The Morning After: Friday, June 16th 2017
Game over?
It might only be Friday morning, but yesterday marked the end of the world's biggest gaming show, E3. Today, we're bringing you even more impressions from the biggest titles you'll be playing in the next 12 months or so, as well as Amazon's new Dash wand and the eventual launch of Microsoft's Surface laptop.
'OK K.O.' is a brilliant cartoon with a game to match
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, an animated series from Cartoon Network, will premiere this August with, if all goes to plan, a tie-in game alongside it. The release is unusual for two reasons: One, this type of game is usually developed after a show has been launched and drawn a large, lucrative audience. Two, they're typically low-quality or made by studios with a lacklustre pedigree. Capy Games, meanwhile, is an independent studio with bags of talent. Both the game and show look intriguing, but how does such a collaboration even begin?
In 'Far Cry 5,' your teammates might be the real stars
Far Cry 5 is one of the most anticipated games at E3 2017, even if it won't be out until 2018. That distant launch date might be why Mat Smith felt surprised that the early demo on show at Ubisoft's booth was already so polished. In typical Far Cry style, the environments are lush and detailed (and delightfully colorful too). Cultist fighters also swarm on your location and chase you through the forest, just as you'd expect. The most notable change, then, isn't the series' relocation to Montana, but the company you keep as you battle the cult. Yep, while you are still pretty much a one-man army, at least one person (or canine) has your back this time around, which not only makes things slightly easier but also affects how you play through the game.
'Destiny 2' on PC is nothing like the first game
After spending some quality time with the PC version of Destiny 2 at E3, Devindra Hardawar can attest it's a much speedier, more intense experience. That's partially due to some gameplay improvements -- switching between weapons and reloading feels a lot quicker than before -- as well as the fact that he was playing the game in 4K at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second. That frame-rate bump alone makes the entire experience feel more immediate, as there's less of a lag between what you're inputting and how the game responds. It simply plays better.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop and Pro are now available worldwide
If you're looking to buy the Surface Laptop or the Surface Pro, there's a chance that you'll be able to get it right now, even if you're not in the US. Both PCs are now available in over a dozen markets across the globe. The Surface Laptop is now out in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It's the flagship device for Windows 10 S, Microsoft's ChromeOS-like platform for the education market meant to run web apps and software from its official store. A Surface Laptop will set you back at least $999 in the US and £979 (up to £2,149) in the UK.
Logitech's wireless-mouse charging tech feels like a miracle
Logitech's main mission at E3 this year: proving to gamers that wireless mice are just as capable, and sometimes more so, than their corded counterparts. The company revealed two innovations at the show: Lightspeed, its low-latency wireless-transmission technology, and PowerPlay, a way to charge mice while using them on a custom mat. Both solve the main complaints some gamers have around wireless mice: that they're laggy and could lose charge at any moment.
