E3 2015 Post-Mortem Part 1: Ranking the conferences (First Half)

Bethesda

The good

• ·      Fallout 4 (The whole demo!)

After the initial trailer sent a shockwave of excitement throughout the industry, Fallout 4 quickly became arguably the most anticipated title of the entire show. When it came to delivering at E3, Bethesda absolutely smashed it; so many new gameplay facets were shown in addition to mod details. Base-building, nearly endless customisation, seamless character creation, fully voiced protagonists, improvements to the shooting and an awesome power armour segment all laced together in a thirty minute presentation to build the ultimate anticipation. For many including myself, Fallout 4 was the game of the show; no other title had as much revealed and no other title had me more excited. There’s no doubt in my mind that the game is shaping up incredibly well and is sure to be a huge hit when it arrives later this year.

• ·      Dishonored 2 reveal

In 2012, Bethesda launched a new franchise called Dishonored; with its detailed setting and excellent choice-based gameplay it was another great addition to the stealth genre. In one of the more surprising moments of Bethesda’s conference, we saw the reveal of Dishonored 2. Set in a new location on the island of Serkonos fifteen years after the events of the original, the game will follow both Corvo Attano and Emily Kaldwin as they attempt to uncover the corruption behind the Dunwall rat plague. Judging from the initial trailer, the game’s oil painting style crossed with steampunk is in full effect and the game appears to have several new powers, most notably the summoning of dark spirit arms which aid in both traversal and combat. I really enjoyed the original Dishonored and I’m really looking forward to what Arkane Studios has in store for us next.

• ·      Doom demo

Another franchise making its long-awaited return this year is Doom; eleven years on from Doom 3, some were left wondering whether the series still had a place in modern gaming, given how the shooter genre is dominated by modern military shooters. But the Doom reboot was capable of making an impression with its fast-paced bloody carnage. Powerful weapons, grotesque enemies and the hellish settings are back and they’re looking better than ever before with the power of modern hardware. The surprise success of Wolfenstein:The New Order last year was a strong resurgence in classic single-player shooters. The Doom reboot could continue this trend, provided ID Software backs up the action with strong pacing and replayability.

In conclusion

With three hard hitting titles and other worthwhile news, Bethesda’s first E3 conference turned out really well; their demos and news were both incredibly exciting, but it was Fallout 4 that carried the day. Following the initial reveal trailer that built the excitement to a fever-pitch, Todd Howard made a solid and worthwhile follow-up that told everyone what they wanted to know about the game, including all kinds of new gameplay components. This is what a demo should be and Bethesda pulled it off brilliantly for their first try. Hopefully we’ll see them again at E3 in the future.

8/10 (Great)

Microsoft

The good

• ·      Not a single mention of Kinect or any other multimedia function

Kinect is finally gone, and very few of us will or should care where it went. At long last, Microsoft has finally realised just how much the peripheral was holding them back and dropped it out of their conference. Aside from a few voice commands, Kinect titles and functionality were completely barred and this was by far the best decision Microsoft made when it came to their conference this year. 100% focused on games and 0% focused on the things that had dogged them in the past, Microsoft’s conference knew exactly what it wanted to do and it concentrated on that to the max. There were hardly any deviations, no pointless fluff that got in the way and this is a testament to the hard work Phil Spencer has been doing to turn the company around in the eyes of the gaming community.

• ·      Backwards compatibility

When it comes to moving between console generations, the jump from Xbox 360 to Xbox One and PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4 has been the slowest and most delayed in the history of the industry. Without backwards compatibility, early adopters have been forced to rely on either HD re-releases or streaming services such as PlayStation Now to relive the classics from the previous generation. All that changed at E3 2015 with backwards compatibility on Xbox One; while this may seem rather late considering how long the new systems have been out, the move may send ripples across the industry and serve as an accelerant to moving on from the previous generation. The question remains as to how well Xbox 360 games will run on the Xbox One but Microsoft appears to have the right infrastructure and resources to make it happen. In time the feature should prove a strong incentive for 360 owners to migrate as well as offer a boost to value which is absent from Sony and the PlayStation 4.

• ·      Actual new IPs, along with the Rare Replay collection

I’ve been quite critical of Microsoft in the past for reusing the same franchises over and over on Xbox, solidifying a reputation as a so-called “bro-shooter” system; this includes the likes of Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War and Forza. But 2015 I will remember as the year Microsoft really started to innovate with its exclusives on Xbox One. Of course we saw the expected gameplay demos for Halo 5: Guardians and Gears of War 4, but there were also several new titles that proved Microsoft’s willingness to invest in new franchises, something which they had been severely lacking. The sci-fi romp Ion, pirate-themed Sea of Thieves and scavenging Recore should hopefully be strong additions to the Xbox One’s library. Rare also made a full comeback this year. Freed from the shackles of Kinect, they’re free to focus on their new project Yooka-Laylee as well as Rare Replay; a collection of the developer’s greatest hits. Focusing on new projects is another step forward for Microsoft and if they continue to innovate in this way then they may be right on track to fully winning me over.

The bad

• ·      Scripted demos

While Microsoft does have the strongest exclusives games for the rest of 2015, the demos of their major titles did leave a lot to be desired. Halo 5: Guardians looked quite good with its squad-based gameplay but demos for Rise of the Tomb Raider and Gears of War 4 just didn’t have much going for them. With its controversial acquisition of Rise of the Tomb Raider, Microsoft has practically created a grudge match between it and the Uncharted series on PlayStation and it really shows. The impression I got from the demo is that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are doing anything and everything to best Uncharted in order to, quote “put the franchise on top of adventure gaming”. While the avalanche demo was great to look at, it didn’t show off how Rise of the Tomb Raider was setting itself apart from its biggest competitor. A later demo shown behind closed doors presented the light RPG elements of the game and this would have been a better thing to show at Microsoft’s presser. As for Gears 4, it was pretty average and nothing more; very little in the way of new gameplay scenarios and even less details on the plot for the new game.

• ·      Pricing of the Xbox One elite controller

It’s a small gripe, but it still feels pretty stingy to me; Microsoft announced a new controller for the Xbox One this year known as the Elite wireless controller. It features moddable components, a connector for headsets, improved triggers and profile integration with the Microsoft’s cloud storage. Weighing in at 348 grams, the elite controller has the potential to be a major upgrade in terms of feedback, but the $150 price tag (which translates to around £95 in the UK) will no doubt raise some eyebrows. Personally I wouldn’t pay more than £70 for a controller, even with all the physical upgrades. There’s also the question of the types of headsets which will work with the controller; Microsoft has taken criticism in the past for only allowing specific branded accessories to work with its hardware and would be another helpful step forward if they were to be more flexible in this regard.

Final score

Overall it seems that Microsoft is right on track to making a full comeback; they’ve cut the crap that bogged down their conferences before, reduced the rehashes of popular franchises and have a wide array of collaborations and partnerships under their belt. The only real downside was the demos; they seemed a little too scripted for my liking. While Microsoft had a rough start with the Xbox One, this year’s show was definitely their best in years and proof that the company is capable of listening and taking our feedback on-board.

7/10 (Good)

Electronic Arts

The good

• ·         Star Wars Battlefront gameplay revealed

The new Battlefront had a lot to prove at E3; following its initial reveal at E3 two years ago and a somewhat dubious CGI trailer earlier this year, gamers were anxious to see proper gameplay. EA delivered just that with a multiplayer match on the planet Hoth featuring AT-ATs, Snowspeeders and Luke Skywalker clashing with Darth Vader. It looked great, with the snow, character models and explosive action looking appropriately detailed and EA would later reveal cooperative missions and a survival mode, adding more meat to the overall package. Despite the gameplay reveal looking fairly good, I’m still very sceptical about the overall package; I just can’t feel so excited when the game has dropped so many features including space battles, instant action and galactic conquest which were all staples of the previous games. Inevitably it will fall to the gameplay and the business practices contained therein to make up for the lack of content when Battlefront is released in November.

• ·         Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst gameplay reveal

After showing a fairly basic concept video at E3 last year, we finally got a first glimpse of the new Mirror’s Edge, now branded “Catalyst”. The stage demo told us many things, from confirming the game is a prequel to Faith’s story to the fact that using firearms will not be an option when playing the game. The game will also have a full open world in the form of a city oppressed by a power-hungry government. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is a title which has been desired for a while by the fan-base and the game seems to be shaping up quite well. The open world has a lot of potential to build atmosphere as well as offer a huge array of avenues to play around with the parkour based gameplay. It’s just a shame that all of this info was confined to a mere five minutes of EA’s presser; we all would have wanted to see a lot more.

• ·         Unravel: A possible future for EA in indie development?

While it was the only original IP at the conference, Unravel served to highlight a possible future for EA in the indie scene. Allowing lone developer Martin Sahlin to nervously, yet tentatively take to the stage to talk about his ideas and his studio was a generous move, showing that the corporation is willing to take risks and support new projects, assisting up and coming developers in the process. Unravel is looking to be a very different and artistic kind of game and it’s a breath of fresh air to see this sort of thing coming from EA. The indie scene simply cannot be ignored nowadays and I hope that EA continues to make positive steps like this (and an end to their awful practices of course!)

The bad

• ·         The utterly pointless appearance of Pele

EA surprised everyone by having the biggest celebrity appearance at their presser; the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele. But unfortunately all that time and effort went to waste as the corporation and David Rutter saw fit to talk about “the beautiful game”; something which had absolutely nothing to do with FIFA itself. Pele clearly had far better things to do with his time than appear at E3 this year and didn’t talk about FIFA one bit, instead talking about his own experiences in real life football. It had no business being at E3 and would have been far better suited to a football press event. This is my personal message to EA; don’t try to make the FIFA game series seem artistic and meaningful by inviting a celebrity to your conference. At this point a vast majority of us know full well how lacklustre and stagnated the series is. It may raise football in the eyes in American audiences but this was the wrong place to do it.

• ·         Mobile games… Ugh.

We’ve seen companion apps and second screen experiences at E3 before but EA sank to a new low this year by featuring fully-fledged mobile games such as Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Minions: Paradise was the biggest offender though, bearing traits similar to Clash of Clans. The plus signs next to the currency symbols to the right of the screen were a dead giveaway; microtransactions are likely to plague this game from top to bottom. Ultimately even showing mobile games at all was a complete waste of time and only succeeded in driving my attention away from the conference while this painful segment was presented.

• ·         Endless sports games… AGAIN!

Yet again EA’s conference suffered from poor pacing this year because of far too much talk of sports games; while this may be enjoyed by fans of hockey, basketball, American football and the like, it constantly distracted and delayed from what everyone was excited to see. At this point, EA should take a step back and realise that their sports games should be relegated to a separate conference; they read off the same old scripts every year, bragging about incremental improvements. Frankly I’m getting pretty sick of it at this point; it’s as if we had Infinity Ward talking about fish AI in Call of Duty Ghosts, then they made us listen to it over and over again every year.

Final Score

If EA’s conference proves anything, it’s that the infamous corporation is so out of touch with both gamers and the industry as a whole. The few games that we were excited about were quickly buried under a mound of painfully dull sports presentations and a rather insulting segment on mobile titles. These are mistakes which have occurred multiple times over the years and it’s baffling why the company still insists on making them time and time again. The company also remains very hypocritical when it comes to their business practices, pointing out that they’re listening to feedback while having in-app purchases clearly visible on their mobile titles. EA’s conference was easily the worst of the show this year.

4/10 (Poor)

Ubisoft

The good

• ·         For Honour

Ubisoft’s lone new IP this year was a visceral melee combat sim in which armoured knights and powerful samurai clashed on a medieval battlefield with combat that seems to advance the swordplay found in The Witcher and Souls franchises. It was a very intense and bloody affair with parrying, dodging and finishing moves all playing a role in the one-on-one duels. At the best of times it reminded me of the combat seen on Game of Thrones; converting this kind of impactful fighting could bring a new take on the medieval setting. On the other hand, there’s also the concern that the game’s scale could be diminished with players being locked into two-man fights. The Chivalry series has also experimented with a similar kind of combat before; can For Honour set itself apart?

• ·         Proper continuation and advancement of popular titles

Though Ubisoft’s presser wasn’t filled with new ideas for games, they did succeed in bringing back successful titles for another run as well as take a few steps forward for one of their franchises. With a massive critical and commercial success under its belt, 2014’s South Park: The Stick of Truth made itself known as the best video game adaptation of the raunchy cartoon. Ubisoft smartly decided to continue the series with South Park: The fractured butt whole, which looks to have more wacky humour and more of the crazy RPG gameplay that worked so well in the original as well as bringing back Trey Parker and Matt Stone to assist on its development. Trackmania Turbo is a much enjoyed arcade racer and Ubisoft’s acquisition, along with a full set of creation tools will bring its fanbase on-board. Finally, we had Ghost Recon: Wildlands, which transports the tactical shooter series into an open world with many different options for combat. This kind of tactical freedom could inject new life into the series, which hasn’t seen a proper main entry since Ghost Recon Future Soldier in 2012.

The bad

• ·         AAA titles that are hard to get excited about

Ubisoft’s AAA franchises have fallen on hard times in recent years and it’s becoming more and more difficult for them to find that spark that can reignite their biggest titles. This problem held true for The Division and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Division promises a highly dynamic and evolving game world where any player could be a friend or foe; but aesthetically the game looks very similar to Ghost Recon and the game is also at risk of falling into the same trap as Destiny, a game which promised and undelivered similar things. As for Assassin’s Creed; the series is so tired that barely anything will get me excited anymore. Yes the Victorian London setting has been a popular location for Assassin’s Creed, but the demos I saw felt so ho-hum and no different from Unity the year before. If only Ubisoft would dump the yearly cycle, they could come up with far more creative ideas for the series.

• ·         Awkward presentation… Again!

Trying to be hip and cool for the audience at E3 2015 has always come off as awkward, even irritating at times and nowhere was this more evident than Ubisoft’s conference this year. I don’t mean to slam Aisha Taylor; she has tried her best to bring a kind of flair to the show over the past few years. But when it devolves into buzzwords, dance contests and the cringe-worthy “Let’s make a MEME!” that’s when it slows the show to a crawl and distracts from all the positive aspects of Ubisoft’s presser. If Taylor and the Just Dance crew are to return next year then I’m sure it would greatly benefit the conference if the awkwardness was toned down a fair bit.

• ·         More expansions, less new titles

Ubisoft is in need of new ideas; many of their most popular franchises have become stagnated and tired whilst others have made the company infamous for its more recent business practices. Because For Honour was the only new idea they had to show, their press conference inevitably fell flat because many of the things we saw were expanding on things we already had, rather than innovating in fresh ways. Some of the expansions included Awesome Level Max for Trials Fusion, Anno 2205, Wild Run for The Crew and Just Dance 2016 (Let’s face it, the new dance game can’t really count as a fully-fledged entry). It really does take the wind out of a conference when many of the titles shown are simply expanding on titles which already came out.

Final score

Ubisoft’s presser was standard business this year. It wasn’t poorly put together like EA’s but it wasn’t really that memorable either. While the demo for The Division and some of Ubisoft’s new acquisitions did excite a little, but underwhelming expansions and an awkward presentation did end up undermining a fair chunk of their E3 conference. Ubisoft needs both new ideas and a new spark to their franchises to really excite us at next year’s show.

6/10 (Fair)

See the second half of "Ranking the press conferences" by clicking here

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