Sony Press Conference Impressions - E3 2015
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Sony certainly had an immense amount of pressure on them to deliver an E3 that could stand up to the heat from Microsoft and Nintendo, and they wasted no time, dishing out some memorable reasons to own a PS4. Let's not waste any either.
The first announcement was the long — and I mean LONG — awaited title The Last Guardian. Aside from the shock of it actually being real and playable, the game still impressed after all this time. The guardian is so emotive in his (or her, have not really clarified) facial expressions and mannerisms. I can’t wait to see how this relationship came to be, and what unique ways his or her abilities can be used to traverse the environment. You could feel the joy radiate through the screen when they presented the trailer (I was watching at one of their theater sites), and you can see that same love and attentiveness in what they’ve shown so far. A slice does not a game make, but man, it definitely got things rolling in the right direction.
After that, it was time for another new IP from Guerilla Games (Killzone). Horizon Zero Dawn really threw a curveball. I did not expect an IP like this from the makers of Killzone, but I could not be more ecstatic to see more of this in action. Horizon stars Aloy, who is fierce yet has a Nathan Drake-ish sense of humor, at least from first appearances. The combat is reminiscent of Tomb Raider with a bit of Lost Planet weak spot strategizing, and it seems to really work well together. The bow in the demo is slick, but what really caught my eye is the harpoon-like gun that you tag the enemy with and then tag the ground to create an anchor. She puts 4 or 5 of these into the brute to keep him stalled in one place long enough to hit his weak spot. This world of tribes and new nations built on the remains of futuristic technology is eye grabbing, and since it's Guerilla, the visuals certainly impress. Horizon should definitely be on your radar.
Another game that should fall into the radar category is Firewatch. The game primarily stars two individuals. You play as Henry, a fire lookout, and you communicate with Delilah, your boss and home base operator, via your handheld radio. The game has a beautiful cartoonish graphic style with personality to match. Ultimately, there is a mystery to solve, but also a unique relationship between you and your only point of contact to uncover and evolve.
Next we moved into Hitman for PS4. When combined with the trailer for Deus Ex, kudos should be given to the team at Eidos for just how pretty their trailers are. No in engine of course, but damn. Hitman releases on December 8th.
After that it was time for more No Man’s Sky. The scope of NMS is just massive, and I love the idea of each planet being its own thing, with its own inhabitants and plant life. You might happen upon a place that no one else has seen yet, and it truly seems to propel the idea of exploration. That said, I do hope there is more to do while in each planet than what was seen in the demo. Beacons and the occasional fight are cool, but some sort of narrative once you discover these planets would be welcome. I just don’t see myself exploring for exploration's sake. I need a narrative reason to keep invested. I’ll give benefit of the doubt however, as he was only allowed a three minute time slot, and the game is just way to big for that small amount of time.
Media Molecule made their appearance next, bringing with them their new creation called DREAMS. This pseudo-game is more about expressing oneself and letting others then build upon that to create a surreal dreamscape. Like I said before, this experience won’t be for everyone, but for anyone who gives it a decent try, it seems like it could be very rewarding. I’m all for companies trying things like this, and I hope this finds an audience. It would be shame for it not to.
Bungie then took the stage to talk some Destiny. The Taken King is the newest piece of content for the platform, and promises more legendary armor, three new subclasses, and a vicious new enemy, one I would more expect for something like Dragon Age than Destiny, truthfully, but all good either way. I’m glad they decided to enhance Destiny even more in its core state, rather than unveil something like Destiny 2. It’s pretty impressive when you look at the game as a whole now, coming from what it initially was at launch.
After giving time to Devolver Digital, and its array of downloadable titles, Ubisoft got some shine with a closer look at Elie from Assassin's Creed Syndicate. I have been waiting for the AC universe to be set in Victorian London for a long time, and while I have some trepidation considering Ubisoft's recent track record with launches, I still have a hard time not being excited. They showed off Evie in more detail, and its nice to see another female assassin added to the mix, and it doesn’t hurt that she is just brutal in her attacks, walking cane sword in hand. She and Jacob will be available in exclusive missions.
Next was some additional time with Street Fighter V. Capcom debuted Cammy and the returning fighter Birdie. Birdie looks a bit different, but has some vicious looking chain based attacks. Meanwhile, Cammy players can rely on their favorite attacks, with some additional tweaks to their arsenal as well.
Square took the spotlight again with the biggest trolling campaign ever. After delivering an opening speech that alluded to something akin to Kingdom Hearts, they debuted World of Final Fantasy, a title that is aimed at newcomers to the Final Fantasy series, but for longtime fans still offers fan service aplenty. The unique thing here, besides the chibi-like visuals, is the stacking mechanic. The player, taking the form of two twins, collect and train the various creatures and monsters of the FF universe. Throughout the battle you can actually vary up your abilities by either shrinking the twins to ride on your creatures' backs, or vice versa. These constant changes allow you to manifest different abilities. Sounds intriguing to say the least, but they really did it a disservice by putting that speech before the reveal. People around me were a bit put off by the whole thing. That said, in a few minutes, no one would really care.
Next came the surprise people have been wanting for eight long years. Sony's big punch was the official announcement of Final Fantasy VII: The Remake, and I couldn't be more excited. While I credit Suikoden for being the game that opened my eyes to what RPG's could be, it was Final Fantasy VII that broke the door completely down. After the initial reveal, it has been confirmed that the game has actually been in development for a good while, and members of the original team are involved. Trust me, the sound in the room was epic when this hit.
It turned out, though, that Sony wasn't done with the surprises. At that point, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki took the stage, to announce the official Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3. Shenmue holds a special place in my gamer heart, and there is a part of me that would love to see the trilogy finished. Thing is, it hit its $2million funding goal in less than 24 hours. Impressive, but it needs way more money invested before it can become a reality. That is where Sony comes in. Sony wanted to gauge fan interest, and that has been supplied in spades.
Now, if only Beyond Good & Evil 2 could be Kickstarted...
Ancel, you reading this!?!
Alright, back to it. Next Sony slowed things down a bit with a segment on Morpheus, Playstation Vue, and Vita. Wait, sorry, kidding about that last one. To be fair, they really didn't touch on Morpheous that long either. The biggest focal point was RIGS, a sports arena shooter. VR really seems to be something you have to experience rather than just watch for it to have the necessary effect. That said, I just can't get myself excited for Morphous, and it was probably a good call for Sony to not go too long on it, as the crowd was getting a bit edgy from what they did show. I actually thought the VUE announcement was pretty substantial. A la carte cable is something people have wanted even longer than a Final Fantasy VII remake. If they can get into more states at a decent pace, I would actually consider making them my cable option.
After that, Call of Duty got its time in the sun. Black Ops III was shown off somewhat extensively, with focus on the new player abilities and co-op mayhem. There is a snappiness to Call of Duty that makes it an impressive show in a trailer, but there were points where it was a bit hard to distinguish just what the hell was going on.
That segued into Star Wars, which started with showing off Disney Infinity 3.0. While the crowd I was with was less than enthused, I got a kick out of what they showed. Plus, the Boba Fett figure is pretty slick, and I love the look of Infinity anyway.
To the crowd's delight, they switched gears and showed off more Battlefront. The game gets more stunning the more I see it. The biggest thing, of course, is to see if the finished product will hold up to what is surely going to be massive server weight when it releases, and if the product is truly ready for release come launch. If they can get that stuff figured out, I cannot wait to get some friends together and give this a go. Just hearing that classic Star Wars blaster sound effect elicits giddiness.
With that, the presentation ended with a good sample size showing of Uncharted 4. After an unfortunate glitch, it delivered exactly what most want from Uncharted. Witty banter, gorgeous graphics, and that constant adrenaline rush that comes with driving with Nathan Drake.
So, that was Sony in a long-winded nutshell. What impressed you most from the show? What didn't you like? What was missing? Let us know!