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Xbox E3 2014 press conference round-up: Halo, indies, more

S. Prell
Updated ·4 min read
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The internet is a wonderful thing - it allows us to reminisce and wax nostalgic about things that just happened. Case in point: the Microsoft E3 2014 press conference. Maybe you missed it, maybe you skipped it, but either way, we're ready to look back on what Microsoft has in store for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Okay let's ride.

  • First up, a bit of a non-surprise: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC will come to Xbox One first, continuing a long tradition of Call of Duty DLC timed exclusivity.

  • Forza Horizon 2 will rev its engines on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One on September 30. Developed by the same team behind the first Forza Horizon, the game will run at 1080p and 30 frames per second on the Xbox One.

  • In a first for the series, Assassin's Creed: Unity will feature four-player co-op, allowing you to create your own brotherhood of assassins. So go on, invite some friends to be your guest, be your guest, stab some French dudes in the neck.

  • The world of Albion need feel lonely no more, as you'll be able to pal around with three chums in the Fable Legends beta this fall.

  • Preface: the upcoming title is not a joke. New Dead Rising 3 DLC, called Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha allows you to dress up and use the abilities of some of Capcom's most famous characters. It's out now.

  • Spartans never die, and popular games never stop getting re-released; Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One will feature upscaled and reworked versions of Halos 1-4, all running at 60 frames per second. Also included: every multiplayer map from the aforementioned games, access to the live-action Halo: Nightfall, and entry to the Halo 5 multiplayer beta. It's out November 11.

  • Speaking of the Halo 5 beta, there's totally going to be a Halo 5 beta! It's coming in December.

  • For all the people aching for a return of the foul-mouthed squirrel Conker, here's a spark of hope; a Project Spark, if you will. Because he'll appear in Project Spark. Get it?

  • What's this? What's this? There's something very ... pretty. Moon Studios is developing Ori and the Blind Forest for Xbox One, and while we still have much to learn about the game, the gorgeous reveal trailer has us feeling spirited away.

  • Playdead, developers of the atmospheric 2D platformer Limbo, have ditched the morbid and spooky fantasy worlds of yesteryear for bright colors and warm, happy feelings. Just kidding! The studio's next project, Inside, keeps the monochromatic color scheme of Limbo, as well as its somber, almost depressing tone. Yay?

  • Why do we fall, Mistress Croft? Gaming's famous lady adventurer went through a traumatic experience in 2013's Tomb Raider reboot, so perhaps it's not a big surprise that a trailer revealing her next game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, focuses on her talking to a therapist. Still, we don't expect many (if any) quicktime event sequences involving "press X to talk about your feelings."

  • Xbox One games don't like, need your approval, man. They're independent. Well, some of 'em anyway. And hoo boy are there a lot of indie games coming to Xbox One this year and next. Threes, Plague Inc. Evolved and Cuphead to name a few, Hyper Light Drifter, Grave and Below to name a bunch.

  • There's an old wisdom that history repeats itself, and in the case of Xbox One, that means the resurrection of a game from the original Xbox, Phantom Dust. No, we didn't see that coming, either.

  • Ubisoft's The Division will follow the Call of Duty lead and bring "new content" to Xbox One systems first. Unfortunately, what that precisely entails for a persistent, always-on game is as unclear as the dirty snow falling through the game's post-apocalyptic streets.

  • Scalebound from Platinum looks to mix old with new, as a trailer revealed a monster-slayer wielding not only a sword, but sick beats on a pair of headphones. The trailer also showed a dragon coming to the hero's aid, chomping down on another beast. Now that's how to train your dragon.

  • New intel, Agent: Crackdown is being revived for Xbox One. We don't know when the game's hyper-powered police force will break through the wall like an overzealous Kool-Aid Man, but we do expect lots of collateral damage. In a good way.

  • Space ninjas ahoy! Digital Extremes' Warframe will be coming to Xbox One sometime this year.