That Sony Press Conference... Man. That was hands down Sony's best E3, and easily the best of them this weekend. Not only did they start with a live orchestra (compare that to Ubisoft's cringe-fest), but the orchestra performed almost all of the music throughout the night. Even if you're not a PS4 player, I highly recommend watching the entire presentation, because it was a great experience (skip to the 30 minute mark for the show):

One of the best parts was that there was hardly a word from the presenters, they let the games speak for themselves (except for Kojima's grand entrance). And the games were great. Totally caught off guard by the God Of War trailer. I've never been a fan of the games, but this looked fantastic. A ton of Red Dead Redemption vibes for some reason...

And the Detroit trailer was mind-boggling. The best part is that it feels like a totally natural evolution for Quantic Dream (Detective elements of Heavy Rain, character interactions from Beyond). Check it out:

Horizon: Zero Dawn is looking to be a Shadow of Mordor/Bloodborne hybrid in all the best ways. If I wasn't sold already, that fight at the end would have done it:

Resident Evil 7 as a PSVR game was completely out of nowhere. Demo available now on PS4 (I'll be streaming it soon).

Other stuff, like Insomniac's Spiderman game, The Last Guardian, and even Call of Duty (somehow) looked good, but the thing that got to us was Kojima's trailer for Death Stranding, which includes a goodbye to PT (and what could have been)... Really hit us where we live. ;_;

PS, check that Days Gone gameplay at the end of the show, it looks crazy intense.

Outstanding show all around.

I mean, at first, I was excited about a new Kojima game (will finally get the chance to experience one from scratch!), then the trailer started creeping me out, then those weird floaty things appeared and now I'm excited again.

I mean, at first, I was excited about a new Kojima game (will finally get the chance to experience one from scratch!), then the trailer started creeping me out, then those weird floaty things appeared and now I'm excited again.

Heh. You should probably know before you get your hopes up too high; Kojima partnered with Sony after leaving Konami... Death Stranding is a PS4 exclusive.

Did any 3rd party come up with a decent controller yet?

That Sony Press Conference... Man. That was hands down Sony's best E3

I wholly disagree with your evaluation. Last year's was much, MUCH better. Too much time spent on stuff nobody came to see (Lego star wars, Crash remaster, etc...)

And the Detroit trailer was mind-boggling. The best part is that it feels like a totally natural evolution for Quantic Dream (Detective elements of Heavy Rain, character interactions from Beyond). Check it out:

Man I don't know. I was looking forward to this game a lot. I'm actually starting to get mad at Naughty Dog now, because compared to Uncharted 4 everything else looks like shit. The animation, texture, and facial capture displayed here just looks bad in comparison. Not really feeling it.

Cause I'm on XBone and I'm not leaving it... But damn Horizon: Zero Dawn looks amazing.

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PS, check that Days Gone gameplay at the end of the show, it looks crazy intense.

Outstanding show all around.

Good to hear that, a good friend of mine from graduate school is a writer working on it :)

PS, check that Days Gone gameplay at the end of the show, it looks crazy intense.

Outstanding show all around.

Good to hear that, a good friend of mine from graduate school is a writer working on it :)

Word is that they used that gameplay demo at the end instead of a Red Dead 3 reveal because of thematic similarities to the recent Orlando attack. Rumors, of course, but I'm happy to say that thanks to the gameplay demonstration, I'm looking forward to the game. Got a real Last of Us vibe, with some State of Decay and World War Z thrown into the mix. Real excited to see what the rest of it is like.

Did any 3rd party come up with a decent controller yet?

Well, the new XB1 controller has bluetooth, so it's possible it might work with the PS4!

Did any 3rd party come up with a decent controller yet?

Well, the new XB1 controller has bluetooth, so it's possible it might work with the PS4!

If you're going to do that, I recommend getting an Elite controller and the Cronus thingy, since the Touchpad gives the DS4 six more buttons than the Xbone controller has, and the Elite controller has all those extra paddles.

Not too many games make use of all of the extra buttons, but it would suck to be left out of certain gameplay options...

Or you could just Git Gud... ;)

That Sony Press Conference... Man. That was hands down Sony's best E3, and easily the best of them this weekend. Not only did they start with a live orchestra (compare that to Ubisoft's cringe-fest), but the orchestra performed almost all of the music throughout the night. Even if you're not a PS4 player, I highly recommend watching the entire presentation, because it was a great experience (skip to the 30 minute mark for the show):

One of the best parts was that there was hardly a word from the presenters, they let the games speak for themselves (except for Kojima's grand entrance). And the games were great. Totally caught off guard by the God Of War trailer. I've never been a fan of the games, but this looked fantastic. A ton of Red Dead Redemption vibes for some reason...

And the Detroit trailer was mind-boggling. The best part is that it feels like a totally natural evolution for Quantic Dream (Detective elements of Heavy Rain, character interactions from Beyond). Check it out:

Horizon: Zero Dawn is looking to be a Shadow of Mordor/Bloodborne hybrid in all the best ways. If I wasn't sold already, that fight at the end would have done it:

Resident Evil 7 as a PSVR game was completely out of nowhere. Demo available now on PS4 (I'll be streaming it soon).

Other stuff, like Insomniac's Spiderman game, The Last Guardian, and even Call of Duty (somehow) looked good, but the thing that got to us was Kojima's trailer for Death Stranding, which includes a goodbye to PT (and what could have been)... Really hit us where we live. ;_;

PS, check that Days Gone gameplay at the end of the show, it looks crazy intense.

Outstanding show all around.

I don't think we watched the same show. Sony had a flipping trailer-fest, and it was boring as hell to watch. I hated it precisely because there was never any word from presenters. There wasn't anyone on hand, ever, to give any context at all to what I was watching, before, during, or after. Maybe more of those trailers made some sort of sense if you're actively in the PS camp? If that's the case, they did a crap job convincing someone that isn't to buy one.

Also, Kojima. What in the unholy hell was that? I'm somewhat used to seeing him pull some sort of bizarre music video trailer thing out of his hat for a presentation piece, but this was a whole new level of "what the fuck?" I suppose, at the very least, it gave us a naked, handcuffed, uncanny valley Norman Reedus looking hilarious as he cried and held a naked baby. Or something. This was a prime example of an announcement that could've used some context. Any context. Even vague context.

I'm not saying MS was perfect, far from it with the devs on stage that seemed wholly uninterested in talking about their project, were completely wooden, or were so scripted it was cringeworthy, but at least they marched someone out to talk about the game I was watching. I also appreciate the fact that their execs make at least a half-assed attempt to not look like execs. I swear the two Sony guys were wearing sharing the same suit.

Whatever. It's E3. I don't think about Microsoft and Sony in terms of "winners" and "losers". I think about it in terms of who showed me something interesting to get excited about in the next year, and that's entirely subjective.

I mean, at first, I was excited about a new Kojima game (will finally get the chance to experience one from scratch!), then the trailer started creeping me out, then those weird floaty things appeared and now I'm excited again.

You mean those weird floaty... people? Look again - definitely people.

I mean, at first, I was excited about a new Kojima game (will finally get the chance to experience one from scratch!), then the trailer started creeping me out, then those weird floaty things appeared and now I'm excited again.

You mean those weird floaty... people? Look again - definitely people.

I think the politically correct term is "humanoid creatures"

PS, check that Days Gone gameplay at the end of the show, it looks crazy intense.

Outstanding show all around.

Good to hear that, a good friend of mine from graduate school is a writer working on it :)

Word is that they used that gameplay demo at the end instead of a Red Dead 3 reveal because of thematic similarities to the recent Orlando attack. Rumors, of course, but I'm happy to say that thanks to the gameplay demonstration, I'm looking forward to the game. Got a real Last of Us vibe, with some State of Decay and World War Z thrown into the mix. Real excited to see what the rest of it is like.

Yeah, and the "wave of zombies" was impressive as hell. So many moving parts to render and evaluate for damage.

Did any 3rd party come up with a decent controller yet?

As a life-long PS controller hater, I don't mind the PS4 one. It's by far their best yet. I still miss the original Xbox "Duke" controller, but it seems as if the tiny hands crowd has won this war. Anyway, if the Xbone controller is good for you, then the PS4 controller should be okay, too. They're very similar in scale.

You mean those weird floaty... people? Look again - definitely people.

I think the politically correct term is "humanoid creatures"

"Humanoid things"

Unless you think those filthy synths are creatures too. ;p

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:p

Seriously, though, I've got to stop thinking about Fallout 4. That "free" day completely convinced me I'll absolutely love it, but I have not the spending money to get it just yet...

Whoever came up with the Workshop trash dump button deserves a hug.

I don't think we watched the same show. Sony had a flipping trailer-fest, and it was boring as hell to watch. I hated it precisely because there was never any word from presenters. There wasn't anyone on hand, ever, to give any context at all to what I was watching, before, during, or after. Maybe more of those trailers made some sort of sense if you're actively in the PS camp? If that's the case, they did a crap job convincing someone that isn't to buy one.

Yeah, this event seemed to have been made for Playstation fans first and foremost. With 40M+ units sold and a 3:1 sales rate over the Xbone (if the somewhat-unreliable VGchartz is to be believed), I don't think they're aching to convert players (they certainly aren't killing off their own platform to push people towards PC), so I guess that explains the lack of hawking of wares, and more showing the existing fans loads of gameplay and announcement trailers. I'll take a couple minutes of gameplay footage over a teleprompter speech telling me that I should be interested any day.
But yeah, I can see how they may have not given much context for folks who aren't completely familiar with the Playstation franchises. Still, like I said, gameplay should speak for itself, and boy did it.

Also, Kojima. What in the unholy hell was that? I'm somewhat used to seeing him pull some sort of bizarre music video trailer thing out of his hat for a presentation piece, but this was a whole new level of "what the fuck?" I suppose, at the very least, it gave us a naked, handcuffed, uncanny valley Norman Reedus looking hilarious as he cried and held a naked baby. Or something. This was a prime example of an announcement that could've used some context. Any context. Even vague context.

If you played PT (It was a huge PS4 thing a couple of E3s ago), the trailer (and symbolism) would have made more sense. That said, people are already digging through the thing for well-hidden details and such, so it's a lot of fun for fans of Kojima's weirdness. Once more, it's something for existing fans.

I'm not saying MS was perfect, far from it with the devs on stage that seemed wholly uninterested in talking about their project, were completely wooden, or were so scripted it was cringeworthy, but at least they marched someone out to talk about the game I was watching. I also appreciate the fact that their execs make at least a half-assed attempt to not look like execs. I swear the two Sony guys were wearing sharing the same suit.

I showed Sammy some of the Microsoft stuff, and Ubisoft's opening number before the Sony stuff started, and her response was "well, they don't need a dancing giraffe to get your attention" once the classy orchestra started pumping out epic music.
Presentation was great, I thought. And not a single stupid Sports game in sight (unless you're one of those that considers racing a sport).

Whatever. It's E3. I don't think about Microsoft and Sony in terms of "winners" and "losers". I think about it in terms of who showed me something interesting to get excited about in the next year, and that's entirely subjective.

That's true. For me, Microsoft had exactly zero games that interested me. Most of their trailers were CG crap (did anything besides the same-old same-old Gears get a gameplay presentation? honestly can't remember), or are going to be PC releases. Also, Microsoft didn't exactly make me feel like I missed out since I never bought a Kinect (did they even mention the word "Kinect" once?). Edit: State of Decay 2 is something that I've been looking forward to since the launch of the first game, but the pre-rendered teaser didn't do much to increase that excitement, other than hinting at co-op.

Ubisoft was completely boring outside of Wildlands (which was another CG trailer), and EA was painful to watch (sorry Mass Effect, but sports!). At least Bethesda showed off a glimpse of Skyrim, which gives them a pass.

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That's true. For me, Microsoft had exactly zero games that interested me. Most of their trailers were CG crap (did anything besides the same-old same-old Gears get a gameplay presentation? honestly can't remember), or are going to be PC releases.

Forza Horizon 3 got one. Sea of Thieves' entire trailer was gameplay. Final Fantasty 15 and Scalebound were both gameplay demonstrations.

That said, I think both manufacturers put on excellent presentations. I think Sony's games overall looked more interesting (Horizon Zero Dawn looks fantastic!), but I do like the Microsoft laid out at least a vague roadmap of their new console. And I love that every exclusive they showed is cross-by on Windows 10. I don't see how or why anyone would be upset about that. It's amazing. We'll see if the PC ports turn out to be worth a shit, but it's an excellent plan.

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Days Gone looks great to me. Starting to wonder if it's time to get a PS4.

Edit: RE7 too.

I just found out that Kratos is voiced by Teal'c. It's totally obvious now that I know--not sure how I didn't hear that immediately.