It seems like only yesterday we were sunning it up in LA, getting sweaty running between appointments and playing all of the biggest games to bring you, our fair readers, all of the latest impressions from the most significant event on the gaming calendar. E3 2015 brought with it a whole host of gaming goodness, and now it's time to give out some awards.
We're trying something a little different this year for our Game of the Show Awards, which means we've scrapped a lot of the more boring categories and shoehorned in a bunch of new ones. This means a bigger and hopefully better Game of the Show Awards article for you to scroll through, which is universally relevant to our entire audience across both PST and XBA.
So, without further ado, let's get on with the show, shall we? There's a lot to get through, but trust us, it's all good, highlighting the very best of the best that E3 2015 had to offer. Obviously, we go into greater detail in our many previews and interview videos we've got coming up, but for now there's this! Enjoy!
Best Press Conference of the Show
The press conferences of E3 2015 were arguably the greatest we've ever seen. Seriously, they were that good. There was something for everyone and each of them had truly standout moments. Bethesda’s showing of Doom and Fallout 4 wowed fans, as did Ubisoft and their impressive shock announcements (South Park, For Honor and Ghost Recon: Wildlands). Heck, even EA had a decent showing with the announcement of Mass Effect: Andromeda and showing off Mirror's Edge: Catalyst and Star Wars Battlefront.
The top honours fell to the two platform holders though: Microsoft with its stellar platform announcements (backwards compatibility, Fallout 4 mods, the Game Preview Program and HoloLens); and Sony with games galore, including some impressive third-party announcements, namely Final Fantasy VII HD and Shenmue 3. It was Sony’s other games that really won us over this year, edging ahead of Microsoft and its usual impressive line-up. Whether you’re talking about Guerrilla's new IP, Horizon: Zero Dawn, or its stunning Uncharted 4 demonstration, Sony delivered an exhilarating 90 minutes, and thus we have a worthy winner of the best conference award this year.
Winner – Sony
Announcement of the Show
When it comes to individual announcements of E3 2015, Microsoft held the biggest bombshell in its arsenal. And it was one that has much further reaching implications for console owners, bringing consoles and PCs onto more of an even footing. I am of course talking about Fallout 4 mods coming to Xbox One. That’s not to say that the mods are exclusive to Microsoft – Sony still has to make a decision on that front – but they do get them first, and that is huge news. Regardless of exclusivity though, the fact that mods are coming to consoles in any way, shape or form is excellent news for console gamers. One of the key PC selling points that has had in its arsenal for years could soon be no more, as the console world embraces it wholly.
Winner – Fallout 4 Xbox One Mods
Game Announcement of the Show
Good old Ubisoft. The publisher has become a master in keeping its secret, unexpected E3 reveal under wraps until the big moment, and has consistently saved the best 'til last for the past few years. Watch Dogs was a surprise, The Division was a surprise, Rainbow Six: Siege was a surprise, and this year, Ghost Recon: Wildlands was a surprise.
And what's more, the game is looking like it could blow the Ghost Recon series wide open, with the vast expanses of Bolivia your squad-based tactical playground, as you crush the local Santa Blanca drug cartels one at a time. Great music and a stellar trailer that laid Ghost Recon: Wildlands' cards out on the table, this was far and away the best game announcement at this year's E3. And a surprise! Something becoming increasingly rare in these uncertain, leaky times.
Winner – Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Disappointment of the Show
Let's get one thing straight. We love Assassin's Creed. That's why we only want what's best for the series, and despite moving to the exciting location of Victorian era London, we're not particularly convinced that Assassin's Creed Syndicate is doing anything all that new or exciting.
Yes, the feud between violent London street gangs The Rooks and The Blighters is potentially rather interesting, and yes, fighting for territory ought to be fun. But the rope launcher makes climbing and scaling buildings largely redundant and some of the controls are still a bit fiddly. There's still time for refinement, of course, but for now, Assassin's Creed needs a kick up the backside. Here's hoping we're pleasantly surprised come release day.
Winner – Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Most Loved Game of the Show
Second only to the forever absent Half-Life 3 in being peoples' most wanted announcement, Sony revealing that a Kickstarter for Shenmue III is underway with Yu Suzuki at the helm dropped jaws and blew minds. That's no mean feat as part of a press briefing that also included The Last Guardian's long-awaited return and the confirmation of a Final Fantasy VII remake.
Take into account the fact that Shenmue III's Kickstarter goal is currently eyeing up the $4 million milestone, with three weeks still to go, and how could you not consider the return of Suzuki-san's much-loved series the most loved game of the show? Shenmue III is real and it's coming to PS4! Get excited now, people!
Winner – Shenmue III
Biggest Surprise Showing of the Show
As we sat watching the Microsoft press conference, specifically Lara Croft’s proper debut on next-gen, a collective groan was let out across the room. The action-packed, cinematic prowess that the demo showed was impressive, but it just wasn’t Tomb Raider – our criticism of last gen’s reboot.
Thank the gaming lords then that the behind-closed-doors Rise of the Tomb Raider demo was just exactly what we wanted: tombified. There were puzzles, huge tombs, massive structures to climb… it actually felt like Tomb Raider, and after the last effort from Crystal Dynamics, that shocked the shit out of us. Lara could well and truly be back.
Winner – Rise of the Tomb Raider
Shock Announcement of the Show
Sony seemed to be going through a wish list of what gamers wanted to see at E3, slapping the E3 audience square in the face with an announcement we'd all been waiting for. Previous confirmation of the original Psone version of FF VII for download felt like trolling, but Sony more than made up for it with the shock reveal of Final Fantasy VII remade for PlayStation 4.
An announcement that gave us goosebumps, the chance to revisit one of the high points in the FF series can't come soon enough, with Cloud, Tifa, Barrett and that gut punch of a moment with Aeris all demanding to be experienced once more. The Final Fantasy VII HD remake is something we've all been waiting for. Let's just hope that it delivers on its promises. And really, why wouldn't it? We can already hear the victory fanfare playing on a loop.
Winner – Final Fantasy VII Remake
The Best Use of Johnny Cash Award
Everybody loves a bit of Johnny Cash, and EA opened its press conference in the best possible way this E3: and that’s by announcing Mass Effect: Andromeda to the soothing tones of Mr. Cash and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" accompanying BioWare’s latest RPG. It comes as one of the most exciting trailers of the show, one that uses in-engine footage to signal the return of one of last-gen’s most exciting franchises. Okay, it’s a tenuous award title, but hey, we wanted to highlight our delight that EA announced the next Mass Effect, so sue us.
Best Gameplay Demo of the Show
E3 2015 set a high bar for gameplay demos, with Doom, Fallout 4, Ghost Recon, For Honor, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Star Wars: Battlefront and numerous others all impressing, but none managed to wow quite as much as Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. A freewheeling downhill pursuit that brought to mind all of the best chase moments from movies like Indiana Jones, the latest look at Drake's adventure proved without a shadow of a doubt that Naughty Dog knows this stuff inside out.
Never letting up for a moment, Drake and Sully's jeep weaving its way through side-streets and dirt tracks, across building sites, fields and verges, snagging washing lines, smashing through fences and scaffolding, was a sight to behold. With bullets flying and Sunday movie matinee action by the bucketload, this really did have it all. And it looked spectacular. Yes, it started with a bit of a hiccup, but that only served to prove that Sony's Uncharted 4 demo was the real deal, not just smoke and mirrors.
Winner – Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
The Triumphant Return to E3 Award
Numerous franchises have been away for inordinate amounts of time. There are some, like Final Fantasy VII HD we just thought we’d never see, some like Fallout 4 that were only a matter of time and others like Doom that always seem to crop up once in a blue moon.
Then there are games like Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, a game that almost couldn’t have existed, thanks to less than stellar sales of the original. It’s a game that could have come back as something entirely new and unlike the first outing, like Prey 2. Instead, it was very much Mirror’s Edgey and even better, it was playable. Actions speak louder than words, and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst let the game do the talking during this year's E3.
Winner - Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
Indie Game of the Show
'Indie' might be increasingly becoming a redundant label, as the gulf between independent games and their mainstream counterparts becomes increasingly narrow. This year's selection of indies on show at E3 hit home that very fact, with some fantastic titles well worth looking out for. Among them was 'Beyond Eyes', a gorgeous Xbox One game in which you play a blind girl revealing an unfamiliar watercolour world using touch scent and sound.
It was a very close second to Abzû, however, a beautiful, stylised journey beneath the ocean, exploring the seafloor to Journey composer Austin Wintory's soaring score. Swimming through fronds of kelp, gently gliding alongside schools of fish, and interacting with broken drones using your Ecco the Dolphin-style sonar ping, Abzû is a serene, meditative experience that looks lovely. In a nutshell, it's Journey underwater.
Winner - Abzû
Most Ridiculous Game of the Show
We like ridiculous here at XBA and PST, it’s the foundation of a good sandbox game and the folks over at Avalanche Studios have taken ridiculous to a new level in Just Cause 3… in a good way, of course.
The possibilities were huge in Just Cause 2 with the grappling hook and the tether ability, but thanks to the new wing-suit and up to six grappling hook lines – and the ability to wind in the tension – the possibilities are now endless. Whatever carnage you want to cause, you now have the tools at your disposal to do so. You’re now only restricted by your creativity, or in our case, lack thereof. Just Cause 3 is ridiculous. And that's why we love it.
Winner – Just Cause 3
Most Ambitious Game of the Show
E3 2015 played host to Bethesda's first ever press conference, and while the publisher effectively knocked it out of the park, it was that big Fallout 4 presentation at the end that really stuck out, with a range of announcements revealing just how hugely ambitious Bethesda Softworks latest adventure in the post-apocalyptic wasteland really is.
Fallout 4 didn't have to include game mods for Xbox One users, but it will. Fallout 4 didn't have to include a feature in which you can build your own settlements out of scrap, but it will. Fallout 4 didn't have to include a deep weapon customisation mechanic, but it will. Bethesda could have quite easily rested on its laurels for Fallout 4, making a pretty version of Fallout 3 with a new story set in Boston, but it hasn't. Instead, Fallout 4 might just be one of the most ambitious games we've seen in a while.
Winner - Fallout 4
THE Game of the Show
Here we are then, the money maker award. The crème de la crème. The top dog. Our Game of the Show, E3 2015 winner. Usually, it’s a tough decision to pick out our favourite game of the show, but this year, one game stood head and shoulders above its competition: Star Wars Battlefront.
A game that lets you escort an AT-AT, pilot a TIE Fighter, an X-Wing, snow speeder or an AT-ST, decimate your foes with thermal imploding grenades and even take down Luke Skywalker with a bunch of buddies, all of which we did in one match at this year’s show. Everything from the sound design, the visuals and how it handles make this one of the best Star War experiences we’ve ever landed our hands and eyes on. And we only played on one map. Just imagine what it’s going to be like come this November!.
Winner – Star Wars: Battlefront
That's all for now, but rest assured we have more previews and video interviews on the way! You can catch up with all of the E3 2015 content we've published so far via our E3 hub right here!