E3 2012: Day 1 Recap
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E3 day one has come and gone and now it's time to examine the highlights and the low ones. Speaking of highlights, did Microsoft have any?
Sony started off with a bang but fizzled as it neared the finish line. Their press conference opened with a brand new IP developed by Quantic Dream and starring the amazing actress Ellen Page. The game, called "Beyond: Two Souls", is similar design to Heavy Rain but much more action-oriented and narrative driven. Quantic Dream's David Cage was on hand to announce the game and I'm seriously excited to get my hands on Page's character, Jodie Holmes.
Next up was Sony’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl ‘lookalike’ (read: rip-off) PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. While it may look like Nintendo's famous brawler, Sony has put its own unique flavor to the fighting title by bringing more mature characters into the fold and implementing PS Vita and PS3 cross-play.
There were no new IPs shown for the PS Vita but Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed spin-offs were announced to be making their way towards the handheld. The Call of Duty game was not shown but Assassin's Creed III: Liberation did get some time in the spotlight and will be a companion title for Assassin's Creed III, launching simultaneously with its bigger brother.
While Sony was busy detailing new features coming to PS Plus and the PlayStation Network, I was busy wondering if Sony had anything else up their sleeve. They did, in the form of Wonderbooks for the PlayStation 3. It's an interesting concept for children and utilizes the PlayStation Eye camera and the Move controller to bring storybooks to life on your television using augmented reality. More gimmicks for the PlayStation Move but Sony would have been negligent not to show off something for the Move controller they so heavily pressed on us before.
God of War: Ascension was next. I’m always excited to play as Kratos alone, but was hoping that Sony would have showcased the game's multiplayer a little bit more. While goat-men and elephant-dudes are alluring, everyone's favorite neglected god has been there before. Still, the game looks better than any God of War title we've seen so far and with the addition of multiplayer it becomes a very legit early Game of the Year contender for 2013.
Ending Sony's presser was a gameplay demo shown off for the new IP by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us. The game was first announced at the end of last year, yesterday was the first time we've seen the game in action. I was impressed. The cross between the survival-horror and the gunplay aspect worked really well and the game looked to present a real but fun challenge.
So, what did you think? Who won the first day of E3? What was your favorite showing yesterday? Were you content with what Microsoft showed or did they leaving you wanting more? Sound off in the comments below!