Perhaps I was too quick to jump to the conclusion that
Evolve and
Dying Light were the only two titles coming to next gen. consoles that I was anticipating the release of. After reading a few of those "
most anticipated game releases for 2014" type articles, I've had to expand the list:
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and
Alien: Isolation are also quite appealing new titles.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has an excellent
gameplay video, and looks to incorporate stealth elements similar to those seen in the
Assassin's Creed franchise. The
Nemesis System allows for enemies to remember previous encounters with Talion, the in-game hero, which looks and sounds intriguing. The ability to use wraith-like abilities should add another interesting spin on how mission objectives are completed.
Next up, there's...
This looks like a step in the right direction for games set in
Ridley Scott's
Alien universe. Opposed to being a first person shooter, like the poorly received
Aliens: Colonial Marines,
Alien: Isolation has being called a survival horror by developers, and instead of mowing down hordes of xenomorphs with big guns, the gameplay is orientated around sneaking passed a lone invincible alien, which will be hunting the player via sight, sound, and smell. Without weapons to use against the alien antagonist, the gaming experience should be pretty tense, and filled with encounters to make you jump out of your seat.
For me, this looks like the big-budget, console equivalent to
Stasis. They may be different genres, but from a visual point of view, they are setting out to recreate very similar environments, and experiences. It will be interesting to see the efforts from both sides.
To get a better idea of the game here's the trailer. Also worth watching is the 'Origins'
video that features several interviews with developers.
Lastly, from the director of Resident Evil comes...
I don't have much to say about
The Evil Within except; for maximum effect, watch the trailer on your own, in the dark, with the sound turned up.
Looks pretty awesome right? I still think I'll wait to see what kind of reviews it gets, as well as wait to see how the zombie survival horror, Dying Light does, before deciding which to play first.
So at the moment my list of most anticipated next gen console games for 2014 looks something along the lines of:
5. The Evil Within
4. Dying Light
3. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
2. Alien: Isolation
1. Evolve
But, wait! With the exception of Evolve, all these titles will be released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC too, while Evolve will only get a PC version on top of the next gen. console versions. Again the versions of the game for the older consoles might not have the full functionality as those for next gen. consoles, but games games will be released for 'previous gen.' consoles.
Conclusion: there still isn't a next generation exclusive title attractive enough to make me change to a new console, and upgrading the PC still looks like a much better investment at this stage.