The Shamus Showcase: Thoughts on Sony’s E3 2014 Conference

 “After all guys, it’s all about the games, isn’t it?”

Running off the momentum that started at E3 last year, Sony continued to soar at the conference, for the most part at least. With the departure of Jack Tretton, there was a void that couldn’t be filled by the other host of the night.

Andrew House has this mousy thing about him, one that just doesn’t have that same confidence that is present in Tretton. Shawn Layden came off a bit too bro-ish, needing a bit more refinement.

Aside from the hosts, the games shown at the conference were of the mixed variety. There was an offering of the familiar, both first and third party. The Order: 1886 made an appearance with gameplay footage.

Little Big Planet 3 popped up as well, a nice addition to the conference, but the people demoing the game could have used some practice. A good 2 minutes was spent on failing at the game (it can’t be that hard to wall jump).

Other exclusives I felt worth noting was Suda 51’s Let It Die (Death on a skateboard), and Bloodborne, originally known as Project Beast and created by the makers of Dark Souls. Based on the legacy of both games’ developers, these seem to be the games that could definitely separate Sony from the rest. Although, I need to see some gameplay before these claims can become facts.

The indie showcase (a new must for any E3 conference these days) featured games like Entwined and Abzu. Personally, I really don’t care for Entwined. There was too much time spent on explaining how the game is controlled with both analog sticks. This could have easily been part of an indie montage.

On the other hand, Abzu was worth showing. Coming from Giant Squid, a team formed by the art director of Journey, the game looks similar to Journey, but under water. Game of the Year candidate? Probably. Will it win? No, but it looks artsy.

The indie game that did stand out for me was No Man’s Sky. It looks like Drive Club, but for space. You and a bunch of friends venturing out into the unknown, discovering new planets and species as you go? I enjoy my share of sci-fi, and this looks like a pretty big package.

The third-party game was everywhere at E3 this year, and Sony’s conference was not spared. Gameplay of Far Cry 4 was revealed, showing off elephants and grappling hooks. The highlight of this segment was the drop in, drop out multiplayer integrated into the single player campaign. Players who do not own a copy of Far Cry 4 can join their friends who are playing the game at any point. Note that this feature is exclusive to the PlayStation version of the game.

Destiny also showed up, opening the conference for that matter. There was nothing really new about Destiny aside from a new trailer. The DLC is still exclusive (although probably timed) and the beta is still coming to Sony consoles first in July. Sony did announce their new glacier white PS4 that comes bundled with Destiny.

This is a clear indicator that sales are going well; as second iteration’s of consoles are usually the cut down, cost efficient models meant to revive sales. This is just a cosmetic change with a bundled game.

On the topic of hardware, Sony dedicating time for new hardware was a solid move. It might not have been the most exciting part of the conference, but it helps separate their conference from the other “All about the Games” conferences.

Project Morpheus had 2 new demos available at E3 (no luck for those at home, aka me). PlayStation TV made its appearance, allowing people to stream PlayStation games on any TV through PlayStation Now or a PS4.

Back to the games, the rest of the third-party titles were fun to see. Mortal Kombat X showed off new characters for the franchise, my favorite being the small girl riding on top of the big guy, as well as gameplay.

Metal Gear Solid V had its Kojima edited trailer premiere, although it was leaked the night before. Batman: Arkham Knight had some gameplay, and it looks pretty slick.

The Dead Island 2 trailer had a pretty comedic tone, a real contrast to the trailers from previous installments. None of these titles brought anything to the Sony brand besides conference hype.

There was the announcement of GTA V coming to PS4, although Sony failed to state that it wasn’t exclusive, similar to the reveals of Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy 15 last year. This seems great for those who haven’t played the game last year, but how many people actually haven’t played GTA V? Also being released, The Last of Us Remastered had its release date announced, accompanied by a heart-felt trailer. I’ll definitely double dip that, but that’s just me.

The big announcement for Sony’s conference was saved for the end. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was a much-anticipated announcement, and it did not disappoint. It was just a teaser trailer, showing Nathan Drake wake up on a beach, but this was a lot better than the Uncharted 3 teaser, which was just a map with a voice over.

A fine conference, not as exciting as last year, but my pick for the best first party conference. There was enough variety in games, services, and hardware to separate this conference from the rest.

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And there you have it. If you disagree with anything stated above, or would like to chime in on your own thoughts regarding E3, feel free to comment below.

 

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