E3 2017 - Sony

15 June 2017

This year Sony had a strange pre-show to their E3 conference which wasn't publicised well at all. It turns out there were some good announcements that could have made the main show. One being Matterfall getting a release date of 15th August - the next game from Resogun developer Housemarque. And the other being the critically acclaimed PC indie title, Undertale making its way to PS4. Anyway regardless of this, Sony's main show began at the usual time slot of 6pm PT.

They once again opened the show with a mysterious musical number, this time snake charming-esque. This led me to believe it was Uncharted: The Lost Legacy opening the show, and it sure was. I'm so excited to play this game after the epic Uncharted 4. Chloe and Nadine will make an interesting double act, and this new trailer revealed a few more death defying action sequences by the two. I want to avoid watching any more footage as I can't wait to play this on 23rd August.

Next up was the reveal of Horizon Zero Dawn DLC, The Frozen Wilds. Very little info was actually announced for this. It is coming this year but no release date, and no idea what Aloy will be doing exactly. I'm just about to finish the main game, which continues to amaze me, so I will be keeping a close eye on this.

Then it was time for more of Days Gone, revealed at last year's Sony conference. This was a little more of the same action we've seen before. Hordes of zombies that you want to avoid at all costs. However they can be used strategically to attack enemy groups which looks cool to play around with. The trailer ended with a nice reveal of a terrifying zombie bear.

Continuing the game after game reveals that Sony loves to do do, Monster Hunter: World was next. The first Monster Hunter game to be released on PlayStation for six years, after a long run solely on Nintendo platforms. Then there was the surprise announcement of Shadow of the Colossus being remastered for PS4. This was doubly surprising as it was remastered for PS3 along with Ico back in 2011. I played this version and loved it, as I missed the PS2 original. So it does seem strange that another remaster was needed. But I'm sure they'll be many fans eager to play this with even better visuals.

Call of Duty: WWII was next with a new part cinematic, part gameplay trailer. I actually wish someone from Sledgehammer Games introduced this because it wasn't clear what we were watching. Was this campaign, multiplayer, or a mix of both? I'm led to believe it was multiplayer, but considering these trailers for previous COD titles have been awesome to watch, this wasn't in any way. It was mostly standard gun gameplay on very ordinay maps. They were even highlighting frag grenade kills... I mean c'mon, this is supposed to be a blockbuster trailer from the powerhouse that is Call of Duty. It's such a U-turn from Infinite Warfare it's crazy. I know returning to World War 2 is what a lot of fans wanted, including myself, but this just seems too basic. Look what EA DICE were able to achieve with Battlefield 1 last year. An incredible trailer for a game set in the World War 1 era!

After that disappointment Sony picked things up with a new trailer for God of War, after it's amazing surprise opening of last year's show. This revealed more story, more characters, more combat, more monsters, and yet I have more questions than before. Is this magical battleaxe your sole weapon throughout the game? Why does your son understand the sea monster? Why does it want to help you? And what is the connection with the original Greek Kratos? I want to know so much more. Thankfully the combat is still beautifully bloody just as it was in the previous games. It's planned for a Spring 2018 release.

Next was Detroit: Become Human, also shown off at last year's Sony conference. The trailer this time was so confusing. It featured a whole different cast of characters to those we've seen before. It seems like these are the Androids, as opposed to the humans? But I could never say for sure. Minimal gameplay was shown and still no release window, let alone date.

Finally there was one last game to repeat from Sony's 2016 E3. Spider-Man. And thankfully Sony saved the best trailer until last. I didn't really know what to expect after the very brief announcement trailer from last year. This was a fully fledged gameplay demo with super slick combat and Marvel movie-style cutscenes.

I love how this particular mission had Spidey saving hundreds of citizens by sticking the falling tower crane, and catching the destroyed helicopter at the end. It's not just about fighting bad guys, it's being a hero - just like the movies! And so unlike other video games. It's planned for a 2018 release, of course exclusive to PS4.

That concluded Sony's show. Ultimately a lot of repeats from 2016, which meant there was nothing like the rapturous applause and even hooligan cheering from last year. There was no mention of The Last of Us: Part II or Death Stranding, which were revealed at PSX and E3 last year respectively. So Sony is somewhat learning from the past, and not showing everything they have in development.