Microsoft Media Briefing 2014

How do you like them apples, them green apples? The Microsoft Media Briefing was decked in all green at the Galen Center having wave after wave of YouTubers and bloggers waiting to hear the latest about games to get that much needed information to you.

This year Ubisoft and Microsoft made it clear that digital bracelets are the future for all events for all time as they light up in unison. The jokes must have poured in on Twitter referencing Battle Royale death collars or that the bracelets would electrocute us if we didn't applaud. No, they damn things are just darn cute.

Starting the media briefing, Phil Spencer gave out way too many tag lines about Xbox, but was greeted with applause for just talking games.

Let's get game happy, shall we?

Call of Duty Advance Wars made me love crab tanks all over again. The next shooter in the beloved series makes sci-fi easily believable using futuristic gear. From echo location/tatcial bombs that comprise your enemies positions by showing you their location to smart bombs that fly over to enemies and blow them up the game takes the shooter and brings and edge other games can't match. Flying swarms of drones to fight and all you have is car doors? Can't wait to see how fights with car doors are held. More malicious ammo for your enemies includes a laser, yeah not a weak laser gun, one that fires a stream of light you have to hold. You can descend from high places with a little rocket boost, no flying, just no ground smashes from falls that would normally kill you.

The game had me teary-eyed, you lose a friend whose losing an arm and his body to a bad bombing attempt. Then you lose your arm to shrapnel. First thought that pops into my head is Winter Soldier and what cool powers might come in handy for a man who lost his arm.

Forza Motorsport 5 was giving away a new race track for free, the Nurburgring, or some other hard to spell German word. Forza Horizon 2 is coming up fast with a September 30th release for the Xbox One.

Evolve, from the people who gave us Left  4 Dead showed us what it be like to fight Cthulhu. Cthulhu is an unspeakable being from H.P. Lovecraft horror that manages to sneak in to todays pop culture. You and three friends can try and stop, hunt and attack this vicious Cthulhu like monster creature or be it.  Why bother with teamwork when you can just kill teamwork and the team? The multiplayer action looks like it'll be as addictive as Left 4 Dead.

Crowd pleasing the crowd was Assassin's Creed Unity where three friends and you can take down the French government during it's revolution, which to many Americans and other nations will be the first time hearing about the French Revolution.

Scaling buildings and having backup helps immensely when taking down "French" soldiers. Though there were no specific team up attacks if everyone does their part the French government will go down, oh Ubisoft, you French- Canadian company you.

Watching 4 players seamlessly work together with a set goal was impressive as they took down a small mansion/castle some taking out guards up high through windows while another part of the team went after the ground forces.

Ubisoft does believe in the ten-second rule about being alive still when your head is cut off from the trailer, where we get that perspective.

Unite France, by killing it's government.

Sunset Overdrive mock crate loving shooters and TTDILA loves it. Now with more footage an a attitude all it's own, Sunset Overdrive shoots me full of love. This Xbox One exclusive shooter from Insomniac has you taking down mutated-by- an-energy-drink-mutants over a colorful landscape. Featured for the briefing was a theme park level where you Tony Hawked it up by skating on a roller coaster while blowing away mutants. Kills don't just show wounds, word bubbles pop up from kills giving the game it's distinctive cartoony style. Setting special traps and just rampaging with different weapons makes this a must have game when it finally comes out October 28.

The DLC for Dead Rising 3 should have been the game from the start. For those who missed out, now is the time to get the game and have fun with it, if it's not that costly. All that DLC is out now.

Fable Legends has four players in fabled lands working together to fight evil. Now you can become that evil. Working in a wonderful team that adds friendly insults worth listening too and the ability to play as a dark overlord that controls maps and legions after that team makes the flip of a coin fable-verse stay true to its self.

Teamwork in Fable Legends lends itself for attacks to work together. Freeze an enemy then have another team-mate smash it into chunks.  Watching a troll get de-pants was well worth the wait on the best iteration of Wizards and Warriors.

Project Spark- zombie mechs from space the game- or really anything you want has many fans waiting to get their hands on it. Now with Conker the Squirrel  in it, out of nowhere, is a game where you can create games for yourself with an amazing landscape and game builder. With the added space zones just announced games don't just have to be fantasy, sci-fi makes it in.

A huge community of games that can be made and shared forever and ever, what's not to like?

Forget hearing about a new Halo game let's replay all the old titles with the Master Chief Collection. For long time fans you have every numbered Halo so far, multilayer with access to every map ever and remastered Halo 2 multilayer. Out this holiday season. Coming with the game Halo 5 beta access.

Halo 2 multilayer exactly as you remember it.

Playdead finally came back among the living for "Inside". Looking very similar to Limbo, the game shows off some sort of world in trouble with humans being thrown away like garbage, some sort of camps for them and angry looking robots. We want to see a lot more, right now the dreary state of what's going on following a young boy around while he escapes has us wanting the game out now.

Indie titles were shows off including a favorite called Cuphead. A platform shooter with 1930's cartoon graphics.


Rise of the Tomb Raider has Lara Croft coming back yet again. After how much fun the last game was, can't wait to try out its sequel. The series is revitalized, keep it up Ubi.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has its hero hunting down a Griffin in a big open world where extra side-missions change the story and affect what will happen next. Saving a lady from some thieves might lead to encountering her later. Hunting the Griffin was a decent battle with magic and hard steel.

Phantom Dust was revived. The classic Xbox title featured two superpowered beings powered up and shooting energy at each other in a broken world.

Tom Clancy's The Division about an outbreak overtaking New York was no where near as fun looking as the early mentioned Advance Warfare. Though gameplay looks precise for you and three more players to take back the streets of an infected New York.

Suda 51 has a new ip with Scalebound. Team up with your dragon pal and kill mythical monsters in a scale suit of armor alongside other players. We'll have to see more to make a recommendation. If the controls work it might be a sleeper hit.

Crackdown, another long-time fan favorite came back in style by blowing up a crime lord. Playing supercop with friends looked sweet as a plan that came together needed three agents to work.

The Media breeding gave the people what they wanted: games. More games and titles are still needed as many of the games coming out are earmarked for 2015.

No Halo 5 trailer, even if it's coming out in 2015 was damn cold for Xbox fans.