GameReviewPad contributors give their reactions to the E3 2016 Sony press conference
LOUIS HUGHES
Blanket check. Pillow check. These are the items I needed, since the Sony conference usually runs over two hours. This year was different. Am I sensing a trend? Instead of gameplay, we are treated to an orchestrated opening which I knew was God of War from the first two beats. I liked the new look of this franchise, as Kratos is no longer a killing machine and more grounded. He still has his moments, but the demo showed it was to protect his son. Even when he went off on him for missing the target, he stopped himself. I thought the series was done after the third game, but God of War: Ascension turned me off. Once again, they got me invested in wanting to come back to the series.
More gameplay of Horizon: Zero Dawn was shown, and I can’t help but want to know how the world turned out this way. The demo showed off nicely, but I guess it’s better to want a game not knowing much than to know too much and get disinterested. Detroit: Become Human is one of the few games where the cutscenes is gameplay, since its by Quantic Dreams (Beyond: Two Souls, Heavy Rain). The game to surprise everyone was Resident Evil 7 going back to the series survival horror theme. Since horror is one of few genres I feel can work with VR, Sony may have found the game to get people to buy the Playstation VR and made the technology look presentable and not goofy *cough* Minecraft *cough*.
The moment I knew was gonna happen (leaks) is when they announced Crash Bandicoot. It was stated that Activision still holds the rights and will be releasing the first three games remastered for PS4. I’m sure the fans wanted a new game, but a remaster will do since I only played the first game. Another game I had no interest in until I saw gameplay was Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Gunplay in space with zero gravity. That is all I need to say. The Last Guardian was shown again, only this time the trailer ended with a release date. I can only hope the game isn’t delayed, but the only way I know this is it is when the game goes gold. Until then, I will look at the October release as their goal and not the date of release.
The big E3 moment is when Hideo Kojima came down from the heavens and the panels lit up each floor, like he’s Magneto, and showed a CGI trailer for his new game, Death Stranding. If you remembered the first CGI trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain then it’ll have same feeling. After watching the trailer, if you are asking yourself questions about what you saw, while being confused, congratulations, you’re ready to play his games.
What I really like with this event is that the pace was fast. You had the CEO come out, thanked everyone for coming, then showed games back to back. It was a rollercoaster ride that had a lot of loops and some small parts of the ride to relax you before going right back into the loops. Just like your last system, it took you three years to finally give me a reason to purchase your console. Granted, I said that last year because of Shenmue III, but now you’ve cemented it.
More reactions to the E3 2016 Sony press conference may be added later.
