Features

Microsoft's next gen console has been causing a lot of discussions among hardened gamers since its reveal in May, with many question marks that threatened to drown out any excitement about actual, you know, games. Thankfully, E3 proved that Microsoft hasn't forgotten about them...

Ryse: Son of Rome
Crytek's known for making game engines with exceptionally pretty graphics tech and its swords-and-sandals slasher proved to be no exception. The onstage demo revealed the player in control of Roman general Marius Titus as he and his legion launched themselves up the beach Normandy-style to cut open the enemy. The combat is reminiscent of Batman: Arkham City with its focus on counter-attacks and blocking while you can also use the Kinect to bark out orders at your troops. Maximum awesomimus!

Forza Motorsport 5
Car lust is taken to the next level with this latest instalment of the fuel-injected franchise. Expect gorgeous motoring metal running at 1080p/60 frames per second and lots of lush feedback through the new rumble-enabled controller triggers while preparing yourself to embrace 'Drivatar' that records your driving style before booting it up into the Cloud. This means fellow online players can still race against you even if you're curled up under your duvet, presumably having sweaty palmed dreams about a McLaren P1.

Titanfall
We've waited eons to see what the former Infinity Ward bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West have been up to at their new company Respawn - and finally the fruits of their labour were revealed in the shape of a third-person multiplayer-only sci-fi shooter. It sees players engaging in war as either a human elite assault pilot spanking the silicon out of the 24-foot mechs known as Titans - or vice-versa. Either way, it looks like a winner.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Solid Snake is finally unleashed on an open world as he must, erm, we're not quite sure actually - the latest gory extended trailer made us come over all squeamish - but it's something to do with revenge and rescuing chums but now with beautiful graphics, real-time weather, day/night cycles and lots of fancy transport options plus some seriously cool-looking tactical espionage options and Jack Bauer's voice. Can we open our eyes now?

Below
Intended to act as proof of Microsoft's self-proclaimed love for indie developers, Below is a rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of the indie hit Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP. Featuring Capy's trademark stylised graphics and haunting soundtrack, Below's brief trailer revealed a game offering fantastic locations to explore plus some juicy opportunities for co-op.

Honourable Mentions
Halo 5 - Well, it was just a pretty trailer with a reveal of the Master Chief at the end but it still gave us goosebumps. So job done, Microsoft.

Quantum Break - An intriguing game/TV crossover that sees you playing with time itself, your actions impacting on the direction of the television series that will ship with the game.

Project Spark - Make your own games with this surprisingly powerful-looking package that lets you create pretty much any genre from shoot 'em ups through to action adventures. Watch out LittleBigPlanet...

We'll be covering the best of PlayStation 4 next week!