It was the E3 where we half-expected Sony to break cover with its plans for the next generation of PlayStation hardware, but come the hour, it was actually Microsoft that confirmed that its hardware engineers are hard at work architecting what Phil Spencer called "the next Xbox consoles". Implying that more than one new Xbox is in development right now is an interesting - and dare we suggest, deliberate - choice of words.
This was swiftly followed up by a report from Microsoft/Windows-focused website thurrott.com, describing a 'family of devices' currently in development under the 'Scarlett' codename, set to arrive in 2020. Thurrott's insider stories along these lines are typically well-sourced and the timelines tie-in with the arrival of the technological building blocks that will enable next-gen hardware. But with Spencer talking about new hardware in the plural and the Scarlett project reported as more than just a single console release, we have to wonder what form the next generation is going to take, and what separates each of these machines from a technological perspective. After all, in the here and now, Microsoft often refers to its Xbox One 'family' - similar devices in many ways, but with radically different levels of rendering power.
There are further strands to weave into the discussion here, with Spencer revealing his annual E3 interview with . It's well worth a watch, with the Xbox boss seeing next-gen as an opportunity to focus on higher frame-rates and to leverage the firm's existing work with variable refresh rate and 120Hz display technology. Spencer also sees the arrival of new hardware as the means by which CPU and GPU power can be rebalanced line with what we see on today's PCs, as opposed to the situation we have now where even Xbox One X - the most powerful home console - is pairing a six teraflop GPU with low-power x86 CPU cores originally designed for tablets.

Once more, we close the book on yet another E3. Whether or not you feel like you saw what you wanted to see, it was certainly the annual spectacle we've come to expect. At the very least, we've seen some Death Stranding and as such, it seems we now have the video game version of Kevin Costner's The Postman we've all quietly wanted for years. On top of all of that, we've got another batch of this week's best deals to check over.
As usual, we've got deals that'll work in the UK, deals that'll work in the US and some deals that will work in both the UK and US, as well as presumably many other places. Let's get started.
The vast GOG Summer Sale comes to an end this Sunday but the lovely folks over there have gone and sent us a few hundred game keys to give away to folks just like you. To be in with a chance of winning (and there's a fairly good chance you'll get something), follow the link below and enter.

Battlefield 1 is a gorgeous, well-scored shooter that heads back to a seldom-visited global conflict, but it doesn't move the series forward in many meaningful ways, and can often feel like just another reskin.

July 2018's Games with Gold lineup for Xbox One includes: Assault Android Cactus and Death Squared. For Xbox 360 owners (and through Xbox One backward compatibility), July kicks off with Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, followed by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction....
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Cyberpunk and anime collide with visual novels, point-and-click adventures, and a bit of queer theory in 2064: Read Only Memories. You can probably tell whether you’ll like this game just from reading that last sentence.
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Blandly average -- with an emphasis on the "bland."
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A+ score. As for the rest... read on to find out.
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"Just one more go" was a true statement of the arcade classic Tempest, so it's apt that Tempest 4000 gets "one more go" with a new lease of life on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Releasing this summer – July 17 – for $29.99, the classic vector based arcade game is getting an overall of bright neon retro vibes. “Modern home consoles are the descendants of arcade gaming,” said Jeff Minter, Executive Producer of Tempest 4000 and founder of Llamasoft. “We wanted to bring the classic arcade experience into players’ homes, so both franchise legacy fans and new gamers can test their mettle.” With over 100 levels to beat, Tempest 4000 includes Classic, Pure and Survival game modes set against a ‘retro techno soundtrack'.

Its that wonderful time of the month where we get to see what our free Xbox Games with Gold are. For the month of July we are getting Assault Android Cactus and Death Squared for the Xbox One, and for you 360 owners (and available on the Xbox One via Backwards Compatibility) are Splinter Cell Conviction and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. Assault Android Cactus is an arcade style twin stick shooter set in a vivid sci fi universe. Junior Constable Cactus is outside her pay grade when she responds to a distress call and ends up stranded on a crippled space freighter under attack by its own robot workers. Utilising a draining battery mechanic in place of lives, Assault Android Cactus challenges you to think fast and keep the bullets flying, blending the gameplay of western styled arena shooters with aspects of Japanese style bullet hell as you charge head first through transforming stages, massive boss battles and an eclectic cast of characters on the way to saving the day. Death Squared is a cooperative puzzle game for 1, 2 or 4 players, best enjoyed with loved ones who don't mind a little arguing for the greater good. Prove your teamwork skills in Death Squared as you solve puzzles together or die trying! Each player needs to guide a robot to a colour-coded goal, but the path is beset with deadly traps and hazards. Teams of players will need close observation and communication to keep each other alive and discover a solution together. Complete the main campaign in single player or with two players, then take a group into four-player Party Mode for the ultimate teamwork trial! For those that can't get enough, head to the ‘Vault' to find extra experiments recommended only for the brave.

Given absolute freedom to race anywhere you choose, The Crew 2 is one of the most exciting racing concepts on PS4 and Xbox One consoles. For those who missed the original, it hands you a miniaturised version of the USA, from New York to San Francisco, remixed and remodeled for you to freely explore. Four years on, the canvas is now even bigger for this sequel - and to help with that heightened scale, developer Ivory Tower adds boats and planes to an existing warehouse of supercars, giving you more ways to get from state to state. The sense of scale is often staggering - a supersized version of Forza Horizon, if you will - and the idea is realised surprisingly well on all consoles.
Of course, you can bypass all of the game's open-world roaming, and just jump straight to set racing events on a 2D map. It's far more practical, but ultimately it's hard not to experiment with The Crew 2's engine in a more free-form manner, just to see how far it goes. Certainly in my experience escalates to a point I didn't expect going in.
First, there's the breadth of the terrain. Taken at a macro level, the breadth of landmass is a marvel - it's just as much experimenting with this side of the game as the actual racing. The engine gives you all the tools you need to migrate quickly: take a vehicle anywhere in the world, freeze the action, and then zoom out and out until you see a full top-down view. It's like an in-game Google Earth - even letting you walk around to admire your collection of boats, planes and cars. The orbital camera mechanic has similarities to Driver San Francisco - itself an unusual last-gen racer, which let you detach from your vehicle. It's curious to note this was developed by Ubisoft Reflections, who also had a hand on the original The Crew, and you have to wonder if some ideas were carried over between the two projects.