E3 2015: Rate-A-Conference

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]o E3 has come and gone once more. Another year of trailer and hype overload has now passed, and by all accounts, this year was a pretty good one for the event; in recent years, E3 seems to have struggled, but this year many of its problems seemed to have disappeared, so I’m taking a look back at the conferences from E3 2015.
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Bethesda

Bethesda have never had an E3 conference before, Which meant they definitely had something to prove. They certainly delivered. Any conference which included Fallout 4 was always going to be something special, and it did not disappoint. Not only did we get a ridiculous amount of game information, including a 2015 release date, but also we got some other great stuff as well. Doom was finally shown, which looks promising but appears to have some issues- the game appeared floaty in terms of controls and seemed overly repetitive- but we also got a trailer for Dishonored 2, which looks amazing. These games made Bethesda’s slate look ridiculously exciting, and with an increased focus on smaller games (like Fallout Shelter), Bethesda only look as if they will grow and grow.

Game of the Conference: Fallout 4

Rating: 8.5/10

Microsoft

It’s hard to believe that the Microsoft that appeared this year is the same Microsoft of two years ago, who seemed completely anti-consumer. This new Microsoft is a completely different beast, and it looks very exciting. Not only did they present new and exciting games coming to their system, such as ReCore and Cuphead, but they also had one of E3’s most exciting reveals; backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. That one announcement is a massive game-changer. Not only does it represent an incredibly consumer-friendly outlook from Microsoft, but it also has a chance to massively increase the install base on a struggling console. This was a very strong conference from Microsoft overall. They appear to have a strong holiday season coming up, as well as a strong future, with both new IPs and new technology, such as HoloLens (which looks incredible). If Microsoft continue in this direction, then the console wars may reignite in the near future.

Game of the Conference: Cuphead

Rating: 8/10

This new Microsoft is a completely different beast, and it looks very exciting.

EA

This was a pretty mediocre conference for EA, who didn’t really have anything major to show off. Whilst none of their games look like they will be terrible, they were unable to present much to feel hyped about. Battlefront still looks like it will be Star Wars: Battlefield; Mirror’s Edge was too confusing to actually be exciting (is it a sequel? A reboot?) The sports games look like they have their usual polish but have nothing innovative, and Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 will undoubtedly be good but quickly forgotten. Admittedly, there were 2 highlights; Mass Effect Andromeda looks to be giving the series a fresh outlook, with a pretty good trailer. They also announced Unravel, which looks JUST SO CUTE. The game doesn’t seem like an EA game, which is a great thing, and honestly, it looks amazing. Sadly though, even Yarny couldn’t save a lacklustre conference from E3.

Game of the Conference: Unravel

Rating: 6/10

Ubisoft

Ubisoft, much like EA, disappointed this year, but unlike EA, didn’t really have anything to redeem the poor showing. Their conference was filled with Tom Clancy games, clearly, with 3 different titles coming, 2 of which look too similar (The Division and Ghost Recon). Assassin’s Creed was talked about, of course, but it’s hard to care about this franchise, especially after last year’s Unity disaster. The Crew is getting an expansion as well, but again, nobody cares. For Honor looks like it could be interesting, but there really isn’t enough information to fairly judge it. However, the frankly surprising announcement of a new South Park game was undoubtedly the highlight. The Stick of Truth was brilliant, and The Fractured But Whole will probably be of the same quality, but even this has nothing new. Surprisingly, there were no showings from smaller games, such as last year’s Valiant Hearts, which meant that the conference had no redeeming features.

Game of the Conference: South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Rating: 5/10

Sony

Sony did a great job this year. This conference was seemingly designed purely to please their fans. So confident were they of their conference’s strength that they opened with a Last Guardian re-reveal, something that many expected would close the show. The game still looks good, but the question remains as to whether the hype will bury the title. They didn’t slow down after this either. New IPs such as Horizon Zero Dawn looked breath-taking; Uncharted 4 still looks amazing and Sony are helping to release games built purely for the fans, such as the Final Fantasy VII remake, and more excitingly, Shenmue 3. Most of these announcements are showing a strong Sony line-up, which allowed for them to have a great conference. This isn’t to say that the conference was perfect. Sony failed to show No Man’s Sky in a meaningful way once again; Shenmue 3 was shown but is still essentially a concept, and inexplicably, Sony only showed Morpheus for only a couple of minutes, making it seem increasingly like an unnecessary peripheral. Despite this, it would be unfair to say that Sony’s conference was anything but great.

Game of the Conference: Horizon Zero Dawn

Rating: 8/10

Nintendo

Nintendo were in an unenviable position this year. The Wii U is dead, Nintendo having acknowledged this by stating that news on the new console (the NX) will be coming next year. Therefore, this year, all they could do was show the remaining Wii U titles in an attempt to get them out of the door and allow for them to clean their hands of the console once and for all. The games that they did talk about were not even that exciting. Starfox is probably going to be good, but reports suggest motion controls may damage the game. A lack of Zelda news clearly weakened their show as well, despite the company still maintaining that it is a Wii U title. Aside from this, they also announced a new Metroid Prime title for the 3DS, which was just not a good move. Metroid Prime is a much-loved franchise, with fans clamouring for a new game for years, yet, when it was announced, it was done so in a peculiar way involving sports and absolutely no mention of Samus. Aside from Super Mario Maker, which looks incredible, Nintendo’s attempt was just disappointing. Nothing announced can really gain much hype. Let us hope that this poor showing was just due to the NX being just over the horizon.

Game of the Conference: Super Mario Maker

Rating: 4/10

Square Enix

Square Enix did not need a conference. I really have no idea why Square decided to put on this event when most of the games that they talked about appeared in other people’s shows. Their titles do certainly look interesting however. Just Cause 3 seems to make you into an unstoppable god of destruction, which looks fun; Hitman as always looks like stealthy murderous fun and Final Fantasy VII’s remake is certain to sell a lot of units. An announcement of a new Nier game (look Nier up- I doubt many people remember the original release) and news of Kingdom Hearts 3 did not justify the conference

Game of the Conference: Just Cause 3

Rating: 3/10

PC Gaming Show

The PC Gaming Show was two and a half hours of my life that I will never get back. Its presentation was poorly handled, with its weird talk show style just coming across as awkward. There were no announcements of worth either. No big new games were announced, which meant that the biggest news to come out of the show was that No Man’s Sky was coming to PC at launch as well, which is hardly conference-worthy. Unlike Bethesda, the PC Gaming Show could not justify holding its first ever conference. When you can’t do anything to justify your show, don’t hold the show.

Game of the Conference: Umm, Pillars of Eternity’s expansion, maybe?

Rating: 1/10

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What got you excited from this year’s E3? Let us know @boargames