The PlayStation Experience has come and gone for another year, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t bring some good and some not so good stuff with it. As with last year’s keynote, PlayStation came in swinging and left the room full of PlayStation fans impressed for the most part. Granted there were a few moments where it seemed Sony might be dropping the ball, but they quickly made up for it by doing what Sony does best: cater to their audience. And with that, let’s take a look at what the internet thought was the greatest thing of all time, and what was the worst thing to ever happen ever. Hyperbole is fun! Hit the jump to read on or watch the showcase yourself below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVyVelgMh2w
High – Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
One of the biggest announcements at PSX 2016 had to be the reveal of a brand new entry into the VS series. Fans of the series were unsure about the future of Marvel after Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 didn’t stack up to the legend that is Marvel vs Capcom 2. But granted, how could it? MvC2 is a game that garnered a following that is similar to Super Smash Bros: Melee, and much like the title that followed Melee, Super Smash Bros: Brawl, UMVC3 was left fighting a losing battle. This isn’t to say that UMvC3 was bad, it wasn’t, it just couldn’t live up to its predecessor’s legacy. The dream for Marvel vs Capcom Infinite is that the series will return to mechanics similar to those of previous titles like the original Marvel vs Capcom and Marvel Super Heroes. And from the short gameplay trailer that came out shortly after the showcase, those dreams seem to be well on their way to becoming true. Also, Mega Man X is finally in another video game!
Low – Dreadnought
The announcement of Dreadnought itself wasn’t that much of a low, the reveal trailer was good and action packed. But the low really became apparent after people flocked to the demo stations and were quickly confused by the slow plodding pace of the multiplayer spaceship flight simulator. Dreadnought sports a strong emphasis on team coordination and positioning, two things that were not apparent in the trailer shown during the keynote. PC gamers already familiar with Dreadnought have been waiting for it eagerly since it’s initial reveal way back in 2014, but it seems the wait for the game will be extended for just a little bit longer as it is set to launch sometime in 2017.
High – The PlayStation Vita is still alive!
Although we didn’t get any confirmations about a brand new iteration of the PlayStation Vita, “the little handheld that could” received plenty of love on the big stage. Games like Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, Fallen Legion, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Lara Croft GO, Wind Jammers, and Ys Origin are all coming to PS4 of course, but it was great seeing the Vita have some attention.
Low – Call of Duty League
If there was ever a time to not mention Call of Duty, it would be at PSX. Although Sony now holds the “exclusive” rights to Call of Duty and therefore now has the distinct pleasure of revealing DLC from Call of Duty before Microsoft. They also inherited the almost universal dislike of the best-selling first-person shooter in the gaming industry. The second Call of Duty was mentioned on stage the room literally became silent, leaving Shelby Cox to awkwardly power through the announcement of the new season of the Call of Duty World League. Personally, I really like Call of Duty so I don’t quite understand why it’s so maligned by gamers even though it consistently outsells all other shooters every year. But either way, it’s just a matter of opinion.
High – Naughty Dog
The biggest highs of the keynote all belonged to one company, Naughty Dog. On stage, they revealed the first new standalone chapter in the Uncharted 4 story with Uncharted: The Lost Legacy starring the sorely missed Chloe Frazier and Uncharted 4 villain Nadine Ross. Exactly what the chapter is about is unknown, but more Uncharted is hardly ever a problem. In addition to the reveal of the new Uncharted chapter, we got a trailer for Crash Bandicoot: The N’sane Trilogy which featured gameplay of the remade PlayStation classic series. And, by all accounts, Crash looks better and plays exactly as fans of the series remember. And finally, to close out the keynote, the entire room erupted at the reveal of The Last of Us Part 2 featuring an older Ellie. Not much else is known about the game, except for a few tidbits mentioned here and there by the developers on twitter.
So there you have it! The highs and lows of PSX 2016’s keynote! Although there were a lot of games talked about during the keynote, I couldn’t possibly get to it all! And, to be fair, this is all coming from my own perspective, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you wonderful people out there disagree with me. What were your favorite moments of PSX? What were your least favorite? Let me know in the comments below!