E3 Coverage: Sony

Sony showed off an extremely impressive lineup at the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Including such titles at JAK II, RATCHET AND CLANK II: GOING COMMANDO, RISE TO HONOR, GRAN TURISMO 4, and SYPHON FILTER: OMEGA STRAIN, Sony has quite possibly the strongest first-party lineup of the show. Sony seems very confident with the amount of Triple A titles that are going to come out this year.

JAK II is the sequel to the popular JAK AND DAXTER. It's set in the future and is very non-linear and reminds me a lot of GRAND THEFT AUTO in the fact that the game is based in an overworld and then allows you to take vehicles, explore the city and accept missions that advance the storyline. Most of the missions stick to a typical platformers fashion, although the emphasis on vehicles and weapons is much more than in the previous title.

RATCHET AND CLANK II: GOING COMMANDO is another sequel from SCEA, this one to the weapons-based hit. New additions include seventeen new weapons, the ability to upgrade and/or modify those weapons, experience points for Ratchet that allow him to get up to 80 hit points. There are new "mega-games" as well as spherical worlds that completely wrap around. Dogfighting is also back in this go around.

RIST TO HONOR is an action game in the vein of a Hong-Kong action flick with a definite focus on the fighting elements. The game starts Jet Li who has lent his motions and voice to the title for the best possible authenticity. Using the right analog stick, you can attack in any direction and the game looks much like a good martial arts movie while you're playing. There are also gun sections and some of the special effects will remind gamers of THE MATRIX.

SYPHON FILTER: OMEGA STRAIN has gamers create a new character for the SYPHON FILTER world, and then use them in a variety of missions. The coolest the biggest selling point of the game is the online 4-player co-op mode. Voice-chat will be a major feature in the gameplay online and will definitely be the killer selling point. Think of it as CONTRA for a new generation of gamers.

GRAN TURISMO 4 has the new 2.0 version of the GRAN TURISMO engine which is the most lifelike ever and that Polyphony Digital is touting is appropriate training for a race car driver. The game will include over 500 cars, but there have been no further specifications on tracks etc. We were shown a Grand Canyon and New York City track that look photorealistic and incredible. The gameplay is tight and this is sure to be a major hit this fall on the PlayStation 2, along with the new Logitech steering wheel.

Quite simply, Sony has a very strong lineup that will be released between now and next February. All five of these games are looking great in the early stages, and should look fantastic as they near release. Don't forget the other titles as well, ARC OF THE LAD and DOWNHILL DOMINATION to name a couple.

Expect more in-depth E3 coverage over the next couple weeks.