The 7 Best Announcements from Microsoft’s E3 2015 Event

So Microsoft over the past year have really shot back into the technology limelight having introduced, what looks to be, a really great next generation of Windows after the hiccup of Windows 8. Introducing a Hololens which looks to be the best answer to augmented reality so far and making a real push to make the Xbox the number one console in the west again. Therefore, it was no doubt that their E3 conference caused some buzz with some great new games, some great old games and some great announcements in general. Let’s talk through the 7 best announcements from Microsoft’s E3 event.

Xbox 360 Games Will Work on Xbox One

Something that caused a huge roar of applause and happiness among developers and fans of the Xbox console was the announcement that, in a future update, the Xbox One will be able to play Xbox 360 games natively and at an improved performance thanks to the XBox One’s power advantage over its prequel console. This will be dealt with via n emulator that will run as you insert your Xbox 360 game. This means that developers old games will be worth something once again and that Xbox owners won’t have go out and buy a game that they already own.

Halo 5 Looks Really Good

The Halo series is one of the biggest in gaming history, offering up a new world like few other games have, always pushing the gameplay and graphics potential of the Microsoft platform they’re built for. Halo 5 looks to come along and take Halo into areas it’s never seen before. With the release of Halo 4, we got Halo 3 with a new story line, better graphics and different maps essentially. With Halo 5, it looks like we’re getting new gameplay mechanics, much larger maps on story mode and in online multiplayer maps along with a brand new character to play as in single player also. Halo 5 looks to almost take the Halo name and build a far greater game than we’ve ever seen in the franchise before. Let’s just hope they don’t forget about the incredible and gripping story they’ve done so well at portraying in previous versions.

Forza Continues To Be a Gorgeous Franchise

Forza is without a doubt the benchmark for which other car games set their sights. Forza, every few years comes out with a car game that offers you more cars, new tracks, more realistic physics and improved graphics. This year, they look to be doing the same. Once again, the lighting, detail, markings, shadows, framerate and everything about the game’s look appear to have been brought to a whole new level. In addition, this year Forza 6 introduces dynamic weather which is something a few other simulation games have brought into their series too. Dynamic weather essentially means that the weather can change at any moment, resulting in a change in how you must race, wetter tracks mean slower cornering and such. It may even bring in the option to change tires for the longer Formula 1-type races.

MineCraft Is Coming To The Hololens

Something that had people up on their feet and applauding during Microsoft’s event was the first real-world look at Hololens in a game. MineCraft is a game that needs no introduction, it’s reached an audience no other game would ever expect to reach. Therefore, it makes sense, especially with the physical building aspect, for Microsoft to make it into a Hololens game. On stage, Microsoft showed off a woman playing the game normally and then showed a man come on stage and reproduce the world she was in, in real time, on a table on stage. Not only this but he then began to alter the world, directly in her game via voice controls. It was truly incredible to watch and showed off a technology and device working really well that has excited the technology world 10 fold.

There’s A New Xbox One Controller For The Elite Gamer

We’ve not seen a complete reiteration of the Xbox One console yet, or the ‘Elite’ version as they called their predecessors’ successor. However, we did get the announcement of a brand new ‘Elite’ controller that would bring more precision, customizable components, a better feel, far better battery life and a 3mm headphone jack to your hands for a mere $150. It may seem like a steep price to pay, but it offers a lot of incredible qualities and ensures the best controller experience you can get. Plus it works will both Xbox One and Windows 10.

Microsoft’s Xbox Version of Early Access

One of Steam’s highlight options in their Store is the ability to play ‘Early Access’ games which are usually games at a reduce price because they’ve not been released yet. These are games in Alpha or Beta stage that you can play and give feedback on. Not only allowing the gamers to test the game before launch but also allowing the developers to garner how good their game is and squash any bugs before the final release. We’ve seen the same offer from Microsoft now which will really open up a wider audience and allow users to play games for cheaper and allow developers more access to their audience. It’s a great idea that can only result in positive things for the gaming space.

Gears of War is Back!

One of Xbox owners’ favourite all-time series is the Gears of War series which saw a great trilogy released for the original Xbox that created a whole new world, introduced some brilliant characters and even had some grown men crying at certain deaths. Therefore, it was no surprise to hear a massive roar of applause when not only Gears of War 4 was announced but a Gears of War ultimate edition was announced also. Gears of War 4 will introduce us to some new characters and surely path the way for a new gripping story in the Gears world. Gears of War Ultimate Edition looks to bring the original trilogy back to life with enhanced graphical details, 60fps and an update online multiplayer which will likely be replicated in Gears of War 4.