If you read around on the internet, there are mixed feelings about Sony's Conference. It didn't have the same kind of bangers like in previous years with FFXIV or VersusXIII. This year we had a lot of information about games we knew about, just missing a lot of details on them. So we got a lot of montages, a lot of new hardware in the Sony lineup, and lot of chit-chat.
The very first 5 minutes of the conference was Jack's apology about the Sony network outage. I'm a big fan of Jack and Sony, so it's nice to see so many people in the crowd despite all the developers losing money, and players losing game time and network options. According to the conference, the PSN reboot still is not 100% finished. We still have most of the options available to us Users, so I'll assume that the remaining 10% of the reboot is to refine the Network's structure. Everyone is glad it is up though. I believe that, despite how many people I know that took advantage to the outage(with well timed bashing), but secretly, they do have a lot of fun with the system.
On to games though, in which the Sony Conference demoed Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, NBA 2k12 with the Move, and Medieval Moves. NBA is not relevant to me, except for the fact that it is a video game. Medieval Moves is an action game designed to use the Playstaion Move. In the video, you play as a skeleton warrior and travel through various levels, solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and finding treasures. The guys from Zindagi Games(those who made Sports Champs) playing the game were using a single Move controller and nothing else, which makes me wonder how they moved the character around in seemingly 3d space. The worst part of motion gaming that don't use a joystick(Kinect games, some Move and Wii games) is that they become "rail" games, and that is not fun at all. For those who don't know, a rail game sends the user along a path, and you try to perform actions during the movement. Usually, it is completely automatic and the only controls you have over your progression through a level in the game are the paths you choose, the speed that your character rides these "rails", and your ability to clear the challenges. If Medieval Moves ISN'T a rail game and somehow allows the player to move in 3d space, it could actually be a fun title.
Of course, the 2 best looking games that were demoed were Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3, year of the trilogies. Of course, Uncharted looks fantastic, my Windows Snips hardly does the game any justice. The game seems to play just like Uncharted 2, except with new elements seamlessly thrown at the player. The demo takes place on a ship that eventually begins to capsize in the middle of combat. I feel that, in the past, games could do the same thing, except there would be a combat sequence, followed by a cinematic of the boat being wrecked, followed by the player trying to escape the sinking boat. In Uncharted, the action has everything at the same time! Everything is so well scripted, it brings that "movie feeling" that Uncharted 2 had, and makes it even more believable. I do wish they had time to talk about the multiplayer in Uncharted a little more, but there are plenty of videos on the internet for that. I jumped into Uncharted 2's multiplayer very late in the game's lifespan, but anyone who has tried it can tell you that it is a load of fun. Difficult, but pretty stylish.
Resistance 3 did not get as much air time, but once again there are videos on the internet that anyone can watch. I also feel that, besides the multiplayer, they try not to show too much of Resistance 3, or else it will spoil the scale of the game. It isn't like Gears where they can show you a nasty looking boss that gives you the thought of, "Whoa, that looks incredible! Now let's kill it!" Fights in Resistance are a bit more overwhelming in my opinion, and there would be no point in showing a lot of them as videos or else the excitement would be ruined. One thing they did want to stress was playing Resistance in 3D.
Playing it in 3D on Sony's new PS-branded 3D TV. (Banger 1)
Playing it in 3D, co-op with Sterioscopic Screen Blend. (Banger 2)
Okay, I did make up that last one. But basically, on Sony's new 24" TV(smaller than the one I have) can display 2 images on the screen at the same time. If you can imagine, 2 players playing with 3D glasses, can see 2 different images on the screen. This allows for split screen gaming, but the players see it on the full 24" display. Pretty cool for 500 dollars if you ask me. Just wish it was a TAD bigger.
There are other games that Sony wants us to be excited about.
Starhawk is a Warhawk successor, taking place across a galaxy. When I think Warhawk, then think galaxies, it makes me imagine the style of combat Star Wars Battlefront has, and I think this is VERY VERY close to a PS3 version of Battlefront. In the game modes displayed in a lot of the E3 demos on the internet, the combat is a lot closer to the ground, but if this is a Warhawk game, then there is definitely some sky combat. What is even cooler is that you can build structures in the game too. Obviously it won't be tower defense, but it seems that as you accumulate points, you can build structures to expand your territory. That alone will probably make this game a LOT of fun.
Dust 514 (Banger 3) is the PS3 version of Eve Online. By that, I mean that Eve Online, the PC game, takes place across galaxies, conquering territory in space ships. From the looks of it, Dust 514 on the PS3, brings that conquest to a smaller scale, with FPS and vehicle combat between opposing factions. I've never played EVE Online, so this is really just my guess, but I'm sure I'm not too far off from the idea of the game.
The remainder of the conference was reserved for the the new PSP, Sony's Next Generation Portable, the PSVita. I won't sit here and talk about names for consoles, because I've never heard of a console announcement where everyone had said they loved the name. Vita is everything we expected it to be though, except for the 3g service with AT&T. Here's a rundown of what it offers:
1) Five-inch, Multi-touch, OLED screen
2) Dual Analog sticks
3) Rear touchpad
4) Two cameras
5) Six-axis motion control
6) WiFI for 249.99 and 3g versions for 299.99
Now, just like Nintendo, the numbered features above are already more than enough to sell the product. What it needs after that is games. Sony didn't showcase too much at the conference for the Vita as far as games go. We got to see Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ruin, and Street Fighter X Tekken with Cole from Infamous(LOL). Now let it be said that Vita graphics aren't PS3 graphics. IT'S PRETTY DANG CLOSE THOUGH. Vita is lucky enough to have processing power to create environments, dynamic lighting, and anything you'd expect on a home console. And best of all, no jaggies like on the 3DS! Just from the graphic engines in these games, the Vita blows all other systems and silly phone apps away. We don't have too much info on games, but you can just imagine that kind of amazing stuff coming out on Vita. Best of all is that a lot of them will also be on the PS3. Konami's pre-show on Friday hinted at "Transfarring", being able to play the Vita version of a PS3 game, and sharing the save file between the 2 systems. This was explained again during the Ruin demo at the conference, the player can explore a dungeon and save at anytime, then play the PS3 version and resume his progress. Whether or not this means you will need to buy 2 retail versions of the game is a good question, but the idea is pretty sound. Either way, the Vita will be a day 1 purchase for me. Someone posted on BG that most people have $500+ smart phones that they play stupid games on religiously. The Vita really is a portable for 2011, and anyone who would rather play Angry Birds on their phone instead of a big boy game on their Vita needs to have their head examined. (Or they should just download Angry Birds off the PSN and then play it on the Vita).
Sony: 7/10 (-3 for lack of bangers. +2 for Vita price point. -2 NBA 2k11, +1 Kobe, -1 No Sorcery Release Date, -1 No exclusive content for Dark Souls, +1 Sony 3d tv.)
Microsoft: 4/10 (-2 Kinect Disneyland Adventures, -3 Kinect Star Wars, -2 Halo 4, -2 Kinect Sports 2, +1 Kinect Sesame Street, +1 Gears of War 3, +1 Xbox bing)
Nintendo: 5/10 (-8 WiiU using 1 New controller and then WiiMotes - subject to change, +2 3DS games, +1 Reggie)
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