Day 1 of the E3 press conferences has come and gone and while a lot of people have burnt midnight oil in ways that some never thought possible, the rest of us have had to take the morning to digest what we have seen....... and what a lot to take in!!!
Ubisoft delight the mature gamers around the world by bringing back Ghost Recon with Wildlands, the ultimate in strategic multiplayer, but in an open world. Rainbow Six gets Terrorist Hunt chucked in, as well as the cracking Vegas games for those who preorder. Not to mention things like For Honor and, on a more quirky and personal level, Trackmania, as I've been a HUGE fan of it for donkeys.
Bethesda had the single most important announcement for me involving Xbox One third party titles, with the release date of Fallout 4 coming on the 10th November, as well as Fallout 3 coming along with it on release for those on Xbox One. We also have the PC mods heading over to the consoles for the first time, which could bring some very interesting concepts. Doom was good too, but Fallout has so much scope and ability that I think even the mighty Call of Duty may be looking over it's shoulder this time.
We do have to mention Sony. Shenmue 3's Kickstarter campaign is a big deal for ALL of the gaming community, with an absence of leave of well over a decade it is a classic story being brought back, now that the $2m amount has been raised in record time. Also, Final Fantasy 7 is getting a remake that all fans have craved. It is noting this because it is only a TIMED exclusive on PS4, so all of us Microsoft fans will get the chance to delve into the world of Cloud and Aeris soon enough.
Now, onto Microsoft. Backwards Compatibility caught EVERYONE out, especially me, and I cannot wait to be able to chuck all of my 360 games onto the hard drive of my black box. It may seem weird wanting to go back, but lest we forget such classics as Call of Duty 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, the Vegas games we have already mentioned, Mass Effect, Gears horde mode and many more. This is a HUGE thing, especially as this may mean a lot of people will finally make the transition from 360 to Xbox One.
Seeing Rod Fergusson coming on and debuting Gears 4 made me happy, but also concerned. I didn't feel the sense of awe and wonder I was expecting. It was firmly in the "meh" category and I felt that the characters needed to have more, well, character. The graphics looked lovely, but there was some emptiness there. Forza was also a little flat, but I think timing the reveal so soon after Project CARS may have hurt it. Halo 5, however, looked incredible. It showed to me that Bungie had gotten a bit too comfortable, and 343 Industries have really brought the franchise back to life in a way we never imagined. Not to mention the Warzone game mode looks like something special.
Personally, I was excited to see the Dark Souls 3 trailer and noticed it only had the Xbox One logo. Could this be an exclusive? Who knows, but I know it is on my wish list. Finally, the RARE Hits pack looked lovely and I will be getting that, if even just for RC Pro Am.
EA was really only good for two things in my eyes and they were at the front and back of the show. Mass Effect Andromeda looks incredible and that will be special, no doubt about it. Star Wars Battlefront also looks like it could be a great title to play, but then they always make it look great on E3 day. If the servers hold and the content is good then this could be great, but I shall stay reserved.
Overall I am so impressed with what I have seen so far. I'm scared for Nintendo and the PC conferences because the others have done such a good job. Not too worried for Square Enix though. Tomb Raider, Hitman, Final Fantasy 7? Yeah, should be easy enough, but the fact remains..... this, after one day, has been the best E3 in AGES. Mind you though, after seeing day two, I'm glad they had such a good start..... YIKES!!!
My own views are not necessarily those shared by the rest of Absolute Gaming, just to make sure.