Microsoft had a lot to prove; with a very distant second this current console generation, they needed something to spark a life back into them and show that they are more then contenders. In some respects, Microsoft nailed some incredibly vital points, but on the other side of the page, they failed to deliver on a major proponent to their newly unveiled Xbox One X.

The Good

• Exclusivity

The Xbox One has been failing to garner much exclusive support. With today’s unveiling, there were at least 22 exclusive to Xbox One X/Windows 10. This is a magnificent start, and hopefully exclusives will keep on rolling onto the X.

• Montage of Titles

Towards the end of the conference, MS played a montage of upcoming games. Nearly every single one shown, in 5 second chunks or not, looked fascinating, even the ones that were just ports. In fact, you can derive a negative from this montage, which I will elaborate upon shortly. Nevertheless, it has me talking about the X in a mostly positive manner.

• Anthem

The night before during the EAPLAY event, Bioware showed off a teaser to an upcoming game called Anthem. Murmurs were going on about how this would be the Bioware Destiny, and in some respects, it could be. What absolutely shocked me was the visual fidelity; by far the most visually detailed and pleasant console game ever demoed. Even though its early, it seems that the direction that Anthem is taking, it’s sure to sing the praises of many.

• Sea of Thieves Impresses

I hadn’t seen anything about Sea of Thieves prior to the X conference. Getting my first glimpse of this upcoming title, I was instantly hooked. The visual style fit the vibe, and the action seemed just as fascinating. I’m eagerly anticipating more news from this swashbuckling new IP as the months pass.

• Assassins Creed Origins Made Me Care Again

For years, the Assassins Creed franchise churned out one title after another, with them seemingly blending together into a mass of mediocrity. Then Assassins Creed Origins played, and I cared. It was a mix of the setting, the weapon upgrades and such, everything put together that managed to grab my attention and grab it hard. I am eagerly anticipating an Assassins Creed game for the first time since 2. There’s not exclusivity, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited.

• The Few Graphical Powerhouses

Metro Exodus, Forza 7 and Anthem showed off the kind of graphical power the X is capable of. Each game was filled to the brim with some of the most gorgeous visuals to ever grace a video game console. But as impressive as those games looked, this leads to the biggest issue the X conference had….

The Bad

• Not Enough of a Visual Demonstration

I’m not looking for each and every game to look like Anthem; the problem is that 3/4 of the games shown in whatever form, looked like something you can pick up and play on a current gen powered console. That’s not to say these games look bad; they just do not tout much to the X’s power. Stuff like Player Unknown’s Battleground, which already is a visual mediocrity, got way too much time shown. They failed to sell me on the power overall. MS is incredibly fortunate though, that the games they showed, for the majority of it, were fascinating.

• Starting Forza 7 Was An Immediate Pitstop

I’m not really a Forza fan, nor am I a detractor, but showing off a racing game as the first title being shown from a new console, wasn’t the best idea. MS needs to reach out to a broad audience, with something that appeals to the masses. Forza is a big name franchise, but it isn’t something that’s going to bring in new faces. It’s drop dead gorgeous, but they should have done a u turn and put it towards the middle of the show.

• The Montage Games Were More Fascinating Than The Longer Previews

There were a number of games that literally flashed by in the blink of an eye, games that looked more appealing in those several seconds than a few of the ones that got more than a minute of hype. I really want to know more about Robocraft Infinity. Riverbound looked like a throwback to The Legend of Zelda, but is it? A lot of those games have already appeared on other consoles or are on PC but they were still a lot more interesting than some of what was shown.

Do you agree with how I saw Microsoft’s conference? Leave comment down below and let me know!