There may have been question marks surrounding last week’s annual video games expo – E3 in Los Angeles – with some publishers not hosting booths, but gamers need not fear: it was as bombastic as ever and promised much for the year ahead.
EA and Activision did not have huge stands, for once, while Nintendo – usually one of the show’s biggest exhibitors – had just one game to unveil, but the show was still filled with new hardware, blockbuster sequels and inventive IP.
EA held a press conference across two continents, releasing details of Battlefield and Titanfall updates; Activision, too, used E3 to announce the return of the popular platform game Crash Bandicoot; Nintendo’s lone project was the enchanting and ambitious open-world game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
It wasn’t all about major releases, of course. There were original games on display, too. Here’s our pick of the most exciting titles and announcements.
New Xbox One consoles
Microsoft announced two new Xbox One machines. The first is 40% smaller than the previous console and features 4K video output; it is due out in August and costs £250. But the most exciting machine is Project Scorpio, a console that boasts a significant improvement in power and capabilities over the original Xbox One. Fans will have to wait until Christmas 2017 to experience it.
Steep
Ubisoft is well known for its open-world action games such as Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. But at E3 the company unveiled an altogether different open-world game – and one that doesn’t involve shooting things. Steep players can perform death-defying acts of bravery, either via snowboarding, base-jumping, skiing or paragliding. Gamers can run into fellow online players on the mountain and upload images and videos of themselves. Steep is set for a December release.
Sea of Thieves
The UK developer Rare presented a unique and humorous, open-world, online pirate adventure game for the PC and Xbox One. The Sea of Thieves demonstration showed teams working together to control a pirate ship as it attempted to sink rival vessels. People queued for more than two hours to play. It’s due out in 2017.
Batman: Arkham, Resident Evil and Star Wars come to VR
PlayStation demonstrated its forthcoming virtual reality projects, which didn’t disappoint. The conference presented experiences based on the Batman: Arkham games, and a dogs-fighting-in-space Star Wars title. The headline act, however, was Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, which showed the game’s hero creeping around a haunted house. It’s due out in January.
Days Gone
Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by ravenous zombies, Sony’s Days Gone may not sound particularly original, but the on-stage demonstration featured the most stressful set pieces in the genre in a long while. A survival-horror game for PS4, the player unwittingly disturbs an army of the undead and finds himself pursued relentlessly as he tries to keep them at bay. No release date has been confirmed.
We Happy Few
Microsoft’s PC and Xbox One game – We Happy Few – is a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future where everyone takes a pill called Joy to help them forget their woes. The game’s protagonist decides not to take the pill, becoming what is known as a “downer”, and must escape the city before he is stopped. An early version of the game is due out on 26 July.
Inside
From the creators of the popular indie game Limbo, Inside is an equally macabre puzzle platformer for the PC and Xbox One that boasts distinct monochromatic visuals. Players must complete the game while avoiding darkly comic deaths and complete puzzles by controlling lifeless bodies. Inside stood out as possibly the best game at E3 and is out at the end of June.
Source: xbox one – Google News
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