Microsoft presentation at E3

Microsoft had more game trailers than people talking. Yet, what they did say was impressive.

First, let’s talk about the new X Box that was released. Project Scorpio was finally unveiled to the public and its official name is X Box One X. No, seriously it is. That’s not a joke, why are you laughing? Why didn’t they call it X Box Scorpio or maybe just Scorpio? We will never know. They did say they wanted to embrace the X Box mantra: “There is no power greater than X.” The X Box One was shorten down to Xbone. So will this new console be named XBONX or maybe XBONEX or you could even call it XXX or XBXX. Ok, enough with the nicknames. If it sound like I am making of the system, it’s only because I love it. It might have a silly name, but it packs a serious punch when it comes to performance.

To start with X Box One X has a 6 teraflop GPU clocked at 1.172 Ghz, 12 GB of GDDR5 memory and 326 GBs of memory bandwidth. It also has true 4K meaning we get 8 million pixels on the screen with High Dynamic Range. (HDR) They have even included a wide color gamut, which mean the colors on the screen with look more lifelike than ever before. Also included will be Premium Dolby Atmos Sound and the ability for 4K UHD Bluray playback. And because they understand that not everyone has a 4K television, the X Box One X will be using a method called Super Sampling which will make the graphics look even better on 1080p televisions. But they didn’t stop there. An engineer at Microsoft came up with a new power management system which will be used in this monster. It’s called the Hovis Method.

The X Box team went on to include a liquid cooled vapor chamber to cool off this bad boy. Additionally, they made sure that the X Box One X was the smallest X Box ever made. Then to top it off they made sure that all of your X Box One games will play on the new console. But it won’t just play them, it will play them better. We are talking faster load times and better graphics. And we can get all of it this fall for $499.

That was where most of the talking was done. They also said a few cool stuff at the end but I will also wait till the end to tell you. Right now I want to let you know that Microsoft will be releasing 42 games over the next year. With 22 being exclusive to the X Box family of consoles. First a quick list of the games they showed.

Exclusives:

• Forza Motorsport 7
• Player Unknown: Battleground
• Deep Rock Galactic
• State of Decay 2
• The Darwin Project
• Black Desert
• The Last Night
• The Artful Escape
• Sea of Thieves
• Tacoma
• Super Lucky’s Tale
• Cuphead
• Crackdown 3
• Ashen
• Ori and the Will of the Wisp

Non – Exclusives:

• Metro Exodus
• Assassins Creed Origin
• Minecraft
• Dragon Ball Fighter Z
• Code Vein
• Life is Strange
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War
• Anthem

If you count them they don’t add up to 42 games and 22 exclusives. But there was a montage showing a lot of the other games. I chose to focus on these games instead.

The first game they introduced was also the first exclusive. Forza Motorsport 7. They also revealed Porsches newest flagship supercar. The Porsche 911 GT2RS. This wasn’t an in-game item. This was the real thing. The luxury car company Porsche revealed their newest model at E3, a video game convention, thanks in part to the 4.8 million fans of Forza Motorsport. So how do I feel about all this? Cool. I like that video games are being recognized as an actual thing by other industries. But racing is not my thing. It’s considered a sports game. But it’s a sports video game I do enjoy playing.

This was followed up by the world premiere trailers for Metro Exodus and Assassins Creed Origin. These are two games that look interesting. Although I have never played any of the Metro Games, I would like to try out this one. As for the Assassin Creed game. I actually own all of them with the idea that “one of these days I would get around to playing them. And I have played Assassin Creed III and Black Flag for about 5 minutes. So I will get this one, I just have to find the time to play it.

The next game they talked about was Player Unknown: Battleground. I have heard a lot of people talk about how good this game is. They even said in the presentation that many people have played and watch Player Unknown. So I was a bit surprised when it was announced that Player Unknown: Battleground would be an exclusive for X Box. So what is my take on it? Eh. I think for me this might be a game I would rather play than watch but I have no need to play it. But then I am not a fan of multiplayer games.

Following that they showed the trailers for Deep Rock Galactic, State of Decay 2, and The Darwin Project. None of which I see myself playing.

That was followed by the announcement that all Minecraft games would soon be connected to each other. So if you play on X box, your friend plays on PC and your other friend plays on a tablet, you will all be playing in the same world, on the same server. Then later in the fall they are introducing an upgrade to the graphics of Minecraft. That last part I am not sure about. I mean I don’t play Minecraft but I know people that do and I think part of the appeal of Minecraft is the “lack” of graphics. So to introduce something that the game never has had seems like it could break it for some of its players. But then I don’t know much about the Minecraft community. This might be something they want.

Next was the world premiere of a new fighting game, Dragon Ball Fighter Z. I might get this simply because it’s a Dragon Ball Z fighting game. But I would also like to get more information about this game.

After that was a game they are claiming is exclusive to X Box but it has already been released to PC gamers. Although the PC game is called Black Desert Online and the X Box is just Black Desert. They both seem to have the same graphics and take place in the same world. This is another game I will be looking for more information about.

The Last Night looks like a game I might actually be excited about. It has the look of Blade Runner but it also looks pixelated. I am loving their choice of graphics because it’s not completely pixelated but it not realistic graphics. It’s something in between. I cant wait to see more about this game.

Then there is The Artful Escape. Unfortunately, I will have to pass on this one. But only because there are just too many game coming out and I have to draw the line somewhere. This one reached the line but won’t be crossing it.

Code Vein looks to be a JRPG. It certainly looks interesting. Interesting enough for me to want to see more about it. Who are these two characters? Are they using magic or technology to get those cool powers? We will find out in the future.

Later they showed an extended game play of the X Box exclusive, Sea of Thieves. I liked this game because of its whimsy. It was a pirate game that didn’t take itself too seriously. It really was just as much fun to watch them play as I imagine it would be to actually play.

Afterwards was a game that fascinated me. It’s called Tacoma and all the trailer showed was humanoid beings interacting inside a space station. There didn’t seem to be any alien invasion or an immediate threat to the station that you had to solve. This looks cool. I can’t to see more about this game.

Next we have a game called Super Lucky’s Tale. Here you have a cartoon fox going around collecting coins, defeating monsters and burrowing underground. It’s a cute game that would be perfect for kid or for parents to play with their kids.

That was followed by a game called Cuphead. The name is weird, the graphics are weird, and the gameplay looks weird. I can’t wait to find out more about this. They have managed to make a game using the animation style of the 1940’s. That blew my mind. Is that possible? Can you do that? Will it work? Wow, talk about thinking outside the animation box.

Following that was a game I had to research a bit because it’s called Crackdown 3. I thought that was just what they wanted to call the game. I mean why not? There is no rule that says I can’t name my game “Bad Ass Game 4.” Sure people will wonder what happen with “Bad Ass Game” 1-3 but oh well.

After a two minutes montage showing a lot of the other games coming out they showed a game called Ashen from the ID@XBOX program. I would like to play this. It had an interesting story line and curious mechanics. I will be looking for more information on this one.

The world premier trailer for the next Life is Strange game was released. A lot of people liked the original game and it got very good reviews but as I said with The Artful Escape, I have to draw the line somewhere. So since I never got into Life is Strange, I think I will leave Life is Strange: Before the Storm alone.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is the next game and it is a sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Let me just say I love fantasy games. I play a lot of them. Card, board or video game, I play them all. But because I do I have to play some of them later than sooner. So unfortunately this is another game that didn’t make it past the line. But in this case it stays on the other side of the line because I already have enough. Sorry guys.

One of the last games introduced was Ori and the Will of the Wisp. And they didn’t play fair. They had a trailer with a live piano, female vocals and moving visuals. It was enough to get your eyes watery. I want to hear the story but will the game come with tissues because oh my goodness, that hurt.

Now let’s talk about the last game but certainly not the least game. In case you have lived under a virtual rock you should have heard of Anthem by now. It is a game with beautifully realistic graphics. They said it was created to take full advantage of everything that the X Box One X could do. And watching the demo they showed I realized, I need three other people to fully enjoy this game. Unfortunately, I don’t know three other people that would get this on X Box. But back to the demo. One thing that had me scratching my head was, are the people in the demo the characters in the game talking or actual people playing the demo.

And finally the last bit of information that was revealed at the X Box presentation. It was decided that since the backwards compatibility program for the X Box 360 was so popular, they decided to expand it. So coming soon you will be able to play all of the original X Box games on the X Box family of systems. To include the X Box One X.

Later this year original X-Box games will be available for backwards compatibility. To include Crimson Skies.