Sony hosts PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas this upcoming weekend, and the closer we get to the event, the more excited we become. The fact that several high profile games will appear is reason enough to shell out the $50 or $90 for a one or two-day pass, respectively. It’s hard to argue against a lineup that includes Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Bloodborne, No Man’s Sky and Batman: Arkham Knight, and that just barely scratches the virtual surface of what Sony has in store for its fans. In addition to revealing details on how to buy the recently revealed 20th anniversary PlayStation 4, the publisher plans to drop some bombs, perhaps concerning unrevealed titles or games we’ve heard about that mysteriously vanished. As per every Sony event, The Last Guardian hype is real.
We, on the other hand, have been on Crash Bandicoot watch ever since rumors of a new PS4 adventure surfaced several months ago. PlayStation fans will agree that a new Crash game is long overdue, preferably developed by series creator Naughty Dog, the same company behind the outstanding Uncharted franchise and more recently The Last of Us.
Some of our best PlayStation memories involve Sony’s unofficial mascot. Naughty Dog released hit after hit on the PSOne, beginning with the original Crash Bandicoot and then following up that entertaining adventure with Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot: Warped and the Mario Kart competitor Crash Team Racing. Crash changed development and publisher hands following those gems, and while he still found success across different platforms, his PSOne days are by far his best.
Even the advertising was on point. Who can forget Crash standing outside of Nintendo HQ, megaphone in hand, calling out Mario? That console war makes today’s arguments about resolutions and frame rates seem tame.
Considering this year marks the 20th anniversary of Sony’s first console, it’s easy to get caught up in the rumors. Thoughts of riding adorable polar bears, spinning around to break wooden crates, gathering fruit and running from giant boulders have us figuratively drooling. Think about how gorgeous the PSOne games looked over a decade ago, but now add PlayStation 4 horsepower to an all-new sequel.
Naturally we’ve been let down before. Like many gamers, we walked into press conferences expecting Last Guardian news only to leave scratching our heads. With Xbox, we lost track of how many years we crossed our fingers for a Killer Instinct before it finally happened, and when it comes to Nintendo, forget about it. Where’s the new F-Zero? What’s up with Earthbound? Will there be a sequel to Super Metroid? Etc., etc.
Considering Microsoft made important gains this holiday season with deals on its Xbox One console, now’s a great time for Sony to remind everyone why it feels the PS4 is the platform of choice when it comes to eye-popping interactive experiences. It doesn’t need Crash Bandicoot to convince us of that, but considering the significance of PlayStation Experience and the PS One anniversary, we wouldn’t mind seeing his goofy grin one more time.
Published: Dec 4, 2014 05:10 pm