With the Electronic Entertainment Expo — #E32017, parishioners — less than 2-weeks away, we’ve got a near 50 games in no more than a dozen days to preview.
Here.
We.
Go.
@travmoody
CRACKDOWN 3 (ReAgent Games/Microsoft – Xbox One, PC – 2017?) – Travis Moody chose a Microsoft Studios game to preview. You knew I would. Someone had to. But there’s good reason for that biting opener: after a wonderful 2016 (Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, Quantum Break, Killer Instinct: Season 3), this year has not been a very good year to be an Xbox fan. Arguably, the only significant game for the console released in the 5 months leading up to E3 was Halo Wars 2 — which, while great, is only significant if you enjoy real-time strategy. Scalebound canceled. Cuphead delayed. And we’re still waiting to be sprinkled with Phantom Dust.
Enter Crackdown 3. Aside from another pretty Forza Motorsport game that should fully exploit the next level capabilities of Project Scorpio (clearly the chief focus of Xbox’s media briefing at E3 2017), Crackdown‘s open-sandbox explosiveness should have the capability to wow some heads. Although it skipped the big show after showing big at Gamescom 2015, I fully expect the recently confirmed “play anywhere” title to headline the power of the new Xbox system. And, what better way to show off the cloud processing power and 4K graphics of the Scorpio — and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the first game — than with a franchise known for its unimaginable scale of demolition? If the next footage presents an intriguing single-player storyline, more captivating (albeit real-time, fully destructive) environments and creative gameplay mechanics, we could be looking at a resurgence. Certainly for Phil Spencer and company, this is a must.
Xbox’s E3 Briefing will go live on Sunday, June 11th at 2pm PT. You can watch on the new Mixer app on Xbox Live.