“Xbox One the best place to play games this generation”



Microsoft’s E3 2014 Conference has now come to an end. It’s safe to say they had a much, much better E3 than they did last year, with the focus this time round being all about the games we can expect on Xbox One rather than the hardware, which caused Microsoft a massive headache last time out. Sledgehammer’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare opened the show at E3, with Crackdown 3 making an appearance to close what was an excellent conference for Microsoft. As expected, a flurry of new games and release dates were revealed, as well as extended gameplay footage from the likes of Assassin’s Creed Unity, Sunset Overdrive and of course Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Xbox One owners will also be delighted to hear that they will be the first to receive DLC for a wide number of titles ahead of PlayStation 4 owners.

Here is a summary of every game which was showcased at Microsoft’s E3 Conference, all in one place.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare opened the show for Microsoft and showcased the typical gameplay we have come to expect from the series, starting with “Induction” which takes place in Seoul, South Korea in the year 2054. The level sees players advance through the streets of a war-torn Seoul. I couldn’t help but think that Advanced Warfare had taken some inspiration from Titanfall, especially with the soldiers having boosters enabling them to fly into the air or to jump from great heights. According to Phil Spencer, the work Sledgehammer Games have put into Advanced Warfare will result in it being the beginning of a new era for the Call of Duty franchise. Hopefully that proves to be the case.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be launching on November 4 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and PC, with Xbox One owners receiving DLC before anyone else.

Forza Horizon 2

Playground Games took to the stage next to show off Forza Horizon 2. Creative Director Ralph Fulton announced that the game will be released “on Xbox” on September 30, suggesting the game could be heading to both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Built on the same engine as that of Forza 5, Horizon 2 will take advantage of player’s Drivatars from Forza 5 allowing for their use. A brand new dynamic weather system with a spectacular day and night cycle were also showcased in the E3 trailer which was shown. From the trailer, Forza Horizon 2 looks set to be a beautiful game and will run in 1080p and at 30FPS. Over 200 of the latest cars will also be available to players as they drive around an open-world Southern Europe and soak up the festival atmosphere.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

The next highly anticipated title shown by Microsoft was Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Unity, transporting players back to 1789 during the French Revolution. The first in the series to be developed specifically for the next-generation, Assassin’s Creed Unity looked stunning as it took advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware providing true next-gen visuals.

The highlight of Assassin’s Creed Unity was the confirmation that the game will feature four-player co-op multiplayer, as shown by four different assassin’s storming a castle together. Players will also be able to create brotherhoods allowing three of your friends to join you as you make your way through the bustling streets of Paris.

We can’t wait to see what other details are released in the coming days regarding the title, but the addition of co-op multiplayer will certainly get many fans excited for Assassin’s Creed Unity.

Sunset Overdrive

If there was one game which just screamed fun at Microsoft’s Conference, it was Sunset Overdrive. CEO of Insomniac Games Ted Price took us through a gameplay demo of the game, showing off how vibrant and colourful the game really is. Sunset Overdrive is certainly a game full of chaos and humour. Although my only concern is that it may get repetitive. If Insomniac Games can keep the gameplay as fun as it looked throughout and mix the levels up, then Sunset Overdrive will definitely appear to be a game to keep an eye when it releases this fall, October 28.

Fable Legends

Another game Microsoft revealed today was Xbox One exclusive Fable Legends, which will be receiving a multiplayer beta this fall before launching at the end of 2014.

Legends is set 400 years before the first Fable and will focus on online co-operative play. Four players will be able to play together with four different heroes on offer to pick from. A fifth player will take control of the “evil villain” who will get to see things from a top-down perspective.

Fable Legends signals a different approach from Lionhead Studios to the Fable franchise and may not be quite the next installment some fans were hoping for. However they do have some interesting plans for the game as they see it evolving over years. Unfortunately offline single-player isn’t an option as Fable Legends aims to take advantage of Xbox One’s cloud service.

Halo Master Chief Collection & Halo 5: Guardians

Players will be able to experience the full saga of Master Chief for the first time on the same console, all on one disc, Microsoft announced. The collection will bring Halo to Xbox One for the first time, with four games on offer. Every single bit of content from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4 will be available on the same disc and will provide a seamless experience. Everything in the collection will run on Xbox One at 1080p and 60FPS. The collection will be available on November 11 in preparation of Halo 5: Guardians release in 2015. Let the Halo binge commence!

The multiplayer beta for Halo 5: Guardians will also be heading to Xbox One this December. Purchasers of the Master Chief collection will automatically gain access to the Halo 5: Guardians beta.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Next up was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, developed by CD Projekt RED who took to the stage to show off some brand new gameplay of their action RPG. The footage showed Geralt as he tracks and hunts for a griffin through the dense woodland. Traveling through the woods appeared to be effortless as he followed the trail of blood to find the griffin after initially injuring it. The size of the world was particular pleasing in the footage with The Witcher 3′s world said to be about 20% bigger than that of Skyrims. With that much exploring to be done, good job the world looked visually stunning and full of life!

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is scheduled to release February 24 2015 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Tom Clancy’s: The Division

I was already pretty excited about The Division before E3. However after the gameplay which has been shown, I’m even more excited. Not only did The Division graphically stand out as one of the best games on show thanks to the Snowdrop Engine it is running on. But what really grabbed my attention however was the sound and voice acting which helped make The Division sound increasingly believable, especially the communication shown between the players group. Although no more concrete details were revealed about the game other than another look into the world of The Division.

The Division is set in a near-future New York which was been decimated by a deadly virus which was unleashed on Black Friday. The gameplay video takes place on a snowy Christmas Day, with Christmas decorations still visible in the streets. Combat during the video also looked very solid with the cover system on show being a particular highlight.

Crackdown 3

Microsoft ended their conference with CloudGine co-founder Dave Jones confirming that the rumour that Crackdown 3 was to be announced was in fact very much true. However it was referred to only as Crackdown during the reveal as it becomes another Xbox One exclusive. Dave Jones stated that Crackdown would be returning with a revolutionary multiplayer experience which will be powered by an army of dedicated servers on Xbox Live.

The reveal trailer featured the classic Crackdown setting, with the city of the future full of neon lights and full of life. The announcement has been a long-time coming and will no doubt please fans of the Crackdown franchise with its latest installment. If the trailer was anything to go by, we could be in for a fantastic open-world experience.

Other games featured at Microsoft’s Conference:

Dragon Age Inquisition

BioWare showed off a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming RPG, Dragon Age Inquisition, which uses DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine. They also revealed the game will be making its way onto Xbox One on October 7th. Timed exclusive premier content will also be heading to Xbox One owners first.

Evolve

Turtle Rock Studios, creators of Left 4 Dead 2 showcased a new trailer for their upcoming game Evolve, also revealing that Xbox One will get exclusive access to the Evolve beta, as well as timed exclusive DLC.

Evolve will release October 21 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Project Spark

Microsoft revealed a new trailer for Project Spark - which allows players to create their own games from scratch before playing them. The trailer revealed that a squirrel who goes by the name of Conker, from Conker’s Bad Fur Day on Nintendo 64, will be available for players to add into their games.

Project Spark is expected to release later this year on Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows PC.

Ori and the Blind Forest

Moon Studios has announced Ori and the Blind Forest as the game made its debut at E3 today. The debut trailer was revealed which showcased the platformers beautiful graphics along with some stunning music which perfectly suited the game. The game will be making its way to gamers this fall on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics announced Rise of the Tomb Raider with its E3 debut trailer. The game will be released during the holiday season 2015. The game will pick-up where the last Tomb Raider game finished as the trailer sees Lara Croft in a therapy session after the events of the previous game. However she is quickly seen returning to her adventuring, killing an enemy silently with her bow. Rise of the Tomb Raider again looked visually impressive and looks set to take advantage of next-gen hardware.

Phantom Dust

One of the surprises at Microsoft’s Conference was the announcement that Phantom Dust would be rebooted exclusively for Xbox One. Originally a fighting game for the original Xbox. Not many details are currently known about the reboot of Phantom Dust, however a trailer was released to build up some excitement for the title.

Inside

Danish developers Playdead announced Inside, its follow-up game to popular indie game Limbo. Having worked on the game for the past four years, Inside is set to be released early next year on Xbox One. Gameplay wise Inside would appear to be similar to Limbo as it looks like another puzzle-platformer featuring a dark atmosphere.

Scalebound

Another Xbox One exclusive that was revealed today was Platinum Games’ action title Scalebound. Not a lot was revealed about the game other than the reveal trailer which showed the main character fighting a dragon in a rather cocky and confident manner. No release window was given.

You can watch the rest of E3 2014 via Twitch here.