What to expect at this year’s E3

Ah, the Electronics Entertainment Expo. It’s Paris Fashion Week for the video game crowd, where practically the entire industry descends onto downtown Los Angeles for a week of media briefings, game announcements, ill-advised open-bar parties and, for folks on the press side of things, an awful lot of walking, talking and writing to bring you the latest news and interviews straight from the convention. Before the show floor opens on Tuesday, Electronic Arts, Bethesda, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Sony each have keynotes scheduled. We’ll be at all of them, starting Sunday with Bethesda and EA and liveblogging Microsoft and Sony on Monday. Here’s what you can expect for the week.

Microsoft

This year is Microsoft’s chance to show what the Xbox One is truly capable of. We’ve already seen the excellent Quantum Break from developer Remedy Entertainment this year, and, indeed, the company has a new focus on original, exclusive games. Case in point: the cel-shaded pirate simulator Sea of Thieves, the robotic mystery of ReCore and a long-awaited return to Halo’s strategy roots with Halo Wars 2. There’s also the chance we could hear more about Inside, from Limbo developer Playdead and maybe, just maybe, Crackdown 3 and the newly leaked and zombie-focused Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2. That’s to say nothing of Below from Capybara Games or Tacoma from Fullbright — both of which have been running under the radar in terms of media access.

There are also rumors that Microsoft will have new hardware to show off, including a microconsole that accesses games and apps like Netflix from your Xbox One. Given the work that Microsoft has put into Xbox-to-PC streaming, this doesn’t seem farfetched. Other reports say that Microsoft may unveil two new pieces of hardware, one of which might be a smaller and lower-priced Xbox One with a whopping 2TB of internal memory. Rumors suggest that might launch later this year.

The other theory is that Microsoft has a more powerful Xbox in the works, code-named “Scorpio.” There’s a chance this hardware won’t debut next week or even come out in 2016, but supposedly it’ll pack a stronger GPU and support for Oculus Rift headsets. That way, the PS4 wouldn’t be the only console built with virtual reality in mind.

Sony

Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

If the rumors are to be believed, Sony is developing a revamped, higher-spec PlayStation 4, code-named “Neo.” Will it hit stores this year, though? That’s anyone’s guess. Unlike, say, the Xbox 360 Slim that came out five years into the Xbox 360’s life cycle, this sounds different than just a mid-cycle refresh with more-efficient innards in a smaller chassis. It supposedly packs a stronger GPU, a faster processor and is capable of outputting 4K video. Reportedly, games can be patched to take advantage of these new specs to run more smoothly, and by October, every PS4 game will be required to support both systems. Translation: Sony doesn’t want to split its user base between the 40 million existing PS4 owners and those with newer hardware.

Now, that doesn’t mean that the Neo/PS4.5/PS4K will be out by October; it’s just an internal timeline (again, based off rumors) laid out by Sony. And that puts the Neo in a weird spot. Think about it this way: Sony’s been pitching PlayStation VR, a $400 virtual reality headset for the living room, for over two years. The company has remained silent about the Neo since rumors started cropping up earlier this year, but smart money says Sony will finally talk about it at E3 next week.

Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

But when will it come out? If the console is announced next week but doesn’t actually arrive until the fall or maybe next year, sales of the current PS4 would likely grind to a halt, thus giving Microsoft an opportunity to surge ahead. That’s not something Sony wants. With that in mind, it doesn’t seem like a stretch that the newly formed Sony Interactive Entertainment will do as Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 Slim and launch the hardware either during or immediately after E3.

As far as games go, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see more of the titles that debuted at last year’s show but haven’t hit store shelves yet. That includes The Last Guardian, the recently delayed Horizon: Zero Dawn and, of course, PlayStation VR, which ships in October. Maybe we’ll hear about PS VR support for the also-delayed No Man’s Sky or Gran Turismo Sport. And you can’t forget about David Cage’s next game, Detroit: Become Human.

The typically E3-averse Rockstar Games could even make an appearance at Sony’s show: The company recently renewed its trademark for Agent, a game announced but not shown during Sony’s 2009 E3 keynote.

Of course, E3 wouldn’t be E3 without a number of surprises (remember last year’s Shenmue sequel?), which means you should definitely follow along with our liveblog come Monday.

Nintendo

Nintendo is in a weird spot this year. It’s skipping a traditional media briefing in favor of a livestream. The Wii U is in its twilight period and its successor, the still-code-named NX, won’t come out until next March. Meanwhile, the company is adamant that the console won’t make an appearance at E3. Like the other console manufacturers, Nintendo typically has a sizable booth on the show floor with tons of demo kiosks featuring a bevy of playable games. The company says this year will be different because every one of those will be occupied by a fairy boy sporting a green tunic this year.

The perpetually delayed next entry in the Legend of Zelda series is going to be the only playable game in Nintendo’s booth, and it’ll be the Wii U version — not the one planned for the NX.

In fact, Nintendo is dedicating next Tuesday to streaming Zelda footage exclusively, along with commentary from its developers. A few days ago, Nintendo said in a statement that it would also be streaming the new Pokemon games, Sun and Moon, as part of its Treehouse Live broadcasts in addition to Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII and Tokyo Mirage Sessions. As has been the case for the past few years, the company is using these streams as a replacement for a traditional E3 press event.

Everyone else

Bethesda

A giant Rubik’s Cube in Fallout 4

Bethesda, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft all have press conferences scheduled for next week, with the first two kicking off the show on Sunday. Last year was Bethesda’s first-ever E3 keynote, and it spent a bulk of the time talking about Fallout 4 and Doom. Both of those are already out, so what could the company have to brag about now? Dishonored 2, for starters. Earlier this year, Bethesda promised we’d see the steampunk sequel’s first gameplay at E3 well ahead of the game’s Nov. 11th release.

There are also whispers of an Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim HD port as well. Considering that during Fallout 4’s development process the team ported Skyrim to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this seems like a no-brainer. Furthermore, now that the company has a framework in place for mod support on Fallout 4 and Doom, a shiny version of Skyrim getting the same treatment is highly likely.

Speaking of Fallout 4, more info on add-on packs for the game is also pretty likely, and maybe we’ll hear more about post-launch missions or multiplayer maps for Doom. Expect to hear more about The Elder Scrolls card game and Legends as well. There are also reports that Bethesda is resurrecting the alien-bounty-hunting sequel Prey 2.

EA

EA is pouring a lot of resources into Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and the new FIFA game. We haven’t seen any gameplay of the former whatsoever and only a brief snippet of the new Battlefield. That changes next week, with new details expected at E3. FIFA is a perennial favorite, but, well, it’s soccer and aside from switching from EA’s sports engine to Frostbite (which is used to develop everything else from the company) it’s hard to reinvent the wheel.

You’ll also notice a Mass Effect–size hole here. After the long-awaited sequel Mass Effect: Andromeda debuted during the keynote last year, the game has mostly gone silent. There hasn’t been any gameplay footage released (last year’s trailer was just CGI) since, and its “fall 2017” release window has been pushed to early next year. Key talent has left developer BioWare following last E3 as well. My crystal ball is cloudy here, but there’s the slightest of chances we’ll learn more next week.

Ubisoft

There won’t be a new Assassin’s Creed title this year.

Don’t expect to finally see Beyond Good and Evil 2 from Ubisoft at E3: It’ll only lead to heartbreak when the “one more thing” from the company’s press conference is another Tom Clancy-branded shooter. Speaking of which, there should be a whole lot more info and gameplay coming out for the open-world Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, in addition to Watch Dogs 2 making a guaranteed appearance. It’s safe to say that we’ll see more of the period-piece brawler For Honor and the superhero-centric South Park role-playing game The Fractured but Whole as well, considering both debuted last year. A Ubisoft press conference wouldn’t be the same without Assassin’s Creed making an appearance, but with the series taking a much-need break this year, we’ll probably get a new trailer for the upcoming movie starring Michael Fassbender instead.

‘Kingdom Hearts 2.8’ sets up ‘Kingdom Hearts 3’ this December

Kingdom Hearts 3 is still a long way off. In the meantime, fans of the Disney and Final Fantasy mashup are being treated to another remaster-compilation called Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (yep, that’s the official name.) The games comes with a HD version of Dream Drop Distance, originally released for the 3DS, and two new experiences called Back Cover and A Fragmentary Passage. Confused yet? Don’t worry, Kingdom Hearts is known for its convoluted storyline. Today, Square Enix announced that the PS4 game — already confirmed for Japan — will also be coming to the West. It’ll be out “globally” sometime this December.

To whet your appetite, the publisher has released a new trailer. It starts with Dream Drop Distance before switching to Fragmentary Passage, a new playable chapter following Aqua in the realm of darkness. The latter half teases Back Cover, a new movie exploring a mysterious group called the “Foretellers” and “the earliest parts of the series’ history.” It’s tied to Unchained X, a smartphone game that recently launched in the US.

Source: PlayStation (YouTube)

Prosthetic arms inspired by ‘Deus Ex’ are coming next year

Remember that Metal Gear-inspired prosthetic arm that Konami developed? Well, it’s not the only publisher keen to recreate artificial limbs from video games. Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal have teamed up with Open Bionics, a specialist in low-cost prosthetics, to develop new designs based on the world of Deus Ex. The franchise delves deep into a possible future where human augmentation is commonplace, changing society and warfare in equal measure. Two arms — one based on Adam Jensen, the hero of Mankind Divided, another on the wider Deus Ex universe — will be released next year as royalty-free designs that anyone can use.

Open Bionics has already made prosthetic arms inspired by Iron Man, Frozen and Star Wars. The new designs look more impressive, however; the Adam Jensen arm (below) is full of detail, from its flexing fingers to the rotating wrist. The Titan arm (above), meanwhile, is more stylized with sharp, geometric shapes and angles. Both are colored in gunmetal grey and gold, reflecting the series and its augmented superhero.

Eidos-Montreal and Open Bionics will be showing the arms at multiple game shows including E3 and Gamescom, with a little help from Razer. The company, most known for its gaming keyboards and mice, will be using its Stargazer webcam to track people’s movements and show them what it would be like to control an artificial limb. They might not be as lethal as those used by Adam Jensen, but they look the part — if they perform half as well, they could be attractive to amputees with a passion for the franchise.

‘Deus Ex Go’ makes puzzles out of hacking and augmentation

Square Enix Montréal is back with another touch-friendly “Go” puzzler for mobile devices. After tackling Hitman and Tomb Raider, the studio is taking on the futuristic augmentations of Deus Ex. Unsurprisingly, it’s called Deus Ex Go, and will be launching sometime this summer to coincide (roughly) with Mankind Divided, the next core entry in the franchise. It keeps the premise of the previous Go games — simple, stylized graphics and node-based stages that you have to traverse — but mixes up the formula with some new power-ups and enemy types. Success is dependent on understanding and manipulating every element on the board.

I was able to try an early build containing the first six levels. Swiping around with Adam Jensen, the hero of Mankind Divided, I could trigger items that granted invisibility for a couple of spaces. A terminal allowed me to disable a turret or tap into a node which was previously inaccessible or didn’t offer a safe path forward. Drawing a line with my finger meant I could activate the space, raise a platform and create new paths.

These basic mechanics were easy to grasp but quickly produced a few head-scratching problems. How do I trigger my invisibility in a way that will get me past the next turret? Can I change the map to the hack the turret, thereby saving the power-up for another hurdle up ahead?

“We create complexity in a simple way,” Etienne Giroux, a game designer at Square Enix Montréal explains. “You’re not constantly learning new rules, it’s just that you realise these rules talk to each other. That they work together. And that’s really the complexity that we go for in these games, because they have to be simple, they have to be graspable, and we like that anyone can think that it’s easy for them to get into it.”

“We want to make the best experience possible in a level editor. One that people are going to remember.”

Deus Ex Go will be a larger game than its Hitman and Tomb Raider predecessors. Square Enix Montréal is designing more levels this time around and is also working on a level editor — a first for the Go franchise. It won’t be ready in time for launch though, as the team is still working on the “metagame,” or mechanics — such as those found in Little Big Planet and Super Mario Maker — that will drive players to make new stages.

“One of the reasons why it’s coming later is that we don’t just want to put a button there that says ‘you can also make stuff.’ We want to make the best experience possible in a level editor. One that people are going to remember, that will be the best editor you see on the App Store, and that will be actually usable,” Giroux says.

The editor will also help the team to speed up its own level production. Before, creating a new level pack meant pulling developers away from other projects. Now, with the tools it’s developed for the community, the same work should require fewer people and less time.

“The idea was to make the decision easy for us,” Giroux says. “It’s easy to take a decision to create more levels when 30 puzzles takes a couple of weeks with two guys. That’s an easier decision for the studio than it is thinking about five or six guys working for three months.”

In the future, that could include not just new levels, but also mechanics. Giroux says he’s confident the community will find new, creative ways to use these elements, far beyond what the developers originally intended. “We know for sure that it’s not going to be a long time before someone finds a way to use something in a way that we didn’t, but that’s cool!”

The Go games are designed for mobile devices, but their success has led to wider platform support. Hitman Go started on iOS and Android but has since come to PS4, Vita, PC and VR. Lara Croft Go has remained on phones and tablets, but that’s not due to lack of demand elsewhere. The team says countless people have asked for a Vita version — but similar to the new content conundrum, it has to decide when to move on and prioritize new projects. Similarly Deus Ex Go, at least at launch, will be mobile only.

As for the future? The studio is staying tight-lipped. With Hitman, Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, the Go franchise has covered all of the main Western properties owned by Square Enix. The developer’s pedigree is attracting fresh talent too — last month it picked up Teddy Dief, who developed Hyper Light Drifter, and Renaud Bédard, one of the programmers behind Fez. If the team wants to try something new, now would seem the perfect time to do it. Or rather, as soon as Deus Ex Go is out of the door.

‘Watch Dogs 2’ takes over San Francisco on November 15th

Watch Dogs 2 takes place in the heart of the tech world, San Francisco, and it’s heading to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 15th. Information about the game’s release date and setting leaked prior to Ubisoft’s big livestream this morning, but the reveal offered a few more details about the sequel’s main character and new tricks.

Watch Dogs 2 stars Marcus, a gifted hacker who hails from Oakland. He was once profiled and accused of a crime he didn’t commit, which led him to work with the anti-establishment hacking group Dedsec. Marcus isn’t just a hacker; he’s also skilled at parkour and fighting. He favors a DIY melee weapon that’s basically a billiard ball attached to a thin, strong rope. Players will be able to complete Watch Dogs 2 without killing anyone, using items like a taser to knock out foes.

Ubisoft promises Watch Dogs 2 offers more control and flexibility in hacking. Players can hack every character, every vehicle and most of the electronics in the city. Later in the game, Marcus will be able to hack groups of people, too. Plus, he can drive most vehicles.

Marcus has a few special hacking tools, including an RC car with an extendable arm and a quadcopter used mainly for scouting. Players can use the drone to fly over the Bay Area in a first-person view. Eventually, Marcus will get his hands on 3D-printed weapons, as well.

Players in single-player mode will occasionally run into other actual, live players running around the city — they’re all members of Dedsec, meaning they’re your friends. Ubisoft developers say hacking is a lifestyle and they want to respect that culture in Watch Dogs 2.

Source: Watch Dogs