E3: What was missing? 

by Sam Fletcher - June 12th, 2009

So we all know Sony had a great E3, there’s no denying that. Looking back though, there are several things missing. This article lists what could have/should have been at Sony’s E3 this year. So without further ado: Updated XMB I love the XMB, and I’m sure you all do too, but there’s always room for improvement. So the lack of any news regarding a major update came almost as a disappointment. What Sony should have done -during their conference- is shown off a major update, followed by the announcement that when PS3 owners next turn their PS3 on, it’s ready for them to download. I’m not going to get into details of what the XMB needs (I’ll save that for another feature) but a cross game voice chat upgrade would have been sweet. DC Universe Online DC Universe Online has been pushed quite heavily recently, but it had a surprising no show at E3. The game doesn’t look bad at all, and surely the biggest gaming event of the year would be the place to really push the super-hero-themed-MMO. It wasn’t just this superhero MMO that was missing, as two of Sony’s other big online games, The Agency and Free Realms weren’t mentioned either. Sly Cooper 4 Admittedly, Sucker Punch have only just finished inFamous -and what a game that is- and they deserve a break. Still, a teaser for a new game in their racoon by day, thief by night series would be awesome. Tears Of Blood I’m guessing not many people will know what Tears Of Blood is, so let me quickly run it down for you. Tears Of Blood is an online-only brawler shown only to a very few, select group of industry insiders. The fighting is described as bar-room-brawl and no-holds-barred, where the fights can spill out onto the streets at anytime. In MMO-style fashion, players walk around the world acting with each other, challenging other players to fight, or watching ones already taking place. The game’s been rumoured to show at every major gaming event for some time now, but sadly, it wasn’t this years E3. Red Dead: Redemption A sequel to one of the most underrated games of last-gen, Red Dead: Redemption takes the player back to the Wild West, in an open-worlded, turn of the century shooter. I loved the first game, and from what I’ve heard of the second, it sounds to capture what made the original so great - and then some – it’s just a shame there’s been no game play shown yet. The PS3 Slim I’m sure we’ve all seen pictures of the rumoured PS3 slim. If you’re one of the few that haven’t, you can check them out here. Nothing was spoken of it at the show though, but there’s been plenty of speculation as to why that is. People think that if Sony announces a PS3 slim, or a price cut for existing models for later in the year, then sales during the summer will essentially grind to a halt. Rumour has it we’ll hear more about the slim at the Tokyo Game Show. Twisted Metal David Jaffe added fuel to the fire whenever he commented on a new Twisted Metal game being shown at E3. But it seems that Jaffe was all talk and no show, because Twisted Metal was no where to be seen. Starhawk It’s been rumoured for a while now, but nothing was spoken of a sequel to the PS3’s biggest online shooter. As the name suggests, the game is set to be in space, akin to Star Wars Battle Front 2’s space missions, where players fly space ships, and land in enemy ships. This has the potential to be a great game, but it seems Sony aren’t ready to back it just yet. So there you go, as great an E3 Sony had, I can’t help but feel it could have been that much better. Why these games were missing is beyond me, and why a game like Modnation Racers get’s press conference time and something like Twisted Metal doesn’t baffles me even more. Maybe you guys can help me work it out, by commenting below or posting in the forums. I look forward to seeing what you say.