Microsoft took to the stage first on this year’s “Day 0″ of E3. There was a lot of pressure on them given their low sales figures in comparison to PS4 and with the memory of last year’s debacle still in everyone’s minds. Under the leadership of Phil Spenser, they’d been steering the ship back on course in recent weeks. Read on to find out if E3 continued that trend:
Call of Duty: Advance Warfare
It wouldn’t be a Microsoft press event without Call of Duty, and Activision were on hand to show a story demo of the next instalment. Microsoft also told us that the tradition of DLC being first on XBox will continue. Advance Warfare will release on November 4th.
Forza Horizon 2
Getting a release date of September 30th, the Playground Games developed sequel will once again feature Drivatars (pre-populated with data from Forza 5), and contain the usual smorgasbord of cars and scenic tracks. Also announced by Turn 10 was that the world famous Nurburgring is now added to Forza 5′s roster of tracks (it’s free as part of the latest title update).
Evolve
As well as revealing some new gameplay footage of Turtle Rock studio’s follow up to Left 4 Dead, Microsoft revealed XBox One owners would get exclusive Beta access, as well as timed exclusive DLC. Evolve will release on October 21st worldwide
Assassin’s Creed Unity
As previously speculated, Assassin’s Creed Unity will for the first time feature 4 player co-op throughout the campaign as revealed in the exclusive gameplay demo shown at the conference
Dragon Age: Inquisition
A running theme of the conference, Bioware revealed that the XBox One version of Dragon Age: Inquisition will see premiere content first, as well as revealing a release date of October 7th (which is October 10th for us here in Ireland)
Fable Legends
The all new Fable game, the first from Lionhead since the departure of the iconic Peter Molyneux, will feature 4 player co-op gameplay as revealed by the below trailer. Also revealed was the ability to play as the villain of the piece, albeit indirectly via tower defence-like gameplay mode. A beta will come to XBox this Autumn ahead of an unspecified release date.
Sunset Overdrive
A highlight of the conference, the colourful exclusive from Insomniac Games will feature both a single player campaign and 8 player “Chaos Squad” co-op mode. Sunset Overdrive releases October 28th in the US (October 31st here in Ireland).
Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Trailer
Dance Central Spotlight
Project Spark
The big announcement for the XBox and PC creation game was the reveal of Conker (he of Bad Fur Day fame), most likely as some form of playable character that can be used in created games.
Ori And The Blind Forest
Little is known about this title from Moon Studios. It features an art style reminiscent of Child Of Light and is exclusive to XBox One
Halo The Master Chief Collection
A Halo fan’s wet dream, The Master Chief Collection will feature 4 Halo titles (1 Anniversary, 2, 3 and 4), with Halo 2 receiving the “full Anniversary treatment”. Each game will retain its distinctive engines, and the multiplayer will switch between each depending on what map is in play. Buyers of the collection will also receive guaranteed access to the Halo 5 Guardians multiplayer beta and access to a weekly episodic show called Halo Nightfall from Ridley Scott.
Inside
From the makers of Limbo, the title is slated to be released in early 2015, and once again features a young protagonist in a world wrought with danger.
Indie Games Montage
ID@XBox continues to see more and more independent studios sign up, and brief glimpses were shown of some of their work. Highlights include IDARB, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and Cuphead. Individual trailers for each can be seen here
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The follow up to the successful 2013 reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider once again features Lara Croft, and promises to tell the story of Lara after the traumatic events of the previous title. It’s slated for a 2015 release.
Witcher 3
Phantom Dust
A reboot of a 2004 original XBox title, Phantom Dust is being developed under the guidance of Ken Lobb, who was also involved in the successful Killer Instinct reboot last year.
The Division
Another title where XBox One players will receive first access to DLC, Ubisoft’s The Division was shown off with a brand new gameplay trailer featuring 4 players clearing an area of enemies before setting up shop in an abandoned building which looked to establish a base from which further options and missions could be accessed.
Scalebound
A third party XBox One exclusive developer by Platinum Games (yay!), Scalebound looks to continue the studio’s tradition of outstanding action titles. The blonde hero looks to be able to generate armour, and in the demo battles several towering creatures alongside an army of dragons.
Crackdown
The final game showed at Microsoft’s presentation was Crackdown. In development by original series creator Dave Jones, Crackdown promises a whole new campaign which is completely playable in co-op.