E3 2017: Xbox’s best games and highlights

E3 2017 is officially in the books, and always the week after I like to reflect on the exciting news and announcements. Xbox had a great showing this year with an incredible lineup of 42 games, including 22 that are exclusive. Let’s take a look at the highlights!

Xbox One X get announced

Of all the press conferences at E3 2017, I think many gamers (myself included) were most looking forward to the Xbox showcase. The reason? Microsoft’s grand unveiling of their brand new gaming console, Xbox One X. Formerly known as Project Scorpio, Xbox One X is Microsoft’s new mid-cycle console poised to bring 4K and 60fps gaming into the spotlight.

Unlike previous console generations where new hardware is meant to completely replace the old one, Xbox One X remains part of the Xbox One family. That means all your existing games, controllers, and peripherals for Xbox One will be compatible with Xbox One X. If you’re already in the Xbox One ecosystem, this is phenomenal news. For those who upgrade, and for new Xbox fans, Xbox One X represents the most powerful gaming console ever created. From what I saw at Microsoft’s E3 Briefing, gamers are in for a real treat.

Xbox One X’s final specs

We’ve heard for the past year about Microsoft’s new console having amazing specs, but what exactly will they be? At E3 2017 we got all the answers we need. Here’s Xbox One X’s incredibly powerful specs:

• Integrated AMD graphics with 6 teraflops of performance running at 1172MHz
• 12GB GDDR5 RAM
• 326GB/s of memory bandwidth
• 2.3GHz 8-custom x86 cores
• 4K UHD Blu-ray optical drive
• Full 4k 2160p resolution with HDR and wide colour gamut
• Liquid Cooling system
• 1TB HDD Internal Storage
• Dolby Digital 5.1, TrueHD with Atmos

Overall, the specs represent a 40% increase in power over other gaming consoles on the market. Surprisingly, with all that added power Xbox One X is the smallest gaming console Microsoft has ever built. I saw the console lined up beside an Xbox One S, and it’s amazing to see the X is even tinier.

Xbox One X “Enhanced” games

Specs are one thing, but what about the games? At E3 2017, Microsoft announced that they are already working on game patches to upgrade the graphics and frame rates for their existing and upcoming lineup. Third party developers are also working on patches as well for some of the biggest games releasing this fall. Here’s are some game expected to get “Xbox One X Enhanced” features:

• Dead Rising 4
• Doom
• Dishonored 2
• Fallout 4
• Final Fantasy XV
• Forza Horizon 3
• Gears of War 4
• Ghost Recon: Wildlands
• Halo Wars 2
• Injustice 2
• Madden NFL 18
• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
• Rocket League
• Titanfall 2
• The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
• We Happy Few
• ARK: Survival Evolved

That’s quite the list! I’m personally very stoked about the updates to Gears of War 4, Doom, and Injustice 2, as all three of these games I play regularly. I’ll likely revisit Resident Evil 7, Forza Horizon 3, and Halo Wars 2 once the patches come out. Seeing such huge support for Xbox One X right out of the gate is very encouraging!

Xbox One games

In addition to the huge Xbox One X news, Microsoft also lifted the lid on dozens of games expected to arrive soon. Some of these big titles include Crackdown 3, Cuphead, Forza 7, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Super Lucky’s Tale. One of the more exciting announcements is that (finally!) Cuphead was given a release date, September 29th to be exact. This Canada-made platforming game has incredible 1930s Disney-inspired graphics.

Of all the Microsoft published games announced, I have to say that Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the most beautiful. The original Ori still stands as the most gorgeous platforming game I’ve ever played, yet the sequel seems to take the graphics up another notch. I’m really excited to get my hands on this one!

Hands on with Crackdown 3

Another highlight for me was getting the opportunity to play a 10-minute demo of Crackdown 3. I played a portion of the campaign and got to tackle a few missions. The cel-shaded graphics were pleasing to see, and the controls were just like I remember from the previous games. I was given full access to a portion of the overall city map and could freely roam around as I please.

Like in the previous games, the more you perform certain actions, the more you can level up your character. You have stats for agility, melee, gunplay, explosives, and driving. Rather than allocating skill points to level up these abilities, you naturally level them up as you play. If you spend more of your time shooting (vs. melee or explosives) your gunplay skill will level up faster than the others. Likewise, if you spend your time stealing vehicles and driving, you’ll power up that stat. Crackdown 3 was every bit as fun as the original game, which means I had a heck of a lot of fun!

State of Decay 2 guided demo

Yet another major highlight of my E3 was getting a private guided demo of State of Decay 2. Lead by the producer at Undead Labs, this zombie survival game is taking things to the next level with drop-in/drop-out cooperative multiplayer.

I got to see a mission where our survivors when into town to retrieve much-needed supplies for the community. During the supply raid, zombies were alerted to the construction noise back at the base camp and became to attack. Our survivors rushed back to make the save just in the nick of time!

You have to be extremely careful when playing because character death is permanent. Each character will also confer specific perks to your community, be it the ability to fight, grow food, or other benefits. So if a group member perishes, your whole community suffers. From what I’ve seen so far, State of Decay 2 looks much more ambitious than the first game!

Well, that about wraps up my E3 coverage for this year. What a show it was! Was there something Xbox announced that excited you during E3? Be sure to let me know in the comments section below.

Check out Best Buy’s coverage of E3 2017 for more great articles, links to preorder games and more