With Sony backing out of this year's Gamescom event, it was a wonderful opportunity for Microsoft to showcase its offerings without the fear of Sony outsmarting the company with its own announcements. And as it seems, the Redmond-based company made the most out of the situation.
Microsoft has special plans for this year's Gamescom and some of them were revealed as soon as the company's briefing at the event started.
Let's take a look at Microsoft's offerings at this year's Gamescom:
2016 Will Be Huge – Three Big Reasons Why
After months of rumours, leaks and speculations, it seems Microsoft is finally ready to pull the curtains off three of its most-talked upcoming games in recent years. Of course, we are talking about Quantum Break, Scalebound, and the all-new Crackdown.
For Quantum Break, there was always a sort of belief among gamers that the title would finally see the light of the day at this year's Gamescom. And Microsoft didn't disappoint. For the game, Remedy offered a deeper look into the game that's an Xbox One exclusive.
Remedy showed glimpses of the several manipulating abilities in the game, a look at the protagonist's brother and a good look at all the enemies in the game. The reveal for the game was also graced by the likes of Shawn Ashmore (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones).
Apart from that, there was also the gameplay premiere of Scalebound. This is another Xbox One exclusive, developed by Platinum Games, which puts players in the shoes of a human and his trusty dragon companion as they move through the world of Draconus.
Scalebound is basically an open-world action RPG with quick combat elements, mixed finely with hints of strategy as players take on enemies with the large dragon. For the game, players will even be able to enter the game with a maximum of three others to take on several missions.
Lastly, fans also got a glimpse of Crackdown 3 via a similar gameplay demonstration, with a lot of focus on the in-game destruction mechanics, something that was never possible in the consoles of the past. The idea of a super cop, and that too on high level graphics, makes us jump with joy.
A Gameplay for Homefront: The Revolution
If you checked out the new gameplay reveal for the upcoming Homefront: The Revolution, you should have got goosebumps from the retribution in the child's eyes, the anger and sorrow, when he was pushed on to the stage to speak about the forces occupying America in front of the military officials.
The announcement for Homefront was surely one of the most intense reveals from Microsoft at the event, and more so since the tragedy of it all was showcased from a child's point of view, when adults are fighting a dangerous guerrilla war against the authority.
The Three We Have Been Waiting For
Sure a number of upcoming releases for the Xbox One were showcased at Microsoft's briefing, but for the company and its fans, Gamescom wouldn't be Gamescom if three of its top titles had not been showcased – Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Forza 6.
While for the new Halo game, we were treated to two of the world's greatest teams in gaming – Epsilon and Optic Gaming, compete in an all-new arena mode for the improved multiplayer – Rise of the Tomb Raider showcased intense stealth elements in a large, open world.
For Forza 6, it seemed a lot of focus had been put on the detailing inside the game. The game was showed off in its full 1080p 60FPS glory and could easily be one of the best racing sims to have arrived in recent years.
Gold Backwards Compatibility Support
While Sony PS4 fans do keep an eye on the Promised Land, it seems like Microsoft Xbox One fans have not only reached it, but looking to benefit from it in the upcoming months.
During Microsoft's Xbox briefing, it was announced that all future Xbox 360 Games With Gold will be open to backward compatibility on the Xbox One.
What this means is that Xbox One owners, provided they have an active Live Gold account, will now be able to download more games for free each month. Sony PS4 fans must be fuming, eh?
Stay tuned for more updates!
