Anthem
2017’s Biggest Gaming Announcements
BioWare is capable of creating some of the best games ever made. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the original Mass Effect Trilogy, and the Dragon Age Series are all excellent in their own right. Unfortunately, this year, with the mediocre release of Mass Effect Andromeda, its reputation has been somewhat tarnished – hardcore BioWare fans were just waiting for the developer to announce something new, possibly putting it on track to redeeming itself. Well, at E3 this year, it did just that.
Anthem is BioWare’s latest baby, and oh boy does it look great. The announcement itself was in the form of an extended gameplay trailer, showing off many of the games RPG-esque features. It looked amazing, and pretty much blew us all away in terms of what we should be expecting. Flying around like Iron Man in a sprawling world, all the while with your friends? Sign me up.
Pokemon Nintendo Switch
2017’s Biggest Gaming Announcements
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have just dropped, and the general reception was a positive one. However, it was clear that they weren’t that different to Sun and Moon – making it obvious they’re trying to tide us over while they develop a Pokemon title for the Nintendo Switch. The announcement that a mainline Pokemon Switch title is coming may have passed many by, but it’s colossal news for the series as a whole. This will be the first mainline Pokemon title not on Nintendo’s dedicated portable system, but on the Switch – meaning it’ll be playable on the big screen.
The announcement itself was made in a very casual setting during Nintendo’s E3 presentation, with the Pokemon Company president almost casually telling the audience it was coming. This is why it could’ve passed many by – there were no flashy lights or loud music. But this announcement is easily one of the most important of the entire year.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
2017’s Biggest Gaming Announcements
Finally, 14 years after the release of the original Beyond Good and Evil, a sequel has been formally announced. It’s been teased and theorized about for quite a while, and when Ubisoft dropped the first cinematic trailer during its conference at E3 this year, everyone was floored. Everything about it seemed like the makings of something great, from the art style right down to the way the main characters spoke. During the press conference, as the trailer hit the end, and a beautiful piano piece with the words ‘Beyond Good and Evil 2’ slowly faded into the screen, the crowd erupted into a mess of cheering, clapping, and shouting. Now THAT is how you announce a game – take note, everyone.
Metroid Prime 4
2017’s Biggest Gaming Announcements
Instead of showing an epic cinematic trailer met with hundreds of cheers from a roaring crowd, sometimes an announcement can have just as much of an effect if you take the simple approach. Sometimes, all you need is a name. One game that Nintendo fans have been pining for for the longest time now is a new Metroid Prime game. It’s been so long that, like Beyond Good and Evil, people began to doubt whether a sequel would be announced. Ever.
That’s why this 30-second teaser, simply showing the number 4 in space, followed by the words ‘now in development,’ had such a huge effect on us all. This is easily one of the biggest announcements of E3, and Nintendo didn’t show even a second of gameplay. What a truly risky way to make an announcement – but the strength of the series, along with the fan reaction, shows that we’re all ready for a new entry in the Metroid Prime universe.
Xbox One X Reveal
2017’s Biggest Gaming Announcements
Creating the world’s most powerful console is no easy feat. It’s presumably taken Microsoft years to develop a system capable of running in native 4K, and we’ve known about it for over a year as Project Scorpio. When Microsoft was ready to give Project Scorpio a proper reveal, though, it made sure to reveal it in the best way possible – as the headliner for its E3 presentation. The very existence of this console is huge, and represents a substantial leap in progress for console gaming; the results are impressive, and this may just lead to a new innovation in the industry somewhere down the line. Throughout the E3 conference, the console’s power was at the forefront, and everyone was floored that it could actually produce a 4K resolution natively. On top of this, the console’s ability to maintain a consistent framerate almost 100% of the time on new games, as well as the fact that it’s such a huge leap over its competition technologically is even more impressive.
The Xbox One X was easily the biggest announcement in a year so packed full of huge announcements and reveals, which makes it a truly momentous console.
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