Microsoft revealed details of lots of new games for the Xbox 360, including Halo 4 and new Kinect titles.
Speaking at E3 2011, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, said they aim to “change living room entertainment forever” this year.
Blockbuster sequels
While Microsoft didn’t have any new hardware to unveil at E3 2011, they revealed several new games for the Xbox 360, including new instalments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Gears of War and Forza Motorsport.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sets the combat in the US. An E3 demo showed gameplay taking place in a besieged New York City.
The release of Gears of War 3 will coincide with a limited-edition Xbox 360 console bundle. The console is red with a black design and will include special sound effects and downloadable content. Only a US release for this console has been confirmed.
Forza Motorsport 4 can be played with a standard controller, but will include the Kinect’s head-tracking features to let the player do things like physically check their mirror for competitors behind them.
Other titles which will offer new Kinect capabilities include Mass Effect 3 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier. Mass Effect 3 will feature voice recognition, letting players speak Shepherd’s lines or issue orders in combat. Ghost Recon Future Soldier will offer both gesture and voice recognition.
Fable: The Journey was unveiled, a new extension of the Fable franchise which takes advantage of the Kinect.
There will be a remastered version of the original Halo released for its 10-year anniversary. Microsoft also unveiled a teaser trailer of the next edition of Halo – Halo 4. The game is set to be released for the Christmas season of 2012.
Kinect only
Microsoft unveiled a number of Kinect-specific titles, including Ryse, a first-person action game set in Roman times and Kinect Star Wars, where players can utilise the Kinect to use the Force and duel with lightsabers.
There was a strong focus on family-friendly Kinect titles, including Kinect Disneyland Adventures, where players team up with Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan, and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, an adventure game featuring characters such as Elmo and the Cookie Monster.
Dance Central will get a sequel and will let two players dance at the same time to a catalogue of more than 100 songs. Kinect Sports: Season Two will build from the original title last year, offering skiing, American football, darts, golf, baseball and tennis.
Voice search
In terms of software updates, Microsoft will bring Bing voice search to Xbox 360 consoles, letting users search games, music, video and Xbox LIVE marketplaces by voice.
“It’s exciting to see how different Microsoft teams – Bing, Tellme and Xbox – worked together on this to deliver an experience, voice search, that consumers will love,” said Molly O’Donnell, Xbox 360 director of marketing integration.
“If you say it, Xbox finds it.”
