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The biggest video games show of the year, E3, has closed its doors after a week of new trailers, a new Xbox and lots of love for Nintendo.
The show is the annual showcase for many of the gaming world’s biggest announcements and 2017 was no different, with critics and the public quick to pass verdict on what the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will be offering up in the coming year.
After a handful of press conferences, three days on the convention floor and a host of hands-on sessions, here is a look back at the best and worst of E3 2017.
The curtain was fully thrown back on the next Xbox finally, after a year of being known as Project Scorpio. As expected, the One X will be incredibly powerful, offering high-end graphics capable of 4K gaming all from within the smallest Xbox console Microsoft has ever built.
The specs and hardware are as impressive as expected, but following the Xbox console a question mark remains over the initial launch titles to go with it.
Much of what was showcased – including the impressive-looking Anthem – is currently set for 2018 release, some months after the console goes on sale in November.
For now then, cautious optimism is needed among Xbox fans.
A gaming universe that historically brings up strong, mixed emotions among players, Insomniac’s upcoming take on the franchise had the honour of closing Sony’s press conference.
The result was eye-opening, as an extensive gameplay trailer showed a Spiderman game that looked the part, but also appeared to hint at a new gameplay system similar to that of the Batman: Arkham series.
A series that it’s worth noting did a stunning job of making the Batman world so engaging for gamers. On early evidence, Spiderman could soon go the same way.
From Far Cry 5 to Crackdown 3 via Destiny 2 and even the Uncharted spin-off, a bulk of the games shown during E3 were not new series but returning ones.
The excitement that comes from discovering a new world for the first time and wanting to see more was noticeably lacking in large quantities, even if Far Cry 5 does look an awful lot of fun.
Even Assassin’s Creed: Origins, marking a return for the series after a couple of years away, failed to offer a large amount of change to its usual formula.
Sea Of Thieves was an instant hit when revealed last year, and the cartoony, pirate multiplayer was back again this year with a more detailed look at gameplay and the treasure quests you can embark on.
Not only that, but Ubisoft also revealed a brand new pirate game of their own – Skull And Bones.
Based on the gameplay from Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, which itself was pirate-heavy, the new game’s multiplayer was on display at E3 in the form of five-on-five battles on the high seas in what already looks a incredibly realistic version of the Indian Ocean.
Both games were very well received, suggesting the coming year could be a very good one for pirates on console.
It may not be to everyone’s taste, but the transition South Park has made from TV to gaming should be commended. Stick Of Truth sequel The Fractured But Whole has been long anticipated and at E3 this year finally got a release date.
Much to the joy of fans, that date is October 17, not long at all to wait before they can dive back into the mucky world of Cartman and co.
At the conclusion of Nintendo’s live stream on the Tuesday morning of E3 one thing was clear – the Japanese firm was very much back.
After some time in the wilderness as the Wii U began to sink and before the Switch arrived, the latter has been one of the successful launches in recent gaming history and is soon to get a games library to support it.
Rocket League and FIFA 18 making the jump to the home/mobile console hybrid is guaranteed to bring in new users in abundance. Plus Skyrim will enable fans to pour more hours into the open world fantasy game even when commuting to work.
This is all before we even get to Super Mario Odyssey and the new, original Pokemon game which is due next year.
If you don’t yet have a Switch, now is the time.
After a critical backlash of last year’s space-set Infinite Warfare, the Call Of Duty series was in need of a boost.
In 2017 that looks set to come from taking the game back to what it knows best, the Second World War.
Having revealed this setting ahead of E3, the show gave many the chance to try out Call Of Duty: WWII for the first time, with the game’s multiplayer being showcased.
The result is the most enjoyable COD experience in some years, as the game hits the right note of capturing the horror and carnage of the conflict in a gameplay experience.
