TheXboxHub Features

Here we go again. Another year has passed us by and E3 2019 has given us plenty to talk about. Bethesda were third out of the traps to showcase what they had to offer the gaming masses this year. Understandably, you may have missed the briefing, as it was broadcast in the UK at 01:30am. But never fear, dear readers, as right here you will find plenty of reasons to be hyped about what Bethesda had to show. 9 in fact.

So here we are again watching and waiting for what I like to think is the "Cirque du Soleil" of E3 game conferences - Ubisoft! And they didn't disappoint, as the conference had all the theatrics we might expect from Ubisoft with a full orchestra playing a melody of the Assassin's Creed soundtrack, and the strange and energetic Just Dance routine with someone - once again - dressed in a panda outfit. There was also a revelation that they have been working on a TV show about making games, and have a film of The Division upcoming, in production with Netflix. But what about the games? Well, if I'm honest, the Ubisoft showing at E3 2019 felt a bit empty and certainly not as exciting as it has been in the past. But I've still managed to put together 5 of the most exciting moments of the conference

As I settled down in front of Mixer at 9pm on Sunday night, accompanied by a mere 133,000 others to view the Xbox at E3 2019 presentation, little did I suspect what I was about to see. From announcements about the next generation of Xbox hardware to more than 60 new games that were announced, after it was over and done I was left with a pleasant kind of afterglow. While I would have liked to have seen possibly fewer games but in greater detail, the lack of actual gameplay hasn’t stopped me from getting ridiculously excited about the games out later in 2019 and beyond. What I have done here then, for nothing more than your reading pleasure, is to cull my personal top six moments of the 97 minute stream, to look in-depth at the 6 things Microsoft nailed with their Xbox at E3 2019 presentation. And believe me, it has been a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

E3 2019 is here but EA forgoed the traditional press conference for a collection of livestreams, giving updates about some of their biggest games. While it was lacking in any major surprises or reveals there were still some interesting and exciting things to come out of the two hour event. But what were the 9 best and most intriguing bits of EA Play 2019?

The original base game of Stellaris is a deep, huge, sim strategy experience that takes a genre which doesn't normally translate well to the console market, before nailing multiple aspects. I've been playing it since first release on Xbox One in early 2019 and have really enjoyed the game's ideas, admiring the deep sim qualities and the scale of its ambition. But now the first piece of DLC has landed for the console version - the Plantoid Species pack. But it begs the question… what is it all about, and is it worth your cash?

After a lot of speculation, the latest instalment in the long-running blockbuster Call of Duty franchise was recently revealed – and it’s a reboot of the groundbreaking Modern Warfare series. However, the makers of the new game say it will be set in a new timeline, and the events of the original Modern Warfare trilogy will be re-written. So as to never forget the revolutionary series that paved the way for Call of Duty to become the best-selling shooter franchise of all time, this list charts five of the best missions - not individual moments, but complete missions – from the Modern Warfare series.

With the usual high quality that is found with all Numskull Designs products, it’s a relatively simple ask to be able to highly recommend any of the Official Xbox range, but without question, our favourites from this recent drop are found in the Metal Badge Heat Mug, the Achievement Unlocked’ Keychain and the Official Xbox One Carbon Fibre Wallet.

Code Vein is a new upcoming IP from Bandai Namco, and in it, just for a change, we find the end of the world as we know it. Revenants have torn the world apart, and the worst of all is a hidden society known only as Vein.

Yes, it has major flaws for sure, but Murdered: Soul Suspect does not deserve to disappear like an apparition.

As media platforms move forward, podcasts have seen a meteoric rise in popularity. Alongside this rise, we have the inevitable popularity of video games. Combining these two mediums has been one of the great joys of discovery in my adult life. Yes, that is as boring as it sounds, but just as exciting for me, nonetheless.

The month of June has finally arrived and whilst most of us are waiting in anticipation for the exciting announcements that are likely to come out of E3, there are still plenty of gaming releases to keep focused on beforehand. For those with an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, a new month means new games - new games you won’t be spending a single penny extra on thanks to the fantastic Xbox Live Games With Gold scheme. So without further ado, let’s jump into the Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles you’ll be able to download free of charge throughout June and find out just how good or bad they are.

A game which had no right to be as good as it was, considering that it was a movie-tie-in/spin-off game related to The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, was Escape from Butcher Bay - still one of the best Xbox originals, without question.

Golem Gates has just released on Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, blending action strategy with card battling in a way like we've never seen before. Coming about via a partnership between Digerati and the development team at Laser Guided Games, we felt there was enough intrigue in this hybrid experience to warrant a deeper look. So we grabbed Matt Oelfke, the lead designer and programmer on the game, for a little chat.

E3 is once again around the corner, and the gaming world descends into chaos and anticipation at just what will be announced during the conferences. Safe bets for what will be announced this year during Microsoft’s conference would be release dates and gameplay trailers for Gears 5 and Halo Infinite, the next Forza game, and also that other non-racing game that Playground Games have been working on *cough* Fable 4 *cough*. But we’re not here to look at those nearly nailed-on predictions. Instead, here are some absurd predictions, but with just enough fact in them to make them almost plausible.

“Go big”. That’s what Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Gaming, Phil Spencer, promised he and the team would do this year. He also said that they will be “as big at E3 as we’ve ever been”. Exciting stuff indeed. This came not long after Sony announced that they would not be holding a live E3 conference this year, and indeed for the first time ever. With Nintendo sticking to their “direct” format, it leaves Xbox holding the only live conference from the big three. This provides an opportunity to steal the show. What better time to “go big”?