We know what the Xbox One looks like. We know how powerful the new Kinect is. We know how the new controller feels. We know what the guts are. Hell, we even know what we’re going to complain about with the Xbox One already. What we don’t know? How the games will look. Or how they’ll play. Or what they’ll be. We find out today.
Microsoft is holding its E3 media event at The Galen Center in Los Angeles which usually plays home to USC’s less than stellar basketball team. It’s packed in here. It’s very green in here. And the crowd seems pretty pumped to see some video games from the console that’s being accused of not caring about video games. It’s the kickoff event for E3 2013, let’s hope we see something good.
Video Games
The first game shown for the Xbox One was Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which looks absolutely fantastic. From my view up top, when Snake was riding his horse (he can ride a horse?), I thought it was a Game of Thrones clip. It’s still sneaky but seems a bit more open.
If you want something fresh, a new video game franchise shown was Ryse: Son of Rome. It’s a beautiful swords and sandals type video game where you kill bad guys in the name of Rome. Or something like that It’s exclusive to Xbox One and the graphics were just as good as any movie starring Russell Crowe or Brad Pitt or Gerard Butler. It’s an Xbox One game, not a Kinect game as originally teased a few years ago.
If you loved Killer Instinct, it’s back and an exclusive for Xbox One. If you love Minecraft, that’ll also be available on the Xbox One.
Forza Motorsport 5 is coming out too (like you didn’t expect that) with a slick new feature that smartens up AI drivers. Called ‘Driveatar’, the game learns your driving style and habits and adjusts the AI drivers accordingly. The ‘Driveatars’ will be put on the cloud so that you can race fake real people instead of fake AI opponents.
Xbox Live
Microsoft announced that existing Xbox Live customers will get two free games per month. The first two free games are Assassin’s Creed and Halo 3.
Xbox 360
Like an ageing celebrity getting more Botox, another facelift and surgery to delay gravity’s inevitable doom, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 is getting another design refresh. It’s supposed to take design cues from the Xbox One, which means it’s just a nice looking black box. It’s available today. Only buy it if you hate yourself or your kids. In addition, Microsoft is showing three games for the Xbox 360 at E3 2013. Don’t ask me why.