Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Similar to last year's conference Sony opened up their show with a live performance by an ensemble from what appeared to be instruments Indian of origin. This lead into a brand new trailer for Naughty Dog's Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. This is a standalone game, separate from the rest of the Uncharted series that will follow the adventures of Chloe Frazer, who appeared in Uncharted 2 & 3, and Nadine Ross, who appeared in Uncharted 4. While it is being advertised as an expansion for Uncharted 4, Lost Legacy is essentially a game on its own, even receiving its own physical retail release. The trailer showed off all the cinematic, action-packed flare expected of an Uncharted game as well as some of the death defying set pieces the unlikely duo will find themselves in.
I had played through the entirety of the Uncharted series last year, with Uncharted 4 having been my favorite game on the PS4 until Persona 5 recently usurped it. It's exciting to see just what the series is capable of by moving away from its mainstay protagonist, Nathan Drake. For the two protagonists to be Chloe and Nadine is a huge bonus. While Chloe was heavily featured in Uncharted 2 she was sort of brushed to the side when the main romantic interest of the series, Elena Fisher, made a return halfway through. In Uncharted 3 she was essentially shoe-horned into the story and had very little bearing on the plot as a whole. Meanwhile, Nadine assisted the antagonist, Wraith, in Uncharted 4 but ultimately took a back seat for the game in favor of him. Both Chloe and Nadine appeared to be interesting characters that simply didn't get the screen time they deserved in their respective games. To have a game that focuses solely on them as protagonists has me extremely excited. This may be the first non-JRPG or Nintendo game that I pre-order since the Tomb Raider reboot back in 2013.
Horizon DLC
There isn't much I can say for the Horizon DLC that was revealed seeing as how I haven't played the original game myself yet. I have heard, though, that this DLC story seemingly takes place after the conclusion of the core game, or at least very close to it. Seeing as how the main story apparently ended on something of a cliffhanger, I'm sure fans will be eager to get their hands on whatever small details they can until the inevitable sequel is released.
Days Gone
Days Gone was one of the new IP's Sony revealed at their press conference last year. At the time it was very easy to write the game off as "just another zombie game". After this year's showing, I can no longer write it off so easily but Days Gone still has its work cut out for it to prove that it has a place in a market already over-saturated with zombie games. The gameplay demo showed the protagonist, Deacon, on a rescue mission after one of his, seemingly, friends was kidnapped by highway bandits. Along the way we saw him cloth-lined off his motorcycle by a wire strung across the road, lure an enemy into a placed bear trap, and blast open gates that let the living dead flood into the bandit base an eliminate Deacon's enemies for him.
One of the things that stood out to me was the sheer proximity humans would be residing in relation to the zombies, sometimes without anything separating them at all. In the scene with the bear trap, for instance, the bandits had set up a a small camp that only consisted of a couple tents and travel gear. After using the bear trap and being able to move on we saw that just around the corner was a horde of zombies feasting on corpses, with nothing in the way of a barricade between them and the small bandit camp. The bandits kept talking about how they had to stay quiet in their location, and zombies didn't start to converge on their location until the man caught in the bear trap started screaming and gunshots went off so that might mean that this world's zombies are only sensitive to sound, similar to the "Clickers" found in The Last of Us. The setting being in a vast forest with little to no modern civilization around, it stands to reason that locations in the form of proper cover would be far and few between. Regardless, it was strange seeing such intimate proximity between humans and zombies and I wonder if that will play a part in the full game.
Another thing I noticed was that nearly every time we've seen zombies, both this year and last, they have been in massive, uncontrollable hordes. While we did see Deacon mow down an entire wave of them in last year's gameplay demonstration it came at the cost of excessive ammo and gave the feeling that that was not the most ideal course of action. The zombies acting as a horde lends them the image of an indomitable force that cannot be overcome. This was demonstrated when Deacon blasted the gates open to the large bandit base as we saw the horde completely devour all its inhabitants in an instant. This is an interesting take on zombies as in other games you typically find them in manageable groups or individually so that a stealth element can come into play. The Last of Us is, again, a fine example of this. Hordes in other games are usually reserved for grandiose set pieces that involve a fixed escape sequence of some sort. In Days Gone, however, we see Deacon actively manipulating the horde and the demo gave the impression that this would not be the only time he would do so. This small detail put just a big enough crinkle in the zombie formula to stimulate the imagination at the possibilities.
The last point I want to bring up is that despite being a gameplay demo, there wasn't much in the way of actual "gameplay" shown off. The highway encounter with the bandits was essentially a quick time event, the bear trap utilization at the small bandit camp required little in the way of effort, and the gate blasting at the large base was signaled by a bright in-world indicator to place C4 in that particular spot. While I do like the prospect of manipulating the zombie horde, there wasn't actually anything in the demo that really demonstrated a need for skill, and that has me slightly worried. These kinds of scripted encounters are ok for big events such as these, but we have still yet to see how the game plays normally and what it will expect from its player between major story beats. If all the gameplay is like what we've seen so far, Days Gone will be more akin to watching an action flick unfold on screen rather than playing a video game with you own hands. All that said, I am intrigued with Days Gone and see potential, it's just a matter of if it acts on that potential.
Monster Hunter World
One of two major surprises in the Sony press conference, Monster Hunter World still managed to make a huge splash despite its existence being leaked days prior via a trademark filing. World marks the first mothership title developed from the beginning for a home console since 2009's Monster Hunter Tri on the original Wii. True the the "World" moniker, this brand new title aims to expand the Monster Hunter universe like never before while also making some key changes. For example, special care has been taken to create a living, breathing ecosystem where monsters will interact with each other in unique ways. In previous Monster Hunter titles, when two antagonistic beasties were in proximity of each other they would fight each other but use the same attack animations you would see if they were fighting you. In World, however, we saw monster interacting with each other in completely different ways when compared to when they were fighting the hunter and that big detail goes a long way in improving the credibility of this world.
Another addition a grappling hook that the hunter can now use, allowing him unparalleled mobility compared to previous games as well as the ability to interact with distant objects. We saw the hunter pull down a mass of tree branches and rocks onto a monster using the hook, for instance. Much like how monster mounting completely changed the scene in Monster Hunter 4, the grappling hook seems to be on track to being of equal magnitude in impact.
Many Monster Hunter fans are rather trepidatious at the prospect of this title "modernizing" or trying to appeal to the larger public. The biggest trait the Monster Hunter series is known for is its methodical, meticulous pacing of battles and the satisfaction of the hunt. An average hunt in previous Monster Hunters could take anywhere between 20-45 minutes and all the while it was careful game of observation and patience. When the player was victorious they emerged with a sense of extreme fulfillment from conquering an overwhelming foe. The worry with Monster Hunter World is that it may be moving too far into high speed action territory by adding elements such as the grappling hook and the ability to track your quarry via what are essentially glowing way-points on the field, among others small tweaks. How these changes affect that satisfaction of the hunt remains to be seen and can only be determined by playing the game for oneself. We'll all find out when the game releases in early 2018.
Side note: It's also worth mentioning that this will not be a PS4 exclusive title, but also coming to Xbox One and PC. It was just revealed during Sony's press conference. For this reason, though, we can probably expect some sort of exclusive content for people who buy the game for PS4.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Sony's second major surprise and what was their nuclear warhead of the conference. Unlike Monster Hunter World, the existence of the Shadow of the Colossus Remake was completely unknown prior to E3, making its reveal all the more impactful. The original Shadow of the Colossus was, and still is, considered a masterpiece by all means. From minimalist story-telling, to awe inspiring gameplay, to the grand world, to the thunderous music score, to the suffocating sense of isolation and loneliness, Shadow of the Colossus is perfection incarnate. So to see such a masterpiece being redone with modern day visuals is a dream come true.
It should be emphasized that this is a "remake", not a "remaster", meaning that the game is essentially being rebuilt from the ground up. We already received a remaster with upscaled graphics for the PS3 back in 2011. What this "remake" entails, besides a massive overhaul to its graphics, is still unknown. Some hypothesize that this remake will add in the other Colossi that were removed from the original game for varying reasons but there is no way to confirm this as of right now. Regardless, being able to play Shadow of the Colossus with modern day graphics is reason enough alone to be excited for this remake. Anything else revealed will simply be a nice, happy bonus.
Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite Story Mode
With the massive flop of Street Fighter V partly due to a lack of a story mode at launch, and the critical success of Injustice 2 partly because of its well crafted story mode, fighting games seem to be having a push recently for a heavier emphasis on... well, story. This was Capcom's intention with its showing of Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite during the Sony conference. Not showing a single second of actual gameplay, the trailer was entirely focused on the story mode included with the game. Fighting games and crossover games are well known for having rather bare bones stories, and Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite being both certainly doesn't help its cause. However, Capcom electing to to use the press conference to only focus on story is a show of confidence and bodes well. They even shadowdropped a demo for the story mode that became available for download that very moment. I haven't had the chance to try the demo yet, though, so I can't comment on it.
Call of Duty: World War II
After dabbling in modern and future warfare for many years, the Call of Duty franchise aims to follow suit after Battlefield and return to its roots in the deadliest period of human history. The trailer shown off didn't really push the boundaries at all and showed that the game will be pretty much what people expect it to be; a highly polished version of Activision's games of yore. It is worth mentioning that the trailer did see rather grounded, after Call of Duty's recent forays into futuristic and space combat got a little out of hand. It's also worth pointing out that this is certainly not a PS4 exclusive so it doesn't do much to make the console stand out. Showcasing the annual Call of Duty game at E3 is more of a formality at this point than anything.
Virtual Reality Showcase
I'm not going to spend much time talking about VR. The tech is simply too expensive for me and the experiences provided not worth the price and this showcase didn't help that case. None of the games showed really caught my interest, save The Inpatient which seems to be an adventure type game that lends itself well to the VR format. I do want to jump on the VR train someday, but that day is not today and seemingly not even within the next few years.
God of War
After spearheading Sony's press conference at last year's E3 we had not heard even a peep about the new God of War until now. After effectively slaying the entirety of the Roman pantheon, series protagonist Kratos now finds himself in a world ruled by the Norse gods. This new entry into the series aims to highlight the more human side of Kratos as he now has a young son who he guides and mentors throughout the game. This has long time fans of the God of War franchise rather worried as Kratos was known as nothing more than a burning rage beast in the original games and the prospect of him suddenly turning around to raise a child is enough to cause worry. While I can understand the hesitation, I have not played any of the original God of War games and can only speak for what I have seen of this new entry.
The trailer highlighted Kratos' intimate relationship with his son (which, by the way, I'm not convinced is actually is son yet). While Kratos was stern and strict with the boy, it was clear that he does care for him and how their relationship develops and how the boy grows throughout the game will surely be high points in the experience.
The over the top, brutal combat shown off was par for the course for God of War and certainly reassured fans that the combat would not suffer at the expense of story. Flashy executions and elaborate combos abound, the combat looks to prove the high octane experience players of the action genre crave for. Complementing the battles are gorgeous environments of all sorts, Kratos paddling a small boat through a stream surrounded by vegetation standing out in particular. In an industry where many open-world, hyper realistic games are modeled after reality, it's refreshing to see a world so steeped in high-fantasy and wonder. A world where you investigate a tree simply because it's nothing like you've ever seen before, not because a marker tells you that it's a gathering point or something of the like. The world alone has me most excited about this game and I cannot wait to explore it.
Before moving on, the last point I want to touch on was how brilliantly the trailer ended. We saw Kratos and his son in the middle of the ocean as they were confronted with the awe inspiring World Serpent itself, Jormungandr. Just as we were bracing ourselves for one of God of War's well known godslaying battles of epic proportions the boy translated what the serpent was saying: "He wants to help us." That is how you end a trailer, by taking advantage of the audience's expectations and giving them something to ponder on long afterwards. Needless to say God of War is one of my most anticipated games for the PS4 and its 2018 release cannot come soon enough.
Detroid: Become Human
This was another title we haven't seen much of since it's reveal at last year's E3. Detroit: Become Human is the latest title to be developed by Quantic Dreams, a studio well known for their story telling centered games such as Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls. Detroit's trailer this year followed pretty much the exact same format as last years, but with a different protagonist this time, revealing in the process that there would be multiple protagonists. It depicted a scenario unfold, and then rewound to show all the different choices and options that could've been made to lead to a different conclusion. The trailer emphasized how your decisions would have an impact on a global scale in the game, an exciting prospect if true. It will come down to just how many permutations there really are that makes or break these choice driven games and that is something that cannot be inferred from the trailer alone.
As I've said in previous posts, the prospect of using androids to explore human nature has been played out ad nauseum in media at this point. Yet there are android stories that continue to surprise and impress me, such as NieR: Automata which I recently finished. The sheer size Detroit advertises itself to be means that it will inevitably fall into some of the common pitfalls and tropes of android stories but hopefully its bigger moments overshadow the generic ones to create an engaging story telling experience.
Destiny 2
This is another game that I can't really comment much on. I only played the beta for the original Destiny and never bought the full game. Destiny 2 had already been revealed at an event prior to E3 so this trailer was just expanding upon the story that had been scarcely shown until that point. What I do know is that I applaud Bungie for coming up with a compelling, in-universe reason for having players start from scratch again in Destiny 2. From what I've seen Destiny 2 just seems to be an improvement over everything in Destiny 1 which should give fans of the series reason enough to be excited. The only hesitation I have seen from around the web is that the starting content seems to be a little on the scarce side but that is rather par for the course when it comes to MMO's. As long as Bungie can supplant the game with frequent updates after launch this shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Spider Man
Sony concluded their press conference with a new gameplay trailer showcasing Insomniac Games' new Spider Man game. Yet another title revealed at last year's press conference only to be kept under wraps until this year's, this trailer was the first glimpse of actual gameplay we got to see for the new title. It showed everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider Man rescuing hostage from an armed crime organization atop a large high rise under construction. We got to see a slew of abilities at Spider Man's disposal such as close and far range stealth take downs, motion sensitive web traps, as well as manipulating his surroundings to his advantage. During combat our spandex wearing superhero executed a multitude of flashy combos that just oozed with the character and playfulness that Spider Man is known for.
One thing I noticed was just how mobile Spider Man is and how difficult it is for enemies to hit him. Throughout combat Spider Man is constantly moving about, even during combos as he vaults over enemies' heads to string them up high. When he is about to receive an attack, you can see a special effect flash around Spider Man's head, most likely representing his trademarked Spidey sense tingling. What seems like a press of a button allows him to dodge the oncoming attack and counter at the same time. While this gameplay sequence may very well be the early stages of the game, it still gave the feeling of overwhelming power in Spider Man's favor and I can't help but wonder how that will affect the game's difficulty. If enemies pose little threat then eye catching combos and finishers will do little to ease the monotony of beating down meaningless enemies to progress form story point A to story point B.
Another point of possible contention is the sheer amount of quick time events shown in the demo. These QTE's at least seemed to have been relegated purely to cinematic moments and didn't appear in actual combat. This probably relates to the developers intent to make the player "feel" like Spider Man as much as possible, and using QTE's in these key moments may be their way of doing so. Still, QTE's are mostly nothing more than glorified cutscenes, so time will tell if their inclusion serves to further player immersion or detract from it.
All that said, Spider Man shows an immense amount of promise. Difficulty and QTE's aside, the trailer was a joy to behold and was reminiscent of watching a good Spider Man cartoon or movie. It just exuded whimsy and fun which is exactly the kind of feelings a Spider Man game should be giving. This will be a title to look out for in 2018.
The Verdict
After watching Sony's press conference it's easy to realize the sheer lack of new announcements. Besides the VR games, the only two new announcements to come out were Monster Hunter World and the Shadow of the Colossus Remake, and Monster Hunter World isn't even an exclusive. Compared to last year's conference when it was just one new announcement after another with brand new IP's thrown into the mix, its easy to rule this year's conference as disappointing at a glance. However, what was shown off was strong, with nearly every single title showing a level of quality that makes gamers want to get their hands on them as soon as possible. The problem is the "as soon as possible" part.
You may notice a commonality shared between many of the games I talked about here. That is that a large number of them share a 2018 release year. Monster Hunter World, Days Gone, Shadow of the Colossus Remake, God of War, and Spider Man all share the same "2018" release window. While Detroit: Become Human was included in the 2017 sizzle real it has not received an official release date yet either, which means it can still easily be pushed back to 2018. While all of those are highly exciting games, there is still six months left of 2017. This only leaves Uncharted and Destiny 2 to pad the time until then since Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite and Call of Duty World War II are cross platform games. That's a rather sparce lineup when it comes to AAA games. Now granted, it's not all about AAA games as indie games and smaller Japanese developed games will surely still be released for the system but it is nonetheless rather depressing to see 2018 appear for so many stellar looking games.
There were also some notable absences from the conference, the biggest of which was Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, which was revealed at last years Playstation Experience. Not a whisper of the game was ever mentioned during the conference and very little, if anything, was said about it during E3 as a whole. It's possible that Sony didn't want to detract from the impact Uncharted would make by showcasing The Last of Us Part II in the same show since they are both being developed by Naughty Dog, but leaving it out entirely has certainly left some fans feeling slightly abandoned.
Sony can get away with this, however, because they have their own dedicated event, Playstation Experience, taking place later this year in December where they will surely be revealing more games, revealing release dates for those 2018 titles, and where The Last of Us Part II will definitely be shown. This doesn't rectify Son'y problem of not having games for 2017, however, as there are no more large events between now and PSX's December showing where they could announce something big. Much like Nintendo, Sony seemed to have held back at this E3. It seemed like they were biding their time while the loaded all cylinders to blow away expectations for 2018. Their conference built a lot of hype for all their games but that hype will fade with time and there is a long time before those games come out. December's PSX can easily reignite the hype train engine but getting there may prove painful for Sony as the struggle to maintain player interest for the rest of 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment