The next generation looms...
Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, standing on the brink of a new era. The next generation of video game consoles is upon us, starting with Sony's launch of the PlayStation 4 at the end of the week in North America. However, do not let that distract you from the full week's worth of releases, as there are some other games worthy of your attention.
The PS4 launch list spans 24 games, but there are eight other titles across every other platform that will try to take some attention away from Sony and its new hardware. There are a few familiar faces as well, so you may find yourself playing games across two generations by the time Saturday rolls around. Let's take a look.
Pixeljunk Shooter
Coming to: PC, Mac
This is not a new Pixeljunk game, it's actually the same game that launched on the PlayStation Network in 2009, but now PC and Mac supporters will get to enjoy the mayhem. The 360-degree spaceship combat will feel fresh and new on a PC, so it may be worth a second experience for seasoned Pixeljunk players, but those who haven't played it yet must give it a shot. It's well worth it, as we discussed in our Pixeljunk Shooter review.
Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus
Coming to: PS3
A well deserved curtain call for this Lombax hero and his robotic friend, Into the Nexus will tie up the PS3 Ratchet and Clank storyline into a nice little bow, just in time for the new generation. We really hope that Into the Nexus was either coming to the PS4 as a launch title or it wasn't launching in the same week as the new console, but we really don't want to see this game get overshadowed. The series deserves attention.
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Coming to: PC
Many RPG aficionados credit their start in the genre to the Baldur's Gate series, and now the second installment is coming back to life in a big way. New HD graphics, new characters, and a slew of brand new areas make this Enhanced Edition essential playing for any long-time Baldur's Gate fans. Be forewarned, however: this is one of those games where you'll look at the clock when you start playing, and the next time you look will be six hours later.
Deadfall Adventures
Coming to: Xbox 360, PC
Deadfall Adventures follows the exploits of one James Lee Quartermain, a treasure-hunting ladies man and grandson to a famous literary hero looking for relics in all corners of the world. He'll fight hundred of evil Nazi Germans in an attempt to save his love Jennifer Goodwin and maybe make some cash along the way. Sounds like something out of Uncharted, doesn't it? We hope it plays as well as those games do.
Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games
Coming to: Wii U
The 2014 Winter Olympics are approaching, which means that Mario, Sonic, and all of their pals must duke it out against each other in events that will be seen during the real Olympics in February. Speed skating, ice hockey, skiing, luge, even couples ice skating will be available. Yes, that's right, after all of this time Peach can finally ditch the mustachioed bum and figure skate with her rightful partner Bowser. Take THAT, good guy!
World of Warplanes
Coming to: PC
World of Tanks has become a smash hit in the free-to-play MMO world, and now the team at Wargaming is looking to the skies for their next game. World of Warplanes, like Tanks before it, will give players a slew of planes stretching from all parts of history, allowing them to build their plane into a bonafide killing machine. Maybe we'll finally catch up to that dastardly Red Baron...because someone is bound to become the Red Baron.
X Rebirth
Coming to: PC
The space combat series X has been around for a while now, but with new times come the need for new features. With this Rebirth, X is updating its gameplay with new and innovative ideas, buffered by a newly-designed interface, in the hopes of bringing some new blood to the franchise. Despite the changes, this is still the same X that fans have played for years, so everyone should be able to enjoy it.
XCOM: Enemy Within
Coming to: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
XCOM: Enemy Unknown surprised a lot of people when it hit late last year. The return to strategy gameplay, heightened by the permanent loss of units whenever they died, caused many players to come back for more. Now, with Enemy Within, XCOM has some new life breathed into it right at the dawn of the new console generation. We can only hope that the success of Enemy Within will lead to next-gen XCOM in some fashion, because the possibilities are endless.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Coming to: PS4
Many Assassins have already ventured onto the high seas with Edward Kenway, but those waiting for the next generation FINALLY get to do the same on PS4. ACIV allows players to fight sharks, sail the Caribbean sea, find treasure, and take down the Templar order as only an Assassin can. If you haven't already flown the Black Flag, PS4 might be the perfect chance to change that.
Battlefield 4
Coming to: PS4
We've been playing Battlefield games for quite a while now, and the series has become one of the top shooter games available. It makes perfect sense, then, that a new Battlefield game would help launch us into the next generation. The impressive visual quality and realistic environmental destruction will look even better on the PS4, so anyone who hasn't stepped on the battlefield should do it now.
Contrast
Coming to: PS4
Contrast is a rare example of when a game's title is a perfect preview of what's to come. Set in a vaudevillian 1920's France, Contrast is a 3D adventure that switches to a 2D puzzle-platformer with the push of a button. Rarely are two vastly different genre married together quite like this, but it makes the contrast (see?!) between the two that much more apparent. Plenty of indie games are coming to PS4, but this is one we're really looking out for.
DC Universe Online
Coming to: PS4
Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Ever long to fight alongside Superman and Batman against the forces of evil? DC Universe Online gives you that opportunity on the PS4. Build and customize your hero, then unleash it upon the world. Ask someone who's been playing this on PC or PS3 and they'll tell you how fun DC Universe can be. Oh, and it's free-to-play, and ranked highly on our best free MMORPG list, so downloading it will only cost you the hard drive space. What's not to like?
DiveKick
Coming to: PS4
Dive. Kick. Those are your only two controls, and it's up to you to know how to use them. Part parody of the fighting game industry, part incredibly strategic fighting game, DiveKick will change the way you approach fighting games, emphasizing spacing and prediction over successful button presses. Some of us would argue that DiveKick serves as a great tutorial for fighting games as a whole, so why wouldn't you play it? If you're still on the fence, you can check out our Divekick review.
FIFA 14
Coming to: PS4
Soccer, football, futbol... no matter what you call it, the most popular sport in the world is surely going to make its way to the new consoles. All of the current gen enhancements made to FIFA 14 will follow it to the PS4, like Pure Shot and precision movement, along with the expected graphical enhancements. Basically, if you're playing FIFA 14 now and want to upgrade, it'll be a seamless transition.
Flower
Coming to: PS4
Before the team at thatgamecompany sent us on a wonderful Journey, they gave us Flower. The game is essentially blowing a petal through the wind, but that small event evokes more emotion than most games we play. Want to know how Journey became so emotionally powerful? One run through Flower and you'll see how Jenova Chen and company honed their craft.
Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
Coming to: PS4
The team at NetherRealm Studios proved that they're not a one-trick pony with Injustice: Gods Among Us. This superhero smackdown may actually be a better example of what the Mortal Kombat engine is capable of than MK itself! The Ultimate Edition for PS4 packages all of the downloadable content from previous versions into the game, so PS4 players can access Lobo, Batgirl, Scorpion, General Zod, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna right off of the bat. Fighting fans getting a PS4 and feeling left out of the Killer Instinct crowd now have somewhere to fight.
Just Dance 2014
Coming to: PS4
That's right folks, embarrassing yourselves in front of loved ones via dancing is now cross-generational! Just Dance 2014's song lineup includes the likes of Daft Punk, Psy, Abba, and more, though no song on the disc is more important than the Ghostbusters theme song. No matter which system we dance to it on, bustin' makes us feel good.
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Coming to: PS4
A launch lineup virtually bereft of first-party exclusives does have a big name in Killzone: Shadow Fall. The Helghast are at it again, and it's up to us to stop them once again. Killzone: Shadow Fall will more than likely serve as an early example of what the PS4 is capable of, so it's worth checking out for that reason alone.
Knack
Coming to: PS4
We wouldn't be surprised if Knack becomes the first PS4 surprise hit. Why? Aside from unique gameplay and a brand new adventure, Knack's development was headed by Mark Cerny, the man who also was in charge of the development of the PS4 itself. Who better to create a game for a brand new system than the man who built it? If you're looking for something unique to start the PS4 experience, Knack is a great option.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Coming to: PS4
Lego Marvel Super Heroes seems like it was taken directly from the mind of a small child and turned into a video game. Our favorite Marvel superheroes are unleashed into a Lego-fied version of Manhattan, fighting famous Marvel villains throughout the entire town. Every time we see it, we remember playing with action figures in our bedroom, where we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted with our heroes. Lego Marvel is the exact same way.
Madden NFL 25
Coming to: PS4
The new EA Sports "Ignite" engine will be on full display right at launch, with Madden NFL 25 leading the charge. Video game football has never looked and played more real than it will with Madden 25, sporting features like True Step, Player Sense, and War In The Trenches. If this is the start of next-gen NFL football, we can only imagine how real Madden will seem as the years go on.
NBA 2K14
Coming to: PS4
NBA 2K has ruled the hardwood for a long time now, competing uncontested for your hard-earned money. With new consoles comes a new challenge for 2K Sports, as EA is finally getting back into the game with NBA Live 2014. NBA 2K14 is plenty prepared, however, bringing every mode from the current generation to next-gen completely intact. You may already be playing NBA 2K14, but upgrading it to a next-gen system is totally worth it.
The Pinball Arcade
Coming to: PS4
We're not sure how Pinball Arcade on consoles is so much fun, but we love playing it. If we wanted to play pinball so bad we should go find a real pinball machine, right? When there's not a machine to be found, Pinball Arcade does a bang-up job of satiating our appetites for high scores and crazy lights. These tables don't know what's coming to them.
Putty Squad
Coming to: PS4
"Hey, isn't this that game from the Super Nintendo that not many people played?" Indeed it is, but Putty Squad has been completely revamped for PS4, hoping to bring a brand new audience to the adventures of this little ball of putty. Classic platforming awaits anyone who wants to relive the glory days of games, making it the perfect game for nostalgia buffs.
Resogun
Coming to: PS4
Ah, the side-scrolling shoot-'em-up, also known as the "shmup." Housemarque, the PlayStation pioneers of shmups with games like Super Stardust (both HD and Delta), is bringing the genre to the next generation with Resogun. We're thinking that we can expect screens full of bullets and crazy colors through Resogun, but we also think it'll be a ton of fun to play.
Skylanders: Swap Force
Coming to: PS4
Have you been collecting Skylander toys, only to be worried that with a new generation of consoles will mean having to purchase all of those Skylanders again? Not the case at all, as any Skylander figurines you currently have will transfer to the PS4 version, reading the chip on the statue the same way the games always have. We've grown attached to our little guys, so being able to take them with us to PS4 is a beautiful thing.
Sound Shapes
Coming to: PS4
The award-winning "music platformer" Sound Shapes is grooving its way onto PS4, bringing with it the same unique and wonderful 2D platforming that achieved such incredible accolades. "Playing" a track takes on a whole new meaning in Sound Shapes, as levels are created based on the song chosen, and players can choose from music by artists like Beck and Deadmau5. Our toes will be tapping right along with the gameplay.
Super Motherload
Coming to: PS4
On the surface Super Motherload looks like it belongs on an older console, not one that's just launching. While this is true, Super Motherload still has a ton of fun to offer. Each level is procedurally generated, rarely are two levels ever the same, and up to four players can grab controllers and join the fun locally, setting up some big-time mayhem. We're ready for the Super Motherload, are you?
Switch Galaxy Ultra
Coming to: PS4
Switch Galaxy may be the first and only game on Sony consoles to start as a PlayStation Mobile game, then ascend all the way to the top of the console food chain. The objective is to simply guide the on-screen car as it searches for a precious element, but it's advertised to be an "insanely addictive, fast-paced, and reflex-based" experience, so there's probably more to it than the simplistic description. Keep an eye to the sky for this one.
Warframe
Coming to: PS4
Warframe is leading the free-to-play charge on the PS4, and we're thinking it's a great choice. Choose your battle suit, strap in and get moving. You'll be fighting against things like a human clone army, intergalactic zombies, and members of the Corpis mega-corporation, so there'll be no rest for the righteous as the game plays on. If more free-to-play games like Warframe are coming soon, then PS4 will be the premier spot for free-to-play games in the future.
War Thunder
Coming to: PS4
If there's one subject that video games have completely dropped the ball on, it's airplane combat. Sure, there have been a few dogfights in the digital skies, but nothing like War Thunder is going to offer. This is World War II plane combat at its finest, with hundred of planes to choose from and even more ways to customize them. We hope to see a lot of people piloting some really cool WWII jets, because aerial combat as a whole depends on this game.
Next-gen is finally here!
Now that you've seen the launch lineup for the PS4 and everything else coming out with it, which of the games on this list are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below, we'd love to hear from you.
If you missed last week's releases, take a look at the games that came out November 5th, or if you want to be ahead of the game check out the entire November release lineup.
