During our visit to the Sony booth during PAX Prime 2013 we were treated to a wide array of games that offered a great look at what the pending Playstation 4 console has to offer.
While shooters like Operation Blacklight and puzzle games like Octodad showed different ends of the spectrum as did Knack and Silhouette the biggest draws for me were Killzone: Shadow Fall and Infamous: Second Son.
Infamous: Second Son was presented in a viewing room and while it did not offer any hands on time, what was shown was very impressive. After some varied scenes the gameplay video showed a futuristic Seattle in great detail. Having lived almost 30 years in WA, I was stunned by the detail level of the game. The rotunda of the Space Needle was there as were the back steps of the Seattle Center’s Pacific Science Center. As the protagonist battled against enemy forces using a mixture of blasts and other powers, I was blown away to see just how detailed the city was depicted.
The battle moved to the Pacific Science Center which was captured in exacting detail down the dinosaurs and fountain as well as the stairs and viewing areas.
The free flowing movements of the game and the eye popping graphics were amazing and one viewer said that the detail level was so amazing he could walk to his house from the Seattle Center in game.
While this is a slight exaggeration the game was spectacular. The aerial combat and environmental destruction showed off the blazing speed and action offered by the system and game.
Up next we went to play the latest Killzone game and were told that due to some connectivity issues within the center we would be playing against bots to start while this issue was worked on. Since this was during the early press access it was expected to have a few pre opening issues but the game did not disappoint. The game ran smoothly and while others have reported some framerate issues, I did not see it during our two sessions of gameplay. To be fair, I was caught up in the action as I find shooters on a console a real challenge as I am used to a mouse and keyboard. No matter how many shooters I play on consoles I find that I tend to overcompensate and have a slower reaction time. That was true for my early rounds but as I became more accustomed to the controls I was able to start taking down the attacking bots.
I had a sniper rifle and pistol and as we moved about a multi-level complex I found the detail level and particle effects to really be a step up from what we had become used to.
I came around a corner and got the drop on a bad guy who took a few shots to bring down. The area you hit has a big effect on how fast they go down as I learned soon after when the bot started to rise to continue the fight as I stood above it. Thankfully a few rounds from my pistol ended that threat.
The grenade was a big help as it caused enemy units to scatter and with their capes flowing, I took cover and picked them off as they appeared.
I came upon three enemy units in a doorway and started firing to see how many I could hope to get. I was able to take down two before they got me and that was due to a mixture of a slow fire and reload rate for my gun and concentrated fire from the enemy units.
While we saw just a small sample of the game, I was encouraged by what I saw and look forward to seeing what is in store when the final versions ship.
You can check out our June and pending September magazine and our coverage of the E3 Expo and a report on the Xbox one below. Sep. Issue will cover PAX PrIME, Gamescom, D23 Expo, and a look at the new consoles.
