#E32016 Sony Press Conference Recap/Predictions Review
Whoa… Sony did amazing. Let’s get into why.
The show started with the big announcement about God of War. It was a live demo, and it looked amazing. Looks great in the snowy forest setting. Kratos has this axe he can teleport back to his hand, sort of like Thor’s hammer. The demo consists of Kratos training his son how to shoot a deer. While hunting, they run into a Titan that Kratos effectively kills. There’s a rage meter as well, which measures the temper Kratos has. At a certain point, he can unleash a rage mode. Would like to see more of how that plays into the story. At the end of the gameplay, I noticed an “Archery +50” notification pop up in the corner when his son finally killed the deer. So I suppose there’s a bit of a skill tree involved? I would like to see more on that as well. Looks good so far. God of War always great gameplay and this should be no different.
Finally, Sony Bend’s game, Days Gone, got shown off. At first a CG trailer was shown early, before going to a live demo to end the shown. The main character looks to be a biker, and gives off of a sort of Red Dead Redemption vibe. Especially with how his pistol and rifle are visible on his body. Seems like it’s open world as well, but we can’t know for sure as of yet. I know some people are tired of zombies, but I kinda like this one. It looks amazing so far.
The Last Guardian got a tiny little trailer. Good. I want to be surprised when I finally play it. The game was dated for October 25, 2016 - to roaring applause. This makes it Sony’s big Fall game.
Horizon: Zero Dawn. Mind blown. It’s an open-world RPG, with the player as a female protagonist named Aloy. The world seems dystopian, with the world filled with these cybernetic creatures. You can loot their bodies for components. (Like Fallout) There are dialogue options via a wheel, like Fallout 4. Instead of buttons, it instead is ticks on the wheel, which allows for more options if possible. There wasn’t many options in the gameplay demo, but it looked like it was possible for more dialogue options to be added in certain situations. The foliage and landscape was gorgeous. There’s this sort of VATS-like thing that lets you spot weak points on enemies, which allows you to take them down easier. Weapons are chosen in a wheel system, like Red Dead Redemption. It is also possible to tame these cybernetic creatures. Aloy tamed a cybernetic bull and rode it towards the end of the trailer. Which is cool. Very excited for this game, and I feel like it’ll do very well at launch. Did I mention the lead writer of New Vegas is working on this game?
Detroit: Become Human looks really cool as well. The opening scene showed an android named Connor, who was sent out to deal with a hostage/suicide situation atop a rooftop. A man was holding a little girl at gunpoint (not sure if they’re related) at the edge of the roof. The mother of the girl showed a bit of anti-android beliefs towards Connor, showing displeasure in having an android taking care of the situation. I wonder if that will be a topic later in the game. It’s very Heavy Rain-like, with branching storylines. They showed different endings to the situation, like one where the man drops with the girl, and one where Connor shoots the man down, the girl safe. You can look for clues in the case that aids with handling situations better, it seems. They showcased the branching story part a lot, but not much of the cases that they mentioned. I’d like to see more on that aspect in future trailers.
Wow, what a clever presentation here. They talked VR a bit and then showed a horror game with the opening line of “Before Kitchen…” Kitchen was the horror VR game people raved about last year. So this was presented like another horror VR game. Nothing too special, really. It was really creepy, and caught the atmosphere correctly. Then the reveal. This was Resident Evil 7. Wow. Back to the horror roots! If you have PS Plus, the demo should be available tonight for you! The game releases January 24, 2017.
PS VR got time. It will release October 13, 2016. More than 50 games will be available for PS VR in the first year. Several big franchises will have VR functionality, which was really cool. Among those franchises are Arkham, Final Fantasy 15, and a special X-Wing mission for Star Wars: Battlefront.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare got time. Crowd barely reacted, as I expected. It did look kinda cool, to be honest. At least the ship battles did. The combat on the “ground” on the spaceships wasn’t that interesting. Looked generic COD in those sections. Those moments in the ships were awesome. I just wish COD would innovate and be bold enough to do a space battle mode. Because jumping between ships and foot combat would be nice to see outside of campaign.
COD 4 Remastered was shown as well. Looks greatly improved graphically. The crowd was hyped for this. It’s nice and all, but I wish I could buy it separately. Curse you, Activision.
Lo and behold! Crash Bandicoot! Crash 1, 2, and Warped are coming straight to the PS4, remastered for your enjoyment. I do like Crash, but I don’t love it like a lot of nostalgic people do. Good for those people then. Crash is back!
Then they showed off a new Lego Star Wars game, based on Episode 7 of course. Cool, I guess? I used to play Lego games when I was a bit younger. They were always great at gameplay. I don’t think a single episode is enough for that game, though. Maybe Rogue: One will be in it too?
Hideo Kojima came out to ecstatic applause! People were chanting his name! I loved it. Such a warm welcome for Kojima. His first line of “I’m back.” really brung it home. He showed a teaser for his new game. It’s very… “unique”, is the proper term I suppose? Norman Reedus was in this trailer… naked. On a beach full of dead sea characters. Let’s not forget the part with the baby. What the hell is this game? It’s freaking Kojima, that’s what it is. The game is titled “Death Stranding.” Can’t wait. Take all the time you need, Kojima.
The last announcement was a Spider-Man game done by Insomniac! You know, the guys who did Ratchet and Clank. The guys who did Sunset Overdrive. Wow, we are going to get a quality Spider-Man game for the first time in a long while. I’m excited for this now. Looks like it’ll be a PS4 exclusive as well. I’m so impressed by this.
Reviewing My Predictions
Here’s how I score my predictions. Incorrect is zero, Correct is one point, Half-correct is half a point. I can get a possible total of 19 here. I don’t think I did well.
- Rumors have been around for a long while about a new God of War based around Norse gods. So that’s what will happen. Kratos will be the protagonist. I’m sure Kratos is iconic in terms of Playstation for some, but I always thought he was awful, in terms of being an interesting character. The gameplay is what’s great about God of War.
Absolutely. Don’t know if it’s about Norse gods, though. Highly likely based on the setting, but it’s half a point for now. (0.5/19)
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare gets mentioned here. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. Crowd should boo the trailer, representing the YouTube dislikes and the lackluster pre-orders.
Yes, absolutely. I think silence is better than boos, though. (1.5/19)
- A new Destiny expansion will be announced. This is a sure-fire bet, I’d say. It’s been rumored for a while.
Surprisingly no. (1.5/19)
- Final Fantasy 15 will be shown off again. It will be dated at this conference, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that date gets pushed back.
Even though it got a spot at Xbox’s conference, Sony showed it off too with a short trailer. As well as VR support! (2.5/19)
- Another indie showreel… typical of these conferences.
No, actually. Thought I had that at least. (2.5/19)
- The Last Guardian will be shown, dated for 2027. Just kidding. Later this year.
Nailed it. (3.5/19)
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake, however… Don’t hate me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony just brushed that one under the rug. Don’t be shocked if it isn’t shown.
Told you so. (4.5/19)
- You won’t see any DLC for Uncharted 4 yet. Too soon. I bet they don’t even know what it is yet.
Told you again. (5.5/19)
- Sucker Punch’s new game will be shown. There’s been rumors about it being a Spider-Man game, actually… Yes, please. Please make that happen.
A Spider-Man game was shown, but it seems like the rumors were incorrect, and Insomniac is the one making it. So what is Sucker Punch working on? Interesting. Half-correct. (6/19)
- Sony Bend’s game will be shown. It’s about time.
It is absolutely time. It looks awesome. (7/19)
- A new Resident Evil will be there. I’m like 99% sure Resident Evil will be at Sony’s conference. The question is - what will be the name of it? Resident Evil 7? Resident Evil colon something? I think you go with RE7 or just RE as the title. I’m predicting this will be a soft reboot, and the title will go back to it’s horror roots.
I called it, but the reveal was surprising. Loved the return to horror. (8/19)
- Playstation Neo will be announced, dated for this Fall. As Colin Moriarty brought up, controversy may arise over which games are running on Neo or the original Playstation during the conference. Be prepared for that storm. It’s quite possible that can happen.
See, what happened was… The same day I wrote these predictions, it was confirmed later in the day that Neo would NOT appear at E3. Oh well. (8/19)
- Playstation VR will get a showing here as well.
Yep. With big franchises too. (9/19)
- A Shenmue collection is a possibility, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Sorry, no Shenmue. (10/19)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn will be given significant time, despite a delay. Sony will show a lot of confidence in this game. I have confidence too.
I want this game so bad. (11/19)
- That “Detroit” game would be nice to show off here as well.
This game looks pretty good too. (12/19)
- Hideo Kojima will come on stage and talk about why he chose Playstation, as well as his upcoming game. Perhaps a teaser for his new game.
Called it! (13/19)
- I think a sequel to The Order: 1886 is quite possible despite how the original did.
No more steampunk for you, Crystar. (13/19)
- Lastly, I think a great end to this conference would be a teaser for Bloodborne 2. That’d be awesome.
I wish. (13/19)
Hey, not as bad as I thought! I think I did pretty well.
Overall, Sony’s conference gets a 9/10. It was stunning. Everything was a quality game. Talks didn’t drag on too long, even when speaking on VR. They brought trailers for games out consistently, like one after another with minimal talks in between. I like that. It escapes being a 10 because there was no Playstation Neo. I would’ve liked to see that there considering Scorpio was announced earlier in the day. That doesn’t detriment it too much, though. I really loved what they did here. That’s not to say Xbox didn’t do well, but Sony just did better.
So what do you think? Tell me below!
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