E3 2015 Post-Mortem Part 3: The best of the rest

Further updates

• ·         XCOM 2

Much like Fallout 4, XCOM made its debut with an initial trailer before E3 this year, and at the show itself we were given a full demo showing off new gameplay scenarios, from procedurally generated maps to all-new abilities for your squad. Taking place in a more urban environment, the XCOM squad snuck up on the enemy, hacked hostile turrets before eventually finding themselves outmatched when heavy mechs and berserker units charged in. It all looks just as intense and frantic as it was in the 2012 reboot and the new additions to the gameplay all look to make XCOM 2 a significant step forward from its predecessor. Hopefully we’ll have more information on other details such as the mobile XCOM headquarters.

• ·         Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided debuted with a stunning CGI trailer that more than matched Deus Ex: Human Revolution in terms of scope; the E3 2015 demo continued that thread with several new abilities and of course, the player choice which has long defined the series. The game world looked much more detailed as well, putting across how the setting and the attitude towards human augmentation has changed, following the events that transpired in the previous game. From here it was all about improvement; Mankind Divided boasts a more refined combat system which allows Adam Jensen to make use of augmentations and firearms simultaneously as well as new methods to traverse the environment. Despite the demo being at the alpha stage of development, Mankind Divided is looking very promising and if all goes well, it could be the best entry in the series since the original game fifteen years ago.

• ·        Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

If I gave out an award for the best set of trailers for a single game, I believe several of the Metal Gear Solid games would top the list. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has had three brilliant trailers over the past couple of years and at E3 this year we were given the final teaser before the game launches in September this year. This one is by far the darkest of the four, further highlighting the blood-soaked fall of Big Boss (Known in this game as Venom Snake) from hero to villain. As with other trailers before it, this one showed new characters, enemies and interactions, all wrapped with a pitch-perfect song accompaniment. Hideo Kojima has an incredible knack for choosing the best music to fit his games and this time around he chose “Elegia” by the British rock band New Order. It’s an atmospheric, ominous and foreboding piece of music that builds and builds with the ever-growing violence present in the latest Metal Gear Solid title. This trailer along with Sins of the father and Nuclear continue to send chills down my spine while also building massive anticipation for what could be the final main canon entry in the Metal Gear franchise.

The new information didn’t end at the new trailer. Konami put out a massive 40 minute gameplay demo which showed off just about every facet of the new open world gameplay. There was a lot to see in the demo, Snake snuck into a crumbling building to rescue a hostage before moving on to assault an enemy base with a trusty canine companion in tow. The new gameplay facets were numerous and many, including piloting a mech and other vehicles to assault the enemy and several dynamic AI patterns that change depending on your playstyle; these included fake cardboard enemies to trick the player, armoured opponents and even ground vehicles that provide back-up to enemy forces. It’s looking to be an incredibly dynamic system that will grant Metal Gear Solid 5 a place among the best open world games out there. My only concern at the moment is the menu system; there’s a lot of flicking through the interface be it choosing your load-outs and drop-off points, checking mission objectives or viewing the map. It could put a dampener on the pacing if you’re looking at menus too much.

New faces

• ·         Horizon: Zero Dawn

Outside of the The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy 7 HD and Shenmue 3, the most exciting new game to come out of Sony’s E3 conference this year was Horizon: Zero Dawn. The newest project from Guerilla Games and their first title since 2004 NOT to be a Killzone game, Horizon generated a surprising amount of excitement and I don’t blame them. The game is set in a future world where man has been dethroned as the dominant species and must survive a harsh land filled with massive mechanical dinosaurs and other beasts. In the game you’ll play as Aloy, a human hunter who must scavenge and collect the vital resources from these creatures for both crafting and survival. The game looks brilliant and it seems that Horizon will make full use of the Playstation 4 hardware just as Killzone did for the PlayStation 3 several years ago. It’s also fully open-world, with Guerilla claiming to have no loading times as well as a full day and night cycle. It’s still early days for this new project but people are already excited to learn more about the title before it is unleashed next year. Above all else though, the game is proof positive that Sony is willing to let its first party studios try out new ideas now that their previous franchise is wearing out. Perhaps Microsoft should think about doing the same with 343 Industries at some point in the future?

• ·         Mass Effect Andromeda

It was only a brief cinematic trailer, but we know for sure that a new Mass Effect is on the way. Mass Effect Andromeda (Not 4) is the next main entry in the franchise and takes place many years after Mass Effect 3. It’s safe to assume that with the Reaper threat dealt with, Andromeda looks towards more exploration-focused gameplay as the various races attempt to expand further beyond the Milky Way galaxy. The focus on exploring planets has so far been personified with the return of the Mako moon buggy (which will hopefully be much better to control in the original Mass Effect!) along with more familiar elements such as the galaxy map and the futuristic space suits that characterise the series. There’s no doubt that the fanbase (including myself) are really looking forward to the next Mass Effect game, especially with the added potential of the Frostbite 3 engine. It’s just too bad that we didn’t see more of it at EA’s conference.

• ·         Dark Souls 3

Hot on the heels of the fairly recent Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 turned up at Microsoft’s E3 conference. The Souls franchise is extremely popular for its insane difficulty and rewarding RPG gameplay; despite these successes, the second game proved to be rather divisive with players voicing their concerns over graphical downgrades and a somewhat easier difficulty. Dark Souls 3 could be out to rectify these complaints and potentially avoid the number three curse in the process. Judging by the initial reveal trailer, the game looks every bit as sinister as the first two and the designs are as wildly creative as they’ve ever been. Hidetaka Miyazaki is also returning for the newest sequel so there’s a fairly solid chance that the game will be another great romp through the grim world the series has created.

• ·         Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4

After a long hiatus, the two rhythm gaming giants, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are finally making a comeback. Both franchises (published by Activision and EA respectively) had achieved wide popularity and massive sales, but the oversaturation of games released year after year lead to the downfall of the plastic peripherals that had once filled living rooms everywhere. After much consideration, both franchises are set to return this year and are both packing their own differing features and styles to win back music lovers. Rock Band is going for a full-on RPG style experience in which players choose their path to the top of music icons whilst Guitair Hero is going for a TV channel experience which connects players together in both single and multiplayer modes. Interestingly the soundtracks to both games are looking to be more diverse than ever, featuring not only classic rock riffs, but also mainstream music from the likes of American Authors, Bruno Mars and Calvin Harris. It’s sure to be a closely fought competition when the two titles both arrive later this year.

Keep an eye out for the final part of my E3 2015 Post-Mortem: “Final Thoughts”

(All YouTube videos are the copyright of their respective owners. I do not own any of the videos in this post and am using them under fair use for review)

E3 2015 Post-Mortem Part 2: The VR competition heats up

The big three

Oculus Rift

Specs

• ·         Two OLED screens (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display
• ·         2160 x 1200 Resolution
• ·         Refresh rate of 90 Hertz
• ·         110 degrees or greater field of view
• ·         1 HDMI port and 2 USB 3.0 connectors
• ·         6DOF (Six Degrees of Freedom) Head Tracking
• ·         Constellation tracking system (For precise, low latency movement)
• ·         External sensor (Plug into the back of your computer for easy setup)
• ·         Integrated 360 degree sound headphones (External headphones can also be used)
• ·         Ergonomic design for full adjustment of lens distance.
• ·         Also incorporates users with glasses. Wrapped in fabric for comfortable viewing

Just before E3 2015 began, the final iteration of the Oculus Rift headset was revealed to the world at the company’s own press conference. The company had a surprising amount of announcements to make including a partnership with Microsoft and Windows 10, support for Unreal Engine 4, as well as several new game announcements. Some of the more notable titles include sci-fi sim Eve: Valkyrie and a new title from Insomniac Games: Edge of Nowhere. But above all else we finally had a release date for the headset; the first quarter of 2016. From what we’ve seen, there’s plenty of evidence that the Oculus Rift is pushing along at a good pace and it appears to be ready for consumer consumption, not to mention having all the support and partnerships it needs to make a proper impact. This could be down to how the Oculus was the first on the modern virtual reality scene and with the support of countless backers on its kickstarter campaign, there’s proof that interest has grown larger than both Microsoft and Sony efforts put together.

I was lucky enough to try an earlier version of the Oculus Rift developer kit for myself down at Bournemouth University. The roller-coaster demo I saw through the headset was an incredibly surreal experience despite looking a bit rough around the edges. What you see when wearing the headset (and indeed for all of its competitors no doubt!) transmits signals to the rest of your body, creating the illusion that I was on that roller-coaster minus the g-force. The only real concern that has arisen for the Oculus Rift is its acquisition by Facebook last year; many gamers are concerned that Facebook will use the device in lacklustre ways, such as virtual Farmville and other “games” along those lines. Another small issue was the idea of streaming Xbox One games through the headset; the idea of making a screen through Oculus felt pretty pointless. Why do that when you can simply play on an Xbox console as normal?

Hololens

Specs: Not yet revealed by Microsoft

As a major component in Microsoft’s Windows Holographic programme, Hololens has already been generating a fair bit of excitement since its initial reveal at the Windows 10 event earlier this year. At E3 this year, Microsoft went a step further by showcasing how the headset would work with gaming. The game in question was Minecraft; in the demo, Mojang brand director Lydia Winters controlled the game using a tablet, while Saxs Perrson wore the hololens to view the game world projected onto a table. The team used a second hololens headset to display the augmented reality display to the audience. Having a screen projected onto a wall through the headset was impressive enough, but when the table transformed before our very eyes to a Minecraft world, a collective cheer went up in the crowd. Even I was dazzled by the seemingly magical presentation and wondered at the possibilities. Imagine playing a strategy game at a table with a fully interactive map and voice commands as opposed to a television screen. The massive potential for Hololens extends beyond gaming as well, with the initial reveal showing off applications for work, science and communication.

With great excitement also comes great scepticism however; for Microsoft, overzealous marketing and misrepresentation have met before. Despite selling incredibly well (which was most likely down to its marketing campaign), the Kinect was an utter failure in the eyes of legions of gamers who became more and more baffled that the corporation was endlessly shoving the device in everyone’s face when really the Xbox brand was perfectly fine without it. Does anyone remember the Project Natal trailer back in 2009? Before the Kinect turned into a laughing stock a year later, the device looked quite promising; it showcased features such as scanning gear to play and having family members take on different roles in a Formula One race. Yet when Kinect was finally ready for consumption, most of these features had completely disappeared, leaving us with a highly inaccurate, poor value product.

The Hololens demo for Minecraft drew massive cheers from the audience at E3 this year, but we weren’t the ones who were actually wearing the headset to properly prove that Microsoft is onto something big. If Microsoft makes the same mistakes with Hololens then their reputation in the eyes of consumers might not withstand another blow like that. Hololens may be the most ambitious product in terms of versatility, but I’ll wait until I try the device for myself before I believe the hype.

Project Morpheus

Specs

• ·         Refresh rate of 120 Hertz
• ·         Two OLED screens with a 1920 x 1080 display
• ·         6DOF Head Tracking
• ·         Stereoscopic 3D support
• ·         Unwarped output to a television screen

Sony’s headset looks the closest to an actual consumer product; the design looks really slick and has a strong consistency with the other products Sony has put out. Having been in development behind closed doors since the seventh console generation, Project Morpheus is being designed to work with both the PlayStation 4 and their main handheld, the PlayStation Vita. It’s still in the prototype stages at the moment and won’t be released until the first half of 2016. We saw a fair few titles at Sony’s E3 2015 press conference but nothing was really finalised. That’s the main issue with Morpheus right now; they seem to be lagging behind the competition in terms of hardware progression and development right now. We’re sure to see more information and demos over the coming months.

Other competitors

Valve and HTC’s Vive

Specs

• ·         Refresh rate of 90 Hertz
• ·         Over 70 sensors including a gyroscope, accelerometer and
• ·         Two screens with a display of 1080 X 1200
• ·         15 X 15 feet tracking space
• ·         Compatible with external headphones

The Vive is part of HTC’s RE product range and for the project, they have teamed up with renowned PC developer Valve Corporation, who in turn will use the headset for their SteamVR program. Like Oculus, Valve has been putting out software development kits and speculation suggests that they have set a tentative official release date for November this year. The headset will also be compatible with Unreal Engine 4 along with various HTC software packages.

StarVR

Specs

• ·         210 degree horizontal and 130 degree vertical field of view
• ·         Dual 5.5 inch quad HD panel with a definition of 5120 x 1440 pixels
• ·         Combination of gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers for position tracking
• ·         Real-time 6DOF head tracking
• ·         IMU and optical sensor fusion for low latency

Developed by Starbreeze Studios, StarVR looks like the most futuristic and complex of all the VR headsets and it seeks to challenge the Vive for the SteamVR program. The studio aims to combine its knowledge of game development with its own VR headset, which was first put into the concept stages in June 2011. StarVR was also shown off on the E3 show floor with demos for titles such as The Walking Dead from Overkill. In my view, the website appears rather bulky and this may degrade comfort while wearing the headset. Press kits are already available for StarVR, but the headset has no proper release date as of yet.

Final thoughts on VR

It’s been several decades since we last heard about the idea of virtual reality; back in the nineties it seemed like the way of the future. Unfortunately with limited tech and poor design philosophy efforts into VR back then were short-lived. The biggest case of this was the Virtual Boy from Nintendo; with a middling critical reception (especially the fact that the device caused eye-strain and headaches!) and poor developer support, the system only lasted around half a year before being discontinued.

Nowadays the technology is sufficient enough to provide a fully immersive experience and E3 2015 saw more information and news on VR than any other before it. Could it be the next major step for gaming? Quite possibly; if game design is slowly becoming more and more stagnant then the next logical step could be to boost the immersion of games with future iterations of popular franchises, particularly those which unfold from first-person perspectives. While many of the new IPs that make full use of virtual reality look fairly basic at the moment, we may start to see more unique ideas that stem from the technology in the future. The support for VR is both extensive and strong with Oculus investing ten million dollars into indie game development on the Oculus. I’m looking forward to seeing how VR develops in the future.

Keep an eye out for part 3 of my E3 2015 post-mortem; “The best of the rest”.

Click here for part 1 of the post-mortem: Ranking the press conferences

(All YouTube videos are the property of their respective owners; I do not own any of the videos used and am using them for the purpose of criticism and review)

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

Click here for the first half of "ranking the conferences"

Sony

The good

• ·         The Last Guardian’s return

To kick off their presser this year, Sony decisively silenced all who believed The Last Guardian had been cancelled with a full-blown gameplay video. The video showed the various ways the boy interacts with the Griffin, as well as some light puzzle gameplay. After numerous rumours and speculation, some began to doubt that Team Ico’s next project would ever be released; it had been six long years since the game was initially announced after all. But Sony put those doubts to rest from the offset and it was a brilliant way to begin their press conference, grabbing our attention straight away, particularly the fanbase of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus who have waited years for this announcement to arrive. The excitement generated by the announcement is sure to hold up until 2016; my only concern is how the game itself will hold up. Compared with all the other AAA games at E3 this year, The Last Guardian seems to be the most simplistic which may not hold casual players over considering the massive gap between it and its predecessors.

• ·         Final Fantasy 7 HD… At long last!

In yet another surprising moment from Sony’s presser, Final Fantasy 7 HD was announced. Ever since the PS3 tech demo at E3 2005, fans of the venerable game have been clamouring for a remake; the infamous incident at the PlayStation experience event last year didn’t help matters, damaging Square Enix’s reputation in the eyes of fans. At E3 2015 the remake was finally confirmed and massive cheers erupted from the crowd. The original Final Fantasy 7 on the PlayStation 1 is one of the most beloved and acclaimed RPGs ever made and it also touched players in a way that few games could back then. My guess is that either Square Enix caved after the anger they received last year, or Sony persuaded them to make the title in order to satisfy the fans. Whatever the case it’s great to see that the fans will at long last get what they have been waiting almost twenty years for.

• ·         Shenmue 3 kickstarter

Sony didn’t stop at Final Fantasy 7 HD; instead they continued to unleash an unstoppable burst of utter excitement with the announcement of Shenmue 3 on Kickstarter. Shenmue, like Final Fantasy 7 is an incredibly popular title and for years fans have wanted the story of Ryo Hazuki to be concluded with Shenmue 3. Another dream came true this year with Sony’s announcement, which saw series creator Yu Suzuki come on stage and counted down the kickstarter campaign. From here the website itself was quite literally broken as legions of fans poured in their funds, raising one million dollars in just 102 minutes. The power of Shenmue and the announcement as a whole simply cannot be understated; it was another epic moment which made Sony’s conference so memorable this year.

The bad

• ·         No mention or talk of PlayStation Vita

Unlike the Kinect (which I’ve always felt was a massive rip-off), Sony’s PlayStation Vita had all kinds of promise when it was first unveiled in 2011 and ever since then, all it has done is fall further and further in the eyes of both consumers and Sony themselves. The promise of full-on AAA games on a handheld was never realised no thanks to the failures of Assassin’s Creed: Liberation and Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. Nowadays the device is barely acknowledged, making it feel like a wasted investment; a huge shame given the potential it initially had.

• ·         Very few titles for the rest of 2015

Where Microsoft laid a strong claim to the best exclusive blockbusters for the rest of 2015, Sony had the complete opposite; now that Bloodborne and The Order: 1886 have been released to varying degrees of success, what is there to look forward to from PlayStation 4 in terms of exclusives for the rest of 2015? Not a whole lot besides Until Dawn and the Japanese RPG Persona 5, which doesn’t exactly have a wide appeal. The waiting game is nothing new with Sony; it took around two years for the first heavy hitters to arrive on PS3 and fans have been asked to wait several times before. Instead of rolling out more titles for 2015, Sony is instead snapping up all the exclusive deals it can find to make their system seem as attractive as possible for multi-platform titles. More on that further down.

• ·         A rather basic showing for Project Morpheus

With Oculus and Valve partnering with Microsoft for the use and distribution of their virtual reality headsets, Sony’s own effort; Project Morpheus was expected to have a fairly sizeable presence this year in order to counter its main competitors. Unfortunately this was not to be as Sony showed off basic concepts, rather than proper demos and functionality for the headset. Compared to what Microsoft offered, the short talk on Project Morpheus felt quite laughable by comparison. If Project Morpheus is going to take a firm position in the rising VR market, they’re going to have to show and present a lot more to instil confidence that the headset is keeping up with its biggest competitors.

• ·         Exclusive content: Not really a win on Sony’s part

Sony’s conference was absolutely loaded with exclusive content this year; it’s no exaggeration that literally every single multiplatform game had some sort of exclusive deal at the end of it. This included the new Hitman game, Batman: Arkham Knight, Street Figher 5, the Taken King expansion for Destiny, Disney Infinity, and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Even Call of Duty, a franchise long associated with Microsoft has now swapped their allegiance to Sony with Black Ops 3. While this move may impress stakeholders, for the gaming community it’s a pretty disdainful move to take. Cutting content off from the other platforms to make the PlayStation 4 version look better really doesn’t have any point to it; it is real exclusives, not exclusive content which should be used to move units and all this sugar coating won’t do Sony any real favours. All it does is fuel the fires of fanboyism and give off an anti-consumer vibe which Sony really doesn’t want to be doing after gaining a massive lead in sales.

Final Score

Going into E3 this year, I thought that Sony’s presser would be quite bare-bones; that they would simply shrug their shoulders whilst proclaiming their lack of AAA exclusives for the rest of the year. While the latter is mostly true, the corporation did anything but shrug their shoulders and refused to let the competition slip in front of them. Sony proved once again this year that it’s still the king of the high profile reveals and the most exciting games that fans have been waiting years for. The cheers that went up on the announcements of Shenmue 3 and Final Fantasy 7 HD were certainly the biggest of the show and that’s what Sony has always had a knack for; building the strongest anticipation while keeping their low points disguised. For now the hype train Sony has generated since day one with the PlayStation 4 will have to suffice, until their big titles arrive in 2016 but for now, Sony has another solid press conference under their belt.

7/10 (Good)

Nintendo

The good

• ·         The return of Starfox

The Starfox series has awaited a full resurgence for many years. The last major console release was Starfox Assault on the Gamecube ten years ago. Since then we’ve seen a couple of handheld titles and a re-release of Starfox 64 on the 3DS but never a fully-fledged sequel on a new console. Having skipped the Nintendo Wii, the series is making its return with Starfox Zero and the trailer shown at Nintendo’s event looked very promising. Featuring both air and ground combat with the use of the Wii U gamepad, Starfox Zero looks set to be a welcome return for a franchise on hiatus for far too long.

• ·         Xenoblade Chronicles X and Super Mario Maker

As bare-bones as Nintendo’s event seemed it was satisfying to see both Xenoblade Chronicles X and Mario Maker make appearances. Both titles will be the biggest heavy-hitters the Wii U has to offer this year and they both made impressions in their own ways. Xenoblade for its massive ambition as a sequel and Mario Maker for the sheer potential it contains in allowing fans to create their own side-scrolling levels for the first time. Mario Maker in particular looks very extensive with multiple art styles, items and components to choose from. Both titles are sure to maintain the momentum the Wii U has at the moment when they release later this year.

The bad

• ·         Too much focus on the 3DS

For the amount of success the Wii U had last year, Nintendo seemed quite reluctant to talk about their console at their event, choosing instead to focus more on 3DS titles. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this focus was Metroid Federation Force; fans have been waiting five years for a new game in the series and this new 3DS title was not what they were expecting. Federation Force has no Samus Aran, and no exploration that the series is known for as well as a pretty lackluster graphical style. The reception was so bad that a change.org petition was created to cancel the game’s development, currently standing at over twenty thousand signatures. The announcement caused a pretty sizeable backlash and this has caused Nintendo to reiterate that Samus will make an appearance and that the game will feature a proper single-player campaign. Nintendo fans have been more vocal about Metroid: Federation Force than any other title made by the company, something which may have been fuelled by the polarising Metroid: Other M in 2010. It does also raise the question as to whether a petition is too radical a response or whether the consumer should simply refuse to buy the game and let it suffer poor sales, thus sending a message to Nintendo as to what the fans really want.

Final Score

The biggest problem with Nintendo’s event this year was its lack of spark or promising titles; after the Wii U made such a strong comeback in the console market last year, fans were eagerly awaiting what Nintendo was doing next to keep the system in line with its competitors. Unfortunately the show felt by the numbers to me; aside from Mario Maker and Xenoblade Chronicles X, there really wasn’t anything worth sticking around for. There could have been more details on the highly anticipated Zelda title for the Wii U or maybe even a brand new 3D Mario title which would serve as a successor to the Super Mario Galaxy games. Instead Nintendo saw fit to focus more on the 3DS whilst also withholding details on its next system, the NX which would have been the more reasonable option to take.

5/10 (Average)

Square Enix

The good

• ·       New details on Kingdom Hearts 3

The highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts 3 has been relatively quiet since its reveal two years ago at Sony’s E3 conference. Legions of fans have been awaiting the first snippets of gameplay and Square Enix delivered just that at their conference this year. The flashy combat saw protagonist Sora teaming up with Disney’s Donald and Goofy to take on several new types of enemies while traversing a lush green environment. The game looks pretty good so far with a substantial visual upgrade. Chances are we may see news about a release date soon with development having gone on for two years.

• ·         Just Cause 3

Some might say that Just Cause has come closer than any other open world franchise to rivalling the Grand Theft Auto series in terms of sheer popularity. It drops both realism and story in favour of pure, unadulterated fun in a massive sandbox. The gameplay has always been explosive, and over-the-top with a prime emphasis on causing as much chaos as possible. That’s exactly what Just Cause 3 sets out to do and the newest trailer shown off at E3 this year has exactly what fans are expecting. Ideally the game needs to improve on the flaws of the second, which included the shooting mechanics and slightly overzealous physics system. The other danger with Just Cause 3 is that it may end up feeling like Just Cause 2.5 and won’t take many risks with the formula. There’s also no multiplayer which is a shame, given how popular the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod has become.

The bad

• ·         An overall dryness to the whole event

If one company can be too overzealous in its efforts to engage the audience, then another can be too dull and dry. Square Enix’s presentation could have been better; it often felt as if they were reading off a script and weren’t that engaged with the audience. It felt a little too formal for my taste too, as they had a rather routine applause at the end. To excite your fans, it not only takes strong showings and detailed gameplay demos, but passionate developers as well. It’s why the brief talk of Unravel made EA’s conference a little more bearable. If Square Enix is to do another conference next year, it needs to keep this in mind and that way it will be that much more engaging.

Final Score

Square Enix’s E3 debut was fairly competent but nothing special. Games like Kingdom Hearts 3 and Just Cause 3 did excite, but most of the other announcements ranged from average to fairly dull. SE suffered from the problem Ubisoft had in previous years in that the footage they showed was what we had already seen because it had been broadcasted at an earlier conference

6/10 (Fair)

PC Gaming Show

The good

• ·         Extensive talk on technical specs

One of the biggest components of gaming on PC is the technical specifications. People love to build the most powerful rigs and with this come games that look absolutely stunning with the boosted hardware. It was satisfying to see that the PC gaming show didn’t gloss over this aspect, homing in on specific details of graphics and development tools that enrich the PC experience. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Killing Floor 2 were the biggest highlights, showing a variety of upgrades from screen space reflection to bloody entrails physics. Above all else, the PC gaming show knew its audience well and tailored it to fit their specific interests.

• ·         Games of many types and genres

Of all the conferences at E3 this year, the PC gaming show had the strongest variety of titles to show. We saw all kinds of games including new projects, updates on existing titles such as Guild Wars 2 and Killing Floor, atmospheric titles such as Soma, new expansions for Heroes of the Storm and Pillars of Eternity and heavy hitting titles including Gigantic and No Man’s Sky. Having a diverse selection of titles gave the PC gaming show a strong impact that kept the audience guessing despite the lack of massive announcements.

The bad

• ·         A slightly bloated running time

At two hours and thirty minutes, the PC gaming show was the longest of all the press conferences at E3 this year. The in-depth discussions did fill in most of the time quite well and succeeded at putting out information to both the audience and PC gamers everywhere but the show did drag towards the end and my attention started to wane a fair bit. As a result, the likes of No Man’s Sky and other titles later in the show did have less of an impact simply because people were straining to pay attention. If they were to streamline some of the Q&A sessions and trim down the commentary slightly next year then it may be able to maintain interest more effectively.

• ·         Nothing from Valve :(

With so many dreams being realised and so many anticipated titles finally on the way, there seems to be only one that we still know nothing about; you know what it is, Half Life 3. There could not have been a riper time for Valve to make their return to game development; they haven’t made a game since the release of DOTA 2 in 2013 and the PC gaming show seemed to be the perfect spot to make a big announcement. Unfortunately Valve remains as frustratingly tight-lipped as ever on both their games and their efforts into the PC and VR hardware sectors. Waiting over seven years for a game that we know nothing about has been a slow and arduous process for the fans; one of the audience members even called out for Half Life 3 during the presentation. For now, the wait will continue to drag on not just for the elusive entry in the Half Life series but also Valve’s next move as a whole.

Final Score

The debut of the PC gaming show was a relatively good effort. It felt much more down-to-earth than the other conferences with the structure of a talk-show, less marketing buzzwords and more of an easy-going mood. This is evidenced by Phil Spencer’s frank discussion that homed in on the fact and the laidback style of presenter Sean “Day9” Plott. It was also really refreshing to see a proper focus on PC and the more technical side of gaming specifications and tools that developers use to make titles on the platform. Hopefully the show will make a return to E3 next year.

7/10 (Good)

And that wraps up part 1 of my E3 2015 Post-Mortem; for the next part I’ll be looking at the VR tech present at the show.

(All YouTube videos are the property of their respective owners; I do not own any of the videos used and am using them for the purpose of criticism and review)