The Evolution of Gaming
Since the release of the Next Gen consoles I don't think I've been this excited about gaming in all my years of playing games - 1. because I am much older and a more serious gamer 2. I have the means to buy any game I desire and at any time because I have a job, so no more waiting till Christmas or my birthday to receive the latest games and 3. I think PS3 to PS4 was a truly pivotal moment in gaming where it allowed players to become more immersed in their games. A lot of developers are reliving and creating old franchises again from scratch because of the immense development within gaming technology, and so you have these huge existing fan bases who get to relive those memorable stories again. In today's society it's all about how much you can do at the same time. It's all about efficiency. The world is constantly moving at a immense pace and PS4 truly shows that. You can have 6+ players in a party, 3 of them could be playing Call of Duty, another two playing FIFA and someone else playing GTA, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. All 6 sharing each others experiences, LIVE. I weren't much of a serious gamer when PS2 transitioned to PS3 and of course at the time I really wanted one but I didn't have the means to purchase one as I was too young, so I can't really comment on the transition and how it impacted on the gaming community, but the way we play games today has truly come a long way. Gaming is now on a much more personal level, cause and effect, action and reaction, whatever decisions a player makes will have consequences and it's up to the player how a story turns out. We have more control, more customisation and let's not even start on the quality of the graphics. So in this blog post I'm going to share with you all my top 5 most anticipated games to come, hopefully sometime this year in 2015 as most of these games are still to be announced.
5. The Legend of Zelda
I am a huge fan of Zelda and I can vividly remember lying on my sisters bed watching my brother from across the room play Ocarina of Time on his Nintendo 64, and the music of the Ocarina still clearly embedded in my mind as if the songs were lullabies. Most adventure games are open world and it was only right for the developers of Zelda to bring out an instalment when technology is at it's highest to truly show Zelda's potential and what it should of looked like years ago. I just hope they still implement the same quality of story telling that they had within Ocarina of Time, as I have said many times before that a quality looking game means nothing without a compelling story. I have never really been a huge fan of Wii, although when it first came out, of course it was all the craze, it was the ideal party game within the family home. But for me the excitement soon fell not too long after it was released and since then it's been sitting in my room for years. I actually recently sold my Wii but I am not the type to buy a whole other console just because of that one game that I would love to play. I'm quite happy with watching the walkthrough to this game, but I'm sure there are plenty of hardcore fans out there that will probably buy the Wii just so they can play this game. In case none of you have seen any footage on this epic tale here's some gaming footage and a small interview from the developers themselves.
The Legend of Zelda Wii U E3 2014
Release Date: TBA 2015
4. The Division
You guys may have remembered when I mentioned this game some time ago in an older post back in May 2014 but this game stood out for me straight away when they announced PS4 back in February 2013 and I haven't forgotten about it since. I thought that the developers and creators of this game played it very smart by not releasing this game when PS4 was released on sale. The competition would have been too much for them. With Call of Duty, GTA and Destiny and other huge games on the market, I think The Division would have been over shone and their sales wouldn't have rocketed as much as I predict they will do this year. As I said in my introduction, Next Gen is bigger and bigger is better. As I have said in a previous post Are Open World Games The Future? I found that first person shooters have become boring and repetitive, and we have witnessed this from the reviews and reactions of disappointing Destiny which had such big expectations. Games like Call of Duty are still classics and have huge existing fan bases so they will always do well but I have found amongst myself and my friends a loss of interest in the Campaign mode and I find myself only playing the game online which is always an enjoyment and I can go back to it again and again. Open world games are at the top of the league and I don't think they'll be coming down any time soon.The experience of gaming that open world provides is on such a personal level we can recreate our selves or an alter ego of ourselves, the advanced customisation almost makes it feel like real life. But now that I think of it I can see that this was probably the same buzz that consoles received when first person shooters started to become popular. I have high hopes for this game and with an existing Tom Clancy fan base known for such franchises as Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell, I have no doubts that there will be queues when this game is finally released. I'm going to include a few videos for you guys to watch because it's been so long since the announcement of this game that they're releasing new information all the time, so enjoy!
The Division Cinematic Trailer
The Division Gameplay Trailer
The Division Everything We Know 2015
Release: TBA 2015
3. Lego Jurassic World
I don't know about you guys but I absolutely adore Lego games and one of the first Lego games I played was Star Wars: The Video game and I was hooked ever since. I thought the concept of adapting films into the Lego world was ingenious. Sometimes you have to come away from all the puzzle solving, blood, gore and sword fighting and just sit down and play some pointless Lego building and exploring. I think I've owned and played every franchise there is apart from the Harry Potter franchise (play pending) and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. They are rewarding, fun, quirky and just all round innovative. Warner Bros made a late reveal recently that they have plans on releasing Lego Jurassic World, scheduled to be released this year June along side the release of the 4th film instalment of the Jurassic franchise, 'Jurassic World'. It has been rumoured that gameplay will be similar to that of the Star Wars franchise where you will be able to play through all 4 films (yes 4, including the newest instalment!). There are still very little details on the game but Warner Bros have said that players will be able to customise Dinosaurs, a very conventional concept of Lego games, being able to customise characters enabling players to obtain hidden items and rewards. I cannot wait for this game to be released because I always go back to my Lego games again and again, just when I want to have a bit of fun. I do wonder however if the game will feature an open world map like previous Lego games like The Lord of the Rings. Anyway, here's the teaser trailer for you guys!
Lego Jurassic World Teaser Trailer
Release: June 2015
2. Uncharted 4: A Theif's End
Uncharted went very quiet after it's 3rd instalment back in 2011, I think mainly because Naughty Dog wanted to focus on reviving the Tomb Raider story again from scratch and made a great impression, so much that they are making a sequel. I suppose Naughty Dog used Tomb Raider as compensation to keep their fans entertained over that 4 year period and as I mentioned in the beginning developers are recreating these stories again and it's a very exiting time for gamers. It's like reliving the 90s but with better technology. The first trailer for Uncharted 4 didn't really give much away but a short monologue and many people were guessing and assuming a lot of things, but it did make the suspense all that worthwhile. A little bit down the line we were rewarded with a gameplay video which gave the audience exactly what they would be dealing with in the new instalment. We saw amazing graphics in terms of transitions from cinematics to gameplay within seconds into the video, amazing scenery as expected from PS4 and an implementation of a change in dynamics within the game. Navigating through the game will require more skill and a keen eye for the environment around you, for example the soft and hard rock when climbing mountains, using tools like a knife to access hard to reach areas and again a sense of choice and consequence, especially when taking on enemies. Do you go for the stealth option and take out enemies one by one quietly and avoid confrontation or do you go out all guns blazing? These are just a few decisions you have to make and I really got more of an Assassins Creed feel from this video. More thought is needed when playing this game, where as in previous instalments you just entered an area, took out the enemy and moved to the next section. Combat dynamics are much more realistic e.g. using a grenade against someone who is shooting at you from afar and using the smoke from the explosion creates a temporary diversion for you to make a quick escape and then you can attack from behind as we see in the video. You can use what you have on your person or your environment to your advantage, it is entirely up to the player. So I'll leave you with the gameplay video, enjoy!
Uncharted 4: A Theif's End gameplay video
Release: TBA 2015
1. Kingdom Hearts 3
Yes I did save the best till last, best till last in my eyes anyways! Kingdom Hearts 3 was officially announced at the same time as PS4 back in early 2013 and I was absolutely ecstatic, words could not describe! I think everyone was hoping for a spring release in 2014 but developers made some last minute decisions to focus on II.5 remix and also wanted to change the gaming engine of Kingdom Hearts 3. Before the announcement I was actually beginning to lose faith because the last game I had played was Kingdom Hearts 2 and I had also watched the walkthrough to Birth By Sleep which was a spin-off instalment, which I highly recommend any fan to watch. But as every Kingdom Heart fan knows the developers tend to make a main story instalment, then a spin-off/behind the scenes game and then a .5 remix. But Birth By Sleep really enlightened me about how the events came about and I learnt a lot more about certain characters within the main story and how certain ones came to existence. Kingdom Hearts plays a big role in my gaming history because for me it was my next step in gaming, I had come away from the really kiddish games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro etc and Kingdom Hearts was probably the first story for me that showed some grit, passion and a real sense of identity. I could identify myself with some of the characters, so not only was it more of a challenge playing the game as a young gamer but I felt more personally involved. I thoroughly enjoyed the Disney and Square Enix collaboration and believe it or not, at the time I had no idea that Square Enix made Final Fantasy until later on. Unfortunately I have never got into Final Fantasy which is a shame because I think I would have really enjoyed it but I feel as if it's too late for me now as there has been so many instalments I can't even count. So for now I have to watch from the distance. The announcement of KH3 was of a huge delight to me and many others but the developers really loved pulling us by the string concerning the release date and I can image a lot of us have become quite impatient but it is for the best, they want to make this game as best as it should be. Later down the line a gameplay trailer was revealed and showed the typical conventions of a Kingdom Hearts game, the well known combat fighting style we all know and love and a few changes in terms of gameplay. We saw hints in regards to what worlds we could be exploring in the future game, including Toy Story and maybe a new improved world of Pirates of the Caribbean and Hercules: The Colosseum. We must however take into account that the content that was revealed to us was still in development and who knows what changes they have made since then. But who cares?!! I just want them to release the game already!
Kingdom Hearts 3 Gameplay video
Release: TBA 2015
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ReplyDeleteThe age of campaign mode is a dying breed, if a game doesn't have a good solid multiplayer mode then it will have no backbone and no substance.
ReplyDeleteLook at the games like COD and tom clancey they are ever present and very successful. therefore the basis of a good game is the multiplayer function which gives the player a infinite time base and not secluded onto a campaign.
sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the time for campaign mode is over