E3 2009: The Best and Worst of Sony

E3 2009: The Best and Worst of E3

So how did the big three stack up side by side? GamePro takes a look at Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, analyzing what we did see, what wasn't shown, and most importantly, who brought their "A" game to the show floor.

Everyone's had their big E3 Keynotes and the gaming world is still picking up the pieces from Microsoft's Natal Project, Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus lineup and Sony's Press Keynote. But the REAL question is: Who won the overall show? GamePro's sitting down and ranking the E3 Keynotes one by one, giving props to the good hardware and titles that were announced, lamenting the bad moments of each show and seeing what E3 predictions didn't come true.

E3 2009: The Best and Worst of Sony

ALSO READ: Complete in-depth analysis of Sony's motion controller, brought to you by GamePro Sports.

ALSO READ: More E3 2009 news, twitters and upcoming games live from the GamePro crew!

ALSO READ: Fresh Sony and PlayStation 3 news and game assets, with current updates from E3 2009!

The Good

God of War III
The third game in Sony's gore-drenched action trilogy, God of War III, is goddamn spectacular. Playable on the show floor, the God of War III demo allows you to rip through a slew of new enemies including a behemoth-sized titan, a chimera, and Helios. Even though we got to play the first thirty-minutes of the game, we're still starving for more of Kratos' latest brutal quest. We guarantee fans of the series will be blown away when they see this thing in action.



See the giant, lava spewing Titan in the background? Yeah. He's not a happy camper.


Final Fantasy XIII
Sony really hit the Moogle out of the park with their Final Fantasy announcements this year. New footage of Square's next RPG saga, Final Fantasy XIII, showed us a lot CG graphics, peppered with a few in-game shots to keep us guessing where the cutscenes ended and began. The big difference here, though, was some impressive English voice acting and all-new combat and plot scenarios. We just might be in love with main character Lightning.



Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
A true feast for the eyes, Uncharted 2 is, without question, one of the best looking games displayed at E3 2009. Starting from news about the multiplayer beta test to the explosive E3 trailer from Naughty Dog, we've been stunned by the well deserved hype. From a high rooftop, you can witness the staggering level of detail of the city below you. On top of being a great deal prettier than Naughty Dog's last Uncharted game, Among Thieves a tremendous amount of action as well. After seeing Drake leap from roof to roof, filling enemies (including a helicopter) with lead, we can't wait to jump into the full game.


Sid's E3 Treasure Trove

GamePro senior editor Sid Shuman?s hands-on impressions from E3 2009's show floor.


The Last Guardian, a.k.a. Trico
You can definitely say one thing about this new project from Team Ico: it looks damn beautiful. Footage shown from The Last Guardian gave us a look at some more interaction between the main character (who may be the son of Shadow of the Colussus' Wanderer) and the mysterious, mythical beast that we all saw in the leaked footage from a short while ago. Honestly, we're still intrigued by that amazing in-game trailer shown during the Sony Keynote. It's pretty obvious that the game will have the wide, immersive environments that the Ico series is known for, and even the music is pleasing to our delicate senses.


Gran Turismo PSP
After not hearing anything new about the next Gran Turismo game for a long time, Gran Turismo has finally reared its gorgeous head. Well, not in the way we expected. Still, Sony remained impressive when they showcased a bit of the new Gran Turismo for PSP, which looks way to good to be true. Hey, 800 cars doesn't sound half bad, especially when they run at 60 FPS.


Assassin's Creed 2
We're suckers for new Assassin's Creed 2 footage, and the mechanics shown at Sony's keynote looked way too slick for their own good. Ubisoft showed off the game, complete with the Flying Machine that will help Ezio get around cities in the Italian Renaissance, and we noticed no loading times when they crossed one end of the city to another. Of course, we got to see some lethal Assassin kills, including disarming combos and the double handed face-impaling trick. Hopefully, this game includes good swimming, since that's where the trailer cut. Besides, over 450 employees can't be wrong.



Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
A full-blown sequel to 2004's Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was revealed at Sony?s keynote, and this time the action takes place on the PSP with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. But Konami has declared that this is not a shrunken down Metal Gear experience. From the debut of the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker trailer, which shows multiple Snakes fighting cooperatively against enemies including a giant new Metal Gear, we believe them. This game looks like the best handheld Metal Gear game we've seen.


PSP Go! (and the rest of the PSP lineup.)
Even though the various news leaks took a little thunder out of the big reveal, Sony still impressed us with the sleek look and upgraded design for the PSP Go. Downloadable titles will definitely cut down on that annoying noise from the absent UMD Drive. Of course, we barely got a glimpse at Resident Evil Portable, Fat Princess and more, but we sure as heck didn't miss it.


The Bad

Sony's Unnamed Motion Controller Gizmo

(For a complete in-depth look, see the GamePro Sports E3 Report on Sony's new motion controller.)

To be honest, Sony didn't really waste our time by squeezing smaller titles into their press conference like other companies -- we're looking at you Nintendo. But one thing from the briefing that we weren't all that enthused about was the PS3 motion controller. Sure, it's impressive that Sony's trying motion control, but the device is an obvious attempt to cash in on Nintendo's success with their innovative Wii controllers. This one still doesn't merit the lengthy (and awkward-looking) tech demo showing the device.


"Hold on, wait, I swear this was working right yesterday. S**t. Okay, I think I've got it." [Image and mockery courtesy of Engadget.]

Overall Grade: B+

Comments [100]

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denveraic

I can't help but thing Facebook and Twitter on Live are going to be huge hits. People are eating this stuff up.

splitphilly

I only saw MS and Sony. I liked MS the best, but I disliked it the most. Twitter, Facebook, Actresses, an Audi, The Beatles, Steven Spieldberg...

337612,337632
Nero_

MS had the best this year, considering they offered more suprises and Splinter Cell Conviction looked better than expected

ALL3

MS pulled this one out, hell they even had the 2 remaining Beatles on stage... Seeing Stephen Spielberg made me kind of laugh though because he is looking more and more like his South Park counterpart. Sony wasn't far behind MS, but I have to agree that their motion control just seems cheap and low considering all the Nintendo Wii bashing they did over the past 3 years.

Games I am most excited for are GOW3, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Both Halo's , Uncharted 2 and Mario and Metroid.
This E3 clearly puts the win in the lap of the consumer for 2009-10

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maverickneo

Sonys motion control is cheap and sucks. Project Fatal looks VERY promising. I loved Microsofts lineup. I HATED nintendos. Why!? Looks like nintendos novelty is starting to wear off, but whatever, they still are/have sold way more consoles than anyone else.

337227
UptOliMMit_24

wow, too bad ps3 got a B+, haha! and i think it's the best year for 360 and Microsoft

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