GreenTeaGamer

I recently picked up Mirror’s Edge, a cult classic from DICE, that was a very different game from the studio’s Battlefield franchise.  It’s very rare to see a triple A studio announce a new IP, especially when they already have a very successful FPS franchise.  Mirror’s Edge, although released to favorable reviews with a solid 79 on Metacritic, never realized the “free running open world” that many people were expecting.  Selling around 2 million units over its entire lifetime would not be considered a success especially by the standards of today’s triple A studios.  Although many who loved the game wanted a sequel no one assumed that dream would come true.  Which is why the announcement of Mirror’s Edge 2 at E3 2013 was a huge surprise to everyone.  Set to release on current gen consoles sometime in April of 2016 it’s a long wait for what is claiming to be the “free running open world” we have always wanted.

Mirror’s Edge was a special game not only because it was a new IP but it was so very different from everything else on the market.  The protagonist is a woman named Faith who, far from being a damsel in distress, is a master in the art of par quor and hand to hand combat.  Faith is a far cry from the bald male space marines that dominated the market not so long ago.  From a studio best known for the battlefield series Mirror’s Edge has an interesting take on combat.  Although you are allowed to pick up guns the game tends to discourage their use.  Most of the time I found running, kicking the bad guy in the face seemed to work the best.  Unfortunately the combat is the games biggest failing.  It can feel you’re like punching at air instead of a solid human being much like the combat problems in Skyrim.  Improving the combat is supposedly on the top of DICE’s to do list; hopefully Mirror’s Edge 2 will have a much improved combat system.

Despite its faults Mirror’s Edge is important because its rare to see a triple A studio to risk money on a new IP especially now.  Hopefully the fact Mirror’s Edge is getting a sequel will encourage other studios to take risks apart from their established franchises.

Like any other gamer I to have a massive backlog.  It consists of games that I want to play, or feel like I should play, but just haven’t taken the time to play.  One constant feature of the games in my backlog is they all take a large time commitment.  The Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid series are a few examples that would take me a month if not more to complete.  One problem that has increased everyone’s backlog is how inexpensive video games have become.  From Playstation Plus to Steam summer sales it is easy to have a huge library of games for very little money.  Looking at trophy data from the Playstation Network most people don’t beat the games they are given for free.  The problem here is people don’t feel as much investment in a game they acquired for free.  On the other hand, pay sixty bucks for a game and you already have a monetary investment.  Even if the game is good but not great I want to get my money’s worth and complete the game.  I own many games through Playstation Plus I have never even started.  If a game doesn’t immediately hook me I usually don’t play more than a hour.  The only reason this doesn’t cripple developers is because all of these games are digital.  If I buy a used game for five bucks and it doesn’t hook me I would return it and the vicious cycle of used video games takes over.  If I pay five bucks for a digital game I can’t return it’s mine forever.  The developers don’t care if I don’t finish a digital game because there is no danger of me returning it.  This being the state of video games purchases my backlog is growing faster than ever.  The upside is if there is ever a large gaming drought I will have plenty of games to pass the time.  Is there any hope of me taking the time to complete the Mass Effect series when I can buy ten new games for a nickel?  Probably not but I can hope.

 

Just a small sample of my backlog.

 

The dust from E3 has settled and after sifting through the rubble these are the game I am most hyped for.

 

Evolve

Hype level: very high

From the makers of Left 4 Dead come a truly unique game that seems to defy ganres.  The premise: a team of four hunters try who take down a giant monster controlled by another player.  It sounds awesome and so far it looks awesome.  The more I see Evolve the more I want to play it.  This will be a breath of fresh air for online multiplayer.  The Wii U showed us that a-synchronous multiplayer it a underused premise.  One catch, teamwork is paramount for the hunters(duh!).  Sure this is easy when you are with a group of friends but what about an anonymous online match?  Will it still be a as fun when you have to deal with the online masses?  Well just have to wait and see.

 

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Hype level: wait and see

Ah Call of Duty, one of the most popular and yet most hated games ever.  This time around Call of Duty seems to be taking a page from Titanfall’s book.  The next COD will have mechsuits, drones, futuristic weapons and most importantly Kevin Spacy.  Hopefully this introduction of a big name actor means the story will be more than save the world form the russians and/or terrorists.  However, I can assure you we will save the world from something.  Activision is taking a big risk, Advanced Warfare has totally reworked the engine. COD has updated and used the same engine since Call of Duty 2. But then again we will be running around in mechsuits.  The internet has demanded Call of Duty to change for years now.  Will Advanced Warfare be the futuristic boost COD has needed or is it little more than an advanced paint job over the same game?

 

Battlefield Hardline

Hype level: higher than COD’s 

Anyone remember Payday?  The surprisingly entertaining bank heist simulator seems to have inspired the folks over at Visceral Games.  Battlefield Hardline is a surprising change from the norm of military simulation.  Instead of huge explosion filled war zones the setting is urban, the objective is a bank heist, and the explosions still remain.  One would think the cops vs robbers vibe would mean fast close quarters combat without tanks and the like, but you would be wrong.  From the gameplay footage I have seen the bank heists look like they were planned by Michael Bay.  There may not be any tanks but they have been replaced by armored cars, and helicopters still battle for air superiority.  If every bank heist was like this half the world would be in flames.  But besides that, this is Battlefield and it still looks fun.  Like it’s rival its cool to see Battlefiield put a new spin on its time honored formula.

 

Batman Arkham Knight

Hype Level: Extreme

After the less than fantastic Arkham Origins Rocksteady is back and Batman Arkham Knight looks mind blowing.  Using the power of next gen hardware Rocksteady is making the Batman game we have always wanted.  This time instead of a claustrophobic insane asylum or a deceptively small mega prison Rocksteady is giving us all of Gotham City to explore, reportedly the map is five times bigger than Arkham City.  But the headline here is the playable debue of the Batmobile.  Drawing inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s Bat tank, this Batmobile is the completely un-nearfed, always there, rocket powered, bad guy busting Batmobile we have all come to know and love.  Rocksteady claims Gotham City has been built for the Batmobile making the streets wider so you won’t go crashing into helpless thugs, or buildings.  The Arkham Knight, Batman’s main antagonist this time around, is worth mentioning simply because Rocksteady claims he is a completely new villain never before seen in the Batman universe. I bet his true identity will be saved for a dramatic reveal and a, hopefully, epic boss fight.  But enough speculation all you need to know is Rocksteady is back and Arkham Knight is Batman’s debue on the power of next gen hardware.

 

Destiny

Hype Level: very high

The more I learn about Destiny the more I want to play it.  Bungie’s first game since stepping away from Halo, Destiny is yet another game that promises a “truly next-gen” experience.  So far, it seems to have the best chance at delivering on that promise.  Best described as Borderlands 2/mmo/Mass Effect Destiny promises the solar system on a massive scale.  Although Bungie has a “please call this anything but an mmo” attitude Destiny does share many characteristics to the genre.  Described as “mingle-player” Destiny gives you the choice of playing alone, but again like an mmo, many aspects of it are built to be played with friends.  And if you do choose to play alone you will have to deal with other people wandering through your play session.  The big question is of course, will Destiny deliver?  Will it be the first next-gen experience?  Will it be worth the 500,000,000 price tag its cost Bungie?  I for one can’t wait to find out.

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Hype Level: face melting

Sure no one knows anything about this game but it doesn’t matter.  All you need to is Naughty Dog, next gen hardware and Drake is back!

 

 

 

Achievements, trophies whatever you want to call them, have taken the video game world by storm in the last five or so years.  They add an interesting metagame to a video game and encourage the player keep playing.  When achievements are best used is when they make the player play the game in a way they never would have done before.  However, I see a unfortionet pattern with most achievements.  They tend to fall into boring categories of: complete the mission, collect the collectable and do action x amount of times.  Completing a mission, something that is rewarding in its own right, usually has an achievement slapped on top just for good measure.  There needs to be more achievements that challenge the player in interesting or bizarre ways.  I am surprised one doesn’t more achievements that make the player play through the game again. Not just harder difficulties but for instance complete Batman Arkham City without using detective mode.  There are achievements like this but they are not as prevalent as I would expect.  The best achievements make the player get out of their comfort zone and encourages them to try more things.  I hope in the future developers will put much more thought into achievements.

Sony has finally revealed what Gaikai has been doing all this time.  It is above and beyond (BEYOND!) what everyone was expecting.  Not only will Playstation.Now bring PS3 games to PS4 but PSVita, Sony tablets, smartphones and some Sony TVs.  But the best part is sony does not have to stop there.  They have said eventually Playstation.Now might come to apple tablets and possibly other platforms as well.  Think about it, you could be sitting at home playing The Last of Us on your PS4 because it is a great game.  Then you decide to ride a bus over to your friends house.  On the bus you continue to play TLOU on your tablet then when you arrive you finish it on your friend’s Sony TV.  If that doesn’t sound next gen I don’t know what does.  Playstation.Now ensures the Playstation brand will last long after consoles.  In the future you won’t have own multiple Playstation devices because all of the games are playable on any of them.  This blurs the line of exclusivity, is it still Playstation exclusive if I play Uncharted on the Playstation program on my PC?  I am not saying that would happen but it would not surprise me.  It seems to me Playstation.Now is Sony making a true investment in the future of gaming by freeing up their games to be playable anywhere.