Added: 19.06.2015 2:45 | 4 views | 0 comments

E3 is over; let's review Microsoft's showing.

Click through the images here for all the highlights, biggest games, and areas of improvement for Microsoft.

Highlights: Xbox One Backward Compatibility

Microsoft may have had the biggest news--across all companies--this week with its announcement of backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. Yes, the initial lineup of supported Xbox 360 games is somewhat limited, and the feature won't roll out publicly until this fall, but it's an exciting first step.

Highlights: Fallout 4 PC Mods on Xbox One

Through a partnership with Microsoft, Bethesda announced plans to bring Fallout 4's PC mods to Xbox One sometime in 2016. This is a big deal, since this has never happened before on console, and it could be a way for Fallout fans to find new fun long after release. Of course, there will be some limitations on what mods make it to console, but it's an exciting feature all the same.

Highlights: Early Access Comes to Xbox One

The Xbox Game Preview will allow developers to release in-development versions of their upcoming games on Xbox One. This has been available on PC for some time through Steam Early Access (with a fair amount of controversy), and the Xbox One becomes the first console with such a program. Your move, Sony.

Highlights: Xbox One Elite Controller

Microsoft announced a new Xbox One controller during its E3 briefing. It was a total surprise, and particularly noteworthy, too. We haven't seen dramatic controller revisions from Microsoft before, especially not so soon after launch. The controller cost $150 and launches in October. Visit our E3 hub for more about the controller.

Needs Improvement: What's Up With Kinect?

Microsoft had a strong E3 showing, but there is always room for improvement. Microsoft didn't talk about Kinect whatsoever at the briefing or during E3 itself all week long. The company tells us there are still some more Kinect games in development. But people who bought an Xbox One with Kinect or purchased the camera separately probably want to know more.

Needs Improvement: Missing Games

We didn't see exclusives like Quantum Break, Scalebound, Inside, or Crackdown at Microsoft's E3 briefing. This was no doubt a bummer for fans who were looking forward to new footage. But you can rest assured that Microsoft will talk about these games (and probably more) during Gamescom in just two months.

Biggest Games: Gears of War 4

In addition to the Gears of War Ultimate Edition, a remastered version of the 2006 original due out in August, Microsoft announced a brand new Gears of War. Details are light at the moment, but it appears we'll be getting new characters and a new setting. And of course, chainsaws will return. Gears 4 launches holiday 2016.

Biggest Games: ReCore

A total surprise announcement, ReCore is the next game from Mega Man and Dead Rising designer Keiji Inafune exclusively for Xbox One. The game will be developed by Inafune in collaboration with Armature Studio, the team founded by former Metroid developers. It's early days, but the trailer alone has us excited.

Biggest Games: Rise of the Tomb Raider

We saw a thrilling new Rise of the Tomb Raider trailer this week at E3, showing Lara Croft in a snowy Russian region, using her climbing axe to scale icy walls and escaping danger. The game looks darn impressive, and Microsoft locking it up as a timed exclusive could be a big win for the company this holiday. Rise of the Tomb Raider launches November 10.

Biggest Games: Halo 5

Halo 5: Guardians isn't new, but we learned a lot more about it this week at E3. The main takeaway was a new, massively scaled multiplayer mode called Warzone. It's a 12v12 mode that combines PvP and PvE, a first for the series. This could end up being a big deal for Halo. You can read our impressions on the site and pick up the game on October 27.

Added: 19.06.2015 0:37 | 12 views | 0 comments

A little over a year ago, Square Enix Montreal released , a new take on the mobile puzzle game featuring Tomb Raider's iconic heroine. But while Lara's puzzle journey borrows key elements from Agent 47's, the experience is vastly different thanks to new obstacles, tools, and enemies.

For one thing, Lara Croft Go's art style doesn't follow the same boardgame aesthetic as Hitman Go. It looks like a cartoon, with little Lara (of the original series, not the reboot) running from space to space, climbing up walls, and sometimes even backflipping between points. You view Lara's journey as though you're peeking at her through a canopy of trees, with the silhouettes of bugs and rustling leaves moving around in the foreground. In the distance, beyond Lara's current puzzle, you'll sometimes see something move--something large and sinister, a creature Lara may encounter in later levels.

Lara Croft Go also ditches Hitman Go's flat horizontal plane for a varied series of cliff faces, steps, and other vertical change-ups. Sometimes puzzles require Lara to move to a space and pull a lever that will alternate the terrain; walls shift up or down and platforms move into place to give Lara a clear path out. Some puzzles have spaces peppered with cracks; Lara can only walk over these cracked spaces once, as a second step will shatter the stone and send Lara falling to her demise. This adds another strategy element to an already cleverly-designed puzzle set, as it prevents you from backtracking in some areas and requires you to really think your moves carefully.

Other neat obstacles include deadly creatures. In the hands-on demo I saw, the spaces were filled with snakes. Like in Hitman Go, you can only dispatch enemies by approaching them from the side or the back. Facing a snake head on means certain death for Lara. Later puzzles introduced enemies that chase you if you move two spaces near them. Sometimes you can take these enemies out by luring them over cracked spaces and trapping them in holes, or throwing a spear at them. Spears are a one-use item that can be collected on the board, then thrown at an enemy two spaces away. Other puzzles include multiple enemies facing Lara at the beginning, so you have to choose carefully which one to use your precious spear on.

Navigating Lara through these puzzles doesn't feel like a simple puzzle game at all; I feel like I'm playing a true Tomb Raider game. A narrative connects each puzzle Lara faces, and without spoiling it I can say that it involves what she does best: treasure hunting. Players won't just be solving environmental challenges and moving pieces around, they'll be actively guiding Lara on an adventure in a new, innovative way. There's something special happening in Lara Croft Go, and it's hard to explain without getting your hands on it. It's the same Hitman Go magic, but with a twist that is unmistakably Tomb Raider-y in nature.

Lara Croft Go innovates on Hitman Go in some very entertaining ways, and I'm eager to get my hands on more. There is currently no date for the mobile game's release, but it's already looking like another high point in Square Montreal's string of creative mobile games.

Added: 19.06.2015 0:37 | 10 views | 0 comments

A little over a year ago, Square Enix Montreal released , a new take on the mobile puzzle game featuring Tomb Raider's iconic heroine. But while Lara's puzzle journey borrows key elements from Agent 47's, the experience is vastly different thanks to new obstacles, tools, and enemies.

For one thing, Lara Croft Go's art style doesn't follow the same boardgame aesthetic as Hitman Go. It looks like a cartoon, with little Lara (of the original series, not the reboot) running from space to space, climbing up walls, and sometimes even backflipping between points. You view Lara's journey as though you're peeking at her through a canopy of trees, with the silhouettes of bugs and rustling leaves moving around in the foreground. In the distance, beyond Lara's current puzzle, you'll sometimes see something move--something large and sinister, a creature Lara may encounter in later levels.

Lara Croft Go also ditches Hitman Go's flat horizontal plane for a varied series of cliff faces, steps, and other vertical change-ups. Sometimes puzzles require Lara to move to a space and pull a lever that will alternate the terrain; walls shift up or down and platforms move into place to give Lara a clear path out. Some puzzles have spaces peppered with cracks; Lara can only walk over these cracked spaces once, as a second step will shatter the stone and send Lara falling to her demise. This adds another strategy element to an already cleverly-designed puzzle set, as it prevents you from backtracking in some areas and requires you to really think your moves carefully.

Other neat obstacles include deadly creatures. In the hands-on demo I saw, the spaces were filled with snakes. Like in Hitman Go, you can only dispatch enemies by approaching them from the side or the back. Facing a snake head on means certain death for Lara. Later puzzles introduced enemies that chase you if you move two spaces near them. Sometimes you can take these enemies out by luring them over cracked spaces and trapping them in holes, or throwing a spear at them. Spears are a one-use item that can be collected on the board, then thrown at an enemy two spaces away. Other puzzles include multiple enemies facing Lara at the beginning, so you have to choose carefully which one to use your precious spear on.

Navigating Lara through these puzzles doesn't feel like a simple puzzle game at all; I feel like I'm playing a true Tomb Raider game. A narrative connects each puzzle Lara faces, and without spoiling it I can say that it involves what she does best: treasure hunting. Players won't just be solving environmental challenges and moving pieces around, they'll be actively guiding Lara on an adventure in a new, innovative way. There's something special happening in Lara Croft Go, and it's hard to explain without getting your hands on it. It's the same Hitman Go magic, but with a twist that is unmistakably Tomb Raider-y in nature.

Lara Croft Go innovates on Hitman Go in some very entertaining ways, and I'm eager to get my hands on more. There is currently no date for the mobile game's release, but it's already looking like another high point in Square Montreal's string of creative mobile games.