Sony PlayStation E3 Press Conference 2016: Welcome to the show

Sony knows how to put on a good show. From live orchestral music conducted by acclaimed music composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead) to the opulence of the auditorium, the production values of the PlayStation press conference this year was on another level compared to the competition. With a flurry of new IPs, some returning favourites, and strange PlayStation VR announcements, it had everything. Nothing, however, had the impact of its dramatic introduction.God of War: Kratos has a beardEveryone’s favourite pale god-killer is back sporting a magnificent beard. The new God of War, after all, is rooted in Norse mythology and beards are mandatory.Nothing adds more drama than sinister sounding orchestral music, and McCreary’s crew did not disappoint. It was wonderful to watch a gimmick transform into artistry as the live gameplay demo of a bearded Kratos and his son were urged on by a live band performing the game’s score.The visceral feel of combat felt accentuated by the closer over-the-shoulder camera, while the game certainly looked great, with Sony’s first party studios once again pushing the PlayStation 4 to its limits.Days Gone: Sons of Anarchy meets The Walking DeadFrom Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Bend studio (whom you might remember from PS Vita game Uncharted: Golden Abyss), comes Days Gone, an open-world action action game featuring a biker protagonist.At the end of the presentation, Sony also showed off an intense gameplay section. Things seemed to go south pretty quickly; always a good sign.The Last Guardian: Awakening from its slumberThe Last Guardian is coming this October 26^th. We got to see some new gameplay featuring combat and platforming. The visual style and gameplay look great, but I think everyone was just happy to see a confirmed release date more than anything.Horizon Zero Dawn: Because one dawn is too manyAmong other things, Guerilla Games’ latest features a crafting system, resource gathering, multi-purpose bow, strategic combat, dialogue trees and a fantastical open world filled with mechanical abominations.The latest gameplay footage was a huge improvement in terms of content on display compared to last year, and is sure to get players excited for its elaborate boss fights and dynamic sandbox. The game comes out on 28^th February, 2017.Detroit Become Human: Emotional androidsDavid Cage and Quantic Dream bring us a game that could only be made by David Cage and Quantic Dream. Multiple choices, their consequences and androids with emotion—all set in the one of the world’s most picturesque, beautiful cities, Detroit.They don’t call it the “Geneva of America” for nothing.Resident Evil VII: PSVR’s killer app?There hasn’t been a scary Resident Evil game in years and this definitely looks like a return to form.Incongruous music aside, the VR demo was quite atmospheric; wouldn’t you agree? The game is set for a January 24^th, 2017 release.PlayStation VR: $399 hits a sweet spotSet for release on October 13^th of this year in the United States, PSVR is expected to have 50 games by the end of this year.Farpoint is a sci-fi shooter, set in a sparsely populated alien planet featuring drone-shooting and a giant spider boss.Star Wars Battlefront’s X-Wing VR Missionwas reminiscent of a Star Destroyer mission from Rebel Assault.Batman Arkham VR is a PlayStation exclusive tech demo debuting this October which showed us that you can make anything cool just by adding The Joker’s voice to it.I’m still not sure what to make of the Final Fantasy XV VR Experience.Yes, exactly.Call of Duty Infinite Warfare: Undeserving of all the hate?I couldn’t figure out what I was watching initially because I’d forgotten that Call of Duty Infinite Warfare existed. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised (if not supremely thrilled) that the gameplay was pretty good.Space combat, zero gravity and all the other gimmicks seemed to work together reasonably well. In fact, I was disappointed when the guy restored life support and gravity to the ship. Infinite Warfare comes out on November 4^th this year.The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare remaster trailer followed. It’s pretty much what you’d expect, and I’m every series fan will want to revisit the best Call of Duty game ever made.Crash Bandicoot: A new coat of paint, nothing moreCrash, Crash 2, Crash Warped are all receiving PS4 remasters, while Crash will make an appearance in the next Skylanders game. That’s pretty much it, really.Skylanders Imaginators: Whacky customisationThe latest installment will let players create their own Skylanders with a slew of crazy customisation options. The game comes out this October.LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens: OuttakesSignature heroism, signature humour. This looks like it’s actually going to be pretty cool. The demo is now presently available to download on the PlayStation Store.Death Stranding: Kojima is backAn intro featuring a stanza from William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence can obviously only be followed by the image of a naked Norman Reedus on a beach. Death Stranding looks like it’s going to feature Kojima’s signature philosophy-meets-80s-action-movie style. Hey, it’s never gone wrong before!Spider-Man: With great power comes no release informationInsomniac Games appear to be making a Spider-Man game. While Marvel might be winning the battles being waged in the cinema, the Arkham series is clearly the benchmark when it comes to videogames. Could the new Spidey game be the one to finally stand up to the competition? We will find out at an undisclosed future date.