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Yep, this is the big one. The start of the FIFA World Cup 2018, which saw Russia give Saudi Arabia a good thrashing on the pitch. Frankly though, how anyone could have performed admirably after an opening by epic dad dancing crooner Robbie Williams is anyone’s guess, so perhaps the victory wasn’t entirely earned.
In other headlines, Piers Morgan continues to do his best impression of the ‘cretins’ on Love Island, and Scarlett Moffatt has denied she dated Ant from Ant and Dec. You can rest easy now.
There was also this thing over in Los Angeles called E3, where a bunch of people gathered to talk about and play video games.
Microsoft showed 50 games during its E3 presser. Yes, 50.
Big Phil and the boys had a lot to prove at this year’s E3, chiefly as Xbox One’s exclusive slate was looking about as packed as Peter Andre’s last gig. However, they definitely made us sit up and watch at VideoGamer (not to mention sweat bullets at how bloody hard it was to cover every announcement on offer). Halo Infinite, Gears 5, Dying Light 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Sekiro, Devil May Cry 5, and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit are just the tip of the iceberg in regards to game reveals.
Microsoft also threw a bunch of money at some developers, bringing the likes of Ninja Theory and Playground Games under its umbrella. Oh, and Phil casually confirmed that Microsoft is working on a new Xbox.
Sony disappeared up their own arse, but we got Ghost of Tsushima gameplay
Sony is probably getting complacent right now considering the kicking it's giving Xbox One, but to be honest, the firm's 'deep dive' presser was a bit of a mess. I mean, there were actual intermissions, followed by journalists awkwardly shuffling from one area to the next. Then there was Death Stranding, which despite getting one of the biggest deep dives, didn't really tell us sod all. Still, Ghost of Tsushima, blimey. Like a bodybuilder stepping on stage all oiled up for a competition, Sucker Punch's samurai behemoth was flexing some serious muscle. Take our money now, chaps.
Spider-Man also provided some open-world chops that proved Insomniac Games seems to have nailed the adrenaline-fuelled traversal of Peter Parker's nimble superhero, as well as crafting a sprawling sandbox to play around in. The Last of Us: Part II also impressed, although was probably more remembered for its kiss (shocker, Ellie likes girls; seriously, didn't anyone play Left Behind?) than its obviously-scripted gameplay.
Oh, and then there was Resident Evil 2 Remake, which obviously blew everything away with Leon S. Kennedy's boyish good looks and new-found gritty realism (yeah, I'm exaggerating…But seriously, it looked great).
Assassin's Creed Odyssey finally revealed, and it's going down the RPG path
Ubisoft suffered badly from Assassin's Creed Odyssey leaks prior to E3, but they at least managed to keep the meat of the info under wraps. Set in Ancient Greece as previously confirmed, Odyssey is welcoming the RPG elements that Origins teased with open arms, introducing everything from romancing, dialogue options, and the ability to recruit humans and creatures alike to your cause. It looks ruddy beautiful, too.
More importantly, it's getting at least five special editions, which I'm delighted about.
Bethesda announces The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield, even though they won't be out for ages
Having apparently milked Skyrim so much that it now resembles a mummified corpse, Team Todd Howard is finally moving onto bigger things. Yep, The Elder Scrolls VI is officially a thing, as is the long-rumoured Starfield. Sadly, it's pretty obvious the former is years away, although Starfield is at least in a playable state; we're probably looking at current-gen for the sci-fi epic, while The Elder Scrolls VI could very well be a cross-gen effort.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is pretty much the best thing we could have asked for
How do you make a new Smash Bros game? Put in every single character to have ever appeared in the game, apparently. Except Waluigi. Ninty's press conference showed how you really do a deep dive, offering a 20-minute info landslide on the upcoming Switch game, which revealed a bunch of new stages and characters, including Daisy and Ridley. We also got confirmation that David Hayter is voicing Solid Snake (although fans are apparently miffed Snake's arse has been toned down. Go figure).
More importantly, the Big N has assured us that Ultimate is not just a spruced up version of the Wii U Smash Bros game, but a new project.
Played Fortnite on PS4? Then don't expect to use the same account on Switch
Sony is taking a lot of flak this week, and understandably so. Launching right after its reveal, the Switch version of Fortnite was a massive success…but, it wasn't without its controversy. Users quickly discovered you can't use the same account for the PS4 and Switch versions of the game, something which is obviously down to Sony considering it makes no sense for Epic Games to have implemented these restrictions. To make matters worse, their response to the outcry was laughable, refusing to even acknowledge the frustration of gamers. Nice job, chaps.
Just Cause 4 was announced to absolutely no surprise
This was probably going to be the big shocker of Square Enix's dry press event. And it really was dry; no Final Fantasy VII Remake, no Life is Strange 2, and certainly no Avengers project. Unfortunately, Just Cause 4 leaked all over the shop just a few days before E3, so there wasn't much to see here at all. Still, the game looks the business, and the new dynamic weather effects should really add a new dimension to its barmy open-world destruction.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is in active development…three years after it was announced
As mentioned, Final Fantasy VII Remake was conspicuous by its absence at E3 this year. However, we did get a small tidbit from director Tetsuya Nomura — it's in actual development. Normally we'd welcome news of the remake more than an Elixir while down to 100HP during the final battle against Sephiroth, but in this case, it's just…well, depressing. The game has been in the works for years now, and seeing as how Squeenix were hiring just a few months ago, we really have to wonder just what state it's in.
Is anyone really excited about this anymore? Will it even make 2020?
Anyway, there's your E3. Please be excited!
