E3 2014 Roundup: Microsoft Fires All Cylinders With An Impressive Opener!

E3 2014’s first day kicks off with an opener courtesy of Microsoft’s press conference, highlighting their announcements for their flagship console, the Xbox One. Many doubts were cast upon Microsoft in part to their lackluster performance and reception in the gaming scene as of late. Last night, they did not disappoint. Instead of focusing on hardware, they attuned their sights on games, and believe us when we tell you, they have A LOT.

Things started off with Sledgehammer Games unveiling that Microsoft will be providing exclusive content for  Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. They have also revealed a new gameplay trailer, showcasing the features of the said game. Interestingly, it also showed drones in the vein of The Matrix’s Squid Machines.

Ubisoft heated things up with a new reveal demo for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Unity. The demo featured a four-player coop feature, which allows for quicker completion of missions.

Turn 10 studios also made their presence felt by announcing that a new Forza game is in the works. Entitled Forza Horizon 2, the game will expand on previous FM entries, showcasing new cars, new race tracks, as well as iconic ones.

During the break, a new Dragon Age: Inquisition teaser was unveiled, much to the delight of the crowd. It showcased new environments, monsters, as well as tweaks in fighting mechanism. The trailer also revealed that Microsoft, like what they did in COD: Advanced Warfare, will be providing premiere content and DLC once it hits release point.

Insomniac Games came up with a demo for Sunset Overdrive, which opened with a mock parody of known shooter games, followed by a demonstration of its pretty colorful, yet brutal gameplay. They also announced the inclusion of an 8-player coop called Chaos Mode.

Afterwards, a quick teaser of Ori and The Blind Forest was also unveiled, showcasing the surreal imagery and atmosphere of the game. They have showed a couple of conceptual art pieces as well.

Apart from the E3 launch trailer CD Projeckt RED uploaded last Friday, they have also released a spanking demo for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It basically depicted Geralt of Rivia dealing brutality for the cause of saving a few ladies from certain onslaught.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMVqIyZMzks

Halo fans, be ready, as Microsoft also unveiled the first, official trailer for the heavily rumored fifth entry in the aforementioned franchise, Halo 5: Guardians. The trailer also teased a bit of the much anticipated HD collective, Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Microsoft further adds that players will have the option to choose which stages they’d like to take in sequence in The Master Chief Collection via its Playlist feature. It will be including the first four Halo games, a beta content for Halo 5, as well as a special leadup story called Nightfall.

EA steals the show by revealing a brand new trailer for the sequel to the Tomb Raider reboot, Rise of The Tomb Raider. The clip teases that Lara may have finally embraced her destiny as a true Tomb Raider.

Turtle Rock Studios also manages to surprise everyone to sheer delight with their debut trailer for the much talked about sci-fi epic, Evolve. Beta release will be this week as well.

Another big surprise has arrived in the revelation of a new Mass Effect game in the helm. The creators tease that although Commander Shephard’s chapter has ended, there are other stories to explore and tell to the gamers. They have also shown a few conceptual artworks and post production clips to confirm the update.

Capping things off with a big bang, Dice Studios closes Microsoft’s show with a presentation highlighting the release of the anticipated space opera game, Star Wars: Battlefront.

Stay tuned as we provide you updates from E3 2014!