XBF Daily: E3 2016, What I want to see Part 1
So E3 2016 is closing in on us so buckle up and prepare for the inevitable shit storm that follows. This year maybe a spectacular one as its possible Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft may all show off new hardware or at least throw some serious teasers our way.
Sony are expected to show off their PS4 Neo hardware along with real hands on time with their VR tech. The PS4 Neo is rumoured to be an incremental upgrade to the PS4 featuring more powerful GPU for even better graphical performance. Rumour are also floating around that the hardware upgrade is largely to prepare the Platform for Sony’s VR technology which currently requires a dedicated External processing unit to function. Having it all internal to the PS4 seems like a good idea saving cost and keeping things tidy for us consumers.
Microsoft haven’t announced any new hardware but I expect to see a new Console version perhaps a Slim version with an internal PSU and perhaps a dedicated Graphics Port for any future external Processing Unit.
We may also get to see Lightroom again and perhaps a hint at how it may in the future work within the Xbox space. We’ve seen it work alongside Minecraft and yes it looks brilliant but what Microsoft have shown so far seems out of reach for the Xbox One. It does make me wonder if we’ll get into another Kinect Debacle where the ambition is super high but delivery is suboptimal due in no small part to platform limitations.
Personally I would love to see a new console revealed this year maybe pencilled in for a 2017 release. As Phil Spencer has previously stated it would need to be a significant upgrade hardware wise to justify the development and launch of a new console so soon after the Xbox One. We’re realistically talking a Console capable of running 1440p 60FPS and a raw performance jump of about 4 times.
On the games front I’m really looking forward to seeing Titanfall 2 and the direction Respawn take the series. The first game was great because it was stripped back to basics and balanced to perfection in a similar way to Modern Warfare. Subsequent entries in the MW series just added more of everything, more guns, perks, killstreaks the lot and forgot what made it so great in the first place. Hopefully Respawn don’t repeat those mistakes and we get another top draw Multiplayer experience but with a bigger & better single player campaign.
Bioshock HD Collection
Its coming guys and girls and you know it will be brilliant to go back and play one of the finest series ever to grace a console. I’ve been playing Bioshock Infinite on PC and it’s amazing how brilliant it still looks. The extra resolution and visual quality allows the game to really come to life in a way the console version never could. I’m sure Rapture will look equally amazing with a Full HD makeover and another excuse if you need one to return to Bioshock and remind yourselves just how brilliant a series it is.
Halo
It wouldn’t be E3 without Halo making an appearance and whilst there is a slim chance of Halo 6 being shown we can expect to see much more of Halo Wars 2.
Halo Wars always felt constrained on the Xbox 360 with the increased power available this time round Halo Wars 2 promises to be a much bigger, grander and more ambitions RTS game. Scale is super important to this Genre perhaps more than any other and with Halo being Microsoft’s premier series we could be in for a real graphical showcase for Xbox One. Halo Wars will also bring something a little different to a platform drowning in Action RPG games.
Halo 5 will get to show off it’s DLC program and Firefight mode which I really enjoyed on the public Beta last month. Firefight was an integral part of Halo ODST & Halo Reach adding huge amounts of fun, great moments and replay value. Having it added to the Halo 5 package will certainly bring me back to Halo for the foreseeable future at least.
No doubt we will see more information on previously announced games from Rare and my pick of E3 2015 ReCore which I can’t wait see more of this year. But most importantly I want to see some real variety from Microsoft, something surprising and unexpected.
