E3 2012 PS3Home Coverage for Sony & Playstation Summary / Round-up

The PS3Home team brings you the best E3 2012 summary:

We have been working hard to get all of the best information, news and details about the upcoming games at the E3 event for our fans. Below is the complete PS3Home E3 summary / round-up

Day 1 (June 5^th)

The expectations for this year’s E3 were extremely high, particularly for Sony fans and supporters. In addition to some great upcoming releases planned to hit the shelves in the near future, the first day of the event saw some very interesting news concerning the Vita.

As you may or may not already be aware, the Playstation Vita is officially adding PS1 cross compatibility to the Vita. If this news wasn’t stimulating enough, we’re also expecting Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified and Assassin’s Creed: Liberation to make a significant debut on the Vita very soon. Both of these titles are certainly poised to add an air of polish, class and overall value to the Vita (and what it has to offer as a console). Additionally, a large number of interesting indie titles are slated to hit the Vita this year.

Assassin’s Creed III made big waves on the first day of E3, but this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Regardless of whether you’re devoted to Sony or Microsoft (or both), ACIII continues to be one of the most highly anticipated upcoming releases for both consoles / organizations.

Most of the day’s excitement for PS3 owners was generated by the “Watch Dogs” demo (courtesy of Ubisoft) and “Beyond: Two Souls” (which is a creation of Quantic dream, which developed Heavy Rain). Both of these titles wowed attendees with their graphical prowess, which is quite extraordinary. Ubisoft’s “Watch Dogs” is slated to be a multi console release while “Beyond: Two Souls” is only coming to the PS3. Both of these games are worth keeping an eye on; especially “Beyond”, as it will incorporate a higher degree of action than what you might expect from Quantic Dream.

The survival horror / action genre was on full display at E3 2012 as well, with Dead Space 3 and Resident Evil 6 making big waves and creating commotion. Both of these survival / nightmare drenched titles seem to be pushing toward delivering a more action-packed third person adventure within the context of the usual scares which we crave.

Lastly, day 1 of E3 saw the gameplay demos for the upcoming 2013 titles “Tomb Raider” and “The Last of Us” (which are being released by Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog, respectively). This upcoming Tomb Raider release is actually going to be a reboot, and is in many ways looking to revolutionize the franchise. Sure, there will still be plenty of action and puzzles to solve, but the series seems to be taking a more decidedly serious approach to the manner in which the content is delivered as well as in addressing many of the control / gameplay-related issues of the past. Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us” is essentially everything that a PS3 owner who enjoys post-apocalyptic games could possibly want. “The Last of Us” is visually appealing, packed with action, and really drives home the prevailing themes associated with desperation associated with the post-apocalyptic genre. If there’s one bad thing about “The Last of Us” though, it’s that it apparently won’t be released this year.

Day 2 (June 6^th)

Our Sony and Playstation-related coverage of E3 continues, with a recap of what went on during day 2 of the event.

Day 2 of this year’s (2012) E3 was more-or-less dominated by Nintendo related news, but who wants to hear about that, right? However, despite the fact that Sony kind of took a back seat on the second day, there were still a number of very interesting reveals and demonstrations.

First off, Deep Silver announced that it is going to be releasing a follow-up to the original Dead Island sometime in the future (apparently they’re making us wait until summer to provide us with an official release timetable). The title will be named Dead Island Riptide.

Arguably, the big news story for Sony and Playstation fans might be the announcement that “The Last Guardian” is still alive and well (and under development). In case you aren’t aware, “The Last Guardian” is being brought to us by the same company that gave us the runaway hits “ICO” and “The Shadow of the Colossus”. We’ve been waiting since 2009 for some more official information about “Guardian”, so it’s somewhat refreshing to hear that the project is still on the table as it were.

We also caught a glimpse of the new Playstation Move racing wheel that’s going to be coming out sometime this autumn. Aside from the prospect of turning the Move motion controller into the ultimate wireless racing wheel, perhaps the biggest selling point of this new device is that it is slated to be compatible with virtually any and all racing titles. One of the great features of the Move racing wheel is that it is “convertible”, meaning that it can function as both a conventional wheel-like steering device as well as a pair of handlebars. In terms of immersing the racing-oriented gamer in the experience, the Move racing wheel is going to be tough to beat. Not only does it incorporate extremely precise movement tracking and vibration feedback, it is also going to be compatible with a host of top-tier games that are upcoming or soon-to-be-released.

There were also a number of noteworthy titles that made appearances on day 2 of the E3 mayhem. One of Sony’s mainstay franchises, the God of War series is going to be releasing a new entry very soon. God of War: Ascension, which is a prequel to God of War 1, is looking really good; but don’t get too excited because it won’t come out until March 2013. Playstation All-stars battle royale was also referenced today, which is going to make its way onto both the PS3 and Vita. Moreover, PS All-stars BR is going to offer cross-compatibility between PS3 and Vita users. Dishonored is another game that was reveled on day 2 which shows quite a bit of promise. It is basically a largely linear stealth / action game with a sandbox feel that allows players to achieve more individualistic solutions for objectives.

Day 3 (June 7^th)

The final day of this year’s E3 was marked by an intense focus on the many extraordinary upcoming games which are either “inches away from release” or “under intense development”. Trailers and gameplay demos were the big talk of day 3, which is perfectly untreatable because there were some amazing games on display.

In the category of the visually spectacular we have Crysis 3. To say that this game is a head turner is an understatement, but what else would you expect from the series that pretty much redefined what constitutes “high-end graphics”. Then of course you have Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which is poised to (yet again) reinvent the multiplayer-enabled shooter for us all. Treyarch has introduced some entirely new elements to the highly enjoyable Black Ops series, including new environments and locales.

Star Wars 1313 (which apparently may or may not be coming to various current or next-gen consoles) was a big attraction as well, and why not? We’re only talking about one of the most enduring and highly lauded movie / game / cultural franchises of all-time here. This upcoming entry into the Star Wars gaming pantheon however is much “darker” or grittier than anything that we’ve seen thus far. It’s not only much more violent than you might expect, it really does a great job of conveying the seediness of the underworld in the Star Wars universe.

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation for the Playstation Vita also had a big day today. The bottom line is that Liberation looks and plays exactly like a full Assassin’s Creed console release, period. In fact, the same engine that’s being used for the major console release of Assassin’s Creed III is found here driving Liberation. All in all, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation for the Vita is starting to look like it might be one of the best games for that particular system; it truly looks fantastic!

Speaking of Assassin’s Creed III, in addition to the single player content, the multiplayer for the upcoming blockbuster was also on fully display. New modes of play, character skills and maps are making an appearance in the upcoming sequel. Is the gameplay significantly changing? Not at all; but isn’t that why we all love the Assassins’ Creed series? Because it’s built upon a stable formula which works and is highly enjoyable?

FIFA fans were also pumped up by the upcoming FIFA 13 release, which is going to incorporate a number of changes to the core gameplay which will (once again) streamline and improve upon what we’ve come to expect from the franchise. Increased realism and response are things you should expect from FIFA 13, as well as the usual visual enhancements which seem to be standard with each new release. PES 2013 was also announced.

Also, for fans of the Playstation Move controller some exciting news emerged on this last day of festivities. Apparently, some developers are currently working on elements of Portal 2 which would allow players to use the Move controller in game, and new DLC will come soon. If you’ve played Portal 2, then you know just how interesting this proposition actually is.