EA Play
The Good
· A decent showing of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Last year at E3, Electronic Arts delivered perhaps the worst announcement for any game in recent years, a brief developer statement in the audience; the game in question was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, EA’s belated entry into single-player Star Wars games. For this year however, the title was placed front and centre at the play event. The twenty-seven minute demo saw protagonist Cal, a survivor of the empire’s order 66, assault an imperial refinery with a band of rebels. We were given a healthy mix of platforming and combat placed against a beautiful looking environment; it’s clear the title has been making great progress over the last year and it’s set for release on November 15th 2019, just in time for the final instalment of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy. Once players have the game in their hands, we’ll get a definitive picture of the game’s success.
· Proper gameplay refinements for sports titles
I’ve criticised EA many times for the endless monotony of their sports titles that ramble on about aesthetic elements that add nothing to the annualised FIFA and Madden franchises. This year however, they decided to do a bit more with their seemingly endless monopoly on sports games. The return of street football in FIFA is a welcome addition as are the x-factor abilities in Madden; with both franchises marking their twentieth entry next year, they needed to go the extra mile to distinguish these titles from their many predecessors. It should go some way to making both franchises a little less disposable.
The Bad
· An overzealous presenter with Greg Miller
Every E3 has its awkward moments and this time it was EA’s turn for the dubious honour of awkward presentation; Greg Miller of the Kinda Funny YouTube channel took over from Andrea Rene this year and while he was certainly enthusiastic, he ended up going a bit too far and became a distraction over time. Considering the announcements on show, Miller seemed overactive throughout the presentation which dampened the few good points seen throughout the event. Luckily there were no iffy moments with the audience this year nor cringe-worthy celebrity cameos that dragged out the runtime.
· A higher concentration of expansions over new releases
EA’s titles have taken a tanking over the last year; Apex Legend had a strong breakout in the battle royale scene but has slipped in popularity this year, Battlefield 5’s poor marketing led to the worst sales figures in the franchise and Bioware’s Anthem was a colossal failure that looks set to be abandoned at any moment. It’s clear that the corporation’s current business model is poorly thought out and that new direction is needed. Unfortunately, EA sees fit to keep churning out more downloadable content for games that certainly aren’t boasting high player numbers now. Rather than have endless DLC plans that won’t necessarily translate into success, they should instead use the sales to inform their decisions more closely.
The Verdict
EA’s event for E3 this year was a slight improvement over 2018’s bland effort but things still feel pretty ho-hum overall. It’s good to EA finally getting into single-player Star Wars games after a four-year wait and Fallen Order looks to be shaping up quite well. Outside of this main demo however, most of the announcements were relegated to expansions and DLC. There was also no sign of any improvement or changes in corporate attitude either which doesn’t bode well for the corporation’s already rotten reputation. They need to go the extra mile in future and get their dev teams working on more new IPs.
Rating: 5/10 (Mediocre)
Microsoft
The Good
· Stronger presentation aesthetics
As one of the big players on the console scene, Microsoft is always expected to bring some buzz to its announcements with strong presentation techniques. Things were a bit flashier this year as Microsoft made use of the stage for several key titles, most notably Gears of War 5 and the underground stage compartment, which was used to show off new additions to the franchise. To mix things up throughout the extended runtime, Microsoft did a reasonable job of spicing things up, even if the games themselves didn’t reach their full excitement levels; continuing to make creative use of the E3 theatres will go a long way towards improving their offerings.
· Cyberpunk 2077 starring Keanu Reeves
Following its reveal trailer at last year’s show, many were eagerly awaiting more news about CD Projekt Red’s latest title; little did we know that the hype levels were about to amplified five times more. In a brilliant move not unlike the way Sony revealed Hideo Kojima and Death Stranding back at E3 2016, legendary action star Keanu Reeves stepped on stage bursting with excitement for the game, wowing the audience and dropping the release date of April 16th 2020. Celebrities are often brought in to deliver more marque value at E3 but it’s rare that someone outside of the industry is used as brilliantly as Reeves was. He’s the perfect fit for Cyberpunk with his experience in both The Matrix and John Wick and the way he presented the title was a brilliant way of building anticipation.
The Bad
· Too much talk and too little gameplay
As you may have noticed in previous years, I judge the press conferences of the big three console makers by how they build support for their own systems above all else. Microsoft is sticking to a samey formula; games above all else. It’s an admirable direction after the messy reveal of the Xbox One but at the same time the higher number of titles seen each year at the company’s press conferences does dilute the games on show. There was very little gameplay shown for most titles and the announcements that were present mostly involved titles that were some time away from release. Much of the gameplay was made up of titles we’ve already seen, most notably Gears 5 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Microsoft may have gone on a buying spree of new studios recently but putting them to work should have resulted in more coherent style and strategy for Xbox going forward.
· A muted showcase for Project Scarlett
The next generation of consoles is on the way and Microsoft used E3 2019 to get people salivating over their next piece of hardware. “Project Scarlett” as it’s currently known is looking to improve processing power and potentially completely cut loading times. Sadly, at least in my eyes, Scarlett is hard to get excited about and it comes down to Microsoft’s choices in previous years; they said similar things about the Xbox One X a few years ago and all that 4K power has been wasted on a weak library of exclusives. All this talk about processing power also rings hollow because it lacks the soul and enthusiasm of game development; there was little in the trailer that emphasised Microsoft’s efforts to push the gaming experience forward and outline their approach to game development. If the company doesn’t pair up this new system with a multitude of stellar exclusives, it will get nowhere.
The Verdict
Aside from the more extravagant stage shows and star power of Keanu Reeves, Microsoft’s conference was much the same as last year. It is a slight improvement on 2018 but the overall excitement levels remain muted. It’s clear the company is holding back the big guns till the next generation, but I feel there’s a bigger problem; Microsoft doesn’t have an identity in the gaming scene right now; while Sony focuses on cinematic storytelling and Nintendo goes for fun above all else, Microsoft has spread itself too thin with its approach and needs to get those killer titles out thick and fast. Kicking off a new console with Halo may have worked before but they’ll need to do much more than that to win back consumers. Yet again, Xbox has told us to wait until they get themselves sorted out.
Rating: 6/10 (Fair)
Bethesda
The Good
· Doom Eternal’s entire showing
Easily the most comprehensive gameplay demo of the show so far, Doom Eternal looks to be everything players loved about the 2016 reboot, but with a host of refinements and additions to really take things to the next level. More versatile traversal with the grappling hook, new weapons and powers to mix up the combat and last, but certainly not least a reworked multiplayer component known as the Battlemode. It’s two player-controlled demons against the doomslayer in a game of wits as the two sides use their different weapons and abilities to outfox the other. With these additions, Doom Eternal could easily surpass its predecessor when it releases in November this year.
· Some reasonable introductions to new titles
While Bethesda’s conference was lacking major announcements, there were a few efforts to tide fans over. The supernatural shooter Deathloop from Arkane Lyon, and the more contemporary action adventure romp: Ghostwire Tokyo from Tango Gameworks, the developer behind The Evil Within. These new efforts from Bethesda’s well-established studios. New IPs are a risk in today’s gaming industry and with the studio’s specialisations, there is still room for experimentation. While these reveals were light on gameplay, the way the studios are branching out to diversify Bethesda’s pedigree for first person action titles is a good step forward as one of the larger publishers in the industry.
The Bad
· No appearances from Starfield or The Elder Scrolls VI
After seeing reveal trailers for two massive titles coming up from Bethesda Game Studios last year, parts of the community, myself included, were looking for an update on how these releases were progressing. Bethesda has a lot to prove with both Starfield and the sixth Elder Scrolls title and getting across some new features and focuses would have helped keep people onboard. Regretfully, both titles were missing in action at Bethesda’s conference this year as the company instead chose to focus on existing titles, most notably the infamous game I’m about to discuss…
· The continued milking of Fallout 76 and fake applause
Overall, the presentation of 76 was pretentious and a bit arrogant on Bethesda’s part; their refusal to apologise for the game’s disastrous release didn’t do them any favours considering how far the company’s reputation has fallen. Two additions were announced for the game; a battle royale mode named “nuclear winter” and non-player characters (or in other words, the other half of the game that should have been there from the start). These are both pitiful consolations for Fallout 76’s failures and I watched this portion of the press conference scratching my head as Bethesda received an applause. It seemed very unwarranted.
The Verdict
Bethesda’s conference this year was very two-sided; featuring a fair few new announcements placed against some bad handling of larger franchises. Of course, the Fallout franchise remains in dire straits following last year’s debacle and now would have been a good time to offer an apology for the tailspin they’ve been in over the last year. While some showings at the presser were strong, other aspects were very questionable; the crowd seemed overenthusiastic for the most basic elements and some have speculating whether it was made up of company employees. There’s still some distance to go before Bethesda redeems themselves.
Rating: 6/10 (Fair)
For part two of the E3 2019 round-up, click here