SONY UNDERWHELMS? MY TAKE ON THE E3 2017 PLAYSTATION PRESENTATION - BY MR BIFFO

SONY UNDERWHELMS? MY TAKE ON THE E3 2017 PLAYSTATION PRESENTATION - by Mr Biffo

13/6/2017

The big stuff at E3 yesterday really came from Ubisoft. That was certainly the noisiest, most buzz-filled, E3 conference thus far. I'll cover that as soon as I get a chance, because it was good.

But for now... onto Sony's presentation.

It kicked off last night - somewhat unexpectedly - with a performance by a group of Indian musicians, which led directly into the first game trailer of the night.

There was a full 15 minutes of video footage before anyone from Sony appeared in "the flesh". When they did, it was Sony Interactive boss Shawn Layden, dressed in a nice suit, and standing in front of a big, blue whale (curtain). With no new hardware to show off, this year's E3 was "all about the games" bleated the mad man Layden, as he stomped and huffed like a wounded boar.

However, despite some actual Flames of Excitement marking the showcasing of a new Marvel Vs Capcom game, next to Microsoft's loud and glossy presentation, there's no denying that it all felt surprisingly subdued. Sony chose to just play trailers and a bit of gameplay footage, with only a second appearance from the mad man Layden to break things up. They didn't even unveil a new type of car, like Microsoft did for some reason.

Here's my take on what they done gone and showed.

UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY
I love Uncharted, but the main story of that series is finished. I'm finding it hard to feel as excited for The Lost Legacy as I would the continuing adventures of Nathan Drake.

That might be unfair, though. Naughty Dog has a track record of releasing great, story-fuelled, DLC for its games (witness The Last Of Us: Left Behind), and this does look as if it has the potential to be as slick and polished as the games it has spun off from. Just a bit shorter.

I guess I'd rather it was a full game is all. But I'll be playing it, of course, and I expect to love it.

Talking of DLC, you can also expect Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wastes - a snowy addition to a decent game, which had the misfortune to be utterly overshadowed by the similar-but-better Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

CAR COUNT: 0

DAYS GONE
Yes, it looks good... but we really need to talk about the zombies. I suggested yesterday that we might've reached peak post-apocalypse, but here we are again.

I'm sure Days Gone will be solid - though I winced slightly at the visceral nature of some of the main character's actions - but... I dunno. Post-apocalypse games are becoming such a cliche, and there are so many of them... it's starting to feel lazy and predictable. The more we see of these sorts of games, the less I want to see of them. And I was always a sucker for post-apocalypse fiction!

I didn't witness anything in Days Gone's trailer to suggest it's going to do anything radical with the genre, or use it to say something profound. Except, uh... you get to ride motorbikes and encounter a zombie bear and strangle people with a rope. Like, cool...!

Still, at least the zombies don't have glowing eyes.

CAR COUNT: 0

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS
Yes: the 12 year-old Shadow of the Colossus is coming back again, with new visuals. Judging from the trailer, the overhaul is such that it's more remake than remaster, but it'll be - by all accounts - the same basic game. That's not a bad thing. I mean, they re-release old albums all the time, and Shadow of the Colossus is a much-loved classic. If a bit niche. You know: like, I dunno, Pink Floyd's The Final Cut.

CAR COUNT: 0

MONSTER HUNTER WORLD
I've never played a Monster Hunter game, because I've got it into my head that I won't like them. I'm not sure where that comes from, as this actually looks pretty fun... For yet another game set in a lush, photorealistic, tropical forest.

My main experience with the series is from the time Capcom sponsored an expedition to Guyana by the Centre For Fortean Zoology - an actual, real-life, monster hunt - which I had the good fortune to go on. We didn't see any monsters... because, you see, we were the monsters all along!!!!!

Notably, this is the first non-Nintendo-only Monster Hunter game since 2006. It isn't a PS4 exclusive, however, and will also be available on the Xbox. Indeed, given that Microsoft rolled out exclusive after exclusive, the Sony presentation was already starting to feel a bit underwhelming. There was scarcely even any whooping and absolutely no cars!

CAR COUNT: Still 0

VR STUFF
Bloody hell, Bethesda - you're really milking Skyrim. Aside from the Switch version, we're now also getting Skyrim for PlayStation VR. Can anybody say "Money for old rope?". Well, of course they can. It's hardly a tongue-twister, like "Peter Poo-Poo Put A Poo-Poo In a Pewter Pulpit".

I'll be honest... I've gone right off PSVR after my experiences with Resident Evil 7, when I couldn't play it without wanting to do a vomit. Even after the nausea subsided, I'd feel ill for the rest of the day. I don't really want to feel that way again.

I mean, I've still yet to play the Star Wars Battlefront VR mission, even though I can't think of anything better than a Star Wars VR game. That's how much I've lost interest in VR.

I might have to sort that out though: the sublime Superhot is also coming to PSVR, along with Doom, Final Fantasy XV and Fallout-themed experiences.

There were a few less-buzzy PSVR games teased, and though the system has sold well... there's no denying that VR - as a format - might not have taken off in the way that some idiots predicted.

CAR COUNT: 0

CALL OF DUTY: WW2
Another cross-platform release here. I'm all for Call of Duty returning to the conflict which defined the series. I've become less interested in the franchise with each passing year, as it drifted into the future, and further away from its roots.

Call of Duty got me through some hard times, and I'll always maintain some affection for it, but it's World War 2 that I'll always associate it with.

The work that's gone into this to ensure authenticity is immense. It has been just long enough since we've had a WW2 game that I'm keen to return to the frontline to see how it looks with the current generation of hardware. Let us hope that it does not glorify war.

CAR COUNT: 0

GOD OF WAR
I like the God of War games, but have never loved them. This new God of War looks like more of the same, but really ramping up the feels by making it about Kratos and Son.

Graphics are promising too - ditching the series' traditionally more stylised look for something richer and more detailed. Maybe that'll make it a bit less interesting as a result, but the scale and the enormous monsters remain.

Why are Kratos and Son so pallid, though? Have they never been outside?!

CAR COUNT: 0

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN
Judging from the trailer, this might as well be a new Watch Dogs, with its futuristic Detroit setting and cyberterrorism and hacking and that. It would appear that you play a fellow called Marcus who's orchestrating an uprising of robot slaves.

It looked a bit soulless - appropriately, perhaps - with its glossy sheen and holograms and attempts to suggest the conflict might be something we want to invest in. Plus, I can't say that Marcus came across as the most compelling protagonist.

It's an issue I have with so many game trailers: they all want to be epic and kinetic and full of explosions. They rarely try to sell us on the fun of playing, or why we might actually enjoy spending time with the characters we'll be encountering. Everyone is so bloody intense.

CAR COUNT: 0

DESTINY 2
We all know this is on the way. I'm going to do my damndest to try to get into it, having struggled to find the original anything less than a relentless chore.

Also: wasn't Destiny meant to have a ten-year life-cycle? Well, that was a load of bollocks.

CAR COUNT: 0

SPIDER-MAN
At last! A big platform exclusive! And this looks really, really, really fun. Several of the previous Spider-Man games are among my favourites of all time - there's just something about the character which lends itself to video games.

But... what's with Spider-Man's costume? What's with all the white? That's annoying. Just make him look like the Spider-Man we know. The white looks horrible. Also: who is he talking to all the time? Since when did Spider-Man have a "handler"?

And that was that.

Sony was done, having shown fewer games than Microsoft, and generated far less excitement than Ubisoft managed at their own presentation. There were virtually no surprises, only a handful of exclusives, and bundling all the VR games together suggests that even Sony might be going a little cold on the format.

For all that... it's sort of a given now that Sony will remain market leader. Even though there are clearly a lot of reasons to be excited about the Xbox brand, I can't see Microsoft's E3 doing much to close the gap between the Xbox and PlayStation 4. Maybe Sony knows it, and that's why they were content to rest on both their laurels and their hardies.

TOTAL CAR COUNT: 0

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
CAN I STILL PLAY THE LAST NIGHT, EVEN IF ITS DEVELOPER IS A GAMERGATER? - BY MR BIFFO
WHOOP-WHOOP! MICROSOFT AT E3 - BY MR BIFFO
ONE YEAR ON: GAMERGATE EXPLAINED

30 Comments

The School Boy

13/6/2017 09:09:36 am

Well, on the one hand I'm very excited for Monster Hunter World, but on the other I rarely get sole control of the TV these days...I'll happily settle for a western Switch release of MHXX, the best game about cats battering dinosaurs ever made.

Stephen

13/6/2017 09:21:21 am

I'd urge you to stick with PSVR. I couldnt use it for more than 10 minutes on the first day. But you get used to it, you stop feeling sick, and Polybius is the best game I have played in years. Once you get your VR legs, Resi7 is amazing.

Its a total one of a kind experience and the best thing on PS4.

Mr Biffo

13/6/2017 09:28:44 am

Oh, I loved it! Just couldn't handle it in VR. It was the first VR game which had that effect on me... and unfortunately, it has rather coloured my overall experience. I'm sure I'll go back.

I think VR is overhyped, too

13/6/2017 09:28:41 am

This will turn out to be very prescient when VR fades away over the next 18 months.

"There were a few less-buzzy PSVR games teased, and though the system has sold well... there's no denying that VR - as a format - might not have taken off in the way that some idiots predicted."

13/6/2017 10:35:35 am

I'm sure VR will be dead in 18 months. Maybe sooner. But its amazing. I'd like it to be a mass market success and issues like the initial nausea conspire to ensure it won't be. But what a rush while it lasts. Its the best thing to happen to video games and the single biggest leap forward into anything.

Spiney O'Sullivan

13/6/2017 10:52:43 am

I maintain that you're going to have a hard time selling any product with a pitch like "it's a great experience once you stop vomiting".

Mrtankthreat

13/6/2017 12:44:37 pm

I don't know. Alcohol has done alright for itself.

AcidBeard

13/6/2017 11:10:23 pm

I got a PSVR purely after playing rez and it being absolutely amazing.

Most other games though feel like a brisk walk to chunder town.

I still think VR has the potential to thrive but at the moment I'm more inclined to agree that it is likely to fizzle out. The VR segment of their E3 presentation is probably the first time I have ever actually felt a feeling of disappointment in owning a gaming device, purely because of the wasted potential.

Not a single one of the games they showed gave a reason for VR to exist. They just seemed to be VR for the sake of being in VR instead of something with a hint of unique design that could be elevated by using VR.

88h88

13/6/2017 09:28:55 am

"DESTINY 2

We all know this is on the way. I'm going to do my damndest to try to get into it, having struggled to find the original anything less than a relentless chore."

...that's because it IS a relentless chore. It plays well but fuck me it's boring.

Jareth Smith

13/6/2017 10:25:12 am

I think it says much about Sony's conservative release schedule that Shadow of the Colossus is the only game which interests me. Similarly, the Xbox One game which interests me the most is the Ori sequel.

Frankly, I'm bored witless of all the openworld, CoD, and GTA clones. They're not bad, they're just instantly forgettable. I also can't be bothered sitting through most of these "games", which are more like movies than ever before. Fancier graphics won't spare us from the tedium.

dan de la peche

13/6/2017 10:25:46 am

I don't think VR is going to fade away.

I own a PSVR, and I think it's overpriced and underpowered, with a lack of big gaming experiences.

It's still amazing, and transformative. Everyone who's played on mine end up wanting to buy one, but the price puts them off.

Next gen, when the price comes down a bit, and the technology and range of games is better, this will become more mainstream. I honestly think within twenty years this will be the primary way of playing games.

Keith

13/6/2017 01:25:37 pm

Completely agree. While there might be a gap between this gen and next gen VR, the experience is too good to fail; those who have gone for it have gone for it in a big way, and to some extent I see this gen of it being a bit like a video game equivalent of those cult albums from the seventies - not everyone bought them, but loads of the people who did were inspired to build on it.
Because, once you've spent a bit of time in VR, it's not stuff like skyrim VR that's most exciting (though im looking forward to doing it) - it's the things you would never have thought of doing.

DEAN

13/6/2017 10:59:16 am

Yeah, it was a bit bollocksy wasn't it.

But you brought up the fact that the gentleman on stage was sporting a suit.

Yes, if you turned the volume down you'd have been forgiven for thinking that you were watching footage from a Barclays relationship manager seminar... in Truro.
But but buttery but - what about when these execs show how in touch they are with their audience by donning non-corporate fatigues?

I'm looking at you, Micropenis.... Fuck yeah! *Whoop*

https://news.xbox.com/wp-content/uploads/E32017RecapHERO-hero.jpg

One may argue that informal wear is entirely appropriate. Yes, sure - dress appropriately for the occasion but I think that you should look like you're wearing your own clothes and haven't sent your mom to The Gap for some duds.

Anyway, I'd sooner go dressed like Nintendo's posse. All entrepreneurial and Bransony. No tie.

MENTALIST

13/6/2017 11:50:34 am

I met Phil Spencer once. In fact, it was part of some publisher due diligence program, before Microsoft hired our studio to make a game for them, so it was kind of like a job interview.

He was wearing a suit.

13/6/2017 08:36:35 pm

And a tie, I bet.

I watched the Nintendo event earlier and yep, no ties. I really hate ties... I think ties are for men what heels are for women.... except that they don't make your feet go all unevolved looking. But they DO put you in your fucking place!

You're not going to reveal what game it was, are you....

Well, here's a joke for you!

A woman goes to the undertakers to see her husband's cadaver.

"Oh yes, our Horace hasn't looked as good as this for a long time.... you've done a lovely job." She gushes.

"Thank you, madam; we know how important it is to present the deceased how the loved ones remember." The obsequiously respectful chap replies.

"There is one small detail, though.... I'm almost embarrassed to say." She hints.

"Whatever it is, however small, I will see it is rectified immediately.." He states.

"Well, you've put our Horace in a blue suit... he always wore a charcoal..." She whimpers, biting back the tears.

"One moment, Madam." *ahem* "JOHN, JOHN...... JOHN!" He shouts

John - "Yes?!"

"John, be a darling and swap the heads on numbers 2 and 6, will you?"

John Veness

13/6/2017 11:13:16 am

Re: "wasn't Destiny meant to have a ten-year life-cycle?", I hate to be boring but I think that was referring to the franchise, not the first game in the series.

13/6/2017 12:02:08 pm

Ah, but... but... that was - to Bungie's irritation - the "narrative" which grew up around Destiny. Though they may have brought that upon themselves with interviews where the matter was muddied, and Destiny was referred to as a "10 year project".

The original contract with Activision -http://destiny.wikia.com/wiki/Bungie-Activision_Contract - discussed four MMO-style "sci-fantasy action shooter" titles, released every other year beginning in Fall 2013.

Niall Maguire

13/6/2017 11:54:46 am

Really looking forward to the Spiderman game and I'm sure there will be multiple costumes available in the game similar to the arkham games.
I've been thinking about getting PSVR during this days of play event. The headset, ps camera, ps worlds and that new farpoint game for £349.99 but I'm still hesitant to spend that much

13/6/2017 06:49:37 pm

Spider-Man does look good. To be fair, it looks exactly like the Amazing Spider-Man games (which were good if not special), but has the good fortune of not being tied to that dreadful sinking ship of a movie franchise. I still wish they'd bring back the physics-heavy gameplay of Spider-Man 2, but it's been over a decade, so I really should stop hoping.

13/6/2017 07:22:28 pm

I spoke too soon!

https://mobile.twitter.com/insomniacgames/status/874460199314046976

If this is true, Spider-Man just became my highlight of E3.

13/6/2017 11:18:30 pm

I have no interest in Spiderman whatsoever and did not think in a million years I'd ever be fussed about playing a Spiderman game.. but that did look pretty awesome. Trying to work out if it's juat because everything before it was so unispiring but it might be because it actually looks like it'll be fun.

The hand to hand combat could do with being a little meatier though. Dunno if that's just because that's how spider man is/has to be but the fisticuffs looked a bit "off".

14/6/2017 12:51:57 am

I am horribly biased because I have been reading Spider-Man comics in different forms for most of my life, so I want to like the games and movies. Regrettably this is rarely justified.

However, I do think that Spider-Man lends himself well to games in part because of his particularly dynamic mobility. The ability to cling to walls and ceilings changes how you can look at environments, while web-slinging in theory offers a great opportunity for a fast means of travel that isn't just A-to-B like running or flying. If they do that right (like in Spider-Man 2), the simple act of getting around the game world is totally thrilling, which not many open-world games can really boast.

Oh, and note to Biffo, I was thinking about the outfit, and while I'd prefer a simpler look like the normal outfit, I sort of recognise that the Insomniac Spidey suit is sort of a merger of the visuals of the new movie suit and the fan-beloved symbiote suit. There's also maybe a hint of the original Andrew Garfield suit in there too. The overall effect isn't my cup of tea, but I think I sort of get what they were going for.

14/6/2017 09:08:04 am

Spiderman is a favourite of mine, too.

As a kid I used to love the live action TV series and of course the completely iconic cartoon theme tune. When I was very young we took a family holiday across Europe and I don't remember very much of it but I do remember my mum buying me a Spiderman comic in Spain and I absolutely loved looking at the pictures - that's how you tell stories, Stan.

I've enjoyed all the movies, think the new one looks superb and I like the white bits on the suit from this new game. Pretty stylish, I reckon!

And totally - His acrobatics make him perfect for video games; you get the feeling of flight and motion but without it feeling like you're operating a drone.

Ditko's magnum opus. Even the original Amazing Fantasy 15 artwork holds up today. Absolute genius. I mean, not only is he the face of Marvel he's, in my view, the very face of comics. Not bad for a silver age hero!

13/6/2017 01:02:49 pm

Had a dream last night where I was playing some sort of Dark Soulsy type game and Lord Buckethead's costume was available as DLC. If this doesn't get announced at this E3 it will have been the most disappointing E3 ever.

13/6/2017 02:08:31 pm

It's a start. https:// goo.gl/images/h2qfxp

Little Fred

13/6/2017 08:06:50 pm

Skyrim (or any FPS e.g. Fallout 4 etc) in VR?

How about you just buy a toy sword/gun and then we will go outside into a field and I will stick my fingers down your throat.

As an added bonus you can even keep the £350.

Unless you want to play with teleport controls but how crap will that be?

Cedric Killbotingham

13/6/2017 10:05:26 pm

I really don't get the whole VR thing , i think it was the musician JAMIRIQAI who said it was "virtual insanity" and to "forget your virtual reality", i mean if you can''t trust a man who wears voluminous hats then who can you

13/6/2017 11:26:41 pm

Peter Andre put such thoughts far more succinctly in his seminal work "INSANIA" when he said "INSANIA".

Although he might have just been trying to tell Jordan he was In Sainos before someone dropped a tin of spaghetti hoops on his foot before he could finish his sentence.

Nocturne

14/6/2017 01:23:42 pm

I'm certainly excited for more Monster Hunter. The series canbe an absolut chore getting into if you've never played one before, especially if you want to try out all the various weapoins, but fortunately once done the same principles pass into every other game in the series so you don't have to go though it again and can focus on pushing a comically oversized hammer right up an angry dinosaurs bumhole. Right up there!

AJS

14/6/2017 08:29:48 pm

Isn't Call of Duty WW2 just Call of Duty?

SONY UNDERWHELMS? MY TAKE ON THE E3 2017 PLAYSTATION PRESENTATION - by Mr Biffo

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