Ranking the PS4 Games with Breakdowns: Sony’s Big Reveal

While many expected Sony to show off their hardware tonight, though they did talked about the internal components and what it could do, the games were what stole the show overall and are surely to be the talk in the coming days. Many of the biggest developers that Sony has in their own stable and third-parties alike came out in bunches to show off some footage and spread the word about what they are working on for the next-generation. Indeed they did look impressive, but the more enticing piece is that every game that was shown tonight was absolutely massive in scale. Even though we weren’t able to attend the event tonight, we did virtually with millions of others via the web, and here is our take on where each of the games shown off tonight ranked in order compared to each other, and why.

1. inFAMOUS: Second Son

While many expected that another inFAMOUS game would be forthcoming to the PlayStation 4, most didn’t expect the game to be shown tonight. Even in the capacity shown and not really knowing a ton about it, the game looked fantastic and absolutely jaw-dropping. It looks like a change in formula will be coming, which would be a welcomed edition to the already  great inFAMOUS series. While the game obviously follows a new prognosticate, he looks like a total bad-ass equipped with a chain that does some hellish damage. The game showed some new re-enforcements that look to be attempting to take control of the city, but the new hero has some other ideas in store. The game looks to have a darker tone than even the first inFAMOUS, which was already a semi-dark story line, with the newest power-wielder having a skater vibe to him. The trailer obviously takes place at night, but the theme of the clip has that edgy vibe that Cole never really latched on to. Comparing this to the new DmC seems fair as this character looks to have a similar persona to the re-envisioned Dante. The short clip was the highlight of the show, with the particle systems at work, and the fact that we can rest assure that another inFAMOUS game is well underway.

2. Killzone: Shadow Fall

Killzone was a given for the PS4, and there was little doubt with the timing on the release of Killzone 3 that the next iteration would be a launch title, but what happened on stage tonight fell only short of the announcement of the newest inFAMOUS. Killzone: Shadow Fall was officially announced for the PS4 and the game was shown in real-time gameplay footage which made it even more impressive. The Killzone series on the PS3 was always know for being visually pleasing and Shadow Fall doesn’t look to disappoint at all. The game is boasting one of the largest worlds that we have seen to date, and though we aren’t sure if everything will be playable, by the cut-scenes and ending sequence there looks to be little doubt that the game will be the biggest of the bunch. The guns, models, textures, environment, and feeling that the game had was incredible, boasting beautiful renders and lighting throughout the gameplay. Killzone: Shadow Fall looks to be changing the mood a bit with this release, but in the end that doesn’t look to be a bad thing. Fingers crossed that the end product is as impressive as the mini-gameplay shown tonight.

3. Watch Dogs

While we really didn’t see a ton that we didn’t already see at last year’s E3 in some capacity, Watch Dogs on the PS4 was mesmerizing yet again. In an attempt to build upon the amazing formula shown off to the public last year, Ubisoft didn’t disappoint. Watch Dogs looks like one of the deepest games that we have seen in a long time, matching the depth of play that only RPG’s typically embrace. The littlest details are always shifting in the ever changing world, and seeing the game in even greater action than before was a welcomed addition to the show. Though the game will release on the current generation consoles as well, the PlayStation 4 version will undoubtedly offer even more content and gorgeous visuals.  Watch Dogs is still one of the games to “watch” for this year.

4. Deep Down (Working Title)

Capcom brought a totally different flavor to the show when they unveiled Deep Down a title in the works for the PS4. The game looks to be that of an The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion type game with dungeon crawling making for some very visual-pleasing events. Like most of the games that we had not heard of to this point, Deep Down didn’t really show us anything other than what it can do visually. We see a character attempting to escape an area that is inhabited by a amazing looking dragon. It was short and sweet, but if the game is as amazing as this trailer, then the next-gen dungeon crawlers should be something special.

5. Drive Club

As they said in the reveal, Drive Club has been in the development cycle for 10 years from conception to where we are now, you could tell that the game had some major TLC. While the game looks amazing and the cars simply glisten in the sunlight within the game, the gameplay is what looks to be slightly unappealing. It was shown what was being attempted with the game, and it seemed rather ambitious, but unappealing part is the focus around team based racing as this may cause it to become the next MAG. The other portion that was slightly disappointing was to hear that the game focused around first person racing and seems to be taking a page from the Need for Speed: Shift series. With cars so infused with detail, why would you want to take away the chance for players to enjoy the same while they race and not only in cut-scenes? We’ll see the final results when the game is released.

6. Knack

When it comes to games like Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Dexter it is easy to see the inspiration for Knack. The game looks nice, and the particle systems in use are the most impressive part of the game, but while more than likely the game will be fun, its just not that impressive in terms of what the PS4 is capable of. The game follows a little guy by the name of Knack that can do a rather Katamarti type moves, and pick up items and grow to epic proportions. Knack looks to be a large scale adventure game, with a focus on puzzles and combat, but when it comes down to it this game looks like it would be no problem for the PS3; especially when the Vita was running it on a Cross-Play functionality.

7. Diablo III

While the announcement was epic, the game wasn’t really shown in terms of what it will look like for consoles. The biggest fear for players is that the control system will be clunky and be of no comparison to that of a mouse and keyboard, the native control system of the game on PC. Blizzard having a rather cheesy segment as well didn’t really help the fact that they were announcing a game that was already out for PC, and trying convince people why they should care about a console release. When a game such as this is announced, because of the fact that not many ever thought it would make its way to the living room, it’s a big deal; however fans of the series will have already bought this for the computer, and have no real interest for the console. This could be a damning launch for anything going forward when it comes to ports such as these.

8. Destiny

We knew that Destiny was coming to the PlayStation 4, but we didn’t know that we would see a couple of pieces of action footage tonight when discussing the fact that Bungie was excited about being able to bring their first game to PlayStation fans ever. The big piece that came from the announcement tonight was that Bungie would give PlayStation fans some exclusive DLC when the game launches. The reveal wasn’t anything earth shattering hence the reason its low on the totem pole.

9. Final Fantasy (Working Title)

Square Enix’s announcement of the next Final Fantasy game would have been amazing had it been a video we hadn’t seen a year ago at E3. I mean the EXACT same video that we saw when Square Enix showed their next generation engine. It was still impressive, but overall it was an loss for Square Enix and Sony when they didn’t bring anything different to the table to entice fans. Come on give us something new!

10.  The Witness

Not only was the member of the development team from Thekla weird, this game while it looks rather relaxing, it wasn’t a crowning achievement of what the hardware can do. The game looks to be similar to Myst from the unveiling tonight. The game just isn’t looking like something that belonged tonight amongst the mega titles that were talked about in the conference. Here’s to hoping this is simply a Downloadable title.

So what do you think about the games shown tonight, and how excited are you? Sound off in the comments below.