E3 2015 Conferences: Report Card, Trailer Roundup
Bethesda – 7.5
Interspersed with not so exciting moments as the presentation of The Elder Scrolls Online, and The Elder Scrolls Legend, it was revealed in an in-game Fallout 4 trailer, which apparently will follow the steps of the loved Fallout 3. VATS, or the Assisted Targeting System Vault-Tec, will return, but this time it only slow down the fighting during the action instead of using a tactical break as his predecessor.
In addition to Fallout 4, it was shown a beautiful trailer, short but intense, of Dishonored 2. Another interesting game is the highly anticipated sequel (or reboot?) Of Doom. In short, the emotions was certainly not lacking. So a very good show but not excellent, but excellent the choice of the location: the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (where’s the Oscar Night).
Microsoft – 8
So much, i meant, a lot of irons in the fire for Microsoft, powerfull and numerous announcements, although someone a bit obvious, like Forza 6, Halo 5: Guardians, with an absolutely delicious gameplay trailer, and the cinematic trailer of Gears 4.
I personally found really spectacular the real-time demonstration of Microsoft Hololens with Minecraft, who showed us what could be the practical uses of that technology on the Gaming side.
But the most exciting moment was undoubtedly the gameplay in Rise of the Tomb Raider. It is becoming increasingly clear how superfine and inspired is the work done by Crystal Dynamics. Lara is back to its former glory and shines like a goddess in the eyes of his fans, old and new.
In the midst of all these beautiful things was almost passed quietly the trailer of Dark Souls III.
Electronic Arts – 7.5
Starting with a bang for EA, which has immediately presented Mass Effect: Andromeda. The trailer does not show anything concrete, but since the subject we just need to know that a whole new galaxy awaits us in the summer 2016.
The conference continued between high (the graphically promising Need For Speed, and the reboot Mirror’s Edge Catalyst) and downs (the usual sport games and a curtain pretty useless with Pele), to flow into a bomb, Star Wars: Battlefront, showing all its splendor in its rich gameplay full of emotions that has certainly touched the heart of every Star Wars fan. But for more details, if you have not already done so, I invite you to see the trailer above.
Ubisoft – 8
Ubisoft returns with Aisha Tyler, which makes us understand that 2016 will be a slap-up year. In addition to the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Syndicate trailer and Tom Clancy’s The Division, there was also some small surprises, as the powerful open-world gameplay of Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Rainbow Six: Siege, which promises to mix the solid gameplay of his predecessors to the feeling of the modern games.
In the midst of all this good things, there was also room for a new IP: For Honor, an action combat a la Chivalry which will feature Vikings, knights and samurai.
Worth mentioning also the city-building game Anno 2025 and South Park: The Stick of Truth sequel.
Sony – 9
Sony’s conference was the one of the most emotional. Not just because it was immediately presented (finally) the gameplay of The Last Guardian, spiritual sequel of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, but because there were two Bomb almost entirely unexpected, did bring out young and old fans: the remake of Final Fantasy VII, during which the real and virtual audience has literally exploded. Understandable, considering that it was a dream come true, dreamed for at least 10 years. Then Shenmue III announced for fundraising on Kickstarter, that in less than 24 hours has passed the 2 million dollars required for its developing.
Closing with a flourish with Star Wars: Battlefront and Uncharted: A Thief’s End, that looks like it will be, once again, a flagship for Naughty Dog. And not to mention the new Hitman and Horizon: Zero Down, new IP by Guerrilla.
Of course, in the cold light of day, the best things were a 20 years old released game and one even without funds. In part it is true, but this was not able to undermine almost nothing about the effectiveness of the show: one of the best E3 conference ever. The only drawback is the long time that we have to wait to see these things turn into reality.
Nintendo – 5
There’s not much to see at all, except for some boring screwball comedy interludes. Don’t misunderstand, there was many things, but nothing exciting. With this conference Nintendo confirms that WiiU is exhaling the last breath. Most of the games presented was for Nintendo 3DS, as The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes, Hyrule Warriors Legends and Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Even RPG fans are not disappointed, thanks to Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: Fates, simply jrpg havens.
But The peak of the conference was, however, caught up with the Xenoblade Chronicles X trailer by Monolith, spiritual sequel of Xenoblade Chronicles. The only really interesting title for WiiU.
For the rest, even Mario, Mario Tennis, Super Mario Maker and still Amiibo. Too bad that Amiibo doily little or nothing to do with video games, Nintendo would have otherwise got an epic win.
Square-Enix – 6.5
For the first time with its own dedicated conference, Square Enix presented the frantic open world of Just Cause 3, which like its predecessor seems focused on destruction and on free exploration feeling. We also saw a new sequel for Nier, the new Hitman, but above all we tasted the tasty cocktail of computer graphics and gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III.
Room for role-playing games, thanks to the new chapter of Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness and World of Final Fantasy, a new RPG that will feature characters from various Final Fantasy seen to date on the screen.
There was also space to repeat the exact same trailer seen in the Sony conference about the remake of Final Fantasy VII and an interesting behind the scenes of Rise of the Tomb Raider. But the real bomb was dropped in the end, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, sequel of the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution. A game that has all the credentials to become a masterpiece.
PC Gaming Show – 4
For the first time PC Gaming had its conference at E3. So many hype for so big delusion.
The highlight was the announcement and finally realized hope to see Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on PC, that bodes well for the other chapters. Phil Spencer also spoke about Killer Instinct and admitted that he’d greatly underestimated PC Gaming during these years, saying that something is bound to change in the near future. We’ll see if it will be true.
Another important announcement was the one that concerned the seemingly endless No Man’s Sky, come out on PC at the same time of the PS4 version.
For the rest, apart from some not very exciting trailer for Total War: Warhammer or Storm Rising 2: Vietnam, it was deadly boring. Perhaps the most boring lecture and mismanaged in E3 history. Long, too long and with too little content. Literally it pales in front of all the other conferences before. This tells us one thing: the future of PC gaming and living room console is in Valve’s hands. Valve is the real protagonist and without Lord GabeN, talking about the future of PC Gaming has no sense at all.