{"id":75596,"date":"2015-05-17T23:55:16","date_gmt":"2015-05-17T21:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=75596"},"modified":"2015-05-19T15:28:38","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T13:28:38","slug":"what-microsoft-needs-to-do-to-impress-at-e3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/75596-what-microsoft-needs-to-do-to-impress-at-e3","title":{"rendered":"What Microsoft needs to do to impress at E3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As E3 approaches, Microsoft has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/e3\" target=\"_blank\">promised us<\/a> the greatest line-up of games in Xbox history.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s great and all, but what do each of these games need to do to impress us?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-and-Xbox-One-to-impress-Expected-Library.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-75618\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-and-Xbox-One-to-impress-Expected-Library.jpg\" alt=\"Fable Legends, Forza 6, Halo 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider\" width=\"600\" height=\"214\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Quite a lot actually.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the crib notes.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Halo 5: Guardians needs a little more mystery<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_75604\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Halo-5-Cover-Art.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75604\" class=\"wp-image-75604\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Halo-5-Cover-Art.jpg\" alt=\"Halo 5: Guardians\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Halo-5-Cover-Art.jpg 800w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Halo-5-Cover-Art-230x130.jpg 230w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Halo-5-Cover-Art-640x360.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75604\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s hard to imagine 343 Industries making a complete hash of Halo 5, but there&#8217;s always potential for it to be mediocre.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s no denying that 343 Industries knows how to make a shooter, but can they tell a decent story? <em>Halo 4<\/em> would argue yes, but <em>Halo 5<\/em> has a lot of room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>The layers of mystery within the <em>Halo <\/em>universe is, perhaps, the most appealing aspect of the narrative \u2013 a couple strong characters aside.<\/p>\n<p>343 Industries needs to use that and tell a gripping story.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ht7pwc_LIrc\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>See what we mean, how gripping is that? Very, is the answer.<\/p>\n<p>Now all we need is a more balanced multiplayer. <em>Halo 4\u2019s<\/em> is a bit of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.urbandictionary.com\/define.php?term=mingy+comumbus\" target=\"_blank\">mingy comumbus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>All that Rise of the Tomb Raider needs is to one-up Tomb Raider<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_75612\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75612\" class=\"wp-image-75612\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider.jpg\" alt=\"Rise of the Tomb Raider\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75612\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After how enjoyable Tomb Raider was, Rise of the Tomb Raider has a lot to do to take that further.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Tomb Raider <\/em>did a lot right, and Crystal Dynamics just needs to do more of that.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not going to be easy, but there have been a number of adventure-like games for them to learn from.<\/p>\n<p>It may be controversial, but Lara Croft\u2019s growth as a woman and struggles against a largely brutal world is what we want.<\/p>\n<p>Give us a little more action, more interesting hunting mechanics and away we\u2019ll go.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Forza 6 needs to be as good as, if not better than, Project CARS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_75606\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Forza-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75606\" class=\"wp-image-75606\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Forza-6.jpg\" alt=\"Forza 6\" width=\"600\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Forza-6.jpg 1120w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Forza-6-230x130.jpg 230w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Forza-6-640x360.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75606\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After Project CARS, Forza 6 has a lot to do to really impress.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This is actually really simple. <em>Project CARS<\/em> has just released, and it\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/75028-project-cars-review-roundup.html\">impressing across the board<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If <em>Forza 6<\/em> is to justify itself, it needs to be better than a game that released approximately 6 or so months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Should it fail to be as technically impressive as <em>Project CARS<\/em>, it\u2019ll be understandable, but Turn 10 Studios needs to really kick it into high-gear (pun intended) if they want to compete.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4-OTQ3yunfU\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For our money, <em>Forza 6<\/em> needs to avoid the microtransaction debacle of <em>Forza 5<\/em>, something that needs to be brought up at E3, and needs to learn from <em>Project CARS\u2019 <\/em>approach.<\/p>\n<p>We want an entirely open driver\u2019s campaign, free to choose the events, cars or racing types we so choose in whatever order we want.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t want to have to grind to unlock cars. We want them from the outset.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Fable Legends can&#8217;t be another middling Fable title<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_75610\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Fable-Legends-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75610\" class=\"wp-image-75610\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Fable-Legends-2.jpg\" alt=\"The Fable franchise is a far cry from its former glory, but perhaps Fable Legends can bring it back.\" width=\"600\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Fable-Legends-2.jpg 1902w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Fable-Legends-2-230x130.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Fable franchise is a far cry from its former glory, but perhaps Fable Legends can bring it back.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When a <em>Fable <\/em>game finally meets the expectations instilled in us by its marketing team, oh what a game it will be.<\/p>\n<p>For all of the money and marketing Microsoft invests into the <em>Fable <\/em>franchise, it never really goes anywhere, and rarely meets our expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s the stiff competition, or maybe it\u2019s just too ambitious an idea to execute outside of the MMO environment, but suffice it to say, there\u2019s many\u00a0areas <em>Fable 1<\/em>, <em>2<\/em> and <em>3<\/em> fell flat in.<\/p>\n<p><em>Fable Legends <\/em>remedies this by removing much of the excess and promising a more focussed experience.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/98zJwigBvBY\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With the Unreal Engine 4 at the helm, <em>Fable Legends<\/em> looks superb, and as an asymmetric multiplayer title, it\u2019s a fairly fresh idea \u2013 there have been a few before it.<\/p>\n<p>But what <em>Fable Legends<\/em> really needs to do to impress is work right, from the outset.<\/p>\n<p>After a slew of server issues with the more recent Xbox One titles, a free-to-play, primarily multiplayer experience like <em>Fable Legends <\/em>will live and die by its server. So Microsoft had better assure us at the show that they\u2019ve been working on its servers.<\/p>\n<p>That said, Microsoft had better demonstrate something worthwhile at E3. It had better look fun to be both the villain as well as the heroes, and whatever is purchasable (so to keep it a free-to-play) had better not hinder the experience for free users.<\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s a grind-fest for free players, it\u2019s going to fail magnificently. Microsoft needs to sell the idea that it isn\u2019t about the grind at\u00a0E3, or no one will ever download it to find out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quantum Break should tell a great story<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_75614\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Quantum-Break.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75614\" class=\"wp-image-75614\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Quantum-Break.jpg\" alt=\"Quantum Break\" width=\"600\" height=\"207\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">We really wanted more from Alan Wake, but the somewhat original Quantum Break is a great thing too.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Initially, we weren\u2019t sure about <em>Quantum Break<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It was something fresh and new, and not just another sequel, which is great, but <em>Alan Wake <\/em>really needs a sequel and the idea of <em>Quantum Break<\/em> just wasn\u2019t sold on us.<\/p>\n<p>That said, after a recent showing of the game, we\u2019re definitely excited to see more.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZUAzotGeboM\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Remedy just need to be sure to keep the game fresh throughout, and not settle on what we\u2019ve seen so far.<\/p>\n<p>And actually, a great story, much like the narrative tales of Alan Wake, is what we want most of all.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Crackdown, Scalebound and The Division have potential to fail or succeed <\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_75616\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Scalebound-The-Division-and-Crackdown.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75616\" class=\"size-full wp-image-75616\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Scalebound-The-Division-and-Crackdown.jpg\" alt=\" Scalebound, The Division and Crackdown\" width=\"600\" height=\"540\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">There&#8217;s a lot of potential in each of these titles, both to amaze and to fail magnificently.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ve grouped all three of these titles together because all three of them have the potential to do fantastic things, but also to spectacularly flop.<\/p>\n<p><em>Scalebound<\/em> is a bit of an unknown factor, which has us excited. So Microsoft had better flaunt the best of it if they want to impress us.<\/p>\n<p>It sounds like it\u2019s an open-world RPG and that we\u2019re going to be doing some dragon slaying, hardly unique but still so appealing. Here\u2019s hoping we get a combat system like <em>Dragon\u2019s Dogma<\/em> and not <em>Skyrim<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>If <em>Scalebound <\/em>turns out to be a less grindy <em>Monster Hunter<\/em>, we\u2019re sold.<\/p>\n<p><em>Crackdown<\/em> won\u2019t have to do much to impress. All it need do is be a lot like the original and very little like <em>Crackdown <\/em>2.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Division<\/em> is kind of a tricky topic. It certainly has a lot of potential, but it\u2019s going to be very difficult to show that off on stage. Anything Microsoft shows off will look staged \u2013 probably because it is.<\/p>\n<p>We need something fresh from <em>The Division<\/em>. It needs offer a new approach to open-world, cooperative games. We\u2019ve played too many Ubisoft titles that try to emulate other games of their ilk, but that are rushed and come out half-assed as a result.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t ruin <em>The Division<\/em> like that Ubisoft.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_75602\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Microsoft-E3-Press-Conference.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75602\" class=\"size-full wp-image-75602\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Microsoft-E3-Press-Conference.jpg\" alt=\"Microsoft Press Conference\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Microsoft-E3-Press-Conference.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/For-Microsoft-to-Impress-Microsoft-E3-Press-Conference-230x130.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-75602\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">We can&#8217;t wait.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>The predictable few<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Black Ops III<\/em>, <em>Assassin\u2019s Creed Syndicate<\/em> as well as a number of indie titles will likely be shown off at Microsoft\u2019s press conference at E3.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a little farfetched of us to expect much more from <em>Black Ops III<\/em> and <em>Syndicate<\/em> than new, slightly improved, iterations in franchises we\u2019re becoming a little tired of.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it\u2019s easy to figure out what they need to do to impress us: do something different.<\/p>\n<p>The word \u201cfew\u201d is a bit of a misnomer for Microsoft\u2019s indie title showing. Let\u2019s face it, there are going to be a lot of them.<\/p>\n<p>Just give us more of the good stuff Microsoft, games like <em>Cuphead<\/em>, <em>Below<\/em> and <em>Inside<\/em> are good examples of that.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">And a little more Microsoft news<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/75578-the-best-xbox-one-case-mods-of-the-moment.html\">The Best Xbox One Case Mods of the Moment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/75564-gears-of-war-leakers-must-be-feeling-bricked-off.html\">Gears of War leakers must be feeling bricked off<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/75460-microsoft-unveils-the-various-editions-of-windows-10.html\">Microsoft unveils the various editions of Windows 10<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s a big difference between promising and fulfilling, and this is how Microsoft can close that gap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":75600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[317,11026,3180,13183,13674,91,13968,12567,10065],"class_list":["post-75596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-e3","tag-fable-legends","tag-feature","tag-forza-6","tag-halo-5-guardians","tag-microsoft","tag-microsoft-press-conference","tag-rise-of-the-tomb-raider","tag-xbox-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75654,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75596\/revisions\/75654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}