Impressions from #XBOXE3 Briefing
XBOX E3 Briefing: Impressions
Walking around the LA Convention Center, Day one of E3, the first thing people do is ask a question. “So what did you think?” On the afternoon of E32019 Day One, this was referring to the XBOX briefing.
To Be honest, I was not that hyped for the briefing, besides experiencing the wonder of an XBOX Live production. **SPOILER** I was pleasantly surprised! Not only did XBOX bring an even more spectacular production they also delivered exclusive reveals, new games to be excited for, a variety of games premiering on XBOX Game Pass, the new XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, and Project Scarlett. I was also delighted with the increase of diverse characters in many of the games.
During the XBOX briefing there were a dizzying number of announcements: over 30 games available through Xbox Game Pass, 11 world premieres, and 14 games from Xbox Game Studios. I will not cover the entire list of the games, but will highlight the one’s that impacted me.
Welcome to E3 2019
The welcome from Phil Spencer, Head of XBOX, was inspirational. His message truly evoked a feeling of the value we provide to the world and further legitimizes our interests and contributions as gamers, “we’re everywhere…. over 2 billion of us now play games in every region of every continent.” Spencer’s remarks of explaining how XBOX is “Uniting communities through cross play” reminds us that this corporate, certainly profit driven effort has positive social impact.
12 Minutes
12 Minutes was the most interesting and innovative game that I’m excited to see from the show. This interactive thriller has you playing as a husband trying to prevent the death of his wife in a 12 minute time period while she doesn’t know or understand what he’s talking about. You experience the same 12 minutes repeatedly, I expect the end game is to prevent her death, but time will tell.
Cyberpunk 2077
I never player the tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2020, but I’ve been excited about Cyberpunk 2077 since the 2018 XBOX briefing. The game elements, of course, embody the elements of cyberpunk movie genre, including movies like Johnny Mnemonic. The genius of bringing Keanu Reeves, Johnny Pneumonic star, to play a character in Cyberpunk 2077 was a brilliant way to further connect the game to the genre of cinema. I was excited for the game, I am even more excited. Keanu’s actual physical presence at the XBOX E3 briefing how was even more exciting. I look forward to having a chance to demo the game and bring more to you about game features.
State of Decay 2: Heartland
State of Decay captured me in multiple ways. First, of course, I love the zombie survival games as much as the next gal. Speaking of gals, I loved the characters, and the capacity to play as a black woman. The focus on narrative and character development are also alluring to me. Finally, the fact that this is included with XBOX game pass and available immediately has me ready to play when I get home from E3. One added bonus, Sate of Decay 2: Heartland can be played online co-op with 2-4 characters! Maybe I’ll play with some friends and explore this crossplay that Phil Spencer mentioned.
Family Friendly Games
As a mother, I am very interested in finding family friendly games to give to and share with my children. For this reason, my choices for best in show during the briefing were Minecraft Dungeons, Lego Forza, and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
While this game is not for younger children, Ori and The Will of the Wisps is an exciting combination of action and fantasy with a beautiful art style. My teenage daughters will enjoy either playing, or watching me play this game, for aesthetics alone.
Holiday 2020: Project Scarlett & Halo Infinite
Project Scarlett, the newest XBOX console will launch Holiday 2020. The promise of this new console to reduce load times, improve resolution, and provide unprecedented frame rates. This really leads me to wonder, “Is XBOX VR” coming?
There were people sitting near me were in tears when they saw Master Chief. So, while I am not much of a Halo player, I appreciate the power of continuation of this franchise.
Bleeding Edge
Interestingly, before Phil Spencer welcomed us to E3, Ninja Theory kicked of the show proclaiming, “This is Bleeding Edge.” This was immediately followed with the trailer for the upcoming Bleeding Edge a new 4×4 team online multiplayer action combat game. Bleeding Edge provides players a choice between seven diverse characters. The diversity of the characters goes beyond gender, size, race, and visual indications to skills. This tactical range includes telepathy, freezing time, and even a music solo. The audience hype for this game was palpable, especially when the technical alpha was announced for June 27. Hype intensified when the crowd realized that the game will be available at Premiere through XBOX Game Pass.
The XBOX Briefing as a Production
The rest of the show was a spectacle that the at home audience could only imagine. Beyond the size and quality of the displays, the visual attention grabbers included lights flashing to highlight the on screen imagery. During the most exciting announcements, flames burst from the stage and streamers exploded into the audience. The synergy of the visuals combined with the thunderous game audio that rocked our seats, cinched the production as an experience. briefing as a production. My mind was already in awe of the experience of the XBOX briefing, the cameo of Keanu Reeves sealed the deal for me. This XBOX Briefing production was an event I will remember for years to come. Thank you to the teams that pulled this mind blowing event together!