E3 2016 flew into town, brought a ton of games, a load of announcements and a fair bit of controversy. Microsoft hit the stage with their usual show of reveals, videos and excitement. But which of their numerous announcements dropped the bomb on the opposition and which were probably best leaving until another day? We have a look at the five best moments from Microsoft at E3 2016 – the good, the bad and the damn exciting!

You may be surprised to see that we haven’t included anything about Gears of War 4, Dead Rising 4, Play Anywhere, cross-network play or the new Clubs and Arenas features that are coming to Xbox One. That’s not to say they aren’t welcome, it’s just that the stuff below are, in our opinion, a ton more exciting…or disappointing, depending on how you look at it!

THE GOOD

Xbox One S

No matter how much I love my huge black Xbox One, I have to start by speaking about the Xbox One S, the new super slim, super sexy Xbox One console that comes in ‘robot white’ – whatever the hell ‘robot white’ is.

Coming complete with a hugely improved hard drive with 2TB of storage space available from the get go, HDR support for both video and gaming and full support for 4K Ultra HD from Netflix and Amazon Video, the Xbox One S really is the next console you must buy. With a beautiful white design and a much smaller (40% smaller) footprint, the Xbox One S gets me excited nearly as much as I was when the original Xbox One got announced. Admittedly though, it’s the hard drive that really sells it to me and so the smaller 500GB and 1TB versions don’t bring the same draw.

But the 2TB version? I’ve got my pre-order in and can’t wait until the 31st August!

THE BAD

Project Scorpio

So I’ve already decided that I’m hugely interested in the Xbox One S. But Project Scorpio? Nah, not so much.

That’s right, I’m putting Project Scorpio in and amongst the bits and bobs that Microsoft spoke about at E3 that I’d rather not hear about.

Now, that’s not to say I don’t want to hear about it. I do. Just not now. Not 18 months or so prior to the event. There are of course no real details and harking on about teraflops means little to me. Even the draw of true 4k gaming and high fidelity VR is still a bit early for me to really get too bothered – at least until I decide a 4K TV is worth the hassle. For that reason I’d have preferred Phil Spencer to keep things under wraps for just a little longer. At least until E3 2017 in fact.

As it now stands, we’re not going to be able to move for fans, and haters, going on, and on, and on about this wonderful Project Scorpio pie in the sky without knowing details, without knowing pricing structures and without knowing what the damn thing is.

Do I want a super console? Damn right. But just tell me about it once enough details are certain. Please!

THE DAMN EXCITING

Forza Horizon 3

I’m a huge fan of the Forza series so to see Forza Horizon 3 appear in the Australian outback absolutely wowed me.

From the first shots showing off the gloriously open world, kangaroos and all, the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck as the anticipation and excitement kicked in. After the hugely successful Horizon and Horizon 2, the setting seems perfect, the 350 odd cars will no doubt be perfect and I’ll be one of the first people through the gates of the Horizon festival when it releases on Sept 27th 2016.

In fact, I’m not sure any game from the entire E3 show has me as excited as Forza Horizon 3 and its open world possibilities has.

Xbox Design Labs

Custom controllers are a huge draw. I should know, I own a ton of them. But not all gamers are ready to trust a third party with their money. This is where the Xbox Design Lab comes into play.

Giving us the chance to mess around with numerous colours and designs, in order to create our very own unique Xbox One controller, the Xbox Design Labs may seem like a way for MS to rake in even more cash, but as a gamer who wants to hold something unique in their hands, I can assure you that I for one will be heading on over there to spend a little cash as soon as possible…if only so I can play around with the laser etching and 8 million odd thumbstick, d-pad and face button combinations.

With the handmade designs coming complete on the new S controller and shipped directly to my door, then I see absolutely no reason to dislike.

We Happy Few

Creepy. There are few words that sum up We Happy Few as well as that. But I can’t wait to play it!

Set in Wellington Wells and a world full of Joy, We Happy Few urges the player to keep away from the happy stuff for as long as possible, in as big a way as possible. Set in an alternate England in 1964, Compulsion Games have looked to more than deliver a brilliantly scary first person horror adventure game like no other. Stealth will be the name of the game, but with the hordes of Joy-riddled citizens ready to hunt you down, that may not be as easy as it sounds.

The past seems to be a terrible place, but until the residents of this strange dark city come stop living in denial and join you as a ‘Downer’, it may just be for the best to get the hell out of there.

So, a couple of games, a console or two and some major customisation features sum up the Microsoft E3 2016 conference. What were your favourite bits? Which would you rather never hear about again? Let us know in the comments below.