Just as the start of the E3 Media Briefing day starts with Microsoft, it invariably ends with Sony taking the stage in the evening. Ahead in next-gen console sales, Sony took to the stage to demonstrate their 2014/15 lineup. Full of highs and lows, the Sony E3 Media Briefing was anything but brief.
The show opened with a cinematic for Destiny. Mind you, I was watching the Gamespot live stream on Twitch (yes, I was watching the Sony presser on Twitch on my Xbox One), so it was tough to tell just how good it looks right now, but we did find out some great information. The Destiny beta will be arriving on the PS4 on July 17, 2014. We also found out that an Alpha version of the game will be available this weekend only exclusively to the PS4. Sony also unveiled a limited edition white PlayStation 4 bundle with Destiny. I’ve never regretted purchasing my PS4 until that very moment. Looks sleek as a white tower. While I am personally looking forward to playing Destiny, I have to admit that for a multiplayer online game, it was a little silly to hear in the trailer describing you as “only a few of you have the light of the traveler.” You know, unless the games sells millions, then only a few million of you have the light of the traveler.
Next, Sony showed some game play from The Order 1886. I must say that I really need to either see a lot more of this game or need to put hands on before I pull the trigger to buy this game. I love the atmosphere and the environments, but the actual game play certainly does not inspire me in the least.
Then there was a cute indie game on stage that utilizes the dual-sticks to control two characters. Entwined by Pixel Opus puts you in control of two characters that are in love, but cannot be together. It is your job to play through the pretty, pixelated environments to bring them together. Looks interesting, and it is available right now on the PlayStation Store for $9.99 on PS4.
Sony also showed some standalone DLC for inFamous Second Son. Called First Light, the game tells the story of Fetch before she was imprisoned by the DUP. This DLC will arrive on August 14th. I really enjoyed Second Son and will definitely be picking up this content.
The next big reveal arrived on stage with Media Molecule showing off Little Big Planet 3. Sack Boy is back with some new abilities like an air gun called the Pumpenator, and he is not alone. There are three new characters in LBP3. There is Oddsock who is a dog-like creature that can wall jump and is faster than Sack Boy, Toggle who is large and strong, but can also change shape, become small and fit into enclosed spaces, and Swoop, a bird-like creature that can fly and pick up and carry the other characters. Set to release in November of this year, LBP3 looks like it has that same charm that its previous two iterations had. The downside is that it looks like it plays pretty much the same and I’m not sure that’s what I’m looking for in this game.
Next up was the reveal of what was previously referred to as “Project Beast.” Created by FromSoftware (Dark Souls), Bloodborne is dark and gritty as you would expect from this developer. Very atmospheric in the trailer, it looks a little mashup between Dark Souls and Resident Evil. It was only a trailer so we’ll have to keep an eye on this one.
After some Far Cry 4 single player hit the screen, Adam Broyes, VP of Publisher & Developer Relations at Sony, came out and went through a bunch of games coming to the PlayStation 4. I’ll break them down quickly. Deep Silver showed a trailer for Dead Island 2. Dead Island doesn’t really hold any interest for me, but I appreciate the title looks to be a little more lighthearted than the previous installments. When Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls hits the PS4 (8/19/2014), it will include enemies from The Last of Us. Speaking of The Last of Us, the “Remastered” version will be arriving on the PS4 on July 29th. Moving along, Broyes announced Paradox Interactive is creating a bunch of new titles to arrive on the PS4 including Magika 2. Then he ran through some indie games that will be making their console debut on the PS4, like Broforce, Titan Souls, Not a Hero, Hotline Miami 2 and The Talos Principle. Then we saw Suda 51’s next project unveiled: Let It Die. Exclusive to the PS4, Let It Die was a weird open arena combat, maybe? It is definitely a Suda 51 game and it will come out in 2015.
After this bit of lull, things got interesting again by revealing Giant Squid Studio’s ABZÛ. Giant Squid Studios was created by Matt Nava, art director for Journey and ABZÛ looks absolutely gorgeous. Looks like it’s completely underwater, the art style, direction and seeming serenity, paired up with a score by Austin Wintory, is a must-buy for me. Definitely looking forward to this project.
Then I was completely blown away by Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky. I had not seen any previews or anything previously so this was a fantastic view for me. Everything in this game is procedural. You can find a new planet and be the first to discover it or be the first to discover a new animal on the planet. Moving from on-foot to getting in a ship to flying into space looked completely seamless and beautiful. They were in space combat and then went down to another planet to continue the fight. I think this is what is meant by next-gen.
After this amazingness, we settled into a sort of malaise of technical and corporate speak. While I think the announcement of YouTube integration into PS4 is a great announcement, it was quickly buried under talk of PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Now and integration into Sony Bravia TVs. There will be an open beta for PSNow that is set to begin on July 31st. Still no word on pricing.
I did perk up a bit with the minimal talk of the PS Vita. With games like Tales of Hearts R, a full version of Minecraft (with co-op), Child of Light and Tales of the Borderlands coming, it did give me something to look forward to. What really piqued my interest at this time was the reveal of PlayStation TV (previously Vita TV). A small box to connect to another TV, it allows you to remote play your PlayStation 4 as well as play Vita games, PS3 games and some PSP titles on it. Set to release this fall for $99, there will also be a $139 bundle that will include a DualShock 3 controller, an 8gb memory card and a voucher for LEGO Movie the Video Game.
I almost fell asleep when Sony trotted out Brian Michael Bendis to discuss Powers for PlayStation Original video content, so we’ll just skip it. Bottom line, if you’re a PS+ member, you’ll get it for free.
Back to the games, the Mortal Kombat X trailer looked amazing and horribly gruesome – exactly what you want from a Mortal Kombat game. Sony also showed off a Kojima-directed trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. While it looked nice and was artistic, I really have no idea what’s going on in those sequences. Then Sony brought out the trailer for Grand Theft Auto V on PS4. The best part is that if you have played the game on the previous console generation, you can bring forward your progress regardless if that progress was made on a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360.
Then to finish it off, they dropped the U-bomb. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Set to release in 2015, Naughty Dog looks to be putting the finishing touches on one of Sony’s most beloved franchises.
Overall, Sony’s E3 Media Briefing left something to be desired. It wasn’t terrible, per se, but there were a lot of moments that brought down the overall flow of the presentation. Also, the event almost went to the 2-hour mark and that is simply way too long to keep everyone’s attention. I don’t know if they were put in an odd position or the lack of having Jack Tretton on stage left a void Sony wasn’t able to fill, but Sony had a chance to demonstrate their continued dominance in the market, but a lack of games and an abundance of corporate speak left me wanting to know more about Sony’s line up of games for 2014 and beyond.