-around from where it started just two E3s ago and a Platinum-made thrill-ride could be THE exclusive capable of pushing the Xbox One to its technical limits. With the epic scale of Bayonetta 2‘s boss battles, the crazy gameplay of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and the irreverent flair of Devil May Cry, Scalebound could be the best of all three and then some all in one. We can only pray that anything close to Revengeance‘s soundtrack is what spews out of Not-Dante’s headphones because that might just be worth the playtime itself.
Gears of War
Just like God of War, there’s a lot of hype revolving around what the next entry will entail. Gears Of War was previously teased at last year’s E3, but due to the development of the game being early, nothing was shown. The game’s being made by White Tusk Games, a new studio in Vancouver, who were creating a new IP before being tasked to work on the next Gears of War. Originally led by the original Gears trilogy’s Rod Fergusson, the new Gears is in new hands but certainly no smaller for it to our knowledge.
The Gears of War franchise is known to be a showcase title for the Xbox platform with its jaw-dropping use of Unreal Engine 3 back in the Xbox 360 era. Perhaps at this year’s E3, we could see the first gameplay from the next Gears of War so we can see its technical prowess. The HD Remastered version of Gears of War has also been heavily rumored in the last few months, so maybe we could have an official unveiling during the Microsoft E3 Press Conference.
What We Hope To See
A Return to Voice Recognition
Voice recognition’s just as exciting as virtual reality to me. A few years ago at E3, Microsoft showed off Project Milo, a game in which you talk to a character. However, I don’t want this to be a kids game. Think about the use of this in a RPG, like The Witcher 3 as you talk to an NPC or talk to your squad in a tactical shooter. We’ve seen uses of voice recognition before in previous hardware, such as shouting commands or choosing which movie we would like to see, but it’s never actually grown to a thinking AI that can respond to you without automated responses.
There are plenty of possibilities and a working version of what we see from the Milo demo in actual games is more exciting of a prospect than virtual reality, as your voice can alter a game world and characters.
Cup Head
One of the stand out games from last year is Cup Head, a Constra platformer with a classic 1930’s animation look. Shown within a show reel for the platform’s ID@Xbox titles, Cup Head was shown for a few seconds, and instantly got much attention for its unique style.
Last shown off at GDC 2015, Cup Head’s scheduled to hit Xbox One and PC this year, so hopefully we’ll get more details and a release date for Cup Head at E3 this year.
Sunset Overdrive for PC
As a long time fan of the Ratchet and Clank series and a PS4 owner, I was disappointed that Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive would be Xbox exclusive. The game has outrageous weapons, a cool open world, and a great look. However, recent releases and announcements for PC have shown that Microsoft are willing to allow previous Xbox One exclusives on the platform. D4‘s already slated for later this month on Steam, Dead Rising 3 came out earlier, and Fable Legends has been announced for their Windows 10 gaming platform. Sunset Overdrive would be a fantastic addition for Windows 10 crossplay with the Xbox One, and a great release for PC gamers who want a wacky third person shooter.
Those are our picks, but what about yours? Share them with us in the comments below!