E3 Overview: Day Zero

Say’s Overview: Microsoft’s Xbox One-dominated presser offered a lot of brilliant trailers and big names, but it sure lacked gameplay and answers regarding all their restriction controversy. They got started with Metal Gear Solid V and they moved forward on to a lot of visually stunning titles such as: Ryse, Quantum Break, Forza 5, Killing Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Battlefield 4, Witcher 3 and Titanfall. Mixed in were some intriguing new projects such as Project Spark, which I am most certainly eager to know more about, alongside and the return of Minecraft– which didn’t seem to cause the impact they probably expected.

Microsoft failed to address any of the inquiries their first presentation provided such as: 24 hour internet connection, Kinect sensor requirement, lending and renting game issues. One thing was clear since their firs presentation is that Xbox got a makeover and that they want to be billed as an “all-in-one” entertainment option – all the restrictions and doubts still remain uncertain. Oh, and they also partnered up with Twitch, in case anyone would care.

Project Spark

Moving to Electronic Arts: Unexpectedly, they opened up with Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare and teased Peggle 2 before relying on celebrity endorsement and a lot of testosterone. They flaunted NBA Live 14, Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, and UFC and sadly not much was shown but teaser trailers and some concept information to go with it, certainly a lot to look forward from EA Sports. We got to see Need for Speed: Rivals, Dragon Age III: Inquisition and a tease for Star Wars: Battlefront series.

Luckily, we got to see more of Battlefield 4 without much of the awkwardness that Xbox One presentation had. They seem to have created interest into their multiplayer where they presented the option of 64 players able to engage in live. And of course, the most anticipated title, Mirror’s Edge 2, which promises to bring more (and new) from the lead Faith I must admit this is very interesting to attempt a reboot of a franchise with only one game out.

Mirror's Edge 2

On to Ubisoft: Starting out with the obvious, Aisha Tyler returns to host their presentation, I loved her energy but I had a hard time appreciating her scripted humor, as well as it seemed like for the attendees. They opened up with Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Watch Dogs, Rabbid Invasion, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – that’s from what we sort of know, and from the new they presented the Mighty Quest for Epic Loot, The Crew, and The Division.

Quickly surveying their titles – Splinter was all about big explosions and guns, South Park obvious fart jokes, Rayman, featured  beautiful visual and Rabbid brings the mini games for party environments.  Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed were the ones that stole the show from those titles we expected, the graphics are absolutely amazing with quite an interesting perspective of what next generation consoles would be.

Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag

Rounding out the day was the PlayStation 4 reveal. While many will continue to argue whether this should be the highlight of the press conferences so far, it was rather clear that Sony did come forward with all the uncertainties many people were on the fence about the new consoles, while Microsoft refused to acknowledge Sony did and quite loud.

They opened up with the PS Vita Lineup, I’d say this was a great move to show some Vita love. Nothing was really presented extensively, however what little was mentioned was: Doki Doki Universe, Tearaway, God of War 1&2 HD, Final Fantasy X and X2, Flower, Walking Dead:400 Days, Counterspy and Destiny of Spirits. They moved forward to: Grand Theft Auto and the surprisingly bundle proposal for PS3; It brings the game, the console and a special GTA gaming headset. This follows through with the presentation of the console and the launch titles coming for it: Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack, DriveClub and Infamous: Second Son, Elder Scrolls Online, Destiny, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and also presenting a few news interesting IPs such as Mad Max and Order:1886. The later introduces a timed era in an alternate history, I believe the premise explained that you’re a knight and you fight for mankind’s survival.

Infamous Second Son

Of course, the moment that made me believe in consoles once again was when Sony showed PS4 Indie support, they took the time to show up a line up for indies which had the preview of Transistor by Supergiant Games and from the other indie titles that went by the screen quickly we had Don’t Starve, Mercenary Kings, Galaxy, Oddworld: New and Tasty and Octodad. I must say this was a big milestone for all indies to understand and realize the options and support we may have from a brand like Sony; I hope this is only one of the many good things yet to come for indies everywhere.

And of course, as if what was already presented didn’t close the deal, they finally presented Final Fantasy Versus XIII (which got renamed to Final Fantasy XV) and Kingdom Hearts III. I don’t even need to say more, if you haven’t seen the trailer for either one of these please do so right now.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

47 comments

  1. I was ALMOST onboard with the XBone, thinking about preordering. Then the Sony Megaton happened. I immediately got a PS4 through Amazon.

    • I’m waiting for a side by side tech comparison (hint, hint).

      The memory of the Xbox 1 and the multiple OS’s have me very worried though. Sounds like some blot on board.

    • You’re very lucky, I read a lot of complains last night about being unable to pre-order.

  2. It was the year of sequels and HD remasters. Almost nothing looks original so far. I’m cool with that, but I am hoping for something new.

    Also: Except for KI, there’s not that many fighters announced. Have they feel out of favor?

  3. Wait did you guy recycle last years graphic or is anyone still making Wii and DS games?

  4. New hardware looks good, but I want to know what is going to be out at launch before I drop $400/$500.

    I don’t want to stuck in a Wii U situation.

    • PS4 games confirmed:

      Sniper Elite 3 (Rebellion)
      Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward)
      Destiny (Bungie)
      Skylanders Swap Force (Vicarious Visions)
      Daylight (Zombie Studios)
      The Evil Within (Tango Gameworks)
      Wolfenstein: The New Order (MachineGames)
      Need for Speed Rivals (Ghost Games)
      Battlefield 4 (EA DICE)
      FIFA 14 (EA Canada)
      Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14, UFC, EA
      Drive Club (Evolution Studios)
      Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch)
      Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerrilla Games)
      Knack (SCE Japan Studio)
      DC Universe Online
      Planetside 2
      Thief (Eidos Montreal)
      Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montreal)
      Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal)
      Dying Light (Techland)
      Basement Crawl (Bloober Team)
      Blacklight: Retribution (Zombie Studios)
      Diablo III (Blizzard)
      Primal Carnage: Genesis (Lukewarm Media)
      “Project Heart and Soul” (Reach Studios)
      Tiny Brains (Spearhead Games)
      War Thunder (Gaijin Entertainment)
      Warframe (Digital Extremes)
      The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red)
      The Witness (Number None).

  5. Decent write up from Robert and Say. Both seem to have it against Microsoft through.

    Dat bias.

    As for me, there’s still too many unanswered questions. I went ahead and bought a Vita and Wii U at launch. I don’t want to be fooled again.

    • I was hoping for MS to come forward and actually clear the air, but after all was said and done there was a lot uncertainty which became somewhat disappointment.

      • Yeah I really think that’s a huge problem. I wont even think about dropping half a grand until I know the details.

  6. Ryse looked like Arse. Same moves over and over again. Plus it was stuttery.

  7. The only game that made me laugh was Octodad. Maybe Jeremy LaMont is right, games are taking themselves way too seriously.

    • Octodad has been around for a while, I was pleasantly surprised to see them in that indie lineup.

  8. I don’t trust any E3 analysis unless your carrying a plastic wrestling belt, wearing a wife beater , and say “you know what I’m saying” after every sentence. 😉

    Ok, seriously. good job people.

  9. Lelouch Lamperouge

    I thought the MS show was OK until Sony presented. Yeah, it was too long, but that sweet $399 payoff at the end was worth it.

    Anyone think the console was going to be $350 and they realized they could raise the price after Xbone announcement.

  10. Damn, the Say really brought it. She outwrote the DesertEagle.

  11. “Oh, and they also partnered up with Twitch, in case anyone would care.”

    Whoa, did Twitch piss you off or what?

    • Actually, I’ve got nothing against Twitch. They will move on to do great and wonderful things no matter whatever petty remark I would share or whoever they could partner up.

      • Haha.

        I just hope they can’t keep from crashing. Every LP I watch ends with a fireball finisher.

        • I wanted to be nice and avoid saying that, but deep down I feel kind of glad it’s not just me.

    • devildakimakura

      Twitch never works for me. It crashes at least once every 15 minutes.

  12. Wow, a 4 page article, and skipping pages offered more than just a picture. I’m impressed.

  13. I’m I the only one not drinking the Sunset Overdrive Kool-Aide here?

    Insomniac hasn’t had a great game in a long time, and this doesn’t look like it. I think it’s an open that the showed no actual gameplay and if Jeremy’s Brink comparison is right, this looks like a stinker.

    Looks like PAIN, the PS3 game with guns.

  14. Blue refuses to post comments until there’s a Sailor Moon announced for the next-next gen.

  15. Good write-up this year. I like 4 pages instead of reading 50 IGN Kot-stiq articles

  16. @Jeremy – “Hey, that sure looks a lot like an Xbox One. Which looked a lot like a VHS player.” #Betamax.

  17. Good article. Each writer’s style is very different, which was a little weird though.

  18. Its like hearing from the Sony hivemind. I think you all have it out for Microsoft.

    • Actually I trust them. They seem sincere and aren’t hawking Dew ‘n Doritos.

      • Actually, I love Dew and Doritos (Spicy Sweet Chili FTW!). However, I enjoy them at my own expense. 😉

        As for the “Sony hivemind” thing, let’s face it, Sony crushed Microsoft on the two most important issues; consumer trust/DRM and hardware pricing. We all heard the crowd reactions at the Sony event and there’s no way that was all paid Sony interns. Those were gamers that Sony connected with.

    • Everyone is open to their own opinions regarding Xbox and PS4, I doubt any of us would make or break Microsoft or Sony in the big scheme of things, so there is no need to victimize either of those brands.

      • So you’re trying to tell us what we can discuss? Who appointed you as mod again?

        • She just stating her opinion on the console wars. No need to be a total asswad about it.

        • I have got no idea how you could even come to that conclusion as it is, I have never told you or anyone around here what you can or cannot talk about. I was specifically talking about the Microsoft remark, that company is one of the top 5 in the world – they will be more than ok regardless of whatever happens with the console.