Monday, June 4, 2012

Sony Takes PlayStation Name Higher


After an amazing presentation, Sony wows everyone with a box load of new features that really enhance the PlayStation ecosystem. Despite some hiccups along the way, Sony has remained strong throughout the conference showcasing our favorites as well as new breakthroughs.

 
As usual, Sony kick started everything off with one of their trademark montages of games under their umbrella giving everyone a jolt and taste of the excitement to come. With lots of games and teasers already out there, Sony had to prove that it can live up to the hype they've built around their array of blockbuster titles.

Sony's franchises make a daring and quite welcome return with their top games such as the much anticipated Santa Monica Studios' God of War: Ascension. Still full of its trademark gore and mature content, Kratos makes his return as a popular PlayStation icon. Though specific features that may differentiate it from previous games in the series may not have been highlighted. The battle system is the same as ever plus Kratos is able to manipulate time around objects in the environment.

Nostalgia has never been higher in any PlayStation game before PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, the PlayStation's answer to Super Smash Brothers. Some of the drawbacks though are that the characters' art designs seem to contrast each other and look slightly out of place and that the attacks happening don't seem to be distinct or very expressive as to pop out. The chaos and hilarity is there and still proves the game to be a love letter to all PlayStation fans. It will also feature crossplay where you can play between PS Vita and the PS3. This feature is apparently being pushed as an answer also to the Wii U.

Not only crossplay but the PlayStation Suite, renamed now to PlayStation Mobile, will reach Android devices starting with HTC devices. This hopes to bring the PlayStation Network experience to mobile devices. And while I talk about mobile, PS One Classics will now be available for PS Vita, which makes me wonder why it wasn't offered at launch, fairly simple enough.

Moving on, PlayStation is beginning to use the Move for a more casual crowd which is also disappointing when it could be used also for a core audience. Presenting a new concept of Wonderbook where you can see an image projected on to it inside the television. The premier game for this is Book Of Spells which comes from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe, where you can learn to cast spells and learn about wizarding history.

New games in the lineup include the Assassin's Creed: Liberation. A surprise addition to the Assassin's Creed 3 story, it will be released for PS Vita and will allow unlockables between games. It seems to play the same way and is set in the same location in as its console counterpart so it'll add a layer of expanded and combined experience, which makes it a little more worthwhile to own Assassin's Creed 3 on the PS3.

Another new project that has been touched a little is Beyond: Two Souls about a girl and her life experiencing the paranormal from the beyond. The game will span a large chunk of her life and is presented in real time much to the like of the developer's hit game Heavy Rain.

But the most show stopping new project of the presentation, hyped up weeks before the conference, is The Last Of Us. The demo certainly wowed everyone to show the tone of the game, in a post-apocalyptic world with the desperation that forces you to kill rather than be killed. Violence here is accepted given the context of survival and the action and gameplay seem thrilling. Though only a small party of combat has been shown, the game shows the most promise for the whole of E3.

To summarize Sony gave a stunning performance in showcasing the nostalgia of the past, the favorites of the present and the hope for the future. Tackling several points around the PlayStation ecosystem, Sony make it worthwhile for it to own several of its devices in the long run. Plus first party games and exclusive titles propel the console to the future.

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