E3 2015 Part 5: Sony Takes the Lead

Sony’s E3 conference was one of my favorites last year, so I was really excited going into this one. It’s only a matter of time before I get a PS4. Would this press conference convince me? Would Sony’s offerings rise above Microsoft’s great announcements?

Well…

Table of Contents

Nintendo World Championships
Bethesda
Microsoft
EA
Ubisoft
Sony
Nintendo
Square Enix
PC Gaming
Nintendo Treehouse

Sony’s E3 2015 Press Conference

Some people like to save the best for last. Others prefer to start with a heavy-hitter. Sony falls into the latter camp, as it began its E3 show by announcing a long-awaited game many people thought would never come at all: The Last Guardian.

I still haven’t played ICO or Shadow of the Colossus, but The Last Guardian looks like a charming game, at least, and the gameplay seemed interesting. (And that giant creature is adorable!) With so many people anxious to get it, this was an exciting way to start the conference.

The next trailer shown was for a surprise game, Horizon: Zero Dawn. Set in a future after civilization as we know it fell, it focuses on the new tribes of humanity in a world populated by machines. This gives it an interesting blend of styles, as primitive weapons and futuristic tech are seen side by side. While I’m not sure yet what sort of game it will be, its sense of mystery and slightly ominous tone at the end suggest it could have an intriguing story. I can’t wait to learn more about it.

Take a look.

A new Hitman game was featured next. While I’ve never played a Hitman game before, it was a decently cool trailer. I’m not a big fan of fighting games (heck, not even Smash Bros), so the following game, Street Fighter V, didn’t really hold my attention. And then it was time for No Man’s Sky, one of those games everyone wants except me. Beautiful, impressive… and just not my sort of game.

Similarly, when Media Molecule demonstrated their new game Dreams, where you can create and share dreamlike experiences, I really liked the concept but don’t intend to play it. My lack of artistic skills, for one thing, might hinder my enjoyment.

Then the show moved onto Firewatch, an intriguing mystery game. I’d heard about it before and thought it sounded interesting. The new trailer confirmed my feelings that I’ll need to keep an eye out for this one.

After that, my interest in the conference waned for a little bit. Destiny’s new expansion, The Taken King, sounds interesting, but Destiny isn’t my sort of game. As for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which was shown next, I saw enough of it earlier.

Next, it was time for Final Fantasy… a chibi spin-off game called World of Final Fantasy. They didn’t really share much about gameplay or even what the game is about, but it sure is cute. (I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot. Is “cute” a dominant theme of E3 2015?)

And then…

It happened.

I lost my mind a little bit. It’s actually happening.

The Final Fantasy VII remake, which Square Enix swore it wouldn’t do until it created a game that surpassed the original FFVII, is actually happening.

IT’S HAPPENING!

A Final Fantasy VII remake… It blew my mind.

While I was still reeling, Sony went on to show a quick montage of new games coming from Devolver, and then proceeded to break the Internet by announcing a Kickstarter for Shenmue III.

I never played the Shenmue games. With how I feel toward open worlds, they didn’t appeal to me enough. However, I know the name… mainly from fans requesting another one. For Shenmue 3 to be announced, even as a crowd-funding project, on the heels of the Final Fantasy VII announcement… it was mindblowing.

From there, they jumped straight into Batman: Arkham Knight, a game I want and will play. Scarecrow took center stage behind the scenes like in last year’s trailer, although he didn’t glitch the theater this time (that remains one of the best moments of E3 2014 for me). I’m a little disappointed that the Scarecrow missions announced are PS4-exclusives, since I’m playing on the PC, but it was still fun to watch.

Then things started to wind down. Project Morpheus and virtual reality games, streaming with PlayStation Vue, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Disney Infinity (after a general montage of games coming to the PS4 and PS Vita), Star Wars Battlefront, and… Uncharted 4 to finish the show.

My feelings toward Uncharted are… well, let’s just say I played Paper Mario: Sticker Star to completion, played Final Fantasy XIII to completion, and could not bring myself to complete the much-shorter Uncharted. People say the first game is the weakest in the series, though, and I do have the second, so I’ll give Uncharted 2 a try sometime. Besides that, the Uncharted 4 video was… genuinely entertaining.

Well, Sony’s was the most enjoyable press conference so far this E3! I still can’t get over that Final Fantasy VII news… but the festivities are far from over. Tomorrow, we’ll see if Nintendo can top this! To my disappointment, I won’t be able to watch Nintendo and Square Enix’s press conferences live, but as soon as I see them, I’ll be back to share my thoughts.