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Sony did not deliver the great E3 of last year, when Uncharted 2: Among Thieves delivered the thrills, Final Fantasy XIV delivered the surprise, and there were all kinds of new shiny games to talk about. Instead, they staged a show completely removed from the last. There were some disappointing showings, bizarre pacing problems, and a few revelatory moments of joy that crossed console divides to become universally appealing. While not as strong as games in shows past, this year brought some worthy sequels and one shock announcement that has the entire PlayStation audience in a joyous delirium. Just as in the Nintendo article, three games stand out to be the most indicative of the PS3 and PSP’s direction in general.

Sorcery:

Sorcery is one of the pleasant surprises of this year’s show. In essence, it is a Harry Potter game in everything but name that accomplishes some excellent integration of the new Move controller. During the demo in the press conference, plenty of elements were shown to indicate that the Move is finally being put to some unique use. The eerily accurate arm tracking and its translation to aiming controls for offensive spells of many kinds proved the standout, as did the moment when the protagonist consumed a potion in direct comparison with the actions of the person playing. And this was not, thankfully, another sports demo–though we did get one of those as well, but a somewhat original title with no previous ties to another franchise. As a matter of fact it was one of the only games at the Sony conference to be original on any level.

This is a broader issue with the whole show, rather than one limited to the Sony side of the floor. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all failed to deliver much in the way of games that were not sequels of some kind, and many of the new games discussed throughout were sequels to games released only one or two years ago. Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Halo, and others are all getting new entries, and the first two had games released just last year. It has become endemic to all corners of the industry, even to Sony, which began this generation by pushing mainly new properties (Uncharted, inFamous, Resistance, etc.). Those failed to sell phenomenally, so here we are back again recycling ancient concepts in slightly newer shells for the fourth or fifth time. I have no issue with good sequels, but the entire industry is beginning to look dusty at this point.

What was the subject of this section again? Oh, yes. Sorcery. At any rate, the game appears to be a fantastic showcase for Move controls. Whether the game adds up to much more than that is a matter to be settled when it hits stores.

Portal 2:

Certain developers have been vocal concerning certain hardware systems this generation, and have suddenly retracted those statements, foot planted firmly in mouth. First, Valve stops leaving all of their work off the Mac, then they pull a lightning-quick turn and Portal 2 is set to land on the PS3. Beyond that, the game appears to feature some features exclusive to the PS3, and will land at the same time without having to be squeezed through EA’s port team as The Orange Box was a few years ago.

As could be expected, the game looks to retain the same style, heart, and play style that made the original one of the best games in the year it was released in. Another, possibly more friendly AI with a British accent has joined your cause, and the one that you trashed in the last game has woken up and revived the facility, lacing it with ever more devious traps and snares. At this point, much of the game is still shrouded in mystery. Its look is still roughly the same, just with more added onto the gloriously sterile shell of the first. Vegetation has overrun the testing centre, leading to a new organic lushness that enriches the look of the game considerably.

New additions to the actual solving of the puzzles include deflecting lenses, and strips of blue and orange paint that cause you to jump higher and run faster, respectively. The iconic portal gun returns, of course, or else the title of the game would be far less literal and appropriate. There is almost no doubt that Valve will not do anything less than a fantastic job, as the record of their work approximates flawlessness. Now that it will arrive on my console of choice, it has become one of if not my most anticipated game shown at E3.

Twisted Metal:

Sony’s game to end the show was another surprising reversal, this time for David Jaffe, who has frequently (and untruthfully) denied his involvement in a new Twisted Metal project over the past few years. Ultimately, this was an announcement with little immediate impact on me personally. I was never a PlayStation or PS2 owner, and have never played a Twisted Metal game. However, I think that the basic car combat concept is one far too little explored in this era. Actually, I have very little to say about this game, except that it has a nicely black sense of humour and I have read that it has controls that do not mesh with those of other, more conventional racing games. Perhaps that is a good thing, though I imagine I will have some difficulty acclimatizing to the controls.