E3 2017 Review and Reaction

If you were to describe this year's E3 in 4 words, it would be, "Trailers now, gameplay later." Most of the developers chose to merely present a cinematic trailer during the actual presentation, and then they would follow up their presentation with some kind of display of the gameplay. I get why they did this. A good gameplay demo could take 5-10 minutes, which is 5-10 minutes wastes talking about other games. This approach, however, has its negatives as well. Many gamers will tell you that a lot of times cinematic trailers may not even appear in the final game. Even the trailers that claimed to have "in-game footage," they mean it's an in-game cutscene, not gameplay. Cinematic trailers don't tell you how to play the game. A lot of games looked like they might be potentially interesting, but I could never know because I had no idea what it was about. All the developers were guilty of presenting this way. Still, some rose above the others. As normal, I will start with 1st party developers and then go to 3rd party developers, and as normal, I will go in the order they presented.

1ST PARTY DEVELOPERS

Microsoft Xbox
Last year, Xbox closed its briefing by teasing the audience with "Project Scorpio." Opening its press conference this year, Xbox wasted no time. Immediately, Project Scorpio had a new name: Xbox One X. The presentation did an excellent job putting the new half console update on display. No doubt it is now the most powerful console out there. Highlighting the new half console upgrade was its superior ability to deliver the best 4K experience. While Xbox demonstrated the hardware could deliver the 4K experience, they did not display the software that could do the job. 4K is best for games which are trying to achieve a realism look, but Xbox displayed games that use caricatures and cartoons as characters, not realistic people. Does Minecraft really need to be in 4K? Even with the games aiming for realism, Xbox spoke to a minority of its fans when it talked about 4K. Not many people have 4K TVs due to their high price. Without a 4K TV, the graphics go back down to 1080p, which means it's equal again to the PS4 (Pro). It had to argue more than graphics to compete with PlayStation. Perhaps it did have the games to compete, but we didn't really get to see them. It look like the goal of the Xbox press release was to put on display as many games as possible. It may have revealed that there is such a thing as too many games. In order to display as many games as possible, they presented a lot of small trailers for the games. I never got to see gameplay. Heck, I didn't even get enough time to consider what the game was about. The Darwin Project looked interesting, like a Hunger Games kind of game, but it never stopped long enough to talk about it. The most we heard about was Assassin's Creed Origins, showing both cinematic trailer and gameplay, but Ubisoft had enough to say about it. Xbox closed their press conference with announcing backwards compatibility now included the original Xbox games. This announcement I also found lackluster. Backward compatibility for games from the original Xbox may sound impressive, but with so many of those games already remade into HD versions, and so many 360 games still needing backwards compatibility, it doesn't wow me. All in all, while the Xbox proved that the Xbox One X proved it was stronger than the PS4 Pro in graphics, it did not present a new console that brought new gameplay, like the Nintendo Switch did.
+Positives+: Most powerful console, best 4K resolution, backward compatibilities for original Xbox games, displayed huge library of games
-Negatives-: Too many games, not a lot of gameplay demos, games did not demonstrate the 4K potential, not a lot of explanation of games, no mention of next Halo game
~Best Game~: The Darwin Project
*Medal*: Silver




Sony PlayStation
After watching the Xbox briefing, Sony's briefing of the PlayStation was quite disappointing. Microsoft came out in full force and said, "The Xbox One X is the best console out there!" Sony did absolutely nothing to convince gamers not to trade in their PlayStation 4 (Pro) at GameStop for an Xbox One X. They never compared or contrasted their consoles, no did they argue their console was better. Their silence pretty much admitted defeat. The only nod towards hardware they did was continuing to support PlayStation VR by increasing the game library. But some of those games that they did display had me wondering, "Does that game really need to be on VR?" Just like Xbox boasted in their 4K ability but failed to put on stage games that displayed it, PlayStation bragged about their VR, but they failed put on stage games that demonstrated it.

Continuing with this year's theme, PlayStation's goal was to just jam pack their showcase with as many games as possible, probably to display a huge game library. Because they did, most of their game presentations were merely cinematic trailers. I rarely saw gameplay. That's important. While I appreciated PlayStation displayed brand new games, when I don't see any gameplay footage, I really don't know what it's all about, nor do I know what to expect when I play the game. For all I know, all these games are interactive movies, like Heavy Rain. I got that feeling the strongest when I watched the footage from The Inpatient and the Spiderman game.  Speaking of the Spiderman game, when I watched it I also felt like it was trying too hard to be the Marvel version of the Arkham series. If that was their big game to wow, then all the other games would fall short, and they did. Days Gone felt like just another post-apocalyptic zombie slayer, this time on motorcycles. Shadow of Colossus was just a remake, and I'm afraid the Shadow of Colossus will remake will do to the original game what remaking Silent Hill 2 and 3 did to that series. More surprisingly than what was displayed was what was not displayed. Nothing regarding Last of Us 2. Nothing new was presented about Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. The presentation on Detroit: Become Human felt like I was watching PlayStation's 2016 E3 press conference all over again. Same goes for the new God of War game. These should have been the flagship games of the presentation, yet they seemed absent. All in all, nothing attracted me towards the PlayStation 4 (Pro), and I imagine a lot of people watching felt the same way.
+Positives+: Huge game library, continued support for PSVR
-Negative-: Did not choose good games to display, fogginess on what the game was actually about, no mention of Last of Us 2, nothing new on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy,Detroit: Become Human, or the new God of War game, PlayStation 4 Pro looked lackluster next to Xbox One X.
~Best Game~: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
*Medal*: Bronze




Nintendo
Well, Nintendo followed suit of every other briefing. They presented a cinematic trailer during the briefing, and then they showed gameplay after the briefing. Although not verbally stated, you could see what Nintendo was trying to do. They emphasized the local multiplayer abilities of the Nintendo Switch console, showing off plenty of multiplayer games. They emphasized the third party interest in the Switch with Mario + Rabbids and Rocket League. They also made it look like they were getting back to the good ol' days of the Game Cube, announcing games we haven't seen the Game Cube era, such as Metro Prime 4 and "an unnamed Pokémon RPG for the Switch console" (I'm thinking a gameplay sequel to Pokémon Coliseum/XD). This may seem like Nintendo is stuck in the past, but this is exactly what Nintendo needed. This is why Nintendo fanboys really love Nintendo. In its own odd way, this is Nintendo's way of telling its fanboys that it really loved them, and it further showed with another Kirby game, another Yoshi game, another Fire Emblem game and another Xenoblade game. This may be the Nintendo fanboy inside me, but this press conference got me the most excited out of all of the presentations, especially among the first party developers.
+Positives+: Continued to show off Switch abilities, demonstrated support from 3rd party developers, provided quality sequels to nostalgically beloved franchises
-Negatives-: Briefing itself was a short half hour, very little mention of the 3DS, too many Switch games are "Deluxe" versions of a Wii U game, Super Mario Odysseys looked and felt like Sonic '06.
~Best Game~: Arms (Switch) & Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
*Medal*: Gold




3RD PARTY DEVELOPERS

Electronic Arts (EA)
In my preview and predictions of E3 2017, I said I expected the Electronic Arts briefing to pretty much be a presentation of sequels. No surprise came to me when I saw a bunch of sequels. What did pleasantly surprise me was that EA proved that their sequels were not the same old game, but rather they could be a new and improved game. EA Sports is really taking hold of adding a story mode to their sports game. Not only will FIFA 18 continue the story of Alex Hunter, Madden NFL 18 will add its own story mode, centering around Devin Wade. NBA Live 18 will bring build-your-own-player to a whole new level. Outside of EA Sports, the other EA did the exact same thing: prove a sequel is not just the same, old game, but new and improved. Need for Speed: Playback has a brand new story for the same open world gameplay as the last one. Star Wars: Battlefront II has an original, single-player story available offline that anyone could look forward to. I also think EA made a smart move with Battlefield 1. Instead of pushing another sequel and making gamers dish out more money, they simply created more DLC to expand the world of an already great game. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But the game I'm most excited about is A Way Out. It has both original story and original game play. It's a breath of fresh air in a gaming world of such much repetition. My biggest criticism would be that Anthem looked like it had the potential to be a great game, but EA said nothing about it. I get it why, though. They wanted to display it on the Xbox One X, but at the time of their press conference, it was still Project Scorpio, and Xbox would not allow EA to steal that thunder. Still, EA could have displayed Anthem on the PS4 Pro, and we would have gotten the same effect. Overall, while we have seen FIFA, Madden, NBA Live, Need for Speed, Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield 1 in past briefings, and we will see them again in future showcases, I still feel like EA presented us with brand new games.
+Positives+: FIFA 18 continuing story mode, Madden 18 adding story mode, NBA Live 18 improving the player creator mode, Star Wars Battlefront II adding an original, single player story mode that can be played offline, Battlefield 1 DLC expanding the Battlefield 1 world, A Way Out offers a brand new story with brand new gameplay
-Negatives-: Feels like the same game franchises are presented at every EA E3, more mentioning of how EA is working with Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 Pro/VR, needed to see and hear Anthem
~Best Game~: A Way Out
*Medal*: Silver

Bethesda
The best part of the Bethesda briefing was its display of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch. Bethesda just didn't simply republish Skyrim for the Switch. Instead, they took full grasp of its capability. It grasped the amiibo capabilities. The Breath of Wild Link amiibo will give you Link's outfit, including the Master Sword and Hero Shield. It gets even better. Skyrim grasped the motion controls of the Switch. Now Skyrim can be played with motion controls. How cool is it that you can now play Skyrim anywhere, dressed as Link, using motion controls. If I do not have Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim yet (and I don't,) I would get it for the Switch. That was highlight of the Bethesda press conference. Everything else was downhill. Bethesda wanted to show they were onboard with VR, liks PSVR and Oculus, so they announced they would be working on VR games. What VR games are these? Fallout 4 VR and Doom VR. From what I could tell, these games were not any different from Fallout 4 and Doom, except they were now in the 1st person view for VR. It felt like Bethesda was taking the same route with VR, trusting in well-liked old franchises instead of risking it a fresh, brand new idea. Speaking of trusting in old franchises, most of their showcase centered around new DLC for old games. Once again, while I appreciate them not rushing into an old game, by just adding on a good current game, I feel like Bethesda is playing the safe route again. Bethesda's safest move yet, and probably the most disappointing was at the end. Before E3 even began, Bethesda hinted at their briefing with a drawing of a theme park called "Bethesdaland." 2 areas of Bethesdaland were covered up, labeled "Coming Soon." With that, I would expect I brand new title. Boy, was I disappointed. Instead, we got The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Like I said, safest route yet. Yes, these are brand new games, but coming from old franchises, it's a safe route. Overall, Bethesda did nothing to wow me. I was glad their press coference got over as soon as possible, before it bored me to death.
+Positives+: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is made for the Switch, Bethesda is not afraid to try VR
-Negatives-: Playing it safe by trusting in old franchises, too much DLC and not enough new content
~Best Game~: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch
*Medal*: Bronze

Ubisoft
Ubisoft also followed theme of "We'll show you a cinematic trailer now at the press conference, we'll show you the gameplay demo later on after the show." Again, there might have been great new games that Ubisoft had thought up, but we couldn't tell what they were about because all the audience saw was a short cinematic trailer. The few gameplay demos we did see were highly rehearsed, almost to the point they were music videos! As they have done in years past, Ubisoft again demonstrated they had games for all players from all genres. This year, what they added is that they proved that they had games from consoles. No matter what console you had, whether that be a Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (Pro) or a Xbox One (X), Ubisoft had games for them all. This great variety, in both game genres and game consoles, gives Ubisoft the win for the 3rd party developers.

+Positives+: Presented games from all genres, presented games from all consoles
-Negatives-: Too many cinematic trailers, game play demos were highly rehearsed, no Aisha Tyler
~Best Game~: Far Cry 5
*Medal*: Gold

E3 2017 Preview & Prediction

It's June, and another E3 is upon us. The 23rd E3 is already different from past E3s. For the first time in E3 history, the floor will be open to the public. While E3 itself is offering something new, the question will be are the developers, both the 1st party and 3rd part developers offering something new? Looking forward to this year's E3, I honestly believe that anyone can win it, as long as they can prove that they have something new to offer than everyone will love. This preview will look at how each developer, both 1st party and 3rd alike, can prove they are new and improved. We will look at 1st party before 3rd party, and within each party, we will go in the order presenting.

1st PARTY DEVELOPERS

Microsoft
Last E3, Microsoft opened with Xbox One S, the smallest Xbox ever made. They focused the whole presentation centered around the Xbox One S. Then they threw it all away by giving a preliminary preview of something they called "Project Scorpio." I imagine this year's E3 will center around Project Scorpio. This question on all our minds is that whether Project Scorpio is a new Xbox console from Microsoft or if it is a "half console": the same, old console with major upgrades (like the PS4 Pro). At some points, it sounded like that "half console." It would still have full compatibility with all Xbox One games, controllers and other accessories. At other points, it sounded like a new console, with all the hardware specs sounding so different. If I was Xbox, I would make it a new console. As crazy as this sounds, Nintendo is ahead in the console race. The Switch is the front runner of the new generation of consoles. Xbox is not one for fall behind (heck, they even moved their E3 press conference up a day to make sure they didn't fall behind). If Xbox doesn't want to fall behind, make this a new console, just with full backwards compatibility with all games, all controllers and all peripherals. If Microsoft can do this, they can easily win E3 2017. If they choose to make Project Scorpio the most recent edition of the Xbox One, I can still see them bringing home a win. They just have to show they can beat Nintendo at its own game. Nintendo had to totally go to a new console to bring back local multiplayer. If Microsoft can demonstrate can do the same local multiplayer with 4 Surface tablets next to each other, the hardcore gamers will be wondering, "Why bother getting a new console when I can do the same with my old console an a Surface?" In this way as well, Xbox can take the win away from Nintendo.

As for the software, the best bet is for Microsoft to set themselves apart from Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 is to prove that 3rd parties prefer their console. The best 3rd party to do that with is Activision. Activision produces some of the Xbox fanboys' favorite games for Xbox. If Xbox wants to prove they have the console for hardcore games, they need to work closely with Activision. I'm expecting to hear a lot about Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2. Of course, Microsoft will need to convince Xbox fanboys to update to the new Project Scorpio, so they'll need to present what Microsoft Studios will give Project Scorpio exclusively. I'm expecting State of Decay 2 to be the frontrunner for that. If the games demonstrate it is worth upgrading to Project Scorpio, I imagine that Microsoft can easily take home the gold for E3 2017.

Sony
Despite winning last year E3 and the console war against the Wii U and Xbox One, PlayStation still has be wary approaching this E3. With the PlayStation 4 Pro out for a while now, and also with PlayStation VR out for some time, Play Station 4 cannot focus on hardware too much. They have now present a game library that demonstrates it was worth spending the money to make the half upgrade with the console and buy the additional VR. If I see any hardware improvement, I want to see Move 2.0. The current PlayStation VR is still dependent on a Move meant for the PlayStation 3, and players can tell. If Sony wants to improve VR, they need to improve the motion control aspect. Then it will truly feel like VR. I also want to see Sony continue its improvements on the Vita. Nintendo has held a firm grip on the handheld video gaming. I would really like to see something compete with the 3DS. It needs to be something better, yet cheaper.

More importantly, as mentioned before, it needs to have a game library that demonstrates it was worth the upgrades. I want to see games in 4K. I want VR that looks and feels like virtual reality. With its stupendous lead in the console race, PlayStation will have a wide array to choose from across the board of 3rd party developers. I expect a little bit of all the major developers: Activision, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Games. By demonstrating a plethora of games from a plethora of developers and publishers, Sony will display that all these developers and publishers back PlayStation 4. With access to a huge library of games spanning over several gaming developers and publishers, the hardcore gamer will want a PlayStation 4 Pro, knowing he can play any game on it.

Nintendo
Let's start with what the Nintendo press conference should have been. The Nintendo press conference should have been the announcement of the Switch we saw all the way back in January. Then, at the end of the press conference, Reggie would announce, "And this Nintendo Switch will be available in stores worldwide tomorrow!" Yeah, sure, it would have meant we would have to wait another 3 months for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but if Nintendo did that, they would have won E3 hands down. Besides, it would have also helped the Switch by releasing with a library more than the 2 games of 1,2 Switch! and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Snap back to reality, and Nintendo is doing E3 just like they have in the past. They are foregoing the typical press conference for a Digital Treehouse Event. Like they did a previous E3, they are going to have live gaming tournaments. This one, however, stands unique, for the whole purpose of each tournament is to highlight and new and upcoming Switch game. Therefore, from the tournament schedule, we know which Switch games Nintendo will cover in the majority of their digital event: Splatoon 2, Pokken Tournament DX and Arms. I also expect to hear some about Super Mario Odyssey, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope, Fate/Extella: The Umbrel Star and Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Those last 3 are important, for Nintendo has to prove they still have 3rd party back. Still, already this is a better lineup than last year, as last year all we heard about was Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokémon Sun & Moon. Speaking of Pokémon Sun & Moon, I expect the Nintendo Digital Event to pause from Switch to take a quick nod to the Nintendo 3DS with Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon. From the title alone, this sounds only slightly more interesting that Pokémon Black & White 2.

As crazy as this sounds, I still believe Nintendo has the opportunity to have the advantage coming into this year's E3. They have taken a lead in the console wars as the newest console on the block. They have the opportunity to show this is the future of gaming, and this is how console gaming should go. But, being Nintendo, they will screw that up. Let's be honest here. The only brand new game we really see for the Nintendo Switch is Arms, and even that some people have said is one step up from boxing on Wii Sports. Splatoon and Super Mario Odyssey and sequels to old franchises (one older than the other). Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pokken Tournament DX are really the game on the Wii U with a few additions. It's like Nintendo is saying, "Our apologies for putting these great games on wrong system, the terrible Wii U. Let's make it up to you. Here are they are on the Switch, where they belong." And as many people have said concerning Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the differences are so small, it's not worth buying a whole new console for these games. The only thing that made it worth it buying the Wii U were those brand new games with brand new ideas that demonstrated the Wii U's full functionality, like Zombi U and Splatoon. If Nintendo wants to take a true lead in the console wars, they need to display games that can show off what the Switch can do and can demonstrate this what other consoles need to follow. They can only do that with original, creative ideas, not recycling the same old franchises and same old games.

3RD PARTY DEVELOPERS

Electronic Arts (EA)
As usual, I expect a majority of the Electronic Arts E3 presentation to cover EA Sports. Front lining the EA Sports portion will be Madden NFL 18, FIFA 18 and NBA LIVE 18. As I will say time and time again, Electronic Arts has to show this game is worth buying again. The technology of the current generation of consoles allows for minor updates to happen to without needing to buy a new game. We already see that with automatic updates with the new draft class. Therefore, these new gams have to demonstrate major changes from the previous year's edition. I'm proud that last year EA stepped away from using the gimmick of celebrity and endorsement. Now all they need is a full gameplay demo to show that this year's game is totally different than last year's game, or else sports video gamers will turn to PES instead of FIFA 18, and they will turn into NBA 2K18 instead of NBA LIVE 18, for PES and NBA 2K18 continually update their game every year to make it more real.

As for the rest of the Electronic Arts segment, I fear it will be the same as the EA Sports portion. We will see another sequel to the same franchise. Headlining will be Need for Speed Payback and Star Wars Battlefront II. Once again, EA needs to prove that this isn't the same old game in the franchise. This is a brand new game that makes the last game outdated. As opposed to EA Sports games, these games have a small advantage. They can use story. They can argue it's a different story, so the gamer will want this story. For these games, displaying story is just as important as displaying gameplay. I expect to see both cinematic trailers and gameplay demos for both Need for Speed Payback and Star Wars Battlefront II. Without either of them, EA will have a hard time convincing its players to go out and buy the new game.

Bethesda
For being fairly new to this whole E3 press conference thing, Bethesda hasn't done too shabby of a job. Yeah, they only highlight a couple, and possibly briefly mention a couple more, but the ones they do highlight they put on full display, from cinematic trailers to gameplay demos. Both do a good job of hyping up gamers. With that in mind, Bethesda has been pretty hush-hush about what it is doing this year at its press conference. Its only preview of the presentation in an art piece of an amusement park called "Bethesdaland." Most notably about this theme park is that it has 2 attractions labeled "Coming Soon." Therefore, I imagine the Bethesda press conference will mostly be about those 2 brand new, coming soon games. What could they be? A new Fallout game? A new Elder Scroll game? A new Witcher game? A new Wolfenstein game? Your guess is as a good anyone else's. Whatever those 2 games are, I can tell you that we will see full cinematic trailers, we'll get a good amount of gameplay, and it will be trending on all the social media outlets.

Ubisoft
Ubisoft has always been a favorite of mine. It's not because they are my favorite I keep picking them to win. Rather, they are my favorite because they keep winning. The reason they keep winning is because they do excellent job displaying an array of games from a plethora of genres. I expect no difference this year. There's a lot to look forward to. First and foremost is my last is the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed series. Rumor has it this will be a prequel, set in ancient Egypt. With a year off, we're expecting the best. Next, Ubisoft will present the first sequel to their open world racing game The Crew. I like the direction they've taken the racing genre. The best I could see them advancing the game is to team up with Google Maps to make this as open world as possible. Then we can look forward to Far Cry 5. At first, I was a little skeptic when I learned that they took the series out of the exotic locations and traded it for the mainland U.S. But I've always appreciated how the franchise has done an excellent job making the antagonist a complete jerk, so I look forward to how they will do it again. Props to Ubisoft for producing yet another Just Dance game. As motion control games are on the way out, it looked like the Just Dance was on its way out, too. Ubisoft saved it by using smartphones to act as the motion control device. I expect the most up-to-date soundtrack, inviting a whole new generation to dance along with this game. Finally, I like how Ubisoft is headlining its superhero games with South Park: The Fracture but Whole. Ubisoft has even demonstrated to the gaming world there is room for a comedy genre when it comes to video games. With such an array of games from a plethora of genres, I predict another win for Ubisoft in E3!

Let the 23rd E3 begin! As they say in the Hunger Games, "May the odds be ever in your favor!" :)