E3 Trailerpalooza 2015: Microsoft Edition
Welcome back to Trailerpalooza 2015. Bethesda opened things up last night with an exciting set of new material, but now it’s time for the headliners to take the stage. First up today is Microsoft. Will the big green machine have more than Halo and Tomb Raider to show off? Let’s find out.
Predictably, Microsoft chose to open their set with Halo 5: Guardians. The campaign footage they showed was part trailer, part demo, all badass.
Halo developer 343 also revealed a new addition to multiplayer called Warzone, in which up to 24 players will compete in PVP and PVE matches on maps up to four times larger than anything Halo has ever offered before.
Microsoft next unveiled Recore, a new exclusive for the Xbox One, being developed by Keiji Inafune and the creators of Metroid Prime.
Then it was time to reveal another exclusive… a fancy new controller.
After Bethesda showed up to do pretty much the exact same Fallout 4 demo they did the night before, EA took the stage to show off… well, not much, really. Might have something to do with the fact that they have their own Trailerpalooza event. They did announce Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, which is better than nothing.
Then it was time for the annual Forza segment, which began with an actual Ford GT being lowered from the ceiling for some reason. Then there was a trailer for Forza 6.
To unveil Dark Souls 3, Microsoft lowered a huge pile of smashed controllers from the ceiling. OK, that didn’t happen. But they did unveil Dark Souls 3.
Another E3, another trailer from Ubisoft for The Division. This year, we’ve learned more about why the mysterious Division was created, and what brought about their call to action.
Sticking with the Tom Clancy franchise, Ubisoft also unveiled Rainbow Six: Siege, which will also ship with Rainbow Six: Vegas and Vegas 2.
Next up was Gigantic, a 5 on 5 team action game that owes more than a little to Journey’s visual flair.
And then came the part where Microsoft assaults you with a sizzle reel of all the rad indie titles that are on the way.
F YEAH! INDIES! The first title Microsoft decided to elaborate on was Tacoma, the followup to Fullbright Studios’ Gone Home.
Next up was Ashen. While it is undeniably beautiful, the game’s featureless faces reminded me of that poor faceless crew member from the classic Star Trek episode Charlie X.
Continuing on with the indie showcase, Microsoft debuted Beyond Eyes.
And then came the indie that everyone was waiting to see. Cuphead. I think it’s safe to say that nobody has ever seen a game that looks like this.
Rare then took the stage to unveil Rare Replay, a collection of 30 classic Rare games to celebrate the studio’s 30th anniversary. I’m guessing the Donkey Kong Country games won’t be included.
Rare wasn’t done. They announced a brand new title called Sea of Thieves, and it looks hella fun. That’s right, I said hella.
And now for the big one. Behold, Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Wow. Fable Legends was given the unenviable task of following that spectacle.
Microsoft wrapped up their time on the Trailerpalooza stage by debuting Gears of War 4, which looked to be quite a visual departure from previous Gears titles. For awhile, at least.
