I just got done babbling in a million different places, but holy shit, Sony blew me away again.
I wasn't impressed by Microsoft's presentations today. The best thing they did was announce backwards compatibility... which should have been on the One to begin with. The differences between the 360 and the One weren't so great technologically that they shouldn't have been able to do that. With the PS3/4, I understand it might be more difficult to emulate, though they should also have a better backwards compatibility service than they presently do. Streaming through PSNow is a mess.
It's a point for Microsoft in that respect, but beyond that, I was just kind of disappointed. Most of those indy titles they announced look nice, but the ones I was interested in most ended up just being "First" on XBox One. With how Sony has been scooping up indies left and right, this seems to reason they'll be on PS4 eventually anyways.
I'm not interested in any kind of VR. No hologen, no minecraft 3D, no Project Morpheus on PS4, no. VR is just one of those things I hope is just a fad. It makes me sick, physically, and nothing will ever beat the feeling of being able to multitask and enjoy a game. Some might find VR to be advancement, and technologically, yeah, it is. But not all technological advancements are fun.
The new controller looks nice, but it's too expensive. Ridiculous price. Even if I wanted to play on it, I couldn't justifiably afford it.
Moving beyond Microsoft, EA left me wanting more, which I think is kind of the point, but I still wish we'd seen more. I didn't like the first Mirror's Edge, but this new one looks intriguing. Might be a fringe buy down the line, but it's very fringe, and what they showed wasn't enough to make me think I need to buy it. Love the teaser for Mass Effect, but again, wish we'd actually seen more. I'll probably get that no matter what, because I'm a huge fan of the ME series.
Ubisoft was eh. Their games in the past year or so haven't done a good job of keeping me interested. This all said, there were bright spots for me here too. Mostly, this was South Park. Stick of Truth was good enough that I'll give this one a chance. I love the series, and I love the source material they will be working with, seemingly. The Division has a new release date, and is one of my more anticipated titles. Thankfully, One users will be beta-testing it, and while that means they unfortunately get it first, Ubisoft games have been getting pretty notoriously buggy. Glad that when it comes to the PS4, it'll be more finished than it was on One's launch. Rainbow Six got me interested, and Microsoft managed to double down on backwards compatibility by giving free games away. That was a good move on their part.
Full disclosure, I'm pumped for Rock Band 4. I won't go into why, because it's a music game. You either love it or you think they are overrated.
Sony, as said above, kept my attention, and told me everything I wanted to know as a consumer. Their pacing was a bit awkward at times, but they made up for it with "HOLY SHIT GAMES".
One of my main criticisms about Sony in the past year, is that their PS4 had little life. There just wasn't anything on the console, for exclusives, and even third party titles were a bit light, in comparison to competition. The only reason the PS4 was a better option than the One was the price point, the promise, and the user interface (which Microsoft is FINALLY fixing on the One, about time).
But they came out and showed the sellers I want to see.
Last Guardian, I'm indifferent on. It's been overhyped, and I probably won't buy it, but for many of my friends, it's a game they really really want. And I'm glad they have a reason to play PS4 more.
I forgot when during the presentation it was, but fuck, No Man's Sky looks amazing. No words. Instant day one buy, for sure.
Horizon: Zero Dawn looks SUPER PROMISING. I knew basically nothing about the game to begin with, and coming out of it, my idea of the progression is still very vague, but it hooked me. The game looks like it has an interesting dynamic, and it's one of those titles that might stealthily find its way onto my console in the near future.
Dreams is an interesting title. I'm not sure I'll play it myself, because I'm not terribly artistic, but it's that kind of innovation (it's Media Molecule, I shouldn't be surprised) that I like to see out of expos like this. New games are nice. Seemingly new concepts are even better.
So, up until this point, Sony's conference was eh... I wasn't terribly ecstatic about anything, and just waiting for Uncharted 4.
Then Final Fantasy 7. The REMAKE. For real this time. FF7 blew the roof off my proverbial house. I wasn't a huge fan of 7 when I played the classic through my PS3. It was clunky, slow moving, the combat was meh, and the story was meh. But a lot of my issues with the game were a result of an outdated system. Many games in the PSone era handled poorly. Now, we get the crisp movements and beautiful graphics of the next generation consoles. If they can update combat, and provide good voice acting, then I'll be sold, and definitely give the world a second chance. I know it's not a PS4 exclusive, so you can't credit it entirely to them, but it is nice that it was announced during the Sony presser. It definitely hyped me up.
I'm not as intrigued by the other Final Fantasy game, but meh. Already have 7 Remake and XV coming out in the future. So... I'll live.
Shenmue 3, for me, is what stole the show. Shenmue is rather underrated, and we're finally getting another thing we've been waiting forever and a half for. And according to the kickstarter (which has already raised a million of the two million goal), it's exclusive to PS4 and PC. It might eventually work its way over to the One, but for now, that isn't happening. I won't say Shenmue 3 will be a killer app or anything, but it's huge to get something that could be unique on this console.
The rest of the conference couldn't possibly upstage those two things, and even if it hadn't it only covered games I wasn't interested in to begin with. Disney Infinity? No thanks. Call of Duty? Sure, it's impressive, and a multiplayer campaign may intrigue me if the campaign was any decent length, but I'm not really into FPS titles. And Star Wars Battlefront? I'm sorry to nitpick, but no Galactic Conquest, no sale. And there's no Galactic Conquest. I'll just stick to Battlefront 2.
Finally, Uncharted 4. Rough start, and it didn't work at first, but given ND's history of putting out non-buggy games... I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Your tech demo should always work, and it sucks it didn't when it was the thing everyone wanted to see, but once it got rolling, it's like I was a kid all over again. Destructible environments? You mean the games won't be a TOTAL cakewalk? A Driving stage? (which will likely be the only one in the game) The crowd looks alive, and the environment is beautiful. I was getting this on release anyways. Now I might need to attend the midnight launch whenever it comes out.
If I had to assign point totals to the groups... (I won't list what bumps companies down, because a lot of it just comes down to personal choice, but you can probably assume)
Microsoft - 6 (+ Backwards compatibility, Indies, Timed Tomb Raider Exclusive)
EA - 4 (+ Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge, sports titles)
Ubisoft - 6 (+ South Park, The Division, Rainbow Six, Assassins Creed)
Sony - 12 (+ Last Guardian, No Man's Sky, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Dreams, FFVII REMAKE, Shenmue 3, Uncharted 4)
It has to be worth noting that I'm basing the points based on the presentation. For example, FFVII is going to be on the XBone as well, and The Division will be on both consoles. However, getting the best things to be during your presentation can hype up the crowd as well.
I also want to take this time to say I'm excited about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It looks great. I also want to take this time to say while Need for Speed looks incredible and I want to want it, it apparently is going to be "ALWAYS ONLINE" which is the worst thing ever, so EA gets no love from me there.
Overall, I was very excited about today's news. I think Sony had the best presentation, but I also might be biased, since I will unconditionally love Uncharted 4, JRPGs, and No Mans Sky forever. Anyone who thinks those things suck can go enjoy whatever it is they do. Can't let the negativity train bring me down.
Looking forward to Squeenix's presentation tomorrow.
EDIT - Also, just noticed, Shenmue 3 is up to 1.2 million in funding.
