Ubisoft
The Good
- A committed focus on community
Just about every major Ubisoft title at the show this year
had some kind of public beta attached to it in a bid to get gamers onboard
sooner. It’s a practice that paid off in spades with Rainbow Six: Siege which
now boasts a player-base 35 million strong after plenty of back-and-forth
feedback between developer and audience. With the right approach, each of
Ubisoft’s upcoming titles with a focus on multiplayer can achieve plenty of bug
fixes, patching up and stability before release, though this should only be a
starting point. Sustaining each title after its launch is equally important but
the way in which Ubisoft is actively involving its fans from the outset is very
commendable. The biggest example of this, fittingly enough was Beyond Good and
Evil 2; a surprise appearance from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt showcased the
opportunities for fans to get their own art and creativity featured in the
game, allowing them, to an extent to leave their own mark on the game world at
large. It’ll be interesting to see where this project goes.
- Hefty details on The Division 2, Skull and Bones and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Ubisoft had a wide variety of titles on show, and each of the
bigger ones all had plenty of details that succeeded at picking up where last
year’s show left off. The Division 2 kicked things off with a healthy dose of
details regarding character classes, something quickly followed up by full
gameplay for Skull and Bones; while I was tempted to write it off as an
Assassin’s Creed IV with multiplayer ship battles, the game appears to be
coming into its own. At many points throughout the gameplay, I thought to
myself: “This is what Sea of Thieves should have been” with all its
customisable ship parts, battles involving multiple players teaming up to take
on a powerful Spanish frigate and plenty of different armaments to use as you
tear your way through the Indian ocean. To finish the presser, Assassin’s Creed
Odyssey took to the stage with a stunning rendition of Ancient Greece and
Sparta; there’s plenty of charismatic performances from the characters so far
but the gameplay itself is treading fairly closely to 2017’s Origins. With the
release date at the end of the year bearing down on the developers, Odyssey
should try and go the extra mile to make improvements.
- Varied aesthetics and good pacing
Outside of a few detours I’ll get to in a moment, Ubisoft’s
presser ran on a very consistent pace and for the first time, there wasn’t a
definitive host tying it all together, a choice I feel paid off. The formula
worked like this; a flashy CG trailer showed on screen alongside the stage
changing colours to match the tone of each game, developers took to the stage
to talk about the title and this was followed up by gameplay demos to give an extensive
look at the bigger games Ubisoft has coming up. It’s a very fluid style of
presentation that kept things moving smoothly a majority of the time. Much like
last year, the conference concluded with a group-up of all the Ubisoft
developers together, another terrific way of wrapping things up.
The Bad
- Opening with Just Dance… again…
It only took up five minutes at the start, but it still felt
wasted. Just Dance is now the only motion-controlled franchise left in gaming
and it really doesn’t have any business sticking around as long as it has.
Yearly editions serve only to add new songs and play along with the latest
trends in music and dance; the Nintendo Wii moved on long ago, the Microsoft
Kinect was unceremoniously executed, and PlayStation Move is barely used
outside of VR. Despite being the most profitable of the bunch, it’s getting tired
now. That, and people don’t go to E3 to see an awkward dance performance… Now
might be the time to put the franchise down.
- A couple of awkward moments regarding presentation
Ubisoft has had its cringy moments at E3 over the years,
until finally moving on from it last year. However, at E3 2018 there were a
couple of points where the company almost veered back into that awkward
territory. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s collaboration on Beyond Good and Evil 2 was cool,
but his time on-stage was bookended by a few awkward high fives. Then there was
a random segment involving Trials where a presenter took a tumble on a
cardboard podium; it’s meant to tie in with the wacky nature of the platforming
motocross game, but it came off as rather forced. The company should work to
curb these like they did in 2017.
- Little in the way of new announcements or surprises
Ubisoft may have delivered plenty of details regarding its
upcoming games, but it lacked the surprise factor and played things safe as a
result. The only exception to this was a crossover with Nintendo’s Starfox via
the “toys-to-life” based Starlink followed up by a second appearance from
Shigeru Miyamoto; this continued collaboration with Nintendo is sure to garner
a great reception from fans of both companies. But Ubisoft’s flair never really
went beyond this announcement; there was little in the way of new IPs and they
didn’t land a major reveal the way they did with Beyond Good and Evil 2 the
year before. Perhaps Ubisoft could be open to taking risks and looking to take
on new ideas in the future.
The Verdict
Ubisoft stole the show at last year’s E3 and that was always
going to be a tough act to follow. While they couldn’t match 2017, this year
was still an admirable effort with plenty to show. The style of presentation
could be the best of the show and while it’s disappointing to see a lack of
major surprises, the company still delivered where it counted and that puts
them on the upper tier of the press conferences for 2018.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
PC Gaming
Show
The Good
- A higher ratio of gameplay trailers
Given that the PC crowd are often more dedicated players than
their console counterparts, developers must plan their stage shows accordingly
and to do this, they focus more on core gameplay rather than spectacle-based CG
trailers. Each title shown off at the PC Gaming Show was entirely gameplay
based and this gave a full, more cohesive impression of each title and how it
would play. Delivering gameplay on an upfront basis sets the PC Gaming Show
from its contemporaries and creates a strong impact through a genuine look beyond
a simple trailer.
- Strong variety and fluid presentation
From the get-go, the PC Gaming Show knew exactly what it was
about. Swapping back and forth between conference regular Sean “Day9” Plott and
newcomer Frankie Ward, the PC Gaming Show always moved at a consistent pace,
delivering tons of different games from a multitude of companies and genres.
Both presenters laid down a few quirky remarks without veering into snarky or
corny material. Between PC Gamer and Ubisoft, the two companies know how to
stage and present a press conference.
- Plenty of focus on the community and modding scenes
The PC space is also home to dedicated communities who
continue to populate games many years after their initial releases. The modding
scene was given its due with The Forbidden City and further down the line, Warframe
took to the stage and as a title that has always had a strong focus on
community and its dedication to that really shone through the announcement of “The
Sacrifice”, the latest update to the long-running free-to-play third person
shooter. With the focus on community in mind, the PC as a platform is always
catered to by players as well as the development scene and the show saw fit to
hammer this home.
The Bad
- Spreading thin on major gameplay demos
The PC Gaming Show has always prided itself on delivering a
higher quantity of games than any other conference at E3 and while this does
provide great variety, it also means the show itself withholds from going into greater
detail on some of the bigger AAA games coming out. Each game of the show had
about a four-minute timeslot to show the trailer, give a quick rundown and then
move on stage for the next title. There were very hardly any deep dives
throughout the runtime and this quantity over quality approach isn’t always the
best option to take.
- Little mention of VR hardware and titles
As arguably the pioneering platform for virtual reality
hardware, the PC space is the only way to use the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets
due to its processing power and capacity. With the PC as a platform constantly improving,
the expectation comes that VR will also become a greater part of it, so you’d
think that the PC Gaming Show would take steps to show this progression and
support the emerging platform. While there was a brief talk from Acer on new
display tech, VR was hung out to dry as the only major title shown was Insomniac
Games’ Stormland, a dazzling science fiction world involving farming androids.
This is something they work to include more of next time.
- Quite a bit of pitching and proposed advertisements
While the format of the PC Gaming Show was consistent and
fluid, the developers that took to the stage kept the details fairly brief, before
quickly turning players attention to pre-ordering via digital stores. While not
nearly as contemptable as EA’s press conference, it did become tiresome after a
while to see developers talk business, rather than going into further detail on
the games they were making. It started to turn the conference more towards a
business pitch, rather than a passionate display of talent across the PC space.
The Verdict
The PC Gaming Show continues to stick to what it does best,
showcasing a diverse line-up of games on the most diverse platform on the
market. The hosts both did an excellent job of taking the audience through it
all and while the conference was spread somewhat thin, by the sheer number of
games on stage, it still delivered where it counted. They just need to mix up
the proceedings a bit more with some extra talk of VR and other segments and
they should be all set to top the press conferences.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Sony
The Good
- Strong demos for every major exclusive
Sony has been heavily focused on exclusive games as a driving
force for the PlayStation 4 from day one and 2018 was no different. Every time a
big title comes out for the system, hordes of gamers flock to it and others on
the fence are often converted. This confidence meant that Sony didn’t have to
throw the word exclusive around every five minutes and could instead let the
games speak for themselves. Just like the original did way back in E3 2012, The
Last of Us 2 hit hard with its brutally visceral gameplay, perhaps more so than
any other title at the show. Sucker Punch finally returned to the development
scene with Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding got a mysterious and foreboding
collection of gameplay teases and Insomniac’s Spiderman wrapped up the show
with an explosive chase pilling in five of the webslinger’s foes at once. It’s
a great variety of titles with plenty to offer for the next year or so and most
importantly of all, they require owning a PS4.
- Resident Evil 2’s comeback in HD
One of the most requested remakes of all time is Capcom’s
Resident Evil 2; widely regarded as a massive improvement on the franchise’s
1996 debut, the hype cycle for an upscaling first began with the remake of the
original Resident Evil for the Gamecube in 2002. With the power of new
hardware, the updated version was the definitive way to play with an increased
level of atmosphere and graphic horror. Fans then began to speculate what RE2
would look like in higher definition and were left waiting 16 years. At Sony’s
show they finally got their wish. The trailer was brief, but the atmosphere and
graphical leap across three generations created plenty of excitement for the
long-awaited remake of what some fans consider the best in the series and the
most polished of the classic PS1 trilogy. The game is looking to use the
third-person over-the-shoulder viewpoint pioneered by Resident Evil 4 as a
gameplay template and if all goes well, it’s sure to be a big hit upon release
next year.
- Intriguing new announcements of Control and Deracine
The new announcements that flanked the bigger titles at
Sony’s E3 opted for a simpler climb-down from the AAA approach. The first of
these was Control, a foreboding delve into the twisted mind of a father struggling
with his family life and the psychological repercussions; it’s coming from Alan
Wake and Quantum Break developer Remedy Entertainment, who sure to pour a ton
of effort into any story they produce. Then there was Deracine, a VR offering
by From Software looking to dive into the more spiritual side of a class full
of students. From what we’ve seen from the developer, the game will be a major
departure and another strong showcase of Sony’s commitment towards allowing
developers to express their creativity. I look forward to seeing more from both
games.
The Bad
- Hackneyed pacing alongside an unneeded intermission
Sony decided to present its E3 briefing a bit differently
this year; rather than a giant stage, the company started out in a tent, one
decorated to match the opening demo of The Last of Us 2; the demo played,
people got excited then without warning they cut to an intermission as the
attendees moved into another hall. This brought the pacing to a rather abrupt
halt and really muddied the overall consistency of the conference. In previous
years, most notably 2016, Sony have worked to absorb the audience completely
with music numbers and carry on with the announcements from there. But this
time, the musical performances from an acoustic guitar and flutes weren’t as
impactful as they should have been. This was down to the presser not working to
pull people in from the offset. Overall Sony’s presentation went in a different
direction and failed; they should keep to the more grandiose theatre setting
for next year.
- No Final Fantasy VII Remake or Shenmue 3
Sony’s thunderous announcements of Final Fantasy VII Remake
and Shenmue 3 made E3 2015 one of the best in the show’s history, not to
mention plant them firmly on the top of fandom circles in the years following.
Role-playing fans had been waiting years for these two announcements and in the
three years since, we’ve hardly heard a peep about either of them. Supposedly
there are some serious development problems hanging over FF7 Remake but as for
Shenmue 3 there’s been no information since the kickstarter was launched. It’s
very disappointing to see E3 come and go without any updates, doubly so for
those who were positively ecstatic to see their favourite franchises come back.
I suppose we’ll have to wait a while longer.
- Little to no mention of PlayStation VR or indie titles
Sony’s strategy for PlayStation 4 has certainly gone far
beyond the console itself, most notably with the VR market; with such a
commanding lead in the hardware market, the company added its own contribution
to the headset pile. While there have been some successful titles such as
Farpoint and Batman Arkham VR, the headset has yet to reach its full potential.
At E3 2018, new titles that aimed to push the boundaries of this tech were
mostly missing in action, the only exception being From Software’s Deracine at
the end of the show. It’s unfortunate that Sony chose not to expand its VR
line-up this year despite the current generation of consoles coming to an end.
It would have gone a way towards reaffirming their support for the peripheral.
The Verdict
Sony’s conference was mostly strong, but several niggling
things held it back. It certainly felt very minimalistic when compared to
previous E3s, with only a couple of musical notes breaking up the proceedings. There
was less talk on stage from Sony this year and plenty of focus on what they do
best; true exclusive titles that strive for a cinematic tone. With that said,
the conference’s pacing felt off and some of the heavy hitters that made the
company a force to reckoned with in LA in previous years were still nowhere to
be found. As a result, Sony felt short of “winning” the press conferences and
should work to fix the issues with presentation for next time.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Nintendo
Direct
The Good
- A fully featured showing of Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Back in 2014, Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS made its
mark as one of the best games of the year. The fifth entry was inevitable and
at Nintendo’s Direct event, creator Masahiro Sakurai unveiled it in
full. Tons of information rained down from a complete rundown of every single
character, to individual changes to fighting styles and aesthetics, new
fighting techniques assist trophies and stages. All this obsessive detail really
pulled fans and new players alike into the new game. It was all capped off by
the reveal of Metroid’s mechanical dragon Ridley as a playable character
Suffice it to say that Nintendo dedicated more time, effort and detail to Smash
5 than any other game at E3 this year, which is a testament to their continued
commitment and passion for the franchise.
- Solid relations with third party developers
One of Nintendo’s biggest weaknesses over the years was its
access to third party studios; the Wii U was the biggest victim of this problem
back in 2012 and 2013. Facing poor hardware sales, publishers left the system
in droves, refusing to put out their titles on a system that wasn’t making bank.
With the Switch however, Nintendo have really turned things around and a quick
montage of games coming to the “play-anywhere” device proved this. Dark Souls
Remastered, Arena of Valour, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and even
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus are just some of the releases on their way to
Nintendo’s system, with more to follow. It’s clear that Nintendo’s strategy
with the Switch is paying off in spades.
- A good array of new exclusives for the Switch
Nintendo has always prided itself on delivering its biggest franchises
but putting a new spin on them each time. But in recent years, they have been pushing
into fresh territory and investing in different genres. Arguably the biggest of
these in the current decade is the sci-fi RPG Xenoblade Chronicles but more are
on the way for Nintendo Switch. Super Mario Party looks to be another wacky party
game, but Daemon X Machina is a rapid barrage of Gundam style mech combat and
Hollow Knight and Overcooked are set to deliver more bite-sized chunks of
gaming. This variety is far better than all the shovel ware rubbish that
polluted the Wii’s line-up a decade ago.
The Bad
- No Metroid Prime 4 ☹
The Metroid franchise had been lying dormant for a while when
Nintendo took it back to its roots last year. Samus Returns proved to be a
welcome return to the 2D adventure genre and now all eyes are turning to the
next 3D entry, Metroid Prime 4. The original trilogy across GameCube and
Nintendo Wii are some of the most critically acclaimed games Nintendo has ever
put out and to see a fourth entry announced got fans excited. Sadly, for 2018,
the new game chose not to appear at E3, leaving us waiting until the next big
event for extra details. Getting some concrete gameplay videos or trailers
would have gone a long way towards keeping anticipation going while also
serving a reminder that Nintendo is taking the franchise seriously.
- Smash 5 overshadowing other titles
The announcement of the fifth Super Smash Bros title came as
both a blessing and a curse for Nintendo. While tons of details were revealed,
the game itself ended up taking a good two thirds of Nintendo’s live feed, time
that could have been filled by Metroid Prime 4 and other exclusive titles. 2018
would have also been a good point to unveil the next Starfox or Zelda title and
overall a stronger variety outside of Nintendo eshop titles and re-releases of
older games would have generated more excitement and variation to the overall
feed.
- Little clarity on the Switch’s upcoming features, especially online multiplayer
Nintendo has never really been a big player on the online
scene; the company’s wi-fi connection didn’t draw the best reception on both
the Wii and Wii U and since launching the Switch to immense success, the
Japanese company has been somewhat tight-lipped on what the Switch will offer
for its online audiences. What we know so far doesn’t fill one with excitement;
the console will use a paid service and require a rather cumbersome mobile
application just to use voice chat features. This year’s Direct feed could have
been used to allay these concerns and push the Switch as an online-ready system.
While the company has thrived for decades on providing local multiplayer
experiences, online could be a new frontier for Nintendo if they embraced it
wholeheartedly.
The Verdict
Nintendo’s more compacted Direct offerings differ greatly
from their conference focused counterparts; they don’t have a grandiose
presentation but simultaneously get announcements out quickly and efficiently.
Additional exclusives, a multitude of third-party titles are all well and good,
but of course it was Smash 5 that really showed off Nintendo’s brand of fun
this year; it’s been an unstoppable juggernaut in the industry for almost two
decades and shows no signs of slowing. There was part of me that felt the
latest fighter did get in the way of showing off other titles for the Switch,
but Nintendo’s showing was ultimately a good one.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
That just about covers it for the E3 2018 press conferences. Keep an eye out for the final part on the show as a whole soon...
(Images used for the purposes of review and criticism under fair use)
(Images used for the purposes of review and criticism under fair use)
