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Do Games have to be Fun In the Modern Console Age?

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With increasing power available to game developers and the continually rising average age of gamers, is fun important? Recently the awesome Naughty Dog said The Last of Us Part 2 would be engaging instead of fun. So do games have to be fun in the modern console age?

For us, with The Last of Us specifically, we don’t use the word “fun,” We say “engaging,” and it might seem like a minor distinction, but it’s an important one for us. – Neil Druckman, Naughty Dog

Here’s the article if you are interested.

If you prefer to watch than read click here for the Vlog.

Do Games have to be fun or are we now looking for something else?

Now we all love to have fun, who doesn’t? But is fun necessary to engage and entertain us? Schindlers List is a superb film, is it fun? No. Is it compelling, emotional and engaging? Hell Yes! Is George Orwell’s 1984 a fun read? No. Is it compelling, emotional and engaging? Hell yes!

So if other media can entertain us without being fun why shouldn’t games? Over the last 5 to 10 years storytelling in gaming has moved forward at an incredible pace. Larger budgets and more mainstream interest in gaming as a platform has allowed developers to push the boundaries of what games are. Yes, we all still love to blow stuff up but we are also more willing to be emotionally engaged with this genre.

Games for Grown Up’s

Do Games Have to be Fun

Infographic from Venture Beat

According to Venture Beat, the US-based Gaming Advocacy Group that runs E3, the average of gamers is 31. Here’s the report. The infographic to the right, from the same report, shows that the largest single demographic age range, at 39%, are over 36, a category I am 11 years into. Is it any wonder that content for games is getting more mature and emotionally intelligent? 71% of the gaming public is over 18.

At the BAFTA Game Awards this year there was even a new category celebrating Games Beyond Entertainment recognising games that tackled difficult issues through gaming.  Hellblade was the big winner that night, a game that is certainly not fun to play. Do games have to be fun to win awards? No. Do games have to be fun to deal with complex issues? No.

To Hellblade and Back Again

Top 5 Games of 2017Ninja’s Theories incredible game really espouses this entire argument. A game that deliberately made the player uncomfortable to help them understand the impact of mental illness. There’s a threat in the early stages of the game that your progress will be erased completely if Senua succumbs to her sickness. Binaural audio unsettles the player and gives them insight into the mind of someone suffering from psychosis. It has photo-realistic characters with superb performance capture, so every blow physical and emotional, is raw and brutal. And yet Hellblade, my game of 2017, has garnered acclaim from critics and players alike and sold well beyond Ninja Theories expectations. And yet it’s not fun.

Do games have to be fun to win awards? No. Do games have to be fun to deal with complex issues? No.

Games with Issues

So many games have attempted (with varied success) to tackle serious issues. Life is Strange, teenage suicide. Valiant Hearts, the futility of war. This Dragon Cancer, the death of a child. The Last of Us, loss, grief and redemption. The interactive nature of games and the agency they give you forces the player to connect with the situation far more powerfully than a film ever could. Some decision-based games will give different endings and outcome dependant on your choices. In Life is Strange your conversation choices and actions are the difference between talking a suicidal girl down from a roof or her leaping to her death. Film can’t do that.

Live with your Choices

Some games even make us responsible for our actions. Life is Strange in the last paragraph is a prime example. TellTale Games have been doing it for years with their many choice-based games. Two recent games have taken this to more extreme levels. The choices in Vampyr are irreversible. A lack of a manual save function and regular auto saves mean there is no way to undo a poor choice. Live with the choice or start again they are your only options. is it fun? No. does it make you consider and question your decisions before making them? Hell yes! A game forcing you to take responsibility for your actions! No that’s interesting.

Detriot Become Human took this choice based thing to a whole new level. Your choices, successes and failures have a profound effect on the game. My son’s playthrough was very different to mine with different endings and different characters alive or dead at the end. I watch a playthough by YouTuber Hannah Rutherford and her journey through the game was entirely different again. All three of us took the peaceful ethical route through Detroit but got totally different experiences. Although Detroit was sometimes a little heavy handed with its themes of Racism and intolerance, your agency in the lives or deaths of these characters made you connect with them all the more powerfully. You cared if they lived or died. You wanted the happy ending for them all and trust me some of the endings are far from happy if you’re not careful.

Is Fun a Requirement for a Good Game?

I think if all games were like Hellblade the industry would not survive long. For every Schindler’s List there needs to be an Incredibles 2, for every 1984 there needs to be a How to Train Your Dragon. And so with games, for every Hellblade there needs to be a Wolfenstein. Mindless fun is something we all need in our lives, to raise a smile, to de-stress, to be entertained. But every so often there’s nothing wrong with challenging our emotional intelligence and forcing ourselves to think about important issues. Do games have to be fun in this modern console age? Not all of them, but if they’re not fun they’d better have something important to say.

For more of my blogs click on this link to go to some of my favourites. Have a fantastic gaming week.

Could PS Vita have been Sony’s Nintendo Switch?

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There is no doubt that the PS Vita is a cracking handheld. The screen is crystal clear, particularly if  you have the original OLED version. However with the proper marketing could PS Vita have been Sony’s Nintendo Switch? Here are some thoughts I had recently while playing teh smashing Rainbow Skies on my Vita.

If you prefer to watch than read the Vlog is just to your right!!

Poor PlayStation Portable

Sony’s legacy in handheld gaming is patchy at best. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is an innovative handheld that was marketed as a PS2 in your Pocket. It fell short of that aim and was poorly supported, with the key ingredient for a successful console mainly missing… Great games!

There were some brilliant ones, Lumines, Patapon, Loco Roco, Final Fantasy – Crisis Core and my favourite Valkyria Chronicles 2. It also had some big titles as well such as Tekken, Killzone and SSX. But in the main, the games were thin on the ground and shovelware.  As a result, the PSP slowly drifted into obscurity and was largely forgotten.

 

“With the proper marketing could PS Vita have been Sony’s Nintendo Switch?”

 

Vital PS Vita?

Could PS Vita have been Sony's Nintendo SwitchSo it was a bit of a surprise when Sony announced their next foray into handheld gaming, the weirdly named PS Vita. The launch was not great, particularly as the internal storage in the Vita was tiny and the bespoke additional memory cards were ridiculously expensive. There were some really good games in the early days. Uncharted Golden Abyss was a great slice of Nathan Drake and Gravity Rush was colourful and innovative.  It is telling though that the early game I played the most was the hilarious Frobisher Says, which was a free download.

There have been some great games, Persona 5 Golden, the charming Tearaway and LBP Vita all great fun to play. These though are the exceptions rather than the rules. My Vita now houses my PS1 collection of PRGs, which is hardly pushing the hardware! Yet again a promising handheld that failed because Sony really didn’t know what to do with it.

Too Powerful?

Sony’s mistake was that they were trying to create a console experience in your pocket. They made the PSP and the PS Vita too powerful and therefore too expensive to buy and, more importantly, to develop games for. Nintendo has been happy to create handhelds that are not graphical powerhouses, keeping the cost of games/hardware comparatively cheap. The switch isn’t the most powerful box in the room, but its innovative play anywhere approach has captured gamers imagination.

The frustrating thing is that Sony invented the Switch 3 years before Nintendo and didn’t tell anyone about it.

PS4/PS Vita the Original Nintendo Switch

When the PS4 launched there was an attempt to revitalise the Vita, second screen functionality, remote play, use the Vita as a keyboard for MMOs. It sounds very cool but didn’t make the Vita essential and developers didn’t put it in games because it was so niche. Once again Sony, a company whose marketing for the PS4 was second to none, missed the point and the coolest thing the PS Vita could do.

 

“A promising handheld that failed because Sony really didn’t know what to do with it”

 

Could PS Vita have been Sony’s Nintendo Switch?

The best thing the PS Vita does and something Sony hardly ever talks about is Cross-buy/save of some PS4 Titles. Right now I am playing Rainbow Skies on my Vita at work, uploading my save to the cloud and then continuing on my PS4 at home. The play anywhere mentality of Nintendo Switch has been available on PS Vita even during the PS3 days. Sony had already invented Nintendo Switch, they just didn’t notice.

Cross Buy/Cross Save – Play on the Go

Steamworld Heist, Darkest Dungeon, Rainbow Moon, Rainbow Skies, I bought one copy and can play them across PS4 and PS Vita. Buy once play anywhere, surely that is what Nintendo was selling with the Switch? Becuase of the power of the PS4 this couldn’t work for all titles, Vita couldn’t handle God of War for instance. But think about other titles, some of the remasters such as Final Fantasy X, this supports cross save, but not cross buy. A missed opportunity?

More than a PS1 Emulator

I cherish my Vita, it is my PS1 backwards compatibility, it sits comfortably in my huge hands and has an exquisite screen. Cross-save is simple and in a few cases has made my Vita relevant again. So Could PS Vita have been Sony’s Nintendo Switch? With the right games and marketing, possibly.  Sadly we will never know and I will just have to wipe the occasional tear away from my gloriously vivid OLED screen and I dream of what might have been.

 

For more of my blogs click on this link to go to some of my favourites. Have a fantastic gaming week.

7 Fantastic Games worth a Second Look

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2017 was without a doubt a fantastic year for games, particularly on the PlayStation 4 and 2018 is off to a strong start. Sony is knocking it out of the park with exclusive after exclusive. But rather than focus on the big hyped games, I’d like to do introduce you to 7 games worth a second look.

If you prefer watching to reading here’s the VLOG

Borderlands 2 (PS4 Remaster)

This is the remaster of the PlayStation 3 original, Borderlands 2 is incredible it’s beautiful to look at with its fabulous cel-shaded look. It has a cast of insane characters it’s rude and silly and unashamedly mental. You can play as various different classes from Commandos with gun turrets to Sirens that trap people in balls of energy. In addition, you have the two DLC classes, the Psycho and the Mechromancer. The very different playstyles encourage multiple playthroughs. It can be played solo but you can play with three other people online or on a sofa using split-screen.

You can import your save from the PS3 to the PS4, so if you’ve got on old Borderlands 2 PS3 save knocking around somewhere you can pick up where you left off. It is loud, it is brash, it is stupid, with a GAZZILLION guns. Borderlands 2, without a doubt,  has one of the best antagonists in gaming. Handsome Jack is crass and funny and violent and horrible, you will love and hate him. If you like for first-person shooters, if you like first-person shooters with RPG elements in them, if you like a cast of hilarious characters… If you just like FUN! Get this now!

Don’t Starve and Don’t Starve Together

Games worth a second lookThis was one of the first PlayStation Plus games for the PlayStation 4 in January 2014. It looks all cute and lovely but it is, in fact, a hard as nails survival game. You have an ever-expanding cast of insane characters with their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. You are dropped in the middle of a hostile environment with no tutorial no clue, you have to figure everything out for yourself and most importantly don’t die. However, this is a game in which you will die repeatedly over and over again. This doesn’t sound much fun but every single death will teach you something, you will learn more, so death is actually part of the cycle of learning within the game. As a result of each death, you will get better at the game.

At the start you will die on day four or five or six; then you might get to day 12;  then you might get to day 20. Eventually, you’re on day 93-94, 100 and you’ve got farms, you’ve got fridges, you’ve got armour, you’ve got magic. DLC has added Land of the Giants and Shipwrecked, new environments and new challenges making it even harder! There is also a two-player cooperative, Don’t Starve Together, split screen or online. If you like survival games, if you like a steep challenge and a really steep learning curve, Don’t Starve is for you. Cute, Very funny and unremittingly hard, Don’t Starve is absolutely worth checking out.

Metro Last Light (PS4 Remaster)

Games worth a second look

Metro Last Light it’s set in a post-apocalyptic Russia and the protagonist is simply trying to get back home. There’s a subplot about the potential of saving the world by interacting with an alien. It’s a tightly scripted linear first-person shooter however, the levels themselves are not particularly linear encouraging you to approach them in different ways. It does have a very good stealth mechanic so there is the opportunity to stealth your way through some levels.

We’re talking post-apocalyptic so weapons look like they’ve been bolted together by bits and pieces and have some really eclectic ways of moving and working. Also, the graphics are stunning, the voice acting is excellent and the whole environment reeks of decay. You get a real sense of humanity on the edge of destruction. It has some nice political elements as well with different factions trying to survive in different ways. The monsters in the game look pretty gross, mutated rats, giant spiders all pretty nasty! Also, the human antagonists and partners have great character and care in their design. If you like first-person shooters and you like post-apocalyptic settings, this is an absolutely essential purchase.

Divinity Original Sin

This is a hardcore, turn-based, tactical role-playing game and so much more! You have 4 playable characters and their position on the field and how their skills interact with the environment is the key to success. This is not an easy RPG there is no grinding, there are no random encounters or respawning enemies to over-level your characters. You can’t do the normal RPG trope of ‘I’m feeling a bit under levelled for this, let’s go and stack a few levels so I can own that boss.’ That’s not going to happen so you have to be very mindful of how you approach encounters.

The cast of characters is absolutely brilliant, there’s a lot of humour in the game there’s a sense of fun throughout. There are huge numbers of classes, weapon and magic types which means you can construct highly bespoke characters. You can take someone who is a heavy armour specialist and have them summoning spiders or shooting fireballs. There’s an interesting world to explore, the side quests can be serious but also can be incredibly stupid. I’ve got one at the moment that’s about a weresheep (yep!) There’s so much fun to be had in this game. It’s sprawling, it’s epic, it’s hard as nails, but if you like SRPGs this is really worth your time. Particularly as the sequel is coming to PS4 in August.

Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture

Games worth a second lookI adored this game when it came out it was so intriguing so interesting. It’s a walking simulator, however, that is not a problem when the game is beautiful and atmospheric with an interesting story to discover. It is one of the most graphically impressive games you can play with a perfect recreation of 1980s Great Britain. I was alive in Great Britain in the 1980s I remember it very well. You wander around a Shropshire village caller Yaughton and just like the Mary Celeste, everyone has disappeared. The central theme is discovering where everyone has gone and why there are these strange lights floating around. Interacting with these lights uncovers a very human story about how people deal with grief and loss.

It is beautifully voice-acted, the scripting is incredibly clever and it drives you to discover what happened. You want to learn more because you begin to care about the characters. The soundtrack for this game is stunning it gives the right atmosphere and emotion and is absolutely glorious. It’s a beautifully crafted clever game of exploration and discovery with beautiful graphics. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is a compelling tale that is uplifting and tragic in equal measure. Therefore If you are interested in storytelling, character and atmosphere this is definitely one of those games worth a second look.

For my thoughts on the game check THIS video out.

The Wolf Among Us

The wolf Among us PlayStation 4The choice driven game from Telltale Games deals with fairy tale characters living in human guise in New York. You will interact with the Crooked Man, Toad from wind in the willows, Snow White Beauty and the Beast. They are all embroiled in a murder case that’s being investigated by The Big Bad Wolf. Despite its fairytale characters, it is profane and violent and deserves it’s 15 rating.

As with all telltale games you have choice-based narrative that will change the way in which the story unfolds. The Wolf Among Us is interesting because despite the fantastical setting it’s delivered with a sense of realism and character. This grounds the fantastical elements so you don’t feel a disconnect between gameplay and the gritty city it’s based in. The voice acting is uniformly excellent further grounding the characters and making you engage with them.  My favourite is Toad from Wind in the Willows who is portrayed as a foul-mouthed cockney slum lord. If you’ve enjoyed other Telltale offerings and you haven’t tried out The Wolf Among us I would highly recommend. The sequel is being released in 2019 so now may be the ideal time to dive in.

Check out THIS video to get my view of the game.

Valkyria Chronicles (PS4 Remaster)

Valkyria Chronicles PlayStation 4Valkyria Chronicles is set in an alternate version of Europe and an alternative version of the Second World War. The small province of Gallia has been invaded and they are trying to defend themselves and repel the invasion. However, instead of highly-trained crew-cut soldiers, you’ve got a cast of ordinary characters who are fighting to defend their homelands. They are school teachers, bakers, farmers and cabaret singers. These are ordinary people who have been driven into extraordinary circumstances to defence their homes. There is a beautiful humanity that runs throughout the compelling story.

Valkyria Chronicle is really an exploration of how war affects ordinary people. As with all RPGs there are different classes you have Scouts, Shock Troopers, Engineers, Lancers and Snipers. You will take anything between 7 and 12 units with you, so there are tactical decisions to make about deployment.  Battles can take 45 minutes to an hour to complete and there is plenty of content to keep you busy. Between battles, you have an intelligent powerful story. The themes are compelling, ranging from racism and the horrors of war through to ethnic cleansing. If you haven’t played Valkyria Chronicles before I would strongly recommend you do. It remains one of my all-time favourite games it’s challenging, powerful and an effective account of the futility of war.

Games Worth a Second Look

So there’s my list of seven gems in my library that are definitely worth a second look.  If you have any recommendations of your own please comment. If you would like to see 7 games I think do excellent Gameplay over glorious Graphics, the blog and video are here.

Thanks for reading and a very happy gaming week to you all.

Top 5 Games of 2017 – A Year of Awesome Games

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The PlayStation 4 really found its feet in 2017 and delivered some incredible games. Picking my Top 5 Games of 2017 was never going to be an easy task, but here it is. Please feel free to add your thoughts to the comments either here or on the YouTube Video.

Other great games I played that didn’t make the list include:

Final Fantasy XII the Zodiac Age, Oh Sir: The Insult Simulator, Wasteland 2, Little Nightmares and Gang Beasts.

Number 5 – Assassin’s Creed Origins

Top 5 Games of 2017I’m not a huge fan of the series, having only played the original and Black Flag, but this just looked fun.  And it is a huge amount of fun.  The open world is a low-calorie Witcher 3 with excellent, interesting side quests and glorious environments. Interesting people fill a beautifully recreated Ancient Egypt, breathing life into the varied environments.  Bayek makes for a compelling protagonist, his motivations are relatable and he is an interesting well-rounded character.

Combat is now fully action based with a wide variety of weapons to play around with. The ability system allows you to create a character that can become expert in Stealth, Ranged or Melee combat or a nice mixture or them all. Although the gameplay has mutated into an open world RPG it still feels like an Assassin’s Creed game. It is well worth checking out.

Number 4 – Elite Dangerous

Top 5 Games of 2017I have such fond memories of playing the original Elite on my ZX Spectrum and Atari ST back in the late 80s. So this had a lot to live up to and it did with bells on! Elite Dangerous is a game that still delivers the sense of wonder and exploration of the original but with so much more. You basically get to explore the whole of the Milky Way. You can upgrade your weapons, cargo capacity, scanners and ships to become whatever you want to be. Pirate, bounty hunter, trader and even passenger liner are roles available to you, all within an intuitive space simulation.

One word of warning though… The in-game tutorials are total rubbish. YouTube tutorials will help you get started and I have a few tutorials you can access here.

Good luck commander!

Here’s is my First Impressions video of Elite Dangerous.

Number 3 – Uncharted The Lost Legacy

Top 5 Games of 2017Anything coming from Naughty Dog is bound to be amazing.  This started life as a bit of DLC and turned into a 9-hour game starring series favourite Chloe Frazer. Add into the mix Chloe’s partnership with Nadine Ross, an antagonist from Uncharted 4, and you have character dynamite.  As always the dialogue fizzes and pops with one-liners, excellent banter and emotional beats.  The bad guy is interesting and badass and the action never stops.  As you would expect it looks utterly gorgeous and is one of the best looking games on PS4. I would recommend picking it up, at less than £30 it is totally worth the cash.

Number 2 – Horizon: Zero Dawn

Top 5 Games of 2017Guerrilla Games was best known for Linear FPS Killzone, so they took a huge risk by going for an open world action RPG. What they delivered was simply awesome. Aloy became a PlayStation icon and rightly so, she is a compelling protagonist played with real flair and feeling by the wonderful Ashly Burch.

The story is really good and takes the narrative in an unexpected direction. The realisation of what Zero Dawn is really kicks you in the teeth.

The stars of the show though, are the monsters. Robot dinosaurs!!! They are intimidating and no matter how high a level you are mistakes will cost you dearly.  You feel capable and powerful but never invulnerable. Defeating the metal monsters requires tactical thought, effective use of your varied arsenal and a mix of stealth and combat. There is nothing more satisfying than ripping off a Thuderjaw’s cannon with your tear arrows, picking it up and shooting it in the face with its own weapon. Awesome!!

Number 1 – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Top 5 Games of 2017So here’s the number 1 in my Top 5 Games of 2017. Ninja Theory’s stupendous Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s not only a great game of 2017 but also the most important.

Hellblade is a brilliant game with an interesting flawed principle character in Senua. The most compelling thing about the game though is the risk Ninja Theory took to get it made. They are respected AAA developer with a back catalogue of excellent titles.  Ninja Theory got a bit fed up with the restrictions laid on them by publishers and decided to create and publish the game themselves.  They funded it and created this beautiful game on a tiny budget. Proving that gorgeous, high-quality games are not the sole property of the AAA devs.

The game also deals with the very serious topic of mental health. Senua suffers from psychosis, hears voices and suffers hallucinations but she is a strong character and her mental health is woven into the gameplay.  The journey she takes is not easy and you will feel the emotional impact of every horror she faces. Incredible voice acting, performance and facial capture enhance the impact of every emotional blow. The star of the show though is the amazing sound design. Ninja Theory used Binaural audio to really place you in the centre of the action and more importantly the centre of Senua’s psychosis.

Here is a link to Ninja Theory’s Development diaries, they are well worth a look.

Here is my video about why I love Hellblade so much

This is not a game for everyone, but if you have any interest at all I would compel you to try it out. Oh and make sure you wear headphones to get the full impact of the superb sound design.

Top 5 Games of 2017

So there we have it my Top 5 Games of 2017. I have missed some excellent games due to time and budget, such as Nier Automata, Persona 5 and Gravity Rush 2. So if your top 5 is different to mine please let me know in the comments.

2018 doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, here are some games definitely coming this year:

  • God of War
  • Detroit Become Human
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance
  • Spiderman
  • Ni No Kuni 2
  • Far Cry 5

And many more. Detroit Become Human is the one I’m most excited for, I love Quantic Dream and David Cage is a mad genius.

Have a fantastic year and I’ll see you with my Top 5 of 2018 this time next year.

Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorials – As the game doesn’t really help you!

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Elite Dangerous PS4 TutorialsElite Dangerous has finally launched on PlayStation 4 after swanning around on PC and X Box for the last few years. However, unfortunately, the in game tutorials are not altogether helpful.  So here are my Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorials to help you get your head around this excellent game. You can access the full playlist by clicking here.

Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorials – Know your HUD

Elite Dangerous is a complex space sim with many different ways to play. As a result, the Head Up Display (HUD) can be a little overwhelming and there are no in game explanations of what everything means. So here is a quick tour of the HUD so you can get to grips with what it all does.  The compass is particularly important and it makes navigating the vastness of space much easier.

 

Approaching and Landing at Space Stations

I must say that the sheer scale of the space stations in Elite Dangerous is awesome, and they are much easier to land on. The trick here is the approach to them while you are in supercruise.  This also goes for any stellar body you are flying towards, nav beacons, conflict zones all need you to follow basic rules so you don’t overshoot.  Once again this is not altogether clear in the game’s tutorials. So here’s my version.

 

Space Station Services Tutorial

Once you arrive at a space station there are various things you can get involved with.  This may depend on your play style, do you hand in bounties, exploration scans, pick up a mission or buy and sell goods.  You can also buy new ships, ship systems and weapons.  So much to do, so little help from the game.  So, in true space hero fashion, I will take you through the basics. Enjoy your stay.

 

Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorials – Escaping Interdiction

Just as there are friendly explorers and happy traders in Elite Dangerous, there are also bounty hunters and pirates.  These dodgy characters will be armed with the ability to knock you out of supercruise.  There you are zipping happily towards the safe haven of a space station and BOOM – Interdiction Warning!  You may, depending on your ship and its capabilities, get to escape. In this Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorial, I will show you how. In your face space pirate.

 

 

More Tutorials to Come

The more I play this game the more I love it.  Elite Dangerous generates the same sense of wonder I felt with the original in the 1980s.  However, like the original, there is very little hand-holding and you are left to figure a lot out on your own.  In a game this vast with so many different systems and gameplay options, help may be appreciated now and then. I will continue to add Elite Dangerous PS4 Tutorials as I play the game and learn this stuff myself.  For now, I’ll climb back into my Cobra Mk III and blast merrily into the endless vastness of space.

 

The Death of the Demo – I Miss My Cover Disc

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The upcoming game Prey, has just announced a playable demo for the 27th April. However, this seems to be a rare thing for developers to do, is this signalling the death of the demo?

Try before you buy

Now I have been a gamer for a very long time and my first real recollection of demos was with my Atari ST back in the late 80s.  The Atari ST magazine came with a nice disc that contained all sorts of applications as well as game demos. I remember going to a girlfriend’s house and popping the disc into her brothers ST, his machine had a double sided disc drive (mine didn’t) and we discovered on side B a brilliant 2D/RPG platformer called Elf. As a result, I immediately upgraded to a double disc drive so I could play it. Without the good old demo disc, I wouldn’t have discovered one of my favourite games of that generation.

Cover Disc Demise

Once I moved on from Atari to my beloved PS1, I became a subscriber to Official UK PlayStation Magazine. £5.00 a month for cool articles and most importantly, the cover disc.  As a result, I discovered many fantastic games. Ico, Final Fantasy VIII, Tomb Raider 3, Ratchet and Clank 3, InFAMOUS all playable from the demo disc.

Just have a look at the images below to get an idea of the huge number and variety of games available. It was how we used to make informed decisions about buying games in the days before the internet. Reviews only existed in magazines and you can never get a real feel for a game via text. Demo discs gave the reviews context and were a very important part of gaming culture.  It also gave you a load of free gaming if money was short and you couldn’t afford a brand new game.

Downloading Beats Down Physical

Then came the PS3, to begin with, the demo disc still held sway. However then came the birth if PlayStation Store and the downloadable demo. Now instead of stumping up £6 a month for my copy of OPM3, I could simply download the demo to my PS3 for free! It is a no brainer really, bye bye disc hello download. This was the future, about a year after I got my PS3 (launch day and backwards compatible!) I cancelled my subscription to OPM and relied on downloads for Demos and the burgeoning might of the internet for reviews, who needed magazines and discs.

Optimisation and Bugs

The Death of the DemoThen came the PS4 and suddenly demos started disappearing. Currently, after over 3 years on the market, there are 54 demos available on the PlayStation 4 (6 are Lego games). Not many considering you sometimes got 17 a month on cover discs. WHY? In some cases this, I think, is due to games not really being complete until they are released. We are all only too aware of big day one patches for games and games that are released in a buggy poorly optimised state.

This started on the PS3 with games like Skyrim performing badly to begin with. In the days of the PS1 and 2, there was no way to patch a game, so they were generally properly finished before release. These days we almost expect big patches not only day one, but ongoing.  Therefore if you provide a demo it may perform badly and could well affect sales. Better to have the optimal performance patch on day one and not bother with demos. And it is this, in my view, that started the Death of the Demo.

The Death of the Demo

But probably the principle reason for the death of the demo is the internet and particularly YouTube. YouTube hit the internet back on 14th February 2005 and was acquired by Google November 13th 2006 and gave rise to the YouTube Gamer. Rather than playing demos, we could look at other people playing the game which helped to inform our purchasing decisions.

I have been an avid follower of a number of gaming channels, I have one of my own, and in many cases watching gameplay has helped decide if I wanted the game. I didn’t invest in the original Final Fantasy 14 after seeing gameplay from Lewis and Simon of the Yogscast. However, I picked up XCom Enemy Unknown, a game I had no interest in, after watching gameplay from Total Biscuit. Gameplay videos, trailers, teasers and playthroughs have replaced the demo and developers have no problem with this as is saves a potentially unfinished game from getting bad feedback from a poor demo.

But I Still Long for a Demo

The Death of the Demo may well be a natural extinction, inevitable and essential in the growth of this dynamic media we all love. However, as an old school gamer, I get a little thrill everytime I see the rare delight of a demo hit PSN.  I will certainly play the Prey demo just as I did with Nier Automata and Gravity Rush recently. And who knows if I like it I may just buy it.

Have a fantastic gaming week.

Open World Fatigue. Do We Now Long for Linear?

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Open World Fatigue

I’ve heard the term ‘Open World Fatigue’ mentioned a few times recently, particularly due to the imminent release of Horizon Zero Dawn. Are we now so saturated with massive playable areas that we have become a little lost as gamers? Are we beginning to feel the need to go back to more tightly scripted linear experiences? Well, for what it is worth, here are my thoughts.

If you prefer to watch content instead of reading, click here for the video.

There are more related videos at the bottom of the post.

Are Open World Games a Waste of Time

I have voiced my opinions about this before in a post I published at the end of 2015 called ‘Are Open World Games a Waste of Time?‘ the answer to the question was, not if they are done well.  The problem we have is Open World has become a marketing buzz word, rather than a gameplay system.

Developers have felt the need to shoehorn open world elements into their games to satisfy a suggested demand, some games have suffered as a result. I am going to look at a few games that took open environments and introduced them to games with varying results.

Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End

Uncharted 4 - Open World Fatigue

So incredibly lovely and a joy to explore.

“But Mike!” I hear you cry “Uncharted 4 Isn’t Open World”. True, but it did bring open world elements into the game to enrich exploration. Naughty Dog called it broad linear, certain areas open up to encourage the player to explore. Alternative paths gave options on how to approach different areas; the Madagascan and tropical island areas created huge beautiful areas to loose yourself in. At the same time, they didn’t cram their open areas with unnecessary busy work. No quest markers, no twinkling icons and nothing to draw you away from the narrative. These massive areas artfully moved you through the narrative but altered the pacing of the game to allow you to appreciate it more.

This was a good mix of gameplay elements that enhanced the experience rather interrupting them.  I felt like a bad-ass treasure hunter with the world at my feet.  This was an excellent use of open areas to add to the narrative and to enhance gameplay. Not distracting, not stuffed in to appeal to a demographic but used instead to create an engaging environment.  I am very interested to see how Naughty Dog implement this design into the Last of Us 2. Coz that’s is just going to be awesome!

Final Fantasy 15

Final Fantasy XV - Open World Fatigue

A big open world, rife with things to explore.

In development hell, for nearly 10 years we were all happy when Final Fantasy XV actually turned out to be very good indeed. I must admit my heart sank when “it will be OPEN WORLD” was fist mooted, but the open world is really brilliant.  You could argue that the majority of Final Fantasy Games have been open world; that’s true to an extent.  Final Fantasies 7 through to 12 allowed freedom to move around the vast worlds they created, but this openness wasn’t the driving force of the games. What you had was a strong linear narrative with some minor distractions. Nothing that would tear you away from the story for too long. Although I did sink about 40 hours into breeding a gold Chocobo to get the Knights of the Round materia. The narrative was king and the world was a huge sideline.

Final Fantasy 15 gives you a big, not huge, open world to explore with so much to do. It never felt like busy work, hunts were fun and got you great items, XP and AP boosts. Side quests were actually interesting and hunting down all the Arms and upgrading weapons was never a chore. But, towards the end, I was drawn out of my lovely open world into a highly linear experience to complete the story. Although this was necessary to complete the narrative, to suddenly have no option to explore was a little jarring. Perhaps Naughty Dog’s wide linear approach in the dying stages would have been less intrusive?

Still, Final Fantasy XV is a great game and despite finishing the story I am still buzzing around the world having fun. Actually, it is likely to be the very first game I Platinum!! A great open world let down in this case but poor linear gameplay.

The Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider - Open World Fatigue

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a stunning game. Too much fluff though

The Tomb Raider reboot was an excellent game with interesting open levels and manageable collectables. As someone who played the original on PlayStation 1, I was happy to see Lara return to form so emphatically. As a PS4 owner, I had to wait a year to get my mitts on Rise of the Tomb Raider. I did enjoy the game, but this was my first real experience of Open World Fatigue.

The problem with Rise of the Tomb Raider is that it’s a linear game trying to be open world.  Rather than going to Naughty Dog’s wide linear approach they went with the UbiSoft approach.  What is the Ubisoft approach? get a map and cram it with icons to pad out the game! Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs and The Division all suffered from this; a map crammed full of little icons to give an impression of content rather than a cohesive game.

Rise of the Tomb Raider filled its levels with so many collectables that it actually became overwhelming. I did get all the collectables in Tomb Raider, there were a manageable number and a benefit to collecting them. The sequel, however, padded maps out with unengaging rubbish that were a distraction rather than a compelling addition.  I don’t mind being distracted by things in games, provided the distraction adds value to my experience.

It’s a shame because I did disengage from the game as a result, the story was a bit rubbish and Lara was annoying, which didn’t help.  But the game itself looked lovely and the mechanics were really solid, traversal, stealth and combat were excellent and level design was exceptional.  They should have left it at that and I would have enjoyed the game more. Give me desirable, actionable content, not time filling, irrelevant fluff!

Skyrim – Special Edition

Skyrim - Open World Fatigue

So beautiful and an absolute joy to discover.

The big daddy of open world games is a timeless classic. I played the original on PS3 and have the special edition for PS4. The absolute pinnacle of open-ended gameplay. You can create pretty much any character you like, go anywhere you like and do anything you like all in a vast world filled with intrigue and wonder. When I first played Skyrim I hardly touched the main story and didn’t complete any of the faction quests. I had a max level character who had explored far and wide, slain dragons, demons and bandits by the hundred and was satisfied with doing just that.

Skyrim’s linear stories are not the focus, they are the distraction. The whole point is to sink yourself into the open world and discover the game for yourself; everyone will have a different experience and different stories to tell. Every tantalising icon on your HUD, every overheard conversation, every corner you turn, promises and delivers superb content.

It never bothered me that I didn’t finish it because the 50/60 hours I spent with it gave me all I wanted from the game. A pure Open World done right and not a whiff of Open World Fatigue. The fact is that going back to it on PS4 is a fresh and wondrous experience and I’ve fallen in love with it again (I still haven’t finished the story!!)

Summary

Open World Games

Dragon Age Inquisition is a beautiful game, but I had to discipline myself to finish it.

I think the thing to take away from this is what we really want is gameplay that adds to our experience rather than taking it away. Open worlds have become a trend rather than a gameplay mechanic, it has worked with some but not with others. Open World Fatigue is a good thing as it will drive developers to revisit what open environments mean to them and their players. If linear serves the game best, be linear; if open world is best, be open world.

From what reviewers and internet sources have said so far this is a balance that Horizon Zero Dawn draws very well. Apparently, a strong story is complemented by an immersive open world creating a benchmark game. I guess I’ll find out on 1st March when I get my mitts on a copy. Until then I’ll be riding my Chocobo into a rich sunset of open world glory.

Related Videos


War In Games – Three Games Who Dared to do it Differently

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The Changing Face of War in Games

I have been a gamer for nearly 40 years now and I have witnessed first-hand the evolution of games. One thing that has seen a big change over the last few years is developers approach to the depiction of war in games.

Yes, we still get a swathe of gung-ho gun toting super soldiers taking on the enemy single handed and triumphing against all odds; I have no objection to that as it can be a lot of fun.  I have taken far more enjoyment recently from games that take a more considered approach to the horrors of war.

So here is my look at 3 titles that have taken a very different approach to War in Games. If you prefer to watch content the YouTube Video is Here.

This War of Mine: The Little Ones

This War of Mine - War in Games

This War of Mine – The Little Ones

This is a recent discovery for me thanks to it being free on PlayStation Plus In January. This is a survival game which requires you to find resources, secure your base, craft useful items and keep yourself fed and healthy. However it has a very different way of portraying war in games.

The twist here is that rather than soldiers you are dealing with a group of civilian survivors. Your characters are stuck in a war-torn city that has been bombed to hell. They content with hostile forces trying to dominate or survive, often at their expense.

The genius of this game is that the consequences can be significant.  Stealing from other survivors can cause your team to become sad or depressed to the point they will leave or die. Killing is an option, but not a wise one as you are quite vulnerable.

Consequences

The thing that hammered home this game’s take on conflict was in an early playthrough.  While scavenging a hospital I saw a couple of people who I thought were nasty army types. I managed to kill one, pick up his gun and kill the other. I could see that there were other people were in the hospital so I thought I was in for a big fight. However, it turned out that all the other people were patients, nurses and doctors. They were now frightened to death because their protectors had been murdered. I would have been perfectly safe had I not attacked and could have used the hospital to trade items, mend wounds and treat illness.

Cause and Effect

This War of Mine - War in Games

This War of Mine – The Little Ones

When my character returned to the house in the morning rather than his usual upbeat greeting to his friends, he sank to his knees, put his face in his hands and said “what have I done?” He became depressed and the other two were now sad, statuses that effect several factors such as healing and movement speed.  As a player I felt guilt… a computer game made me feel guilty and held me to account for my actions. Not only had I unnecessarily killed two men but those actions had negatively impacted on the very characters I was supposed to help survive.

Now my decisions are more cautious, more measured. Sometimes the game will force you to make difficult decisions, but now it’s because I have no other choice and am prepared for the consequences. As the game progresses materials become more scarce, scavenging more dangerous, beautifully invoking the desperation every player and npc would feel in that situation.

I have yet to survive 40 days, so I don’t know what the end game is.  I get the feeling that rescue won’t be all sunshine and bunnies though.

So this is a hard-nosed look into the affect war has on people.  It is bleak, reflected by the black and white aesthetic, sometimes harrowing and always emotive. It is not a game that you will enjoy in a traditional sense, but in some respects, it holds up a mirror to the motivation and harsh realities of conflict, which is a very brave and unique thing for a game to do.

Valiant Hearts

War in Games

Valiant Hearts – The Changing Face of War in Games

This is one of my favourite game of this generation and topped my favourite games list for 2014.  Published by UbiSoft Valiant Hearts follows the story of four character’s though the horrors of the First World War.  This is not a shooter or a third person action game, it is a side scrolling puzzle platform game.

The power of this game is its beautiful character development showing painfully how ordinary people were affected by this terrible conflict.  The developers partnered with educational companies to add educations resources, which added terrifying insight into the conflict.  As with This War of Mine it deals with very identifiable characters who we can all relate to.

Character Driven

Emile is a French Farmer who joins the army to help his country and gets to see the full horror of trench warfare first hand.

Karl is Emile’s son-in-law who is thrown out of France at the start of the war because he is German he has to leave his wife and child behind and finds himself fighting on the opposite side to his father in law.

Freddie is an American living in Paris who joins the French army, driven be a need to avenge a loved one killed by a German officer.

Anna is a Belgian vet who volunteers as a medic and has to deal with the death an destruction wrought by the war through treating soldiers on both sides.

There is also Walt a faithful dog that interacts with all of the other characters and is key to solving some of the game’s puzzles.

The game has a very cartoony style which in some respects acts as a buffer to some of the more horrific elements. This prevents the game from becoming so overwhelmingly bleak that players back off.

Balanced Attitude

Valiant Hearts - War in Games

Valiant Hearts – The Great War

Despite the graphical style the story that unfolds is personal and affecting. The flawed characters have understandable motivations and are very likable; as a result the unpleasant and horrific things they see hit home like sledgehammer blows. It is an incredibly sensitive portrayal of one of the most wasteful conflicts the world has ever known.  Another thing this game did very well was not to demonise one side or the other, the game made sure that the real enemy was War not the people involved.

It is a downbeat game and the ending is shocking and horrific and beautifully captures the futility and human cost of any war.  UbiSoft really need recognition for the sensitive and intelligent way they dealt with this topic and it is a game that will stay with me for a long time. If you want to see a full playthrough click here.

Valkyria Chronicles 

Valkyria Chronicles is one of my all-time favourite games.  This is a strategy RPG set in an alternate Europe and an alternate version of WW2. The peaceful country of Gallia is invaded by a hostile and more powerful neighbour.  The story centres around squad 7, a militia force comprised of Gallian citizens who play a big part in the war.

Relatable Characters

Valkyria Chronicles - War in Games

Valkyria Chronicles

There’s a theme emerging here.  Once again none of the protagonists are soldiers, they have some military training but are not full time combat specialists. Welkin is a science teacher, Alicia works in a bakery, Largo is a farmer, Rosie is a cabaret singer.  All the main and incidental characters are given backstory and personality so they never become faceless disposable goons.

Your main story characters cannot die in combat, however the other troops you take with you can die permanently.  The in game personnel tab gives detailed bios of your team and the voice acting has so much quirky character you invest in them. This investment means that death does actually matter an you will mourn for your fallen comrades.

What you have running under the beautiful graphics and excellent gameplay is a story about the effect war has upon decent, ordinary people.

Grown Up Themes

There is a race called the Darcsons who are subjected to segregation, mistrust and racism.  This is the focus of a gameplay section that deals with ethnic cleansing. This was obviously intended to draw parallels with Jewish concentration camps and Hitler’s Final Solution. This scene really stopped me in my tracks, I couldn’t believe this was being addressed in a game and it made other elements of the story, particularly the treatment of the Darcsens, much more powerful.

Humanised Enemies

A stand out moment for me is when Welkin and Alicia are separated from the rest of squad 7 and have to make their way through a forest filled with enemy troops. At the end of this section they come across an enemy soldier, terminally wounded; they care for the soldier and give him comfort until he dies. An enemy commander discovers them the following morning. The commander sees what they have done for one of his men and lets them go. He says that they are not so different after all and hoped that they meet again under better circumstances.  It is a small exchange but importantly humanises the enemy soldiers from then on.

They Could Be You

Valkyria Chronicles - War in Games

Valkyria Chronicles

The strength of this game is that the characters are well developed, likeable, flawed but most importantly relatable; in similar circumstances they could be you. We can’t properly relate to BJ Blazkowitz, or Master Chief because they are super soldiers that we could never hope to be.  However we can relate to teachers, farmers, bakers because we all probably know people who do these things.  People fighting in the First and Second world wars were often conscripted, volunteered or were drafted. They fought with very little training and often poor equipment, sadly their experiences often left more than physical scars.

Although Valkyria Chronicle has an upbeat “Happy” ending, the plight of Squad 7, their victories and their losses stay with you after the game finishes as a reminder that no one really wins in war.

Summary

I honestly believe that games can play a part in educating us about real issues; Life is Strange dealt with Mental Illness and Suicide, This Dragon Cancer looked at the affect terminal illness can has on families. Games like Dragon Age Inquisition and the Last of Us had strong LGBT characters. Even Battlefield’s single player campaign looks at the futility of some of the action in World War One. And the infamous white phosphorous reveal in Spec Ops the Line was shocking in the extreme.

There is still a place for good old fashioned guns blazing action, lets face it it’s just good fun! With the  average age of gamers going up all the time, developers need to look at how content can engage with and impact a more mature audience.  An audience who may very well want more from their gaming experience than simple bloody carnage.

 

Are Open World Games a waste of time?

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With the new generation of consoles Open World Games are becoming increasingly common.  Larger hard drives and more processing power gives developers scope to build massive worlds filled with stuff to do.  But is this a good thing?

Story and Plot

Open World Games

Plot, Character, Story = a good game

I have always been someone who loves story driven games, narrative, character and plot are very important when considering which game to buy.  I recently watched a playthough of Until Dawn a sleeper title that has raised a storm on PS4.  Here is a game that is firmly based in clichéd 80 teen slasher horror, it isn’t breaking new ground but was utterly compelling.  The choices you made really effected the game and, brilliantly, to win you played the character rather than the game.  If someone had a fiery temperament the rash decisions were the right ones; if a character avoided confrontation, hiding would save their lives. Reading character profiles and playing this way gave you a real connection to the character and drove you to try and save them no matter the cost.

At the same time Until Dawn hit the shelves so did Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, an open world game, which is a new direction for the normally meticulously plotted stealth series.  I picked up a copy and now I actually wish I’d got Until Dawn instead.

Metal Gear V – Brilliant but is it too Big?

Open World Games

Distracted by putting a bear on a balloon.

Before I am lambasted by the Metal Gear massif hear me out.  Metal Gear Solid V is a brilliant game, mechanically sound, playable to many different styles, interesting meta game and content up the kazoo.  However I have now put 39 hours in and have uncovered very little of the story.  I spend an hour tweaking Mother Base, another hour chasing down an endangered Okapi,  completing side missions and attaching balloons to as many things as humanly possible.  I haven’t unlocked gun customisation yet so I am prepared to loose more hours to that soon.

Unfinished Business

Open World Games

Dragon Age Inquisition is a beautiful game, but I had to discipline myself to finish it.

My problem with open world games is that there are so many things to do, so many distractions that I never fully engage with the story or necessarily ever see a credits screen.  I fully expect to get my money’s worth out of Metal Gear V but I am unlikely to ever finish it. Here’s my problem, as a story driven gamer I always feel a little let down.

I competed every faction quest in Elder Scrolls Oblivion through to the Knights of the Nine.  I ran the Thieves Guild, the Dark Brotherhood, the Mages Guild, the Fighters Guild, became Champion of the Arena and gathered the Knights of the Nine.  However I never completed the main story, so in my version of Tamriel Oblivion still rules.  With Skyrim I didn’t complete any factions quests or the main story; I put in dozens of hours and was so over-powered that nothing was a challenge so I gave up.

I really disciplined myself to complete Dragon Age Inquisition and I will have to do the same to ensure I finish The Witcher 3.  So is the value in a game about the amount of content or is it quality of experience.  That questions is unanswerable as it is down to personal taste.

Close the Door on Open World Games

Open World Games

MGS V has been criticised for a light story.

I am at the point now where the words Open World Game will make me think twice about my gaming choice. Fallout 4 will be here soon and I really want to play it (I did actually finish Fallout 3) but in a crowded gaming line-up do I have the time to invest 100+ hours in a single game.  I would have finished Until Dawn twice maybe three times to see everything as the story; tight plotting and manageable collectables would make that 20 – 25 hours well spent.  The Uncharted Collections is out in 2 weeks, three tightly plotted games that will, back to back, give me 30 – 40 hours of exquisite gameplay, fantastic characters and engaging story. Whereas MGS V has a slow and unengaging story, snake is a virtually emotionless, almost mute character so I have no desire to find out more.

So for this gamer, Open World Games are going to be severely rationed, there is fun to be found but they have become a fashion rather than a gameplay addition. So no, they’re not a waste of time but as far as I’m concerned for now give me plot, give me story, give me Until Dawn.

Open World Games vs Story Driven Games


Sony E3 Conference Impressions

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Here are my Sony E3 Conference Impressions now I’ve had a couple of days to calm down and absorb all the gaming goodness we were subjected to.

There is no doubt that the Sony E3 Conference was one hell of a ride, with some surprising announcements and some cool games.

I have put a load of videos from the conference at the bottom of the page so you can check them out.

Firstly how did my prediction match reality and secondly what I am most excited for.

My Predictions and how did the match up?

Sony E3 Conference Impressions

Media Molucule’s new IP – Dreams

5: The 1tb PlayStation will be officially announced with price drop.

Nope got this wrong, no announcements.  But with the strong showing of games and exclusive content I don’t think a price drop is needed.

4: Media Molecule will do a live demo of their new game, it will be PS4 only and will probably integrate Morpheus. Release window Q1/2 2016

1 out of 3 – Yes we saw it, no it wasn’t a live demo, no release date yet. Looked cool but what the hell is it!!!!!!!

3: To counter the slightly barren 1st party line-up PS4 will announce PS4 exclusive content for Star Wars Battlefront and Destiny.

Ha ha, totally on the money and an exclusive deal with CoD Black Ops 3 as well. Awesome!!

Sony E3 Conference Impressions

It’s coming in 2016. Yay!!

2: There will be a 10 minute section concentrating solely on Indie Developers, it will kick off with Volume and finish with a live demo of No Man’s Sky. Also No Man’s Sky will get a pre-Christmas release date.

Nope – only a tiny reference to 4 indies coming from Devolve studio, 90 seconds tops.  No Mike Bithell (boo). Yes a live demo of No Man’s Sky. No release date for No Man’s Sky for now. It could still be 2015… we’ll see.

1: The Last Guardian will be played on stage and it will have a release date for October or November this year.

 

Oh hell YES!! Alright so it wasn’t a live demo, but a demo none the less, release next year.  The thing to take away form this is THE LAST GUARDIAN IS HAPPENING!!!!

Right so I didn’t do very well actually, but the Sony E3 Conference was stunning.

Sony E3 Conference Impressions, Recap:

The Line up:

 

Sony E3 Conference Impressions

Geurrilla Games new Action RPG. My favourite game of E3

  • The Last Guardian
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Shenmue 3
  • Horizon – Zero Dawn
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Destiny Exclusive Content
  • Star Wars Battle Front – Exclusive Content
  • Disney Infinity Star Wars – Exclusive content
  • Batman Arkham Knight – Exclusive Content
  • CoD Black Ops – Exclusive Content – Exclusive beta
  • Media Molecule New IP
  • Uncharted 4 live gameplay

I’ve missed a load of stuff I’m sure, but what a line up. Yes most of the exclusive content is timed but it really shows that developers have confidence in the PlayStation 4.  That confidence can only be a good thing for Sony and PS4 gamers in general.

Highlights

Here are my top 5 highlight from the show (reverse order):

5) Final Fantasy VII Remake – I am playing the original on my Vita right now and it is a class game. Not my favourite FF, that honour goes to IX, but this is something that fans have been clamoring for and it looks like PS4 gets it first.

4) The Last Guardian – Considering my last post you may have through this would be higher.  It is here now, that what I wanted from this year’s E3, now the game has to be delivered.

3) No Man’s Sky – Sean Murray is such a passionate and awkwardly engaging character and I just want his game to be great.  I am not going to listen to anything more about it as I want to dive in when it is released and just discover the game.  It seems that’s what Hello Games wants us to do.

2) Uncharted 4 – The live demo (despite a bit of a blip to start) looked utterly incredible.  Obviously it looked great and of course the banter between Sully and Nate was hilarious, I mean duh! The thing that got me was the sheer scale of it, the gunfight, the jeep chase, the non linear levels.  Holy crap it took me straight back to the train section of Uncharted 2 but twice as excited. March 2016 cannot come soon enough.

1) Horizon Zero Dawn – Geurrilla Games, famous for Killzone, produce an incredible looking 3rd person action RPG.  The world was beautiful, the animation smooth, the character voice was dynamic and interesting.  The boss battle, utterly compelling.

Horizon Zero Dawn was the highlight of the show for me, yes of course Uncharted will be amazing, but this is brand new, from a good studio, with a post post apocalyptic setting and robo-dinosuars you fight with a bow. HELL YES!

This E3 has been amazing, the next 18 to 24 months are going to be a gamers paradise.



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