E3 2016 – Sony Conference
Sony brought the pizazz again this year with an avalanche of games. Just announcement after announcement for a little over an hour. No fluff, no guff. If I had one problem with the show it was that there was once again a lack of solid release dates for a lot of titles but otherwise there is no doubting Sony had the conference of the show, simply for the sheer amount of new announcements and surprises.
– The show kicked off with a bang. God of War was shown with gameplay footage. It is set in a Norse mythology as rumoured but the big surprise was the change in gameplay style. Gone was the flashy acrobatics of old and in its place was up close and personal combat with an over the shoulder camera. This game really impressed me and that is something I wasn’t sure God of War could do anymore. Super excited to see how this all plays out.
– Next Bend Studios announced Days Gone, a new 3rd person title. The game was shown twice during the show and while it initially looked quite promising I feel I lost interest once it became clear it was another action zombie game. Hopefully, there is more to it than that small gameplay slice indicated.
– The Last Guardian made its 400th E3 appearance this year and decided to surprise everyone with something new…. a release date! I kid because I care folks. It is exciting to see that the game is coming on the 25th of October this year and I hope that it can live up to the years of anticipation.
– Now onto Horizon which was one of my favourites from the last E3. This year only cemented that feeling. This looks to be a cracking open world action RPG with intense combat, crafting and some super cool ideas (hacking mounts, yes please). I couldn’t be more excited for its release next year.
– David Cage’s latest video game also made an appearance. Detroit: Becoming Human is about Androids living among us and how choices can lead to different outcomes. Look it is really hard to get a feel for how this one plays and considering I didn’t enjoy Heavy Rain or Beyond at all I am not getting too excited. But I am more than happy to be proven wrong and if anything could get me into these games it is a Blade Runner style story.
– Then onto probably the biggest surprise of the show and that was Resident Evil 7. It looks creepy as hell and is certainly a call back to a slower paced style of horror. What is even worse (or better depending on your view) is that it will be fully playable in Playstation VR. Let me be clear when I say bugger that. Not this bloke, not ever. Check out the trailer to understand where I am coming from or download the demo on PS4 right now! Resident Evil 7 is releasing on the 24th of Jan 2017.
– Next is the VR showreel. Farpoint an exploratory FPS set in space and on strange planets, Battlefront VR which will allow for VR Xwing/Tie Fighter combat and a big surprise with the announcement of Batman Arkham VR from Rocksteady.
– A Final Fantasy XV VR experience is also coming and it looks to be more of an action based shooter style experience as opposed to a tradition Final Fantasy game. Could be fun but it was hard to tell from the demo.
– We then got a big Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer and it actually looks like a lot of fun. Combat was super quick and the zero gravity components appeared to be quite entertaining. Maybe this is a big enough change to get the world excited about CoD again. There was also a little tease for the Modern Warfare remake thrown in for good measure.
– My inner child was brought to tears with the next announcement. Crash Bandicoot is back. He will first be seen in the next Skylanders game but that isn’t super exciting. What is super cool is that Sony is rebuilding and remaking Crash 1,2 and 3 for the PS4. I can’t wait to hear those words “Created and Presented by….. NAUGHTY DOG” once again. Ahhhh memories.
– Quickly the show moved onto the game that has been asked for by my children exactly 3422 times. Star Wars Lego: The Force Awakens. It is more Lego Star Wars and that is more than enough for the young and young at heart everywhere.
– Sony then brought out the big guns. Kojima was in the house. A new game called Death Stranding (yes I spelled that correctly). What’ss more it features Norman Redus as the main character. I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the trailer and that is how it should be with a Kojima Productions game. This one is probably years away but it is hard not to be pumped.
– Finally one last big surprise. Insomniac games are taking on your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. That’s right, the makers of the excellent Ratchet and Clank and Sunset Overdrive are bringing Spidey back to consoles. It will be a PS4 exclusive and the title may change but I am excited to once again play as Peter Parker. If it is as good as Spider-Man 2 was back it the day it will be a great game.
That is it for the Sony conference and I am sure you will agree it was an absolute barrage of great games. Sony is really not taking their foot off the pedal with announcements, I just hope we see some firm release dates for these great games soon.
