The one I was waiting for. Did it take the crown for best conference? Did it surpass the excellent Microsoft presentation? Let’s find out!
The Setup
Prior to the the conference. Sony came out and said they would mostly be focused on four games and not much else. The four games in question were ‘Last of Us Part 2’, ‘Death Stranding’, ‘Spiderman’ & ‘Ghost of Tsushima’. There was lots of chatter and conspiracy theories that this was some misdirection from Sony but they pretty much stuck to their guns with only a couple of surprises.
The Low Point
Need to get this out of the way. The conference opened on weird barn/church style stage. Shawn Layden came out and his mic seemed a bit distorted. Then we were given a banjo intro which was an extended version of The Last of Us theme music. This for me went on too long! Then we got a cut scene and game play footage from the game (I’ll cover this below). After this, we cut away to an outside panel while the audience were moved to a different stage. This was baffling and really killed momentum. There was a scary moment where I thought they might do these scene changes between each of the four main games but luckily that wasn’t the case. After a few minutes of filler and a couple of good announcements we returned to a more traditional conference (to everyone’s relief). I liked that they tried something new but this clearly fell flat.
The Highlight
Pretty much everything else. This was really solid. They did focus mostly on four games which was amazing as these four games are absolutely stunning. In contrast to Microsoft’s barrage of games….Sony showcased essential purchases that aren’t years away. They all had game play footage and are real games not too far away. Announcements are great and I think Microsoft have a bright future but Sony continue to crush it here and now! So let’s cover the four main games :
Last of Us Part 2
Opening with a warm and emotional cut scene, we got to see amazing graphics with fantastic voice acting and great script writing. Following that, we got an absolutely amazing, gorgeous, brutally violent game play scene. The graphics are absolutely better than anything I’ve seen before. All the animations are on point and the sheer visceral action on screen was intense and slightly terrifying. An absolute showstopper. Can’t wait to see more
Ghost of Tsushima
Wow. Having not seen much bar a teaser trailer prior to E3, this game is coming along nicely. The visuals are stunning with incredibly detailed and gorgeous vistas on display. The action and swordplay was to a cinematic level and the game seems to play very smoothly. Sucker Punch are a very talented studio and seeing how well this game is developing, they are clearly working overtime. I wasn’t excited for this game before this but now I am.
Death Stranding
Shockingly we got some game play footage which was basic (Norman wandering around different backdrops mostly) However, the background environments looked very detailed and beautiful. The parts of the story/narrative we got to see were as confusing as they were intriguing in typical Kojima fashion. This looks bat shit crazy and I have no idea what it’s about but that’s half the fun!
Spiderman
The one nearest completion, only three months from launch, this looks so so good. We got a great chunk of game play set in a frenetic prison break set piece. The action was solid and the fast pace was almost breathtaking as Spidey glided though environments crumbling all around. The visuals were on point too and the variety shown in fighting moves and parkour was also very impressive. We got to see Peter go up against four major villians throughout a chase sequence all the while, the ‘main villian’ is kept secret from us. The trailer finishes out with Peter looking up (off camera) at the mastermind behind it all and were all left wondering who it is. A brilliant tease!
Small Surprises
In between our four main games, we got a few other bits and pieces. Black Ops 3 is now free for Ps plus subscribers. Resident Evil 2 remake is out in January (it looks amazing). Remedy Entertainment a once Microsoft only studio are working on a new game call Control which looks impressive. Squanch Games have another bizarre and funny title coming called ‘Trover saves the Universe’ which will also be VR compatible. That wasn’t all but they were the highlights.
Overall
Extremely impressed by this conference. The set change stuff was definitely a mis-step but it undeniable that Sony have the best line up of exclusives for us to look forward to. As I mentioned earlier, Microsoft have potential to create some special games in the future but Sony are absolutely King at the moment and for exclusive alone…it reigns supreme right now!
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