Unlike their competitors, Sony wasted no time getting to the most important topic for any gamer during its E3 presentation: games. Unfortunately, not all of the games shown were to everyones liking.

Beyond: Two Souls, developed by Quantic Dreams, the makers of Heavy Rain, was announced at the beginning of the show. Much like Heavy Rain, story and cinematic seem to play a large role in the game and follows the protagonist, Judie Holmes, over the course of her life.

Sony fans itching for some Super Smash Bros. are fortunately in luck; PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale aims to fill that niche. Battles are based around getting points, which players can obtain through defeating others and special moves. Big Daddy from Bioshock was confirmed as a playable character; other 3rd party characters may be included.

Sony also touched on their online service, PlayStation Network (PSN), revealing that over 200 games are due for release on the service within the next 12 months, including titles like The Unfinished Swan PSN and PS1 titles available online are also headed toward the Vita.  Fans can look forward to PS1 classics like Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy 7.

In addition, PlayStation Plus members can also expect to get great deals on content and online games, a smart move that will hopefully get more people to sign up for the service.

A Call of Duty game is in development for the Vita, along with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation (AC). Liberation is the first Assassin’s Creed game to feature a female assassin as the lead, has touch screen capabilities, and was built ground up for the Vita. There are also extras that can be unlocked when the game is linked up to Assassin’s Creed 3 on PlayStation 3. The games will give Vita owners something to look forward to in the coming months.

The latest flagship game in the AC series will have an emphasis on water, with controlling ships on the high seas as an important part of the game. A special and realistic weather system will also be in place in the game. Both Assassin’s Creed games will take place in America during revolutionary times.

Far Cry 3 multiplayer was also shown. The mode will include 4-player co-op and feature missions made specifically for multiplayer. Looking a little rough at this time, the game still has a ways to go in development, but looks to be a fun experience.

Sony, however, went wrong announcing Wonder Book: Book of Spells. Utilizing the PlayStation Move, players can cast spells and embark on quests in a Harry Potter themed world. The game is, however, nothing like the games fans were expecting and is more reminiscent of a point-and-click game meant for children. Many fans voiced their disapproval of the software and the lengthy amount of time devoted to it. 

Toward the end of the conference, a trailer for the new God of War game, subtitled “Ascension,” was shown. Fans of the series will be delighted to know that the game looks to follow its predecessor’s closely in terms of game-play and gore. A multiplayer mode will be included, up to 8 players can join in games of competitive team play where players will battle for control of the map. A release date of March 12, 2013 has been announced.

Sony closed its show with The Last of Us. Created by developer Naughty Dog, responsible for successful franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and the Uncharted series, the trailer for the game was by far the highlight of Sony’s conference. It features two characters, the ruthless Joel and the young but wise Ellie, trying to survive in a zombie infested post-apocalyptic world. While the concept might seem overdone, Naughty Dog breathes fresh life into the wasteland with fast and action-packed game-play.

While Sony had some high points and some low points, many fans overall were disappointed. Many games they expected to be shown or announced were not touched upon, such as Kingdom Hearts 3. Other than The Last of Us, there were no big surprises, and many hated Wonder Book: Book of Spells. Luckily for Sony, The Last of Us was enough not to alienate fans, but they definitely will not attract any newcomers with the show.

Image Courtesy of  PlayStation.Blog.Europe

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J.K. Rowling announced on Thursday that she will be coming out with a new book for adults. However, it is reportedly “very different” from her famous Harry Potter series, and she has chosen the company Little, Brown to publish her book. Details like the release date, title, and genre of the book were not released. It is known that the ebook version will come out at the same time as the printed one, unlike the Harry Potter books.

The last book in the Harry Potter series came out in 2007, and Rowling has mentioned in the past few years that she was writing an adult book and a Harry Potter encyclopedia. Her Harry Potter series was published by Bloomsbury in Britain and Scholastic in the United States, but Rowling will now be working with the same publishing company that Stephenie Meyer used for her “Twilight” series.

Rowling stated, “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series […] The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory, it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.”

Rowling’s agent, Neil Blair, said there had been no auction, but would not reveal any other financial details. “As her new book is for a different audience, and marks a new literary direction for her, it made sense to separate the two and for her new book to be launched by a different publisher,” her agent said.

Any book by the famous author is almost guaranteed to sell millions, though it would be a difficult feat for her new characters to have the same success as the exorbitantly popular Harry Potter, especially since she is switching from children’s books to adult books.

However, since the Harry Potter series had fans of all ages, she should have better success than other children’s book authors who have attempted to make the switch in the past. Rowling’s new publisher has been closemouthed about the details surrounding her book, but if she is starting a “new phase” in her career, then there will most likely be more than one publication to expect from the British author.

Rowling’s Edinburgh neighbor, Ian Rankin, is an author himself. He commented on Twitter Thursday that he believes Rowling wrote a mystery novel. He tweeted, “Wouldn’t it be funny if J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh? My word, yes.”

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