E3 recap: Ubisoft conference round-up13/6/2017 Ubisoft had a surprisingly strong showing this year, unveiling some interesting new IPs and a few expected, but nevertheless welcome, titles. Combat mode is largely reminiscent of the XCOM games, but there's a few additions to the tried and tested formula that help it stand out, such as using your allies to allow a greater range of movement and utilising pipes to get the drop on enemies. We’d hazard a guess that perma-death won't be a feature, however, given Mario's iconic status. This Switch exclusive launches sooner than expected - 29 August. Assassin's Creed Origins After a brief one year hiatus, Assassin's Creed has returned. As suggested by the title, this instalment takes us back to the founding of the Assassin's Brotherhood for an origins story. Players can explore the lost tombs and the pyramids of Ancient Egypt from 27 October. The Crew 2 The sequel to Ubisoft's open-world racer now features air and sea vehicles, along with the usual four-wheeled variety. It certainly looks the part, but will it do enough to compete with the likes of Forza Motorsport 7? South Park (The Fractured But Whole & Phone Destroyer) Not much was shown of The Stick of Truth’s sequel, but we did get to glimpse a new trailer, featuring all of the ludicrous superheroes we’ve come to know and love. A mobile game, South Park Phone Destroyer, was also announced, and will be coming to iOS and Android later this year. Transference This psychological thriller from SpectreVision and Ubisoft aims to bridge the gap between movies and games as you lose yourself in the destructive tale of a man’s obsession, by exploring his digitally recreated memories. Skull and Bones If you liked Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag but thought there was too much sneaky assassining, Ubisoft have you covered. Inspired by the adventures of Edward Kenway, Skull and Bones has you sailing the Indian Ocean, looting and plundering your way to infamy both solo and online. Starlink: Battle for Atlas Another new IP, Starlink sees you and your band of intergalactic pilots attempt to free the Atlas system from an evil robot force known as the Forgotten Legion. Players will be able to customise their ship and outfit it with various hulls, wings and weapons. Physically, that is, as the game occupies the toys-to-life space. There are a total of 7 planets to discover, each with their own ecosystems and wildlife, which evolve according to your actions. Far Cry 5 The latest in the franchise is set in Hope County, home to doomsday cult The Project at Eden's Gate. It's your job to liberate the people of Hope County from the fanatics using the largest customisable roster of vehicles and weapons ever seen in a Far Cry game. Beyond Good and Evil 2 Ubisoft closed with the highly-anticipated re-announcement of Beyond Good and Evil 2. A prequel, the game is set many years before the events of the original with a whole new cast of eccentric characters. After meeting some of them in the trailer below, you can sign up to the Space Monkey Program and join the community as they shape the game. You can discuss all things Ubisoft and E3 over in our forums.
E3 recap: Bethesda conference round-up13/6/2017 Titan publisher Bethesda were second to the E3 stage this year, focusing on quality over quantity during their 40 minute press briefing. Despite no new IPs in their line-up, Bethesda have a strong catalogue of franchises to draw from and didn’t disappoint.
Doom VFR More VR goodness comes in the form of DOOM VFR, an alternate take on last year’s stellar franchise reboot. The demons have been on a rampage at the UAC's research facility on Mars and you are the only survivor; you’re about to be brutally murdered, but, thankfully, your consciousness has been transferred to an AI matrix. Along with the iconic weapons from the series, you’re armed with the ability to teleport, allowing you to close the distance with enemies quickly and dispatch them in close quarters, all while avoiding any potential motion sickness. Being an AI operative, you can also swap your mind with various devices and robots to solve puzzles and open up new areas. DOOM VFR is releasing in 2017 for PSVR and HTC Vive. Creation Club If you want even more content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition, Creation Club promises just that. It features new items, abilities and gameplay created by Bethesda Game Studios and outside developers. Creation Club content is fully curated and compatible with both titles and their respective add-ons. Look out for it later this summer. Skyrim Switch Skyrim will also be launching on Nintendo Switch alongside the three official DLC packs, new gameplay mechanics to make use of motion controls, and Amiibo support, with the Archer Link Amiibo demoed and granting access to new gear and outfits inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Elder Scrolls Online The ever-growing MMORPG gets even bigger this year with Horns of the Reach and Clockwork City, both releasing in 2017. A free update is also on the way, featuring a new Battlegrounds map and ruleset, new homes, furnishings, cosmetic items, and holiday events. Quake Champions The closed beta was briefly offline for maintenance during the show, but now they’re back up and running players will have noticed that Wolfenstein's BJ Blazkowicz has been added as a playable champion. The update also includes new maps and a brand new weapon. As of now, the closed beta servers will be running 24/7, with only minor downtime for maintenance. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus BJ Unpronounceable will also be taking arms for more Nazi killing in a game of his very own. The sequel to MachineGames' critically acclaimed FPS is set in America, or Amerika, in 1961. After barely surviving the fight with Nazi General Deathshead at the end of The New Order, BJ begins this adventure whilst still in recovery. He's a tough one though, and friends old and new will be there to help him, as he sets out to dispatch the latest threat to freedom. The story will take players from post-nuclear Manhattan, to small-town Roswell, to the bayous and boulevards of New Orleans and beyond. Check out the bonkers reveal trailer. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider Death of the Outsider is a standalone title with a budget price point, featuring fan favourite character, Billie Lurk. Reuniting with her mentor (the legendary assassin, Daud) Billie will explore the dark underbelly of Karnaca in order to pull off the ultimate assassination. Billie will have all new powers and abilities at her disposal as she attempts to take down the supernatural Outsider and Original Game Plus mode will allow fans to use a selection of signature abilities from Dishonored 2. The Evil Within 2 Step into the shoes of Sebastian Castellanos once again as he searches for Lily - the daughter he thought he lost long ago. The setting this time around is Union, a crumbling city built using Lily's mind as the Core. Expect to wander around familiar claustrophobic environments and new, less linear, open spaces as you uncover the secrets of Union and unravel Mobius’ plans from within STEM. Sebastian is armed with a communicator which allows him intermittent access to the real world and the chance to gather information from Juli Kidman. More than that, it's also a guide, leading to resources, side quests and even Lily herself. We'll have more from E3 over the next few days. You can discuss everything Bethesda, and more, over in the forums.
You might have already heard the big news - Project Scorpio is now Xbox One X - but what else went on at the Xbox E3 press conference? Here's a (reasonably) quick recap of the best bits from the show.
The biggest Xbox games lineup in E3 history While Xbox tend to put on a pretty good show, in previous years they've been criticised by not having the games lineup - particularly exclusives - to back up solid hardware and, in the case of Xbox LIVE, services. This year Head of Xbox Phil Spencer (that chap up the top) took to the stage to let us know there'd be 42 games on show, with 22 of them exclusive or console launch exclusive to Xbox (that's timed exclusive in English). One of the first to make a strong impression was Metro: Exodus (above) the sequel to the fan-favourites Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light titles and was Inspired by the novels Metro 2033 and Metro 2035 by Dmitry Glukovsky. The game sees you leave the hazardous surroundings of Moscow to explore Russia's less populated areas. The game's setting is one of its most prominent characters once again, as returning protagonist Artyom explores the semi-frozen wasteland and a small village in the E3 reveal trailer, taking on an open-world for the first time. There's Fallout vibes here, and with crossbow in hand the survival element is quickly brought to the service as Artyom is attacked by giant mutant rats, and a bear. The game will not be an exclusive, though it will benefit from Xbox One X enhancements, and will be out in 2018. Ashen leads the pack in intriguing left-field titles Of the many games on show, there was a real mixture in terms of originality, production value and intrigue. Ashen was one title which stood out thanks to its fairly minimalist art style. The world is dark since the sun is blocked out by the titular ash, and you play a wanderer in search of a place to call home. The only natural light comes from eruptions that cover the land in ash, and you must work with others to survive. "This is a world where nothing lasts, no matter how tightly you cling to it," mourns the synopsis, and gameplay shows the tomb-like caves you explore have floors which can crumble beneath your feat, in true Indiana Jones fashion. Also in the eyebrow-raising category there's The Last Night, already being compared to Blade runner for its sci-fi noir aesthetic, which sees pixelated characters explore a 2D cyberpunk open-world, built with four unique districts each with distinct architecture, cultures and industries. You'll explore the world fairly incognito as you use the various forms of transport and some platforming to move about. You'll meet a diverse, inclusive cast of complex characters to interact with through meaningful, branching dialogue, according to Microsoft, and enjoy varied gameplay such as driving down epic highways, flying drones and hacking droids to do your dirty work. Celebrity cameo detected Terry Crews gets sweary and shouty in the motivational trailer for Crackdown 3, which will release alongside the Xbox One X on 7 November. It's starting to look more like an actual game now, rather than a destruction-mad trailer, but without extended gameplay it's difficult to make much of a judgement. What we do know is that the campaign will offer four player co-op this time around, and an "all-new" multiplayer mode. As some of us have had this on pre-order since 2015, hopefully Microsoft can deliver on its promise to bring destruction like we've never seen before, still powered by the Microsoft Cloud. A cult of personality A big title on the anticipation-o-meter was Shadow of War, and the game was fully showed off as part of the Xbox conference, including the new Nemesis system, which now allows you to take control of enemies using the one ring (as you can see) and add them to your army. It's another third-person, open-world action RPG, but we aren't complaining, as the gameplay takes everything we enjoyed about its predecessor Shadow of Mordor, and improves on it. There's Nemesis fortresses this time, at which you'll find plenty of enemies who may be persuaded to join your cause. After a delay, the game will drop on 10 October, giving you the chance to make your mark in Middle Earth and experience a world where "where the environments and characters are all shaped by player actions and decisions." Exclusive zombies After the Left 4 Dead series arguably perfected the zombie genre years ago (Disagree? Fight me in the comments!), the games industry keeps returning to the well with State of Decay 2 (below) and Days Gone on PS4 both making big impressions at this year's E3. For SOD2, things are looking very gory, and the setting has gone open-world - something of a theme for E3 overall (particularly for PlayStation) - as you struggle to rebuild a community in an area abandoned by the military, 18 months after the zombie apocalypse. The game has more of an emphasis on co-op this time around, as you try to scrape together what you need to survive. Gameplay is looking solid and straightforward, and the delay to a 2018 release should give plenty of time to pack in plenty of content. What was your highlight from the Xbox event? Will you be picking up an Xbox One X? Let us know in the comments.
Project Scorpio, now known as Xbox One X, will release worldwide on 7 November, retailing at $499/£449. Xbox One X will physically be the smallest Xbox console ever, while making good on the old adage that good things come in small packages, by also packing the biggest punch. Its tech specs are as follows: Xbox One X will output true native 4K resolution (that means it's very pretty) with both games and Blu-Ray playback, and will also upscale previous titles, meaning your original Xbox (back compat functionality coming later this year), Xbox 360 and Xbox One games will look better than ever, even if you don’t have a 4K TV. The console will also support all existing Xbox One accessories, ensuring nobody will be left out of pocket. 42 games - 22 of those exclusives or launch exclusives - were shown off running on the enhanced hardware at the conference, including Metro: Exodus, Forza Motorsport 7 and the long-awaited return of Crackdown 3. We’ll have a full Xbox round-up for you soon.
Has Xbox One X got you hot under the collar? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to join us tonight for both Ubisoft’s stream at 9pm BST and Sony’s at 2am BST (during which you could win some PSN credit). ENDED: Lock’s Quest giveaway12/6/2017
Salomon Adam (@coolomon) is this week's lucky winner!
E3 Recap: Five Fun facts from EA Play11/6/2017 EA kicked off the show at E3 2017 with EA Play, which featured a fistful of games one or two surprises and some passion. Here's five notable moments from the show. The game was presented by the star of its single player Janina Gavankar, who plays Inferno Squad Commander Iden Versio in the previously revealed campaign, and her genuine passion went down well with an otherwise fairly lukewarm crowd. John Boyega, who plays Finn in the film side of the Star Wars universe, also turned up via a video to confirm that both Finn and Captain Phasma will appear in the game in the first series of free downloadable content. That's right, DLC is looking like it will be free, to avoid fracturing the player base - an issue the first game suffered from. The multiplayer missions also have more distinct stages, more involved than just a change of location, which gives us hope for some more varied experiences and Overwatch-esque changing of the tide mid-game. No word on release date yet, but you can be fairly confident it'll be here by Christmas. A Way Out from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons creator Curious reveal of the show was co-op focused action title A Way Out from the newly formed Hazelight studios. The creator and team behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons wanted to break out on their own and have more freedom, so found some support with EA's Originals programme, designed to support more indie developers. The game is specifically designed to be enjoyed in split-screen co-op, and follows two convicts trying to get out of prison. A few features specific to split-screen include the split itself shifting depending on the action going on on screen and the ability for one player to move around while another is in a cutscene. There will be multiple ways to complete objectives, leaning on the strengths of each character, and the presentation looks like an experience you would expect from a fully fledged AAA title. You will be able to play co-op with someone online, but by the sounds of it it's very much designed to be a couch co-up experience so to get the most out of it you'll need to find a friend and get them around. New IP from BioWare revealed as Anthem The new offering from the makers of Mass Effect has a post-apocalyptic vibe, but not much is known yet about Anthem. Apart from bringing back memories of Good Charlotte and Blink-182 songs, the game’s teaser talks about a wall, presumably to keep out some unspeakable evil, and the fact that beyond it “you either live with the choices you make, or die trying to change them.” We see some mechanical armour and get a few Inception-esque musical stings before being told that “the story doesn't end here.” The reason for that is because the gameplay reveal is coming as part of tonight’s Xbox event, so there's not too long to wait to get a fuller helping. Take a look at the teaser yourself, and speculate in the comments! Battlefield 1 - In the Name of the Tsar Battlefield 1 has been a big success for EA, and so the next step is to continue delivering great experiences and take it to the next level. The team plan to do just that with the next DLC offering - In the Name of the Tsar. The DLC takes players to the largest battlefield of the war, the Eastern front, as soldiers battle the harsh conditions as well as each other. There'll be the first appearance of the women’s battalion of death (sounds cheerful…) and plenty more epic destruction on show across six new maps when the DLC drops in September. There was also a tease of a new, tighter type of competitive mode, which be revealed at Gamescom later in the year. And yes, there was sports... Last but not least (about 40% of the show, if we're honest), was sports. There were no new franchises talked about, only the latest updates to Madden, NBA and FIFA titles, all of which have put emphasis on a single player story after the success of The Journey in last year's FIFA.
NBA Live 18, a series which has recently taken a break, shifts the focus from a fictional footballer to you in The One. Choosing between building street cred and flexing your competitive muscles in formal competitions, you can build up your player however you like. The Madden reveal also featured the first mention of Microsoft's Project Scorpio, as the console was brought up when talking about the sort of visual detail you can expect from the game - showing off some true 4K knee pads (yes, you read that right). The much touted six teraflops came up too, as EA talked about a special 'stealthy’ team within EA that had been set up called SEED, to focus on developing AI and machine learning. PlayStation received plenty of nods too, so EA is playing its hand well. So that was the sum total of EA Play (aside from some more on Need for Speed Payback’s single player, which takes so many leaves out of 'The Fast and the Furious’ book it may as well be a tree). What stuck out for you? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to join us for the next press conference, Xbox, at 10.00pm tonight. Bioware tease new IP, Anthem, at EA Play10/6/2017 BioWare’s new IP, Anthem, officially debuted at the Electronic Arts conference this evening to kick start E3 in style.
More details will be unveiled during Microsoft’s conference tomorrow at 10PM BST, but until then, check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts.
It's that time of the year again, where the rumour mill goes crazy and anticipation is at its peak in the world of gaming - the Electronic Entertainments Expo, E3 2017 - and we've got everything you need to know right here.
EA Play - 8.00PM, Saturday 10 JuneXbox - 10.00PM, Sunday 11 JuneBethesda - 5.00AM, Monday 12 JunePC Gaming - 6.00PM, Monday 12 JuneUbisoft - 9.00PM, Monday 12 JunePlayStation - 2.00AM, Tuesday 13 JuneNintendo - 5.00PM, Tuesday 13 JuneRebellion, the developer behind the Sniper Elite franchise, have announced a new game called Strange Brigade, a third-person adventure packed with “peril, mystery and derring-do.” Rebellion didn’t announce a release date for Strange Brigade, only stating that it would be “coming soon” to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, and that we’ll be able to see more at this year’s E3 (so next week). What do you think of Rebellion’s new supernatural shooter? Let us know below.
The next chapter in The Elder Scrolls Online is out today, which takes players back to the titular setting of the series’ third game, Morrowind. The area has been carefully recreated using the same geographical footprint as in The Elder Scrolls III, ensuring that key landmarks will be instantly familiar to series veterans; although, with the game set 700 years before the events of TES III, some locations, such as Vivec City, are not quite the finished article. New players picking up today’s release (which includes the ESO base game, as well as the Morrowind expansion) will be able to dive straight into Vvardenfell without having to complete any of the previous ESO content.
Thanks to last year’s One Tamriel update, ESO regulars who are upgrading their copy of the game will also be able to tuck into the new content right away, with all weapons and abilities scaled to their level. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. if you’re planning to pick it up on one of the latter two platforms, consider using CD Keys to help support Pass the Controller. Let us know your thoughts on the latest expansion to the ESO universe below. |
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