First Impressions from the Microsoft (Xbox One) Presser at E3

xboxone

Highlights:

  • Xbox One launches November 2013 in 21 countries for $499 in the US, €499.99 Euro, £429 UK.
  • Console Exclusives include Halo 5, Titanfall, Killer Instinct, Ryse, Dead Rising 3, Forza 5, Quantum Break, Lococycle.
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts will be a launch title.
  • 2 free downloadable titles per month with XBL: Gold membership
  • Twitch streaming integrated for live sharing of your gameplay.

E3, has taken over the city of Los Angeles, CA, and while the conference technically hasn’t even started some of the biggest names in gaming are kicking off the week with some major announcements. Microsoft began the day with a followup to their Xbox One reveal, this time with 100% more gameplay. Many people complained after the announcement of the Xbox One that Microsoft honed too much on the home entertainment aspects of the system and offered very little insight into their game titles. All that was washed away when they debuted a slew of new games, including fifteen exclusives.

Release dates are still to come on many of the titles, but we do know that the Xbox One will ship sometime this November, and Call of Duty: Ghosts is slated to be one of their launch titles. We finally got a price point on the new system: Americans can expect to pay $499 for the system, €499.99 for Europe, and £429 in the UK. 21 countries in all will see the release of the next wave of home entertainment and gaming combined.

There was sparse talk about the Blu-ray and home theater capabilities of the Xbox One, though Microsoft made sure to push the team up with Twitch. Gamers can now live stream their play with friends, and share on social networking sites, inviting friends to join them mid game. It’s a great way to experience a whole new level of gaming, even for the casual fan.

One of the biggest titles to come out from the presser was Kojima Productions long awaited Metal Gear Solid V: Snake on a Horse. Just kidding, it’s The Phantom Pain, but the opening shots of game play treat us to a newly voiced Snake (now played by 24’s Kiefer Sutherland) riding on a horse and performing some never-before-seen stealth maneuvers in a now open-world Metal Gear universe.

http://youtu.be/dhxtfpYo7yo

Open world was kind of the running theme during the Microsoft conference. Many of their titles now tote the ability to go where you want and do what you want, including the upcoming Dead Rising 3. Zombies are back and with a vengeance, but the protagonist now has an bevy of ways to take down the raging hordes. You can combine weapons and every day items for maximum damage, go all GTA style and hijack a car to mow down the undead, or even call in airstrikes. How a mechanic from South America can summon the air force to his every need is not something we should question as gamers – just enjoy the sweet, sweet zombie slaying action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYXGRu23QMQ

343 Studios surprised no one with the next installment in the Halo series except for all the folks who thought this was a Journey reboot. We know that Steven Spielberg is working with Microsoft on a new Halo TV series, for Xbox premium content, so a follow up game announcement was the next logical step. Also, being an Xbox exclusive won some points for Microsoft.

Military style games seem to be a big push for the next gen Xbox. After some audio issues, EA finally got to unveil the game play in Battlefield 4, which looked just as good as any PC version I’ve played thus far. Of all the titles shown, this looked the best on Xbox’s new hardware, save for Titanfall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NraEp4q210c

This new title from Respawn is probably the best looking new game to come out of their event. A blend of Mechwarrior and Halo, this suburb open-world (there’s that word again) sci-fi shooter that with giant mechs and slick looking mechanics is going to make for one hell of a game. Unfortunately we won’t see it until Spring 2014.

Microsoft’s E3 presser was definitely an improvement for gamers over their Xbox One announcement, but many Netizens are still unsure of the gaming system. With the “always-on” privacy fears to the just short of a $500 price tag, a lot of fans were left underwhelmed and waiting to see what rival Sony will announce later in the day.

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