Tag: Xbox

Ben’s 2019 E3 Review

I was going to do an article about each event but that would be too long and uninteresting so I will condense it into one. It will only be on the conferences and not the directs.

E3 2019 was pretty unspectacular. There weren’t many surprises as most of the games showcased had been announced in some far (Cyberpunk 2099, Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Halo Infinite were all announced last year). Maybe game companies are trying to move away from announcing their big games at E3. Electronic Arts and PlayStation didn’t present at E3 this year. Nintendo no longer has a press conference and has moved to a Digital Direct.

Microsoft –

Link

Bethesda 4/10

Besides Ikumi Nakamura being adorable and excited to talk about her new horror game, Ghostwire Tokyo, Bethesda didn’t show anything. The new games were cinematic trailers with no gameplay.

Ghostwire Tokyo

  • A new spooky game from Shinji Mikami. Details are still unknown but the trailer shows people being raptured and spooky ghosts appear. There seems to be a faceless protagonist who encourages people to fight against the darkness. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any gameplay shown.

Fallout 76 DLC

  • Battle Royal for dedicated fans of FO 76. Considering the poor reviews, glitches, and gameplay, I’m not sure this will attract any players back to the game. They are also adding NPC’s with actual dialogue trees. Hopefully, it will have better dialogue choices than Fallout 4.

Deathloop

  • A new game from the Dishonored and Prey team. The game involves two protagonists who are living in a crazy world where they have to kill each other. However, each time they kill each other they wake up anew and start all over again. The trailer looks colorful and fun but it was a cinematic trailer.

Ubisoft 6/10

Watch Dogs Legion

  • Looks like an interesting take to an Open World game. I haven’t played any of the series but the ability to control NPCs is interesting. Being set in a semi-modern London is surprisingly refreshing scenery.

Zeus, Gods & Monsters

  • Many demo players at E3 has reported the game is similar to Breath of the Wild. It is an open world game where you explore the world and fight mystical monsters. It is made by the same team as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Square-Enix 6/10

Final Fantasy VII Remastered

  • Yay Tifa. I am actually blown away with the visuals and gameplay. Although the first episode will only be Midgard, you can tell there is a lot of love put into the game. The battle system is created by the guy that made Kingdom Hearts 2’s battle system which is the best version of the series. I wonder how many episodes it will be considering how massive the original game is.
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Sony and Microsoft will Merge their Cloud Services

To the shock of everyone (including PlayStation employees), Sony and Microsoft will be working together on their cloud services for gaming. While they have been competing in the video game console industry for years, Sony is not an expert in the Cloud system. Running a cloud server is expensive and Microsoft is considered the 2nd biggest company with the capabilities. Sony and Microsoft “will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services.”

Essentially, PlayStation’s online services will be hosted on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform. Don’t expect PlayStation exclusive games or services to come to Xbox or vice-versa. This collaboration can be considered a response to the Stadia from Google and Amazon’s Cloud gaming system (which still isn’t out yet).

Cloud isn’t going to take over anytime soon

Despite the Stadia coming out this year, don’t expect Cloud Gaming to take over the industry. Reports from players have said there were mixed results including delays in registering actions and reduced graphics quality. I strongly believe that console gaming will be strong in the next generation however Cloud gaming can be a game changer once 5G actually comes out. An analyst has predicted that Cloud gaming will only take 2% of the industry according to Bloomberg. 

Sources:

Bloomberg

The Verge

Microsoft announces Game Streaming Service: Project xCloud

Have you ever wanted to play your video games on any device? The idea of being able to play console games from any device has been an idealistic dream. Many gaming and tech companies have been trying to develop a cloud service that can provide gaming experiences to phones, computers, and gaming consoles. Microsoft announced their new game streaming service: Project xCloud.

The worry about game streaming is the quality, graphics degrading, and latency in the games will worsen. Microsoft is developing Azure to be their cloud solution. Azure supports 54 regions in 140 countries. They are developing hardware to support the cloud servers to ensure it doesn’t crash. You’ll be able to play Xbox games on your phones or tablets using an Xbox controller or using the in-tablet controls.

Don’t worry about Microsoft discounting the Xbox. They are still focused on releasing the video game console and believe its the ideal gaming experience. Their mindset is to provide Xbox games to everybody; even people who don’t own an Xbox. In the video, you’ll be able to see them demo the game.

Depending on the success, Microsoft could greatly change the industry. The launch of xCloud remains to be determined.

 

Play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for Free through Google

Are you excited for the upcoming Assassin’s Creedy Odyssey? Google is offering players a free opportunity to play the game through their beta game streaming services called Project Stream. You’ll have access to the game until Mid-January. To sign up, click the link.

What do I need to play it?

All you need is a computer with Google Chrome browser! Since it is a test of Project Stream, expect technical issues. Google spoke about developing a game streaming service that would broadcast games through the Chromecast. Obvious issues like graphics lag and buffering are issues that Google is looking to delete before launching Project Stream.

Kassandra is standing in front of a Zeus statue she's about to conquer
You can climb statues’ penis

 

Sources:

The Verge