Microsoft E3 conference was great!

[FakeSympathy]

As anyone could have guessed, once again it's Halo, Gears and Forza along with some 3rd party showcases. Having said that, I'm not expecting Sony's to be much better, even though The Last of Us 2 alone will probably steal the show. I also have a feeling we'll see some Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay seeing as Rockstar has a deal with Sony this time around.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

It was awesome, they showed game after game, even if I wasn't interested in most of them it's still great that they're finally focusing on games. Microsofts best E3 show in many, many years. I wanted to see more about Halo but even judging from the trailer you can see that they're bringing back the art style from the original trilogy, just like Halo Wars 2 did last year. Same thing goes for Gears of War 5, 4 was pretty mediocre and it didn't feel much like a Gears game, 5, on the other hand, looks like a throwback to the original trilogy with its art style.

I'll give this a 8.5/10, mostly because Gears and Halo are 2 of my all-time favorite series and they both seem to finally be heading towards the right direction.

 

[Hawki]

Same thing goes for Gears of War 5, 4 was pretty mediocre and it didn't feel much like a Gears game, 5, on the other hand, looks like a throwback to the original trilogy with its art style.

I...really don't get this sentiment.

4 as a game aside, if anything, Gears 5 seems like a departure from the original art style, not a return to it - the armour's much more shiny for one thing, and it lacks a lot of the grunge of the previous games. Plus, whatever differences exist between 4 and the previous games can easily be accounted for in-universe given the passage of time and development of technology. This especially applies to the Swarm, which, while just a less interesting version of the Locust, at least have a different aesthetic from them.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

Same thing goes for Gears of War 5, 4 was pretty mediocre and it didn't feel much like a Gears game, 5, on the other hand, looks like a throwback to the original trilogy with its art style.

I...really don't get this sentiment.

4 as a game aside, if anything, Gears 5 seems like a departure from the original art style, not a return to it - the armour's much more shiny for one thing, and it lacks a lot of the grunge of the previous games. Plus, whatever differences exist between 4 and the previous games can easily be accounted for in-universe given the passage of time and development of technology. This especially applies to the Swarm, which, while just a less interesting version of the Locust, at least have a different aesthetic from them.

They look kinda different for sure but at least now they're big and bulky like the older ones were and not 4, also now JD looks like someone who fits right into the Gears universe. Change can be good but being faithful to the art style that every fan loves and makes the games unique/atmospheric is more important, Gears was always known for big burly humans and monsters, why remove that for any reason? Gears 2 did Gears the best, I didn't like Gears 3's more sunny and tropic approach. While this is not perfect, it's a step in the right direction from 4.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Yup, it was a really good press conference...but not really for Xbox.

Pretty much all of the games they showed that I have interest in were Cross Platform. Other than Forza, Halo, and Gears of War, and Crackdown there were almost no exclusives shown.

Really excited about DMC5, Shadows Die Twice, and Cyberpunk 2077 (maybe) as well as some of those indie games all of which will inevitably come out on Steam.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Um, how was it "great?"

I don't see Battletoads on PS4...

You mean the teaser trailer where they didn't show anything? Yeah, get real hyped for not even knowing what the game looks like.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

Yup, it was a really good press conference...but not really for Xbox.

Pretty much all of the games they showed that I have interest in were Cross Platform. Other than Forza, Halo, and Gears of War, and Crackdown there were almost no exclusives shown.

Really excited about DMC5, Shadows Die Twice, and Cyberpunk 2077 (maybe) as well as some of those indie games all of which will inevitably come out on Steam.

Well technically, all those games are cross platform since they will also be on PC.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Um, how was it "great?"

Frankly, it was pathetic. So pathetic that they're already advertising their next console and the exclusives it'll have, because they know they've lost this race.

Like I said, EA set the bar so low this year I thought MS killed it. But then the realization set it. Looking back, I don't think it was bad, but wasn't something to go ape-shit crazy over

 

[Elijin]

There's a bit of a closed circle jerk of people saying 'yeah but just Halo, Gears and Forza'. Here's the thing. People like those games. A lot. They're not for everyone, and that's fine. But dismissing massive successful franchises because you personally are indifferent to them.....well heads must be shoved pretty far up asses.

 

[Yoshi178]

Halo used to be awesome.

Halo 4 was mediocre

Halo 5 was Garbage.


i really hope Halo 6 doesn't get worse than what 5 was.

 

[Comic Sans]

So how many exclusives did they actually show? The only new ones were Halo Infinite, Forza, and Gears 5 from what I can tell. Not much to hype up a system. Yeah, they showed some awesome looking games but those are not exclusives and don't earn them any points. So weak showing to me

 

[Casual Shinji]

There's a bit of a closed circle jerk of people saying 'yeah but just Halo, Gears and Forza'. Here's the thing. People like those games. A lot. They're not for everyone, and that's fine. But dismissing massive successful franchises because you personally are indifferent to them.....well heads must be shoved pretty far up asses.

Yeah, but those franchises are kinda old and stale at this point, and it's pretty much the only thing Xbox has to show for itself. It's like if Playstation only had Uncharted, (classic) God of War, and Gran Turismo. Some new exclussive IPs is what's sorely lacking.

 

[Hawki]

They look kinda different for sure but at least now they're big and bulky like the older ones were and not 4, also now JD looks like someone who fits right into the Gears universe. Change can be good but being faithful to the art style that every fan loves and makes the games unique/atmospheric is more important, Gears was always known for big burly humans and monsters, why remove that for any reason? Gears 2 did Gears the best, I didn't like Gears 3's more sunny and tropic approach. While this is not perfect, it's a step in the right direction from 4.

Few points:

-Looking at the Gears 5 trailer, the people there look pretty normal to me.

-JD and co aren't Gears during the timeframe of Gears 4. So while he and Del were pretty buff, it makes sense that they'd look different from actual Gears. This is especially true when you consider that in lore, Gears were buffed up because they were given access to far more food than civilians by the COG.

-Even that aside, considering that nearly three decades pass between Gears 3 and 4, are we really expecting things to look the same? Even then, at the most, I can only say that Gears 4 is a bit more 'shiny' than its predecessors, but again, timeframe. Technology develops. You can argue that technology has advanced too fast in a world where over 90% of the human race was wiped out, but that's the game's premise, said premise including automatons and newly constructed cities. And again, with the Swarm, if you really have to have Locust knockoffs, the least you could do is make them look different (which they did).

-While I'm not fond of Gears 3 for a variety of reasons, I didn't mind its aesthetic. After all, in-universe, we went from near-winter in Gears 2 (or near Frost if you want to use the Seran calander) to summer (forget the Seran equivalent). So it's nice to see some different environments. Makes Sera feel a bit more like a planet with the variety of places you'd expect.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

They look kinda different for sure but at least now they're big and bulky like the older ones were and not 4, also now JD looks like someone who fits right into the Gears universe. Change can be good but being faithful to the art style that every fan loves and makes the games unique/atmospheric is more important, Gears was always known for big burly humans and monsters, why remove that for any reason? Gears 2 did Gears the best, I didn't like Gears 3's more sunny and tropic approach. While this is not perfect, it's a step in the right direction from 4.

Few points:

-Looking at the Gears 5 trailer, the people there look pretty normal to me.

-JD and co aren't Gears during the timeframe of Gears 4. So while he and Del were pretty buff, it makes sense that they'd look different from actual Gears. This is especially true when you consider that in lore, Gears were buffed up because they were given access to far more food than civilians by the COG.

-Even that aside, considering that nearly three decades pass between Gears 3 and 4, are we really expecting things to look the same? Even then, at the most, I can only say that Gears 4 is a bit more 'shiny' than its predecessors, but again, timeframe. Technology develops. You can argue that technology has advanced too fast in a world where over 90% of the human race was wiped out, but that's the game's premise, said premise including automatons and newly constructed cities. And again, with the Swarm, if you really have to have Locust knockoffs, the least you could do is make them look different (which they did).

-While I'm not fond of Gears 3 for a variety of reasons, I didn't mind its aesthetic. After all, in-universe, we went from near-winter in Gears 2 (or near Frost if you want to use the Seran calander) to summer (forget the Seran equivalent). So it's nice to see some different environments. Makes Sera feel a bit more like a planet with the variety of places you'd expect.

JD, Marcus and that new guy in glasses looks yuge, especially with their armors.

They aren't but they used to be part of COG before becoming ''stranded'' or whatever they're called after 3. Did you watch that scene when they introduced Marcus? He's like twice of everyone's size even though he hasn't been part of COG in 25 years or so, so is Cole.

No not exactly the same but it should be very similar with updated graphics obviously. Things can develop without looking pretty much entirely different but it's not just that, it's just a worse art style overall. Just like the Halo games, I think 3 is the peak of the series when it comes to the art style, you can see in Halo Wars 2 that they used it as a reference when they made the game and it still looks great even if they changed it a little.

Spartan in HW2

Spoiler

Spartan in Halo 5

Spoiler

I mean there's a reason why 343i is doing a 180 when it comes to the art style of Halo, they should do the same for Gears (Even though the art style isn't nearly as bad as Halo 4 and 5)

I don't mind the design for the Swarm though and I didn't mind the look of the lambent.

Yeah but you can make a winter setting look pretty damn grim and it was only a couple of levels where there was snow while 80% of Gears 3 takes place on Barbados, I just didn't like the sunny tropical setting.

 

[Elijin]

There's a bit of a closed circle jerk of people saying 'yeah but just Halo, Gears and Forza'. Here's the thing. People like those games. A lot. They're not for everyone, and that's fine. But dismissing massive successful franchises because you personally are indifferent to them.....well heads must be shoved pretty far up asses.

Yeah, but those franchises are kinda old and stale at this point, and it's pretty much the only thing Xbox has to show for itself. It's like if Playstation only had Uncharted, (classic) God of War, and Gran Turismo. Some new exclussive IPs is what's sorely lacking.

I cant tell whether you're trying to be funny.

People have been super excited about the latest Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo.
In fact, if the Sony conference was the exact same multiplatform titles, and a new Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo announcement, I imagine most people would call that a success. (Probably the same people who say MS was a failure.)

 

[Hawki]

JD, Marcus and that new guy in glasses looks yuge, especially with their armors.

"Huge" isn't the word I'd use. They look relatively normal to me. Keep in mind that they're not just wearing armour, but also winter clothing.

They aren't but they used to be part of COG before becoming ''stranded'' or whatever they're called after 3. Did you watch that scene when they introduced Marcus? He's like twice of everyone's size even though he hasn't been part of COG in 25 years or so, so is Cole.

They're called "Outsiders."

Okay, sure, Marcus may not be part of the COG, but once you reach a certain size, you can keep that size if you put effort into it. JD and co. being normally But as far as the contrast between JD and Marcus goes, the size difference works in that:

a) It helps establish the power dynamic - Marcus has seniority in age and experience. So him being larger than JD adds to that in what is a visual medium.

b) While not presented as a theme, it helps establish a generational divide. This works in the out of universe sense in that it lets the Coalition distinguish themselves from Epic. From an in-universe perspective, it works, because not only is this visual storytelling, but arguably worldbuilding. We know JD and Del were Gears, but they were Gears in a time when humanity wasn't threatened with extinction. Plus, as Outsiders, presumably they'd have access to fewer resources. In that scene (or any one preceeding it), I'd have no trouble buying that JD and co. have been living it rough for quite some time. Make them muscle men, that effect is reduced, especially when you consider that we've seen Stranded before, and they weren't hulks.

No not exactly the same but it should be very similar with updated graphics obviously. Things can develop without looking pretty much entirely different but it's not just that, it's just a worse art style overall. Just like the Halo games, I think 3 is the peak of the series when it comes to the art style, you can see in Halo Wars 2 that they used it as a reference when they made the game and it still looks great even if they changed it a little.

Spartan in HW2

Spoiler

Spartan in Halo 5

Spoiler

While I know this isn't the out of universe reason, Red Team are using Mk. IV armour from the 2530s. Halo 5's armour is next generation MJOLNIR armour 20 years removed. You think it's going to look the same?

I mean there's a reason why 343i is doing a 180 when it comes to the art style of Halo,

Because they're spineless?

Okay, maybe that's harsh, but while I prefer Bungie's art style, it's pretty asinine to revert it IMO. Even leaving aside the in-universe advances in technology the UNSC has (advances that I'd argue are far too quick, but that genie's been out of the bottle since H4), I find it iffy from a creative standpoint. I'd rather 343 try and establish their own style rather than ape Bungie's. I mean, looking at Halo Infinite, sure, it might make one all nice and fuzzy to see John with armour more akin to H1, but when one asks how and why he's in that armour rather than a more advanced suit, then that raises certain questions. Not the most obtrusive questions in the world, but it raises an unnecessary complication.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Yeah, but those franchises are kinda old and stale at this point, and it's pretty much the only thing Xbox has to show for itself. It's like if Playstation only had Uncharted, (classic) God of War, and Gran Turismo. Some new exclussive IPs is what's sorely lacking.

I cant tell whether you're trying to be funny.

People have been super excited about the latest Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo.
In fact, if the Sony conference was the exact same multiplatform titles, and a new Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo announcement, I imagine most people would call that a success. (Probably the same people who say MS was a failure.)

I... can't tell if you are.


By the time The Lost Legacy came out people were kinda ready for this franchise to maybe take a bit of a break. Also, the fact that The Last of Us existed made people realize Uncharted wasn't Naughty Dog's only thing. God of War took a huge break and reinvented itself, hence me saying "(classic) God of War", which this new entry isn't. It's something different for a franchise which had gotten old and stale. And Gran Turismo I just threw in there to fill the car game space.


But really the point is that Sony has more exclussive IPs/games than just those three franchises. Microsoft can only really wheel out Halo, Gears, and Forza as a draw for their platform. Meanwhile Sony's churning out Horizon: Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, Persona 5, Yakuza 0, Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human. The upcoming Spider-Man, The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima. Then there's remakes of games like Shadow of the Colossus, and Yakuza Kiwami, remasters of Odin Sphere, the Kingdom Hearts games, Final Fantasy 10, 10-2, and 12. And all of this ONTOP of Uncharted, God of War, and Gran Turismo.


See what I'm getting at?

 

[Elijin]

Yeah, but those franchises are kinda old and stale at this point, and it's pretty much the only thing Xbox has to show for itself. It's like if Playstation only had Uncharted, (classic) God of War, and Gran Turismo. Some new exclussive IPs is what's sorely lacking.

I cant tell whether you're trying to be funny.

People have been super excited about the latest Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo.
In fact, if the Sony conference was the exact same multiplatform titles, and a new Uncharted, God of War and Gran Turismo announcement, I imagine most people would call that a success. (Probably the same people who say MS was a failure.)

I... can't tell if you are.


By the time The Lost Legacy came out people were kinda ready for this franchise to maybe take a bit of a break. Also, the fact that The Last of Us existed made people realize Uncharted wasn't Naughty Dog's only thing. God of War took a huge break and reinvented itself, hence me saying "(classic) God of War", which this new entry isn't. It's something different for a franchise which had gotten old and stale. And Gran Turismo I just threw in there to fill the car game space.


But really the point is that Sony has more exclussive IPs/games than just those three franchises. Microsoft can only really wheel out Halo, Gears, and Forza as a draw for their platform. Meanwhile Sony's churning out Horizon: Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, Persona 5, Yakuza 0, Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human. The upcoming Spider-Man, The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima. Then there's remakes of games like Shadow of the Colossus, and Yakuza Kiwami, remasters of Odin Sphere, the Kingdom Hearts games, Final Fantasy 10, 10-2, and 12. And all of this ONTOP of Uncharted, God of War, and Gran Turismo.


See what I'm getting at?

I see that you have a preference for Sony, and an leaning towards dishonesty. Bunch of those IP's are pretty recent, and only a single game. I could pad Microsoft out in the same way. Sunset Overdrive, Dead Rising, State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown, ReCore, Rare Reboot.

Im sure you'll come back with a list of reasons why each of those games are terrible, this is the escapist after all, negativity rules.

My point is that both systems co-exist, with people happily playing on each. And as such, titles those audience wants being announced are interesting for those who want to play them. The stupidity in trying to play the communities against each other with stuff like this is....who does it benefit?

 

[Casual Shinji]

I see that you have a preference for Sony, and an leaning towards dishonesty. Bunch of those IP's are pretty recent, and only a single game. I could pad Microsoft out in the same way. Sunset Overdrive, Dead Rising, State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown, ReCore, Rare Reboot.

Im sure you'll come back with a list of reasons why each of those games are terrible, this is the escapist after all, negativity rules.

My point is that both systems co-exist, with people happily playing on each. And as such, titles those audience wants being announced are interesting for those who want to play them. The stupidity in trying to play the communities against each other with stuff like this is....who does it benefit?

Well, I could give you a similar list for the Switch, and I don't really prefer Nintendo. Dead Rising isn't an Xbox exclussive by the way. And the reason I picked those exclussves is because they're recent, showing a lot of the fresh new content Sony is pumping out. And quality aside, Sunset Overdrive, Recore and the like haven't exactly made much of a splash.


I'm sorry, but it's pretty well documented that Xbox isn't particularly keeping up with Sony and Nintendo when it comes to exclussives or sales this generation. They're in the same pit Sony was in during the first half of the previous generation, except unlike Sony they don't seem to be climbing out.


This isn't media bias or playing the communities against each other, it's simply stating it how it is.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I see that you have a preference for Sony, and an leaning towards dishonesty. Bunch of those IP's are pretty recent, and only a single game. I could pad Microsoft out in the same way. Sunset Overdrive, Dead Rising, State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown, ReCore, Rare Reboot.

Im sure you'll come back with a list of reasons why each of those games are terrible, this is the escapist after all, negativity rules.

My point is that both systems co-exist, with people happily playing on each. And as such, titles those audience wants being announced are interesting for those who want to play them. The stupidity in trying to play the communities against each other with stuff like this is....who does it benefit?

Sony owns more devs than both Nintendo and Microsoft combined, thus they have more 1st-party games. It's widely been considered a joke how few exclusives Xbone has been able to muster. It's just a simple numbers game.