To see the first half of the E3 2019 Post-Mortem, click here
Square Enix
The Good
· A major showing for Final Fantasy VII Remake
2015’s E3 was notable for the announcement of Final Fantasy VII Remake by Sony; perhaps the most highly anticipated remake of all time, Square Enix has gone on to state that revealing the game at that time was too early and as such, we heard next to nothing about the remake for a long time. After a four-year wait, the massively popular title finally returned at Square’s presser with a twenty-minute gameplay demo. Gorgeous looking cutscenes and a visceral combat system was shown off and the audience response was incredibly positive, especially when seeing the classic characters fully voiced and remastered for the current generation consoles. It seems to be shaping up incredibly well and is sure to be a smash hit when it comes out in 2020.
· Several new releases, including Crystal Dynamic’s Avengers game
Square Enix had some new titles to show from their western developers and the biggest of these was the long-awaited Avengers title. The fourteen-minute reveal showed all six of the original team tackling a threat on the San Francisco bridge among other detailed locales. While the Avengers themselves are different from their film-based counterparts, the new release from Crystal Dynamics marks the first fully AAA effort into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Typically, these popular characters are handed off to lower tier developers on a AA budget but this looks far more promising. With the series now at the height of its popularity thanks to the release of Avengers: Endgame earlier this year, they’ve chosen an ideal time to put out the game. Still, even with Crystal Dynamics’ reputation, I recommend caution as licensed titles have a reputation for being lazy cash-grabs; Avengers is set for release May 15th 2020.
The Bad
· A few too many re-releases
Remaking Final Fantasy VII is currently Square Enix’s biggest undertaking, but this focus may have taken a role that is too prominent. Many titles at the press conference were merely re-releases of older titles. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and The Last Remnant were all getting the enhanced treatment. Clearly FF7 has shown Square Enix that fans will pay top dollar for re-released titles and while some are more popular than others it’s a shame that a good portion of the conference was taken up by these muted announcements.
· Final Fantasy VII Remake’s questionable episodic format
As exciting as the FF7 remake may be, another announcement concerning its release and distribution may raise some eyebrows. The game is set to be released in episodic form with the first entry containing the Midgar portion of the title contained on two Blu-Ray discs. What does this mean for the entire package? Will it be cynically split up and gradually sold bit by bit to rip off fans? Or is the game such a gargantuan undertaking that they felt the need to go all out in terms of size and scale? In either case, this method of distribution remains suspicious and should be watched closely before the first episode releases next year on the 3rd of March 2020.
The Verdict
While the return of Final Fantasy VII Remake was the heart of the presser and a welcomed return, Square Enix didn’t have much to offer beyond that; it was a fairly sub-par mix of re-releases mixed with the occasional new announcement and while the Avengers game looks interesting, more gameplay will have to be revealed before release to get people excited. For now, players will be eagerly awaiting VII’s release next March and once this happens, Square will need to bring more new IPs to future shows.
Rating: 6/10 (Fair)
Ubisoft
The Good
· Established franchises taking steps in different directions
Reimagining’s have become more prevalent in Ubisoft titles and this year saw several franchises opt for different directions. Rainbow Six: Quarantine reimagines the tactical shooter as a players-verses-enemies title but the most interesting game on show was Watch Dogs: Legion. Ubisoft may not claim to be wholly political but the setting for this latest Watch Dogs title may well strike some nerves over here in the UK. There’s been a lot of talk about how much damage Brexit might do and Watch Dogs: Legion is easily the closest to real-world adaptation we’ve seen so far. Be that as it may, it’s certainly intriguing to see Ubisoft take these different directions. It’s practically become a specialty of theirs ever since Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington and Far Cry 3: Bloody Dragon.
· Developers getting to work on new IPs
Ubisoft has been putting its teams to work on new titles and this year they had a fair few to show. The most prominent of these was Gods and Monsters which is in development by the developers of Assassin’s Creed, a beautiful looking adventure game that appears to take place in a mythological setting. There was also Roller Champions, Ubisoft’s effort into the competitive gameplay seen in Rocket League and After so many years of putting out essentially the same game repeatedly, it’s a welcome change to see some of the biggest studios at Ubisoft get to work on some new projects. I’m hoping this same approach will transfer over to create other more unique ideas in the future.
The Bad
· No Beyond Good and Evil 2 or Skull and Bones
Since its long-awaited announcement at E3 2017, Beyond Good and Evil 2 has disappeared behind closed doors over the last couple of years; it’s easily Ubisoft’s biggest and most anticipated title of this generation and its lack of presence or information is disappointing. On the other hand, there’s Skull and Bones, a title with some potential given that it adapts the ship combat seen in Assassin’s Creed to serve a multiplayer audience. Had this title been present, it could have done more to distinguish itself from Ubisoft’s flagship series while also building more excitement for its release. Perhaps more will be revealed next year.
· Just Dance 2020; still a milked franchise
For the most part, Ubisoft appears to have moved away from endlessly milking franchises for all they’re worth. There is one exception to the rule however; some of you already know what it is, the Just Dance franchise. For years, the company has insisted on churning out of these titles every year even after the motion gaming scene fizzled out. All it ends up doing nowadays is stalling Ubisoft’s press conferences for a few minutes before getting back to the more definitive updates. The silliest thing about Just Dance’s continued existence is that they’re releasing a 2020 version for the Nintendo Wii, a console two-generations old.
The Verdict
Ubisoft’s conference was a solid effort this year, with a good variety of titles both new and old to keep the community playing. It’s a shame the heavy hitters were put aside after a positive reception last year but there was still enough there to make an impact. Clearly established franchises are being experimented with alongside new IPs and the company is also looking to expand its efforts into other media, including the streaming and TV scenes. The showing of actual gameplay is also a plus and overall, things seem to be proceeding well.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Nintendo Direct
The Good
· Long awaited announcements that were delivered brilliantly
Nintendo always does a great job of building anticipation and at their direct event they had many crowd-pleasing announcements to make. The reveals of a new Luigi’s Mansion, Animal Crossing and No More Heroes were exciting, but it was the new addition to Super Smash Bros Ultimate that made all the fans go crazy. Many had wanted Rare’s Banjo and Kazooie in Smash for a while and via a simple and straightforward deal with Microsoft, the dynamic duo from the nineties were added to thunderous applause. This proves once again that Nintendo knows how to deliver with its first-party titles, not to mention defining its own identity on the gaming scene.
· A wide range of titles to broaden the Switch’s offerings
With its strong selling point as a hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch has had some great third-party support and at E3 this year, there were plenty of new entries to add to the catalogue including Resident Evil 5 and 6 from Capcom and Alien Isolation from Creative Assembly. Of course, the biggest third-party announcement by far was CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3, which by some technical sorcery, is set to be playable on a handheld console. There’s sure to be a graphical downgrade but the prospect of playing such a massive RPG on the go should be another great selling point for the system. With these re-releases, the Switch continues to boast a strong array of titles and with its status as a handheld system, this can only be a boost for its sales.
The Bad
· No rectifications of online service or business practices
Nintendo has trudged behind the competition in terms of its online services and this year’s Direct feed didn’t do much to sway the doubters. Like its contemporaries in the console scene, the Switch charges players for its network content but the service currently doesn’t offer good value. With a slim feature-list and questionable handling of retro games and voice chat, Nintendo is still lagging behind and to make improvements they need to act on feedback from players. Sadly, it seems this element of their strategy continues to be put aside in favour of other conference elements. Nintendo needs to do better in this area.
· A lower amount of AAA Switch exclusives
Nintendo has had some exciting reveals over the past couple of years but unfortunately didn’t have much to follow up with at E3 2019. The two titles missing in action in Nintendo’s showing were Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4. While the Direct event wasn’t lacking in new announcements, the lack of new information on these games is a disappointment. Seeing how these titles would work on the Switch would have been a strong complement to the other announcements. Perhaps we may hear more next year alongside titles like Luigi’s Mansion 3 and No More Heroes 3.
The Verdict
Nintendo has forgone having traditional conferences for some time now, despite its newfound success. Yet in terms of giving the fans what they’re after, Nintendo was in a class all its own this year; the long-awaited return of Banjo Kazooie to Nintendo hardware was embraced by ecstatic fans of Super Smash Bros and the many third party titles coming to the Nintendo Switch all make for brilliant selling points. The Switch continues to rack up the sales and its Japanese creator has ensured that this success will continue without issue. The only thing missing was some of the heavier hitting exclusives, especially Metroid Prime 4 which once again skipped the show. Despite these issues though, Nintendo remains a worthy competitor on the console scene.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)