The year is now 2014 and we have all survived the gaming onslaught that was 2013. With new consoles now fresh in our hands, it was time to poll the staff on what they were looking forward to for the future. A new year for video games is upon us, and these are our games of the future.
Super Smash Bros. has always been that excellent example of a crossover well done, and with another entry on the way this year, I am so damn excited for it. Since the days of the 64, it’s been one of the funnest and most unconventional fighting games on the market, especially when you also consider as a genius marketing tool for the many other games it references. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and for 3DS looks to be no exception.
By the way, let me say how it blew my mind when I realized the double entendre in the game’s title: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Super Smash Bros. Four. It also works to differentiate the two versions of the game for Wii U and 3DS, each with varying content, including the art style, stages, and trophies. Fucking brilliant. But I digress. For years, I’ve had plenty of nights with groups of friends all around the TV taking turns smacking each other around in another round of Smash Bros., so here’s to more nights of using Princess Peach to decimate everything in her path.
Being a primarily PC gamer, there are a couple of segments of gaming that are blocked off for me. Nintendo games, handheld games, and other console exclusives have until now existed beyond my reach. For the most part it’s not such a big deal because there’s something I can play that’s at least a close approximation to the forbidden fruit. Tomb Raider, for example, is essentially an Uncharted game in terms of gameplay.
In 2013, there is however one game from 2013 that I feel like I’ve really missed out on, and that’s Grand Theft Auto V. I’ve played all the games in the series and loved each of them except for GTA IV. I was excited to hear that the newest installment of Rockstar’s money-printing industry fixed many of the issues I had with its predecessor however, which gets me all kinds of excited to play it.
There are rumors that GTA V will be coming to PC in 2014, and I hope they are true. I hope it’s a good port, and I also hope it finally (pardon the pun) spurs Rockstar to give us a port of Red Dead Redemption while they’re at it.
Maybe choosing Kingdom Hearts III as my most looked-forward-to game of 2014 is equal parts excitement about my favorite game series finally getting another console installment and wishful thinking. Kingdom Hearts III hasn’t been given an official release date… yet. Here’s hoping it lies somewhere within 2014.
I’ve personally been waiting for a new Kingdom Hearts console game since I was about 12 years old. It’s been quite a while since Square Enix had given us anything but fanservice-y games. Not that these games were bad, I enjoyed most of them. Even so, nothing can quite replace the feeling of playing a Kingdom Hearts game on a console. If Kingdom Hearts III lives up to even half the hype that’s built up over the years, I’d be a happy camper.
2014 for me is mostly shrouded in mystery as most of the games I really want to play aren’t quite ready yet. Most don’t even have definite release dates, though there are a few I’m really pumped for. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, which debuts on Valentine’s Day, is easily my top contender. The latest in high-profile visual novels to get localized in English, Danganronpa is a murder mystery that will most likely receive high praise a la 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward.
Though 2014 is off to a relatively slow start, there still is a handful of games I am definitely looking forward to. For me, personally, my number-one is the hotly anticipated first act of Double Fine’s Broken Age. They’ve done a wonderful job keeping a lot of the game under wraps, even with the production documentary and so far, it has me super enticed.
I was introduced to the Souls game from the people here at Twinfinite and I might have become a tad obsessed with the lore of the series. With Dark Souls II finally coming out in March, I’m ready to sink my teeth into a new chapter of the dark fantasy and this time I won’t be arriving to the scene years late. Day 1, I will be down there, dying, resurrecting, crying, and more crying with the rest of them.
I’m told that Dark Souls is one of those games whose experience is completely unique from day 1 and I’m inclined to agree. With seamless multiplayer and everyone in the world swarming to become the most powerful, this could probably be my first proper entry into the series.
The game I’m most looking forward to actually came out in 2004. The HD remake of Fable is something I’ve been waiting for ever since they announced it. At one point, I owned two copies for Xbox and a digital copy I downloaded off Xbox Live on my 360. The fact that it will include The Lost Chapters is just an added bonus since I never got a chance to play it.
The original Fable is probably one of my favorite games of all time and with how pretty the HD version looks, I can’t wait to jump back into the world of Albion with both feet. Even if I have to listen to the nagging Guildmaster for 40 hours.
The Sims 4 in my mouth.
I am way too excited for this game. When the trailer showing off a lot of the advances emerged, I literally lost my mind. You can see more of that here. Considering that the series simply gets better and better with each installment, I can’t imagine even EA screwing this up. Please, please, please, let there be drama enhancers to accompany the new emotions. Situations like accidental pregnancy, cheating Sims, and job firings will up the ante for me and my novella story telling in The Sims 4.
I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but Titanfall so far seems to be that game that really stands out to me for the future. I don’t play online shooters because I’m not very good at them. This game however has giant mechs versus little people running around. Mechs that you can control inside and outside of the machine. While you are outside of the machine you are doing parkour moves and shooting at things, and there is too much potential for pure fun to not get excited.
Maybe I’ve just been programmed by the Xbox One advertisements or maybe I’m just really intrigued by the original Infinity Ward guys figuring out a way to make this competitive multiplayer game shimmer. These guys have a lot to prove with their new company and I’ve loved everything I’ve seen so far. I have really high hopes for Titanfall, which lands it as my Game of the Future.
Published: Jan 13, 2014 11:38 am