Fan Expo PlayStation Booth – Upcoming PlayStation Exclusives
Last weekend, PlayStation invited us to a sneak preview of their Fan Expo PlayStation booth in Toronto and a chance to experience a wide range of PlayStation titles either recently released or coming out in the near future. By far the biggest names among these were Marvel’s Iron Man VR, a PSVR exclusive slated to come out this fall, and Final Fantasy VIII – Remastered which comes out September 3rd. It was quite a treat to be able to experience these and other PlayStation games before their release, and the PlayStation booth at Fan Expo was the perfect venue for them.
Like an Iron Glove
Iron Man suits VR like no other game I have played to date. The reality for Iron Man is that he sees the world through cameras with a HUD while in the suit and this makes a seamless transition into the VR world. When my imaginary helmet closed over my face and the HUD lit up with Friday talking in my ear, I got chills. The entire time I was playing the tutorial I could not shake the feeling that this is what VR should have been all along.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but love for plenty of other VR games (GORN and Beat Saber, especially) but all of those games feel like they could have or have been done without VR, and they are just in VR to add another level to the experience. After two minutes playing Iron Man VR, you will know for a fact that there is no other way to create that game.
Manoeuvring yourself elegantly through the world with your repulsors and blasting away enemies with bursts of energy feels like second nature and the immersion is so complete that you may try to catch yourself from falling if you let go of the thrust and let yourself glide down to the ground. This is the VR experience we have all been waiting for and until we all have full haptic bodysuits and infinity treadmills a-la Ready Player One, this is about as good as it gets. If you have a PS4 and do not yet have VR, this game is more than enough reason to go out and buy one!
Iron Man VR feels like what VR was always meant to be
Rebuild. Remake. Remaster.
There were multiple remakes and/or remastered games available to play at the PlayStation Fan Expo booth, including the immensely popular Final Fantasy VIII Remastered and the MediEvil remake. While there is not a lot to cover for these titles, it should be said that while FF8 Remastered doesn’t look modern in its graphics, it certainly looks stunning when compared to the original, and Square Enix has promised a whole range of new options to customize your experience.
MediEvil is a remake from the 1998 PS1 title of the same name. Having never owned a PlayStation1 myself, I did not get to play the original. I do recall, however, a friend of mine who was very much enthralled with the game. After having experienced the remake, which is set to release on October 25, it seems like a release that will be very exciting for fans of the original. Unfortunately, I doubt it will attract too many newcomers, as the single-player hack and slash action-adventure genre has all but disappeared from the modern gaming sphere.
The MediEvil remake is a dream come true for fans of the original.
While there were far too many games to have the chance to play them all, it was a wonderful experience to be able to try out some of the new games coming to PlayStation this Fall/Winter alongside PlayStation reps who were extremely friendly and very helpful when explaining the games they were showcasing. The future of PlayStation looks bright, and we can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us next time!
Were you at Fan Expo this year? Did you get a chance to visit the PlayStation booth? What was your favourite game? Let us know in the comments below!
Learn more about Marvel’s Iron Man VR here: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-iron-man-vr-ps4/