PlayStation held its Gamescom 2014 Press Conference last night. There were few surprises, although the company did manage to spring something new on gamers by releasing a mystery “interactive teaser” and letting everyone figure out what it is on their own. Some details about Far Cry 4 and the new Metal Gear Solid game also appeared alongside news that more than a few indie games would be making the move to the PlayStation platform.
Silent Hill
The will be a new Silent Hill title appearing at some unknown time. Details were revealed at the end of an appropriately thematic “interactive teaser” (that can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network under the name PT). Mostly, the only thing PlayStation has to say about the game is that Hideo Kojima will be working with director Guillermo Del Toro. Considering Del Toro’s pedigree with making horror movies, this might be a good title to look forward to.
Anyone who isn’t inclined to run through the rather lengthy teaser by themselves can turn to Twitch, which already has playthroughs recorded.
Far Cry 4
PlayStation 4 users will have access to the exclusive Keys to Kyrat exclusive. That is the free multiplayer portion that allows friends who don’t own the game to join in and help the player out by flying a helicopter around. There is a huge catch though: those who buy it are given 10 keys and each key is only good for two hours. It appears to be more of just something to allow people to take a look at the game before buying it for themselves. Which is quite an interesting method of pulling this off.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
An occult mystery game set to arrive on the PS4. The developer is promising a pulp detective thriller kind of game with a Lovecraftian setting. There is no combat at all, and instead appears to focus only on exploration and investigation. Any resemblance to Murdered: Soul Suspect may be coincidental.
BloodBorne
The spiritual successor to Dark Souls will be arriving within the next six months; which should put it well within the original launch date of early 2015. BloodBorne is another dark gothic style action game with lots of gore and violence. It also includes a new system that encourages aggressive gameplay, where players will be able to regain health if they hit an enemy after taking damage. There is a limited amount of time to get the recovery hit, so players will have to figure out if rushing in worth the risk.
Alienation
A twin stick shooter from the makers of Resogun. It’s not a new idea, but it looks like an entertaining time to just blast your way through an alien horde. Alienation looks like it was mainly designed with multiplayer in mind; allowing players to either team up and support each other or turn on comrades for whatever reason. The benefits of either haven’t exactly been made clear, but stabbing friends in the back is always an entertaining idea. This particular game bears a slight resemblance to Dead Nation, which is kind of the same thing except with zombies. Although that is expected since it was made by the same company.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Details about the return of the cardboard box as an item have emerged. New ways of using the stealth implement have been introduced, some of which are so odd that it is hard to imagine why Hideo Kojima thought it would fit into the game. Like the box from Metal Gear Solid, the current cardboard box allows Snake to hide in plain sight. However, it has been upgraded with some new tricks. Snake can now pop out of the top of the box too shoot at people, turning it into a strange murderous jack-in-a-box. It would be a crime if there is no achievement attached to this.
The box can also be decorated with images to distract or misdirect enemies. The video demo shows Snake attaching a picture of a saluting solider that makes enemies think he is friendly, at least from a distance. Swimsuit-clad models can also be pasted on the sides to draw attention to the box, allowing players to leap out and deal with enemies that get too close. It is all a little surreal.
Indie Games
PlayStation’s support for indie games continues; as it promised during the official announcement of the PS4. Zombie survival MMO Day Z will arrive on the PlayStation 4 at some point, although this would ideally be after the game exits early access; whenever that is. Depression Quest will also be joining Day Z, although the concept behind the adventure is a little less playful. This particular game is meant to help people with depression understand and deal with their condition. The developers had almost decided against announcing the game at Gamescom as it occurred so close to the suicide of comedian Robin Williams who was said to be dealing with his own bout of depression.
Another title meant to illustrate living in less than ideal conditions is also arriving on the PS Vita. Papers, Please has the player take the role of an immigration officer of the fictional third world country of Arstotzka. It is up to them to screen potential immigrants and visitors while meeting quotas to make a living.
Looking forward to the rest of 2014
PlayStation also announced a series of other in-house and third party titles that will be arriving on the PS3 and PS4 within the next few months. It looks like the previous generation console still has a lot of life in it yet, as almost all of the announced games will eventually be making their way there. The real surprise was the new Silent Hill game with Del Toro working on it, although it appears to be a long way down the road.
Interestingly enough, not much was said about Bungie’s next MMO shooter Destiny. The game is due next month and there has been little build up to it; not counting the odd news about Paul McCartney and the Destiny theme song.
That being said, it is good to see PlayStation keeping its promise of promoting indie games; especially on both PS4 and Vita. If anything, it will help these developers continue to make insightful and entertaining games.
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