Once again, Chris and EJ give their heartfelt thoughts and feelings on the video games, specifically Sony’s E3 2017 presser.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
EJ: OooOoo a waterfall fountain on stage. Feels like Uncharted…I think it’s Uncharted. I’m excited for this. Seeing as I liked both characters it will be nice to see them fleshed out a bit more.
Chris: We both guessed Uncharted! Neat setup.
Horizon: The Frozen Wilds
EJ: Though I’ve yet to finish Horizon with my ever growing backlog, this should be something to get if you already have the base game. HDR makes EJ’s eyes happy.
Chris: With lots of stand alone type expansions coming, this looks to be in the “buy it” category.
That was some pretty looking hd snow!
Days Gone
Chris: This game didn’t have me last year at E3. This year however, seemed to bring in more elements that I enjoying playing. Zombears seem to be a trend right now, like in Metro Exodus. Kind of wish it had co op, but really wanted a 2017 release here.
EJ: Well I’m actually the opposite here. Graphically it seems like there’s a lot going on screen and the zombies are there in droves. I also like how the zombies move in groups, if all feels very organic. Those things aside it doesn’t look like much to pull me in. The characters seem a bit bland as do their motivations for surviving. There were Zombears though. Those people hanging from the rafters during this freaked me out bad tough, all twitching and stuff.
Monster Hunter World
Chris: This game better have co op. I am a pretty big MH fan, and will be playing this. If you like semi-open world games with nonstop action, bosses, crafting, and little story to care about, look this up…
EJ: I’m pretty sure this is going to have co-op man. Monster Hunter is pretty much known for that. I think it looks like a great addition to the series. However, this one got some immediate backlash from some hardcore fans due to the fact it looks somewhat…”westernized”. Personally, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Chris: I got really excited, until I saw the first colossus and realized we would be seeing this game a third time. Unless it has something new to offer, I wonder if it will sell to us that have bought it multiple times already? But for the new crowd, please, buy it!
EJ: Ya, I was kinda hoping for something new here. As much as I love this game and ICO, I don’t really feel it’s necessary to release this for a third time. Though, as you said Chris, if you’ve haven’t played it by now you should definitely play this rendition.
Marvel VS Capcom Infinite
EJ: Same old business going on here. Looks like a lotta characters from each side as usual. Nothing that really stood out this go around to me though. Zero is a nice addition to the Capcom side. I’ll definitely be checking out that story demo after this.
Chris: Nice story related cutscenes there. Kind of going for the more interactive story like Mortal Kombat did recently.
Call of Duty World War II
Chris: I am in the happy side of the camp that CoD is going back to WW2. The game looks great, should run great, and you have that little bit for everyone who enjoys the good war shooter. Are they going for Battlefield style maps now? I wonder?
EJ: I’m an agreement here. After all the futuristic stuff being slammed into the last few games it’s nice to see them rewind it all the way back to this. It’s hard to say it’s not a cue being taken from EA’s Battlefield 1, but this isn’t a bad thing. Everyone gives CoD a lot of hate these days, but I say don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.
Skyrim VR
Chris: Very interested in this. I wonder if the character jumps from place to place, or if there is an option setting, like Resident Evil 7 with the camera?
EJ: I’m definitely interested in this. I have a couple of concerns though, most of the trailer made it seem like the character was stationary during battle. I’m curious as to if the movement will be handled similar to other VR games where movement is restricted to a certain extent, just like you said Chris. I think it will have the standard forward and reverse, but when you want to move from side to side it’ll be a little strange.
Starchild (PSVR)
Chris: My first though was why a 2d game like this is on VR? But what if it turns to more if you get inside the robot? Either way, I will keep an eye on this one.
EJ: I don’t think 2D plane on VR isn’t a bad idea. It shows that devs are willing to take things down different paths. If every VR game were basically the same it’d be kind of boring, right?
The Inpatient (PSVR)
EJ: Well Supermassive definitely knows how to do horror after the bit of success they had with Until Dawn. Looks A LOT like Outlast. So much so that I thought it was Outlast VR at first. All in all looks to be a good experience for those with PSVR.
Chris: Once again agree with EJ, this had Outlast all over it. Should make for a heart racing experience.
Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (PSVR)
Chris: Did the Prompto vr game just get canned for some in you face VR monster fishing?!?!?! Whoooooo boys, lets reel in some of that-Square could really care less about VR right now- goodness!
EJ: I dunno about this. They need to REEL the FF series back in though…
Bravo Team (PSVR)
Chris: This seemed okay. I might hold my interest a bit. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood really gave some insight here as to where shooter can go with VR. Hopefully this has some fun bits to it.
EJ: Meh, lotta meh going on here for me. Once again, the variety is nice for VR here, but not sure this is something I’ll be picking up.
Moss
Chris: While I want to see more, I have to wonder if this was a game that was developed some a while back, and dusted off to put some VR spin to it. Hopefully more on this soon.
EJ: I like the looks of this. Reminds me of Secret of Nimh with the little mouse dude and all. Seems somewhat point and click maybe for VR? Either way, once again something kind of new and fresh.
Overall VR Presentation Impressions
Chris: With some games like Fallout 4 VR going to the HTC Vive, I wondered if the PSVR might already be falling behind in power to keep up. But then Skyrim was shown, along with a decent amount of games that could have potential. I know VR is in early stages still, but I think it will be around for a while to the right audience, and I am in that group. I hope some of these E3 vr games will hit the demo space in the Playstation store. Let the people who own one show this stuff off to friends and see how word of mouth does for VR!
EJ: It was a nice showing of a mix of different titles. PSVR seems like it’s heading in the right direction. AAA studios making titles for VR could make or break it though. Here’s to hoping I get more life out of it in the future!
God of War
Chris: While I am still getting an angry dad Last of Us vibe, the Norse setting is a much needed change of pace. And the giant serpent thing at the end was great! The boy can communicate with it, it says it wants to help, but all Kratos wants to do is smash its skull in! I got this Neverending Story vibe there that made me happy. Once again though, I wish it was a 2017 release.
EJ: Haha Chris, I noticed that too. Not sure if the boy was just taking a shot in the dark, but after closer examination Kratos’s son seems to have some kind of ability. Some really weird details going on like that head flopping around on the back of Kratos’s belt. I’m definitely excited for this one even if the story seems a little wonky. I’m guessing a February release date for this one, much like Horizon had this year.
Detroit City
Chris: I wonder now if you will play to different roles here, one being the android cop, and the other the guy pushing back against the world. I enjoyed Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls was decent, so I am hoping for a nice return to form here.
EJ: While I think what was shown was good, but I felt like it was pretty different from last year’s trailer. It felt a little more action focused but with choices. I just couldn’t get a good feel of how the game is actually going to play. I was under the impression last year that it was going to be something similar to Beyond Two Souls or Heavy Rain
Destiny 2
Chris: Will I play this? Yes, I enjoyed the first one for what it was, and this will be more of the same. With that being said, all I can think about when Destiny 2 comes up is how Anthem looked so much better, and what Destiny could have been so to speak. I think Anthem took a bit of the wind out of this a bit, but it is still a ways off.
EJ: Ya I agree about your statement with Anthem. I wasn’t too much into the first Destiny. I didn’t think it was a bad game but it didn’t feel fun to me, even with friends. I think it’ll be a fun romp if you’ve got a full group, but I’ll be picking it up on PC this time around.
Spiderman
Chris: As long as it is open world, I will be happy. Judging by the map and what I have read, it should be. I agree that 2018 is the wrong time frame, especially considering a Spider-man movie releases this year! Very disappointed.
EJ: Really strange choice to end the show on I think. The whole time the video was showing I was thinking “This is definitely coming out this year because of the movie!” and sadly I was very wrong. I’d rather they take the time and make a good game, but at the same time it seems like a poor marketing move unless it’s going to come out around the home release of the movie. It looks a lot like the Arkham games, which I don’t think is anything bad. It definitely felt like the old Treyarch game on PS2.
Overall Impressions
Chris: Honestly? Sony’s conference was a bit of a letdown for me this year. Most of the games were shown at last year’s E3, and most have a 2018 release window! I can’t be the only one who is a bit upset over this. It is hard to get excited when you have been following these games for multiple E3s, and they still don’t have release dates. Personally, I feel they may have had more things to show, or opt for a PS4 Pro price cut, but maybe Sony felt that wasn’t the case where Microsoft’s Xbox One X is $500 with very little reason to buy one right out of the gate. But that’s all speculation. It wasn’t a bad show or presentation, really, I just wanted more than what we got I guess.
EJ: I don’t feel it was a bad presser, but I kinda wish we were seeing a few more titles for the end of this year. Considering how strong the earlier part of 2017 was, it’s somewhat understandable this autumn would feel a little flat. I think they showed enough to people to keep continued interest in PSVR. Ultimately, Sony took a safe approach due to Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox One X
