E3 2014 Press Conference Round Up: Sony

A couple of weeks ago the industry prepared itself for this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo and with it, a whole host of excited fans anticipating the next big hit sat quietly. Unknowing of what developer’s from all parts of the globe would be announcing, presenting and showing via the many gaming booth’s on site.

Would we finally get another taste of Final Fantasy XV? Would that Final Fantasy VII remake catch us off guard? Would Shenmue 3 finally be announced?

Needless to say, none of the above got a single mention, but we sure were in for a show.

As expected, a lot of focus was placed on Bungie’s latest and highly anticipated title – Destiny. It’s a futuristic title, promising great multiplayer experiences for the now current gen platforms and is “destined” to be a hit with PlayStation gamers who may not have ever had the chance to play the likes of Halo 1 or 2, which in my opinion are true Xbox gems.

It’s easy to see Destiny is made by the creators of Halo. The scenery resembles that featured within the levels of the Halo Universe and although having somewhat of a darker tone, the gameplay within Destiny is very reminiscent of what exactly makes Halo… well Halo. Vehicles are scaled in a similar manner and the tech involved in addition to the way you hold your weapons just feels comfortably familiar. The main thing here is the improved graphics and the fact that you feel encompassed by this vast and mysterious world.

Next up we have The Order: 1886, which is a title I’m most looking forward to. It mixes historical aspects of centuries past London with “what if” scenarios and a chilling theme of horror and slaughter (just what you need on a full stomach).



In the footage presented, we watched on as one of the four main protagonists made his way through a damp, dark and poorly lit corridor before suddenly stumbling across what appeared to be a lifeless corpse-like man, hovering above the body of a fallen fellow. Moments after, what I suspected to be nothing but a mere Zombie was in fact a man with some serious skin problems (likely leprosy). Not even Maybelline could help this guy with his rather crude blemishes. Instead, the man began to talk.

“This is no ordinary Zombie” I thought to myself as I curiously watched on. It was tense and then almost out of nowhere the person began to change. His fingers suddenly snapped back, the shape of his body started convulsing and then it happened. His features, once only human, gradually settled into a new shape and moments later the chase was on.

The transformation, much akin to that featured within the classic film “An American Werewolf in London” was both intense and gruesome, though kept my interest fully as I watched a dark-hearted man shift into a walking menace…..a feral beast…..a Werewolf. The encounter was tense and was certainly something you wouldn’t want to experience in your everyday life, but on that note it’s time to move onto one more of my standout moments from the show.

This next game was something that came as a surprise, not just to me but to all those in attendance at E3 and undoubtedly the millions of people viewing the show worldwide. The screen fades in, atmospheric music grows louder and as things become visible my eyes winced at the vibrant colours before me. This was a planet being explored from the first person perspective, however there were no weapons on screen and everything felt cinematic in a meaningful way.

“Which well known series often features weird and wonderful landscapes?” I thought to myself. “Star Wars of course!” and that’s exactly what I believed I was seeing, the latest Star Wars Battlefront. As the presentation went on however and when things almost seemed confirmed at the sight of some Brachiosaur typed Dinosaurs walking past a very X-Wing-esque air/spacecraft, I really began to grow excited.



As the music picked up the pace, my adrenaline began to flow and moments after the player presenting the title stepped into the vehicle, the unexpected happened. The craft moved up towards the planets upper atmosphere and departed from the planet unbelievably fast, only to reveal dogfights in space, floating and presumably colonised ships, as well as asteroids and space rocks that proved impressively destructive when fired upon.

I believed this game was going to be Star Wars: Battlefront right up until the point where the player chose not to engage with the feud in space and instead went for a stroll through the upper atmosphere of another planet, shooting small crafts as they passed overhead while flying low across the planet’s otherworldly surface. There were even floating islands in the sky much akin to those within James Cameron’s Avatar. It was a real treat to watch and shortly after the credits rolled only to reveal the title – “No Man’s Sky”, of which was a title I’d never even heard of before. This game came from nowhere and I hold high hopes for it.

Overall, Sony’s E3 conference this year proved both underwhelming and interesting simultaneously. Titles many fans wanted to be announced had not so much of a mention, where as other titles that we’d previously known little or nothing about raised our hopes a little for weeks to come before we can finally get our hands on these titles ourselves.

So that was Sony in a small nutshell! What are you're standout games from the conference? Let us know in the comments below or catch me over on Twitter - @CaptainCortez

Follow us on the social networks:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/weknowgamers
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/weknow_gamers