Sony Press Conference – E3 2014

Here’s a summary of the big announcements from Sony’s E3 2014 press conference.

Destiny

If last year was about showing off Destiny gameplay and co op, this year’s trailer is showing off its story and enemy variety. Though it doesn’t look like the most graphically intensive game, the environments look interesting and if the gameplay is still intact from last year, it’ll be a formidable title. PS4 owners get to alpha test it starting this Thursday through the weekend with an open beta in July.

The Order 1886

This trailer looks awesome. The graphics are intensely good, but the 20 seconds of gameplay we saw in the press conference makes me sad. Is it not good enough to show yet? What’s goin on? Either way, the video is still a great watch, but I’m a little less hyped for The Order since there’s been no new information and suspiciously little gameplay. Also, I find it strange that the official trailer isn’t what they showed at the conference. Seriously, what is up with this game?

Infamous First Light

Infamous Second Son now has a DLC/companion game called Infamous First Light. In the same way that Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was companion content that also functioned as a standalone title, you can play Infamous First Light without owning Second Son. The trailer starts us in the snow level from Goldeneye with a voice talking to a girl. It flashes to the city where she’s some sort of power corresponding to purple (not sure what that would be), and then it ends. Definitely interesting, even if you haven’t played Second Son yet.

LittleBigPlanet 3

Never enough LittleBigPlanet. This time, instead of just adding a few more things, Media Molecule has actually added new playable characters, each with their own unique moves to help them through the game. Oddsock is a sockdog who can walljump. Toggle is a big guy who can turn into a little guy, letting him squeeze in tight places, or move heavy blocks. And Swoop is a bird that can pick stuff up. All pretty useful characters that, when combined, can produce some new, interesting puzzles for the LBP franchise. Oh and you can still play all the previously created content in LBP and LBP2 in the new title! Available this November.

ABZU

The creative director and music director of Journey have gotten together once again to produce what I can only assume will be a work of art. It looks like Journey in the ocean, which is totally okay. Give it a peek

No Man’s Sky

Ever wanted to explore infinite space, taking in the sights of an endless worlds, and flying about in a cool space ship? HelloGames has you covered with their new title No Man’s Sky. Space is procedurally generated and each new planet offers something new to explore. The project sounds awfully ambitious for such a small dev studio, but the trailer looks incredible. Keep a close eye on this one.

Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End

We got a wee peek at Uncharted 4! It sounds like Nate Drake has been out of the plundering game for some time now, but for some reason, he’s had to come out of retirement and drag Sully along for the ride. The graphics are absolutely stellar, but still no gameplay. We should see something more concrete next year, since the game’s release date on Amazon is December 31, 2015. That doesn’t mean much other than they’re hoping it’ll be out by the end of next year, but it can serve as a nice guideline.

Bloodborne

Like Dark Souls? The guy behind that game is now behind this game. It looks like lightly a less fantasy and slightly more violent version of Dark Souls and I can get behind that.

Far Cry 4

Sony’s presser showed up some actual gameplay from the title. It looks a lot like a graphically beefier Far Cry 3, but has some cool extra features like a grappling hook and weaponized elephant. You can still expect the same bloody action and intense shootout combat from Far Cry 3, just a little bit better, from the looks of it. Also, drop in drop out coop has been added that transitions from single player to multiplayer missions without having to exit the game, a feature that should come standard with mixed-mode games, I think. In this way, you’re never really out of the game and don’t have to view multiplayer as a hassle. Nice job, Far Cry.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

The new trailer for MGS5 leaked already, but it’s still excellent, showing off the power of the Fox engine. Phantom Pain is the best looking Metal Gear yet, and though this trailer, again, doesn’t show any gameplay, the story just keeps getting more intriguing. And why does Big Boss have something in his head? No but seriously, why?

Batman Arkham Knight

This trailer really just showed off how cool the Batmobile is. And it is really cool. It plows through concrete at high speeds, it can be converted into battle mode to shoot missles and guns at enemy vehicles, then converted back to speed away. Flying with Batman seems better than driving, but it’s nto a bad alternative.

Playstation TV

The semi-popular Vita home console, Playstation TV, will be making its debut in North America later this year for $99. It plays most Vita games, does remote play to your PS4, and also plays PS1 and PSP games. You can also get Playstation TV built in to certain Sony TVs. Pretty neat, though I doubt it’ll take off.