Microsoft E3 2019 Roundup

And just like that, another year of waiting is over. E3 2019 has taken its first steps and sent gamers everywhere into a frenzy. Or, at least, it’s sent me into a frenzy. I very nearly did backflips on the couch when the Halo: Infinite trailer showed. If you’re looking for a roundup of all the best announcements from Microsoft’s E3 2019 conference, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s get started.

Halo: Infinite

This was, in my opinion, the most exciting trailer of the conference. I may be a bit biased—I’m a diehard fan of the series. I don’t know what else to call it when I’ve read every book and watched every bit of media associated with the Halo franchise.

Although no gameplay was shown, the cinematic trailer gave me goosebumps. From the moment the marine scrubbed the viewport of the Pelican and revealed the Chief floating there in space—and that iconic musical cue hit—I sat glued to my seat. The trailer gives me hope that the story will continue, hopefully in an improved way than Halo 5.

Halo: Infinite may well be the last entry in the Halo franchise, although that is speculation on my part. With its launch on Project Scarlett as well as Xbox One, I personally hope to see more improvements in multiplayer and larger-scale battles than ever before. Oh, and the new Blood Gulch. Come on, you know it’s going to be there.

Project Scarlett

Project Scarlett is the future of Xbox. The next-generation console has long been known by Project Scarlett and will continue to be known as that since Microsoft did not yet give us an official name. Xbox One Squared, maybe? Xbox One X2?

It’s always good to be wary of announcements made at E3, but if Microsoft follows through and provides the console experience they’ve promised, then it will be something for the record books. Take a look at the estimates:

• 60 FPS Base/Up to 120 FPS
• 8K resolution
• 4x more powerful than Xbox One X
• Custom AMD processor
• Built-in SSD

Microsoft built their marketing for the Xbox One X around the idea of providing the “most powerful console ever made.” It seems likely the company wants to hold onto that title. Given what we know so far of Scarlett, the console looks to beat out (or at least be on par with) the leaked specs of the PlayStation 4 and Google Stadia.

Project Scarlett launches holiday 2020. Time to start saving those pennies.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 has made me drool on multiple occasions. I’m a huge fan of cyberpunk media and literature. Altered Carbon is one of my favorite shows on Netflix, and the book Neuromancer by William Gibson? “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

A Witcher-like game set in a cyberpunk future sounds like an incredible experience, and everything CD Projekt Red has shown so far makes Cyberpunk 2077 look like a must-buy. The new trailer was cinematic, but well worth the watch if only for one reason: it ended with a special guest.

Keanu-freaking-Reeves.

It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Keanu has gained a following recently, but his good-guy personality and class-act behavior has earned him the respect of millions. To see his likeness appear in Cyberpunk 2077 as a rugged Neo-like character gave me even more reason to snatch up the game on day one. Give the trailer a watch. It’s worth it.

Blair Witch

I’m not a big fan of horror games or movies, but I remember the Blair Witch from my childhood due to the rumors of it being “found footage.” Read: it was all real, and the government covered it up. The idea added to the atmospheric horror of the movie.

When the trailer started, I thought it was another Alan Wake game. Correction: I hoped it was another Alan Wake game. Alas, it was not. But as the trailer progressed, the following conversation happened in my apartment.

Me: 1996? That could be a Blair Witch game. (Followed by laughter.)

Me, after the symbol appeared: Wait, is it really?

Friends, after the title popped on screen: How did you even guess that?

The game looks absolutely terrifying, but I am actually interested. I’m never interested in horror games, but the Blair Witch has always held some strange appeal to me. I might actually pick this one up and try it out.

The Outer Worlds

I’ll admit: I don’t know much about this game, but it looks good. It’s made by Obsidian Entertainment and carries with it influences from much-beloved RPGs like Fallout. Obsidian was responsible for Fallout: New Vegas, one of the fan favorites in the series.

With that in mind, The Outer Worlds looks like a game set to suck in a lot of time. It’s already been said that it won’t be on the same scale as an open-world RPG, but if it’s replayable with a deep, engaging story, that may be all it needs.

Lego: The Skywalker Saga

The Lego games are simple fun. If you’ve never played any of them, check them out—you’ll find a great way to pass the time that’s easy for anyone, even kids, to get into.

With this history of fun, it’s no surprise that Microsoft would announce The Skywalker Saga. The inclusion of all nine games in a single title is where the real surprise lies. If this is combining all of the previous games into one, then it’s going to be a great value. If it’s a new game that has the best parts of all the previous Lego games? That’s a great value, too.

Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2 is the first time this game has been (legally) available in the west. And what a time to be alive.

I put well over 100 hours into the Gamecube version of Phantasy Star Online way back in the early 2000s. It was the perfect distillation of a loot-based game: drop to the zone, fight your way through, collect loot, rinse and repeat. It was a fun game without a ton of story, but what story there was came from clues you found throughout the environment. Piecing all those tidbits together was part of the fun.

I haven’t thought about PSO in a long time, but this trailer sparked that same sense of excitement the original did. I absolutely cannot wait for it to debut here in the states. Time to recreate my old HUmar.

20 New GamePass Games and GamePass Ultimate

The Xbox Game Pass is already one of the greatest values in gaming, but the Game Pass Ultimate bundle (which combines Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass, and GamePass for PC) makes it an absolute no-brainer for anyone that owns an Xbox. And now they’ve added over 20 new games:

• ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG X
• Astroneer
• Battle Chasers: Nightwar
• Bridge Constructor Portal
• Everspace
• Guacamelee! 2
• Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
• Lichtspeer
• Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
• Moonlighter
• Neon Chrome
• Old Man’s Journey
• Riverbond (released today)
• Shadow Tactics – Blades of the Shogun
• Shenmue and Shenmue II
• Silence
• Smoke And Sacrifice
• SteamWorld Dig 2
• Supermarket Shriek (released today)
• Wizard of Legend
• Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
• Batman: Arkham Knight
• Metro Exodus

And a whole lot more.

It’s hard to summarize the entire Microsoft conference in an entire post, but short of a few indie titles, this list has all of the big announcements. The others will be covered on the site as they approach release. Microsoft stole the show, and the appearance of Keanu Reeves only added to the madness.

Even so, Microsoft was only my third-favorite conference. Nintendo was a close second with that Breath of the Wild sequel reveal, but the true winner was Square-Enix. After all, what can compete with the Final Fantasy VII Remake?