My Most Anticipated Games from E3 2012 (Part 2 - Sony Exclusives)
The second part of 'My Most Anticipated Games of E3 2012' will concentrate on games that are planned to be released only on Sony platforms. First, I will look at titles for the PlayStation 3 and then the titles that are to be released on Sony's handheld console - the Vita.
PlayStation 3
There are many titles that I am excited about, that were shown at E3 2012, but most of those games are multi-platform rather than exclusive.
There are a total of four titles that are solely exclusive to the PlayStation 3 that I am looking forward too playing. Below, I list my most anticipated PlayStation 3 games from E3 2012:
Beyond: Two souls
Quantic Dream's previous release, Heavy Rain received a number of favourable reviews from critics, but at the same time it seemed to divide many gamers. Some saw it as an engaging new type of experience, 'interactive art' rather than a game, while other saw it as a long quicktime event. The screenshot below shows the main protagonist of Beyond: Two souls, Jodie - played by actor Ellen Page.
Jodie is said to house psychic abilities, and has a close relationship with a spectral called Aidan (as one generally does). Beyond: Two Souls, is set to take place during a period of 15 years of Jodie's life - from child, to teenager, and into her early adult life - and she is on the run from the FBI because they know of and fear her unusual ability.
A number of different characters were playable in Heavy Rain, what made it unique was if a main character was killed, the game would continue but the story would adapt itself accordingly. This meant that different players, depending on their actions, could have a different experience altogether. It is unclear whether Beyond: Two Souls will also offer the same scope of choice as Heavy Rain, hopefully it will.
The Last of Us
Naughty Dog, the development studio behind the Uncharted series is set to introduce a new Intellectual Property upon the gaming world. The Last of Us is set on a post-apocalyptic earth (not exactly a new setting for a video-game) but the world is full of lush green shrubbery which, has grown through the ruined remains of large city buildings, unlike the usual brown and grey colours that inhabit most post-apocalyptic video-game settings. The main character is a 40 something man that has befriended a young girl named Elle. It is quite the dynamic, as Joel remembers the world before the apocalypse, but Elle was born after the apocalypse, and that is the only environment she knows.
When The Last of Us was announced pre-E3, there was a huge buzz regarding the zombie-like enemies in the game. Apparently, the enemies were inspired by an episode of the BBC documentary Planet Earth, which featured the killer Cordyceps fungi attacking a colony of ants. Naughty Dog asked the question - what would happen if Cordyceps fungi could infect humans?
During the E3 demo Naughty Dog did not show any footage of human infected enemies, but instead another side of the game was shown. It appears that other humans in the game also pose a threat to the characters, of Joel and Elle. The demo showed that you can take down the human enemies and work together as a team with both Joel and Elle. Naughty Dog say that you can also take a more stealthy approach and avoid killing any of the human enemies.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal
Now it looks like characters that are synonymous with the PlayStation brand are to be featured in their own spin-off fighting game. This is undoubtedly an idea that has been heavily borrowed from Nintendo's own franchise, Super Smash Bros-Brawl.
During the E3 demo Naughty Dog did not show any footage of human infected enemies, but instead another side of the game was shown. It appears that other humans in the game also pose a threat to the characters, of Joel and Elle. The demo showed that you can take down the human enemies and work together as a team with both Joel and Elle. Naughty Dog say that you can also take a more stealthy approach and avoid killing any of the human enemies.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal
Now it looks like characters that are synonymous with the PlayStation brand are to be featured in their own spin-off fighting game. This is undoubtedly an idea that has been heavily borrowed from Nintendo's own franchise, Super Smash Bros-Brawl.
This is a great opportunity for Sony to promote franchises that are associated with the PlayStation brand. It also allows players to enact fan fantasy matches between characters that would otherwise never come face to face with each other.
So far, playable characters that have been announced for the game are:
From left to right: Nathan Drake (Uncharted), PaRappa the Rapper (PaRappa the Rapper), Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper), Sony Japan's mascot -Toro Inoue (appeared in a number of Sony games) and Heihachi Mishima (Tekken).
From left to right: Colonel Radec (Killzone), Fat Princess (Fat Princess), Kratos (God of War), Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), and making a guest appearance from a non Sony franchise - Big Daddy (Bioshock).
There are a number of characters that are rumoured to be announced for the final game. Some think the PlayStation advert that was released earlier in the year, which featured a number of PlayStation characters, will make up the full roster in the final game.
A total number of 5 stages have been announced (at the time of writing) and each stage is based on a combination of two different games:
For the first time God of War will feature multi-player (pictured above). Ascension multi-player will not involve Kratos as a multi-player character but instead players have the choice of choosing nameless warriors that are devoted to one of four Greek gods - Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Ares. Not many details have been announced about the multi-player as of yet. In truth, I do not know what to think of multi-player in God of War - will people really want to play a God of War game without Kratos as a playable character?
Not much is known about the single player segment but it will taking place previous to the original God of War, I believe. I hope I am not the only one confused about when the game exactly takes place, will it happen before the PSP prequels, does it happen in between or after? I enjoyed the God of War trilogy and I am looking forward to Ascension, but I do find it strange that Sony Santa Monica are developing another prequel.
Personally, I would have preferred Sony to go in a different direction with the God of War franchise, perhaps they could have explored other ancient mythologies of cultures such as, the Egyptians, Romans, or Norse - possibly could have designed a new main character that would have been specifically tailored to the chosen mythology. Apparently, David Jaffe did think about taking Kratos to other ancient cultures other than Greece. An interview with Jaffe regarding this subject can be found here (WARNING - God of War III ending Spoilers).
PlayStation Vita
Out of all the PlayStation Vita games shown, I am only interested in two of them. I do not currently own a Vita, but these two games may make me decide to purchase one in the future. There are also other titles that have been released that interest me, but there are not enough titles that make me want to purchase a Vita any time soon.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
As I stated in my multi-platform post, I am a big fan of the Assassin's Creed series and I am very much interested in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. AC: Liberation is said to be a stand-alone title that is set a decade after the events of AC III, is set in New Orleans and focuses on a Spanish Templar enemy. Also, for the first time in the Assassin's Creed franchise the player will control a woman assassin, named Aveline.
According to an IGN article, the game-play looks to borrow the mark and execute feature form Ubisoft's Splinter Cell franchise. I have never played any of the hand held spin-off titles in the Assassin's Creed franchise, but I have high hopes for AC III: Liberation especially the as it is said to feature the same engine from Assassins Creed III.
LittleBigPlanet: Vita
I have played both LBP 1 and 2 and enjoyed the single player campaigns of both games, but it is the user created content that really stands out. I am not really interested in creating any content myself, but it is quite fun to keep discovering enjoyable user generated content.
The options provided by Media Molecule in LBP 2 meant users could create a lot more varied levels. Now, not only could users create classic LBP platform levels, but they could also create levels that resembled old skool type side scrolling space shooters and top down Zelda-like RPGs.
Media molecule are to include a feature called the 'memorizer' in the LBP: Vita's create mode. The memorizer allows users to now create their own games - rather than just one level. In theory, creators can now offer 40+ hour RPGs or retro style shooters with a number of increasingly difficult levels. So, LBP: Vita could provide a multiple number of games, all for the price of one.
From left to right: Colonel Radec (Killzone), Fat Princess (Fat Princess), Kratos (God of War), Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), and making a guest appearance from a non Sony franchise - Big Daddy (Bioshock).
There are a number of characters that are rumoured to be announced for the final game. Some think the PlayStation advert that was released earlier in the year, which featured a number of PlayStation characters, will make up the full roster in the final game.
A total number of 5 stages have been announced (at the time of writing) and each stage is based on a combination of two different games:
- Dojo (ParRapper the Rapper/Killzone)
- Dreamscape/LittleBigPlanet/Buzz)
- Hades (God of War/Patapon)
- Metropolis (Ratchet & Clank/God of War)
- Sandover Village (Jax & Daxter/Hot Shots Golf)
Hopefully this will be a fun game, as I for one would love to see how Fat Princess can compete against Kratos or how Nathan Drake handles PaRapper the Rapper.
God of War: Ascension
The fourth installment in the God of War Trilogy (?) has been announced for the PlayStation 3. God of War Ascension is a prequel to the trilogy and will star the main character of the series, Kratos. Ironically enough, the franchise has had as many prequels as main titles. Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta were originally released for the PSP and later as a remastered HD collection for the PlayStation 3.
God of War: Ascension
The fourth installment in the God of War Trilogy (?) has been announced for the PlayStation 3. God of War Ascension is a prequel to the trilogy and will star the main character of the series, Kratos. Ironically enough, the franchise has had as many prequels as main titles. Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta were originally released for the PSP and later as a remastered HD collection for the PlayStation 3.
For the first time God of War will feature multi-player (pictured above). Ascension multi-player will not involve Kratos as a multi-player character but instead players have the choice of choosing nameless warriors that are devoted to one of four Greek gods - Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Ares. Not many details have been announced about the multi-player as of yet. In truth, I do not know what to think of multi-player in God of War - will people really want to play a God of War game without Kratos as a playable character?
Not much is known about the single player segment but it will taking place previous to the original God of War, I believe. I hope I am not the only one confused about when the game exactly takes place, will it happen before the PSP prequels, does it happen in between or after? I enjoyed the God of War trilogy and I am looking forward to Ascension, but I do find it strange that Sony Santa Monica are developing another prequel.
Personally, I would have preferred Sony to go in a different direction with the God of War franchise, perhaps they could have explored other ancient mythologies of cultures such as, the Egyptians, Romans, or Norse - possibly could have designed a new main character that would have been specifically tailored to the chosen mythology. Apparently, David Jaffe did think about taking Kratos to other ancient cultures other than Greece. An interview with Jaffe regarding this subject can be found here (WARNING - God of War III ending Spoilers).
PlayStation Vita
Out of all the PlayStation Vita games shown, I am only interested in two of them. I do not currently own a Vita, but these two games may make me decide to purchase one in the future. There are also other titles that have been released that interest me, but there are not enough titles that make me want to purchase a Vita any time soon.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
As I stated in my multi-platform post, I am a big fan of the Assassin's Creed series and I am very much interested in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. AC: Liberation is said to be a stand-alone title that is set a decade after the events of AC III, is set in New Orleans and focuses on a Spanish Templar enemy. Also, for the first time in the Assassin's Creed franchise the player will control a woman assassin, named Aveline.
According to an IGN article, the game-play looks to borrow the mark and execute feature form Ubisoft's Splinter Cell franchise. I have never played any of the hand held spin-off titles in the Assassin's Creed franchise, but I have high hopes for AC III: Liberation especially the as it is said to feature the same engine from Assassins Creed III.
LittleBigPlanet: Vita
I have played both LBP 1 and 2 and enjoyed the single player campaigns of both games, but it is the user created content that really stands out. I am not really interested in creating any content myself, but it is quite fun to keep discovering enjoyable user generated content.
The options provided by Media Molecule in LBP 2 meant users could create a lot more varied levels. Now, not only could users create classic LBP platform levels, but they could also create levels that resembled old skool type side scrolling space shooters and top down Zelda-like RPGs.
Media molecule are to include a feature called the 'memorizer' in the LBP: Vita's create mode. The memorizer allows users to now create their own games - rather than just one level. In theory, creators can now offer 40+ hour RPGs or retro style shooters with a number of increasingly difficult levels. So, LBP: Vita could provide a multiple number of games, all for the price of one.
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