E3 2017 press conferences: The 16 best announcements

It was a trailer-heavy pre-E3 this year, with both Bethesda and Sony essentially using all of their time to show back-to-back videos and trailers. Microsoft and EA were a bit more traditional in their presentations and of course Nintendo stuck to it’s pre-recorded Nintendo Direct.

There was a lot to see and take in, but some things quickly rose to the top of gaming gestalt for the week. Here’s a breakdown.

Ubisoft’s best kept secret is Beyond Good & Evil 2

A prequel to the 2003 classic, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is real. Ubisoft treated fans to a CGI trailer featuring their favorite 24th century pig/man. The game takes place in System 3, an interstellar hub that Earthlings have migrated to.

Shadow of the Colossus is back and its beautiful

A re-remastered version of beloved PlayStation 2 game Shadow of the Colossus is coming to the PlayStation 4 in 2018. It is being re-developed by the same team that brought the game to PlayStation 3.

Age of Empires Definitive Edition will deliver 4K graphics and other updates

My personal favorite of the PC Gaming Show was news that we’re getting another edition of real-time strategy mainstay Age of Empires. Every asset in the original game has been improved. Pathing has been improved, as has AI and a lot of the other learnings from the sequels have been added to the game. Also, it supports online multiplayer. The game hits later this year and a multiplayer beta is coming.

Microsoft

Project Scorpio gets locked-in design, specs and an official name, price and date

Microsoft’s powered-up new Xbox is officially named the Xbox One X (XB.O.X.). It features some impressive, but already-known specs, is the smallest Xbox form factor and will cost $499 when it hits Nov. 7 worldwide.

Super Mario Odyssey features one, um, unforgettable theme song

Super Mario Odyssey hits the Switch on Oct. 27. The sandbox game has Mario exploring different worlds and using some new abilities including one that features the use of his hat to take control of, seemingly, everything.

Original Xbox games are coming to Xbox One

Xbox backward compatibility, as in compatibility for the original Xbox games, is coming to the Xbox One. We didn’t learn a ton about what that will entail, but we were told that a lot of those original games will feature enhanced graphics when played on the Xbox One.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is a thing

BJ Blazkowicz isn’t just showing up in id’s shooter Quake Arena, he’s also coming back in a new Wolfenstein game. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus takes place in a 1961 where Blazkowicz is now taking on the Nazis in a conquered America with the help of resistance fighters. The game is coming to PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One Oct. 27.

MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks

Monster Hunter World coming to PS4

The first Monster Hunter game to hit a PlayStation console in years got a chunky gameplay showing at the conference. Monster Hunter World is set for an early 2018 release.

We’re getting a new God of War next year

It’s no surprise that God of War (yes, that’s its name) looks stunning. With a 2018 release date, we have a lot of time to think about what it will be like to play as Kratos with a son.

Spider-Man is a game you’re going to want to pick up

Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man looks simply amazing. In the press-conference’s video, we saw Spidey running up buildings, webbing his way around bad guys, the city and just about everything else — and we even received a bit of insight into the story.

BioWare’s next big thing is called Anthem

The folks behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect are working on an entirely new game called Anthem. In the game you play as a sort of flying, power-suit wearing explorer in a deadly planet filled with giant monsters and some lovely scenery. The customizable Javelin suits grant players “superhuman capabilities.”

BioWare/Electronic Arts

Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand to introduce Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

The presentation began with a love-fest between Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto vamping with mock-up props from Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, a wacky mashup due out August 29 on Nintendo Switch.

The gameplay took nearly everyone by surprise. We knew it was going to be turn-based, but in motion the game very closely resembled the Firaxis reboot of XCOM. The Rabbids have been teleported to the Mushroom Kingdom and must work together with Mario and his friends to bring peace to the realm.

3 million people play Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds and it’s coming to Xbox One

Playerunknown himself, Brendan Greene, took to the stage to announce that the popular battle-royale PC shooter is coming to the Xbox One exclusively. The game is coming to the console in “late 2017” with Xbox One enhancements.

Crackdown 3 is awesome, but we already knew that

Terry Crews kicked off a new trailer for the upcoming sequel to Crackdown 2 with a … pep talk? Turns out that he’s in the game, too, as Commander Jaxon. Crackdown 3 returns you to the Agency as a super cop unleashing mayhem in an open world. It hits Xbox One and Windows 10 on Nov. 7.

4A Games/Deep Silver

Metro Exodus returns players to a post-apocalyptic world in 2018

Developer 4A Games blew the audience away with an amazing video showing off what the first 4K Metro game will look like. So far, we only know it’s coming to Xbox One and Windows 10.

The Shadow of War demo showed off a delightful Orc named Bruz the Chopper

Our first in-depth look at the sequel to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor showed off a recruitment run for new orcs to build out an army as you prepare for an assault on a massive citadel being held by a two-headed troll. The demo helped to highlight the new nemesis system and showcase the beautiful look of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War.

Also, all of these games (and more) have trailers which are are absolutely worth your time to check out right here.

E3 2017 begins on June 13, with press conferences starting June 10. For the big announcements, make sure to check out our one-stop shop for the show's streams.

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