Gamescom 2013 is happening right now in Germany and big announcements are rolling in. One in particular is the list of titles coming out for both next-gen titles. The Xbox One will have 23 titles on launch, while the PS4 will have 33 titles, which is a mix of retail and digital-only titles.
PlayStation 4 Launch Titles
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
Battlefield 4 (EA)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
Driveclub (SCE)
FIFA 14 (EA)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (SCE)
Knack (SCE)
Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft)
LEGO Marvel Superheroes (Warner Bros.)
Madden 25 (EA)
NBA 2K14 (2K Games)
NBA Live (EA)
Need for Speed: Rivals (EA)
Skylanders: Swap Force (Activision)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
PlayStation 4 Launch Digital Line-up
Basement Crawl
Pool Nation Extreme
Contrast
Warframe
Pinball Arcade
War Thunder
N++
Minecraft
DC Universe
Planetside 2
Counterspy
ResoGun
Flower
Doki-Doki Universe
Hohokum
Tiny Brains
Super Motherload
Blacklight
Xbox One Launch Titles
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)
FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)
Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)
Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)
Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)
Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)
Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)
During Sony' press conference, they announced the release date for the PS4. At $399, the PlayStation 4 will be available on these dates for each country:
November 15: Canada, the US
November 29: SCEE territories including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
November 29: Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru.
Microsoft has yet to announce the release date for the Xbox One. With Sony revealing their launch window, I'm expecting an announcement either this week or next for theirs.
Aside from The Evil Within, Outlast is another survival horror that's shaping up to be a game to watch out for, if you want a really good scare of course. For PC and PlayStation 4, this game revolves around a journalist entering an abandoned asylum. Of course he regrets that decision when he realizes what was going on inside. Have a look at the gameplay below.
The gameplay gives a strong resemblance of horror movies taken in the cameraman's perspective(Blair Witch Project), which is a good twist in the genre. The night vision is also a nice touch and seems to be required most of the time. It's being developed over at Red Barrel games, a new studio mixed with ex-splinter cell developers. This will be their first game, and it looks like they will be off with a good start.
Outlast - Official trailer
It's expected to be released later this year for PC and PS4.
Well the E3 dust has cleared. Actually, it's been cleared for some time now. This E3 is one of the most important events in gaming history since this E3 marks the start of a new generation of consoles. Sony and Microsoft has finally shown what each of their new consoles will bring to the table, and by the end of the year(hopefully), we will have the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One out in the market together with Nintendo's Wii U, which was released last year. E3 this year felt like christmas came early. Tons of games were announced and I don't know where to start.
Just like previous E3, press conference starts way before the E3 doors open, and these press cons are the big chunk because that's were all the reveals start happening. This year is extra special with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One revealed before the event To make it even more special, this year Nintendo decided to not have their yearly press conference with the rest. Most probably because they knew all the attention will be focused on the other consoles, no matter what they do. But Nintendo had announcements to do still, so they opt'd for the easier route, an E3 Nintendo Direct that revealed a gameplay trailer for the exclusive Wii U game Bayonetta 2 and first look at the new Smash Bros. game for the Wii U and apparently for the 3DS as well.
Each year, we always ask after each press conference: Who won this year's E3? That's always the case. This question further fuels the divide between consumers to pick a console side, and for this year I'd have to say Sony won by a landslide.
Microsoft tried...
It's easy to why this is so. Microsoft took the risk. They attempted to change the game by forcing more DRM policies and get a better control of the used game market. The 24 hour online check-in for the Xbox One and the restrictions on borrowing used games outraged millions. I for one was confused to why Microsoft decided to make such a move. Many were left with so many questions with Microsoft leaving half-baked answers creating more questions. The reveal was a complete mess and come E3, they hoped to ease the reaction by filling their press conference with nothing but games. Great move, we saw amazing demo's from Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid V, a small take of a new Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break, we were also treated with Dead Rising 3 being an exclusive, a small teaser to Halo, and the world premiere of Titanfall, which is one of my personal favorites this year(quick in and out mech gameplay = win).
But after all the impressive presentation on what games are coming to Xbox One, it felt like everything was normal again, until Microsoft sticks a $500 price tag on their new unit, and all of a sudden all the worries start coming back in, as if the press conference never happened. With a price like that, plus all the games mentioned, it was hard to consider the unit.
Then comes Sony. With an impressive presentation as well. But it wasn't the games that blew viewers away. Sony gave what gamers wanted to hear, and as much everybody says Sony has won, they just did one thing - announce that the PlayStation 4 isn't going the same route as the Xbox One. When Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Entertainment of America announced they fully support used games, the crowd went wild. I laughed so hard because it was obvious what they are doing. Then followed that there will be no online check ins to use your PS4 offline, another big blow to their competitor. It made my day though, but yes, Sony has won the battle at E3 because of announcing that they would be retaining the same policies pretty much used on consoles today.
Right now, I'm actually shifting to the PlayStation 4 just because it will come out $100 cheaper. The games I'm mostly curious on are actually multi-platform. But it's still too early to tell. We have months to go before released and we don't know if there will be a drastic change.
But enough about who won. There were a lot of titles revealed, but a few of them got me excited to make the conversion to next-gen early. Here are some to name a few:
Titanfall
Titanfall is the first game of Respawn Entertainment, the new studio of Jason West, Vince Zampella, best known for their work at Infinity Ward on Call of Duty. It's a FPS mecha and FPS shooter that is purely focused on multiplayer. From what I've heard, they will be integrating Single-Player elements into multiplayer. But that's not what pulled me in. The amazing detail, the quick mobility of your soldier, and the mech gameplay makes this game worth getting for the Xbox One.
Metal Gear Solid V
Microsoft started their press conference with Metal Gear Solid V. The demo shown during that presentation blew my mind. Hideo Kojima is aiming for an open world MGS and gave us the first look of that goal in action. I don't mind Kiefer Sutherland replacing David Hayter as the voice of Snake anymore, this game is just a must buy.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
I'm sorry, if there's one game that would force me to get a Wii U, it's this one. This is what Nintendo should have revealed together with the Wii U, not Nintendo Land. This is a great start, but this will definitely help Nintendo in the months to come, sales-wise.
Destiny
Destiny is the next game for Bungie after they retired from making Halo games. It's no surprise its another shooter, but it's an online shooter that has MMO elements in it. It was hard to get what they were aiming with this game, but I got it once they released their first gameplay demo of the game during Sony's press conference. The game will be available for current and next-gen consoles.
Tom Clancy's The Division
Ubisoft wow'd E3 with the reveal of Watch Dogs in their press conference, but now they bring yet another IP that did the same effect to me. The Divison is an online shooter that incorporates RPG elements in its gameplay. Watch the gameplay below and you'll understand why I want this game now. Also notice that they incorporated tablet gaming into the game.
As always, this year's E3 was a treat to watch . Don't think that's the only good thing to come out of E3 in terms of games. Final Fantasy XV has been revealed, as well as Resident Evil's creators new title that aims to revive the survival horror genre. Check out our E3 posts for more.
Were getting a new Wolfenstein this year called Wolfenstein: The New Order. Not sure how I feel about the franchise thanks to the 2009 sequel, but I try to remember the classic and pray that we might get a decent modernization of the series. Have a look at the trailer below.
So far, it looks like any other shooter, but then again, Wolfenstein was the game that started the genre.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is set to be released at the end of this year for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and next gen consoles.
The Survival horror genre has seen better years. It was once a genre that was in par with everything else, but now we live in a world filled with action, first person perspective, and high fantasy, with the horror genre taking a back seat showing itself mostly on the indie side. Thankfully, a group of talented folk wants to change that. Bethesda has teamed up with Shinji Mikami(creator or Resident Evil) to create The Evil Within; their attempt to bring back the real meaning in a survival horror game. So far, it looks promising from afar.
During the whole E3, the demo shown below is the only gameplay shown in almost all outlets. Bethesda and Tango seem to be only talking about the game only at a certain point, which is fine since we get to finally see the game in action.
Everything he said gives me hope that they might just do what they set out to gain from this title; the return of survival horror into the spotlight. The setting is pretty generic for a genre like this. An investigator named Sebastian and his partner go a gruesome mass murder. Their investigation results them entering an asylum and of course, it turns out to be a really bad idea.
One thing that caught my attention is that the gameplay will put the player in positions were you will need to make the best out of your surroundings and really conserve what you pick up along the way. Guns blazing won't always be the best choice anymore with the limited ammo, which got me excited, because that restriction alone puts a lot of emphasis on the word "survival" in survival horror. not only that, the tension will always be high.
The Evil Within - Live Action teaser trailer
Sadly, there's no demo that has no interview or commentary. I was hoping one comes out soon so we all can experience the atmosphere of the game, because if there's one thing that's important with a game like this, it's the scary atmosphere. The teaser trailer really gave us the idea that it will be scary, disturbing even, so I shouldn't be that worried.
The Evil Within is set for next year for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.
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