Microsoft’s 2012 E3 Press Conference Recap!

Today, we’re going to be giving our recap of the E3 press conferences that went down yesterday. Being that it was streamed on everything everywhere, there is no need for us to give a second by second of what happened. We’re are going to be focusing on the most important things announced as well as giving our opinion on how well each company did. So without further ado, here’s my take on the Microsoft Press Con!

Microsoft was the first of the big 3 to give their press release again this E3. I had anticipated some huge announcements, due to the fact that games like Gears of War: Judgment and Halo 4 were revealed before the show. Unfortunately that wasn’t entirely the case.

The show started off with a live demo of Halo 4. Being another title in a long running series, I expected to see the same old thing just with better graphics. It’s safe to say that I was wrong; I was completely blown away by what was being shown!

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First thing to note is that Halo 4 did get a visual upgrade. 343 Studios did an amazing job detailing the new environments (in this case a lush jungle), old enemies and weapons. Over the course of the presentation, we’re shown new enemies using Forerunner tech. These enemies and weapons stand out with their orange glowing parts and stealth like tactics. When Cortana says “they’re defiantly not part of the Covenant” you know we’ve stepped into new territory!

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One cool aspect of the Forerunner weapons is how they come together visually. When chief picks up one of these weapons, their components/parts form the weapon’s shape in real time. They also pack a punch; they’re not just copies of Halo’s normal weapons. Which is a good thing as the new, enemies are fierce. Jumping into the Chief’s face, slashing with sword like appendages, moving in and out of the shadows. Its Halo meets the Predator. Not to worry; besides packing new weaponry, the Chief’s hud has new features as well. One feature allows him to see in infrared, making spotting stealth opponents much easier. That said, Chief still had his hands full; the demo ends with him being surrounded. After the demo we see a brief trailer with that ends with Cortana shouting at the Chief. Apparently she is reaching the end of her life (her batteries are running low) which is causing her to…basically go crazy. Seeing the Chief outgunned and Cortana slowly losing her mind paints a grim picture of the story found in Halo 4. Awesome!

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Halo 4 looks stellar…and this is just the campaign mode. I wish I could say the same for Gears of War: Judgment. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s going to be great; People Can Fly is a very capable developer. It’s just that all of nothing was shown during Microsoft’s press con. A short teaser didn’t really say much more than what was shown prior to E3. They didn’t even talk about the game, just flashed the trailer and moved on. Apparently cool things like the new OverRun mode, a class based competitive option where both Beast and Horde modes are combined, where only to be shown in Microsoft’s booth. Microsoft was much more concerned with Xbox SmartGlass (more on that later). They were nice enough to show off a new Splinter Cell title though!

This new Ubisoft title, called Splinter Cell: Blacklist, will allow fans to once again step into Sam Fisher’s shoes. It seems that Sam has been given complete freedom in how he chooses to protect the world from global terrorists. Basically this means he can be one mean mother; able to break any and every law in order to get the job done. During a live demo we see Sam slicing and stabbing his way through groups of enemies. The instant-kill moves are back from the previous game, though they’ve been upgraded. Now Sam can activate these moves on the run, creating some truly cinematic stuff without using cutscenes. Hopefully they won’t become a crutch like in the last title. That said the game did look awesome!

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Moving on to Microsoft’s biggest concerns, Xbox Live updates, starting with SmartGlass. Xbox SmartGlass is a way to connect your mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, ect.) to your TV via the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live. You can do things like start watching a show on your tablet, flick it towards your TV, and in an instant start watching it there. When you’re watching a movie or show on your TV, you’ll be able to see extra content on your phone (like facts about the cast and crew).

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It also has functions found in your video games. During the show, we saw someone pick up a tablet while playing a game of Madden. He was not only able to pick his plays on the tablet, but also modify them by adding and subtracting passing routes (rubbing the touch screen to erase, drawing on it to form routes). Once the play was picked, he was able to run and pass using the tablet. Of course, music wasn’t left out of the equation. You’ll be able to control your library of songs just like your movies and shows. Those looking to use SmartGlass will be happy to know that this upgrade will be coming sometime this year!

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Microsoft then went on to announce another addition to Live; Internet Explorer is coming to later this year. Using the Kinect and Bing, gamers will be able to surf the web much faster than on the other consoles. Why type in a URL when you can use Bing’s voice search? What’s great is the fact that the voice control option will be available in fifteen different countries in seven different languages!

Adding to SmartGlass and IE are new entertainment and sports apps. New entertainment apps range from Machinima to Nickelodeon. When it came to sports, you got all ESPN’s live network programming (ESPN 1, EPSN 2, ect.), NBA Game Time, and NHL GameCenter Live. Microsoft never wants you to turn off your Xbox 360!

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There were more announcements. Most of which were boring (a new Kinect game here or there). No mention of Summer of Arcade (which is still happening by the way), no new system to show off. Even the exclusive titles coming later this year were passed over. Again, because the service updates were more important, these games were merely flashed on the screen before moving on with the show. Microsoft did a good job of padding their exclusive “additions” with demos/trailers of third party games. Out of those Resident Evil 6, Tomb Raider, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 stood out the most. They all looked good; having the creators of South Park come out and joke on the show was a smart move. That said the overall conference was a bit ho hum. All of Microsoft’s exclusives except 2 (Halo 4 and Dance Central 3) were glossed over. Even Fable: The Journey, a big Kinect title, didn’t have a lot of screen time. And before you get upset, seeing third party titles are good and all…but they are going to be released on other consoles as well. Microsoft doesn’t get brownie points for these unless they plan to throw in exclusive content. The service updates are great; I’m glad Microsoft is looking to expand beyond gaming. At the same time, we all know that the most important things to show during a gaming convention are games!

As it stands, Microsoft’s Press Con wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t that great either. They came out swinging with Halo 4 and then trailed off from there. This wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for the fact that other companies like Ubisoft and Sony had amazing conferences. Seriously…Ubisoft killed (more on that later). And they are known for extremely poor cons. I guess I was hoping for more than what we got. Not mad…just a little let down.

Final Verdict:

C+

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