A Preview 'The Year for Gamers' - Part 1 ~ RajakaruGames

E3 2013 is now behind us, the behemoth of Video Games conferences is over for another year but between new console details, game announcements and trailer what really stood out. Below, and in several other posts I will bring up some of my favourite announcements, the details given and speculate on other features.

Dark Souls 2

Publisher: Namco Bandai

Developer: From Software

Release Date: March 2014

Platforms: 360, PS3, PS4

The original Dark Souls was pretty much everything I ever wanted in a video game. It’s a clever, gorgeous, but punishing experience that rewards players for taking the time to learn how to get through it and the specific features it brings to the table. It’s like a gruelling 8-bit adventure from the nineties or a hardcore JRPG. Dark Souls managed to capture that enigmatic concoction that made me fall in love with the medium in the first place and the darkness of the pallet make me feel like I was in danger at every single point.

Dark Souls 2 is shaping up to build on the foundations of the original but to also allow the soft-core crowd to have a go, as it features a far less brutal difficulty setting. Don’t worry if you are a fan of the difficult nature of the original as this instalment will still have a setting to brutally punish you some more.

The franchise has earned its infamy by living up to its slogan, ‘Prepare to Die’, a merit bade that means every single encounter should be feared and prepared for.

Destiny

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Bungie

Release Date: 2014

Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3

Bungie revolutionised console shooters once with Halo. So hype for its follow-up franchise Destiny is already through the roof. E3 gave us the first opportunity to see the title and the call shaded, highly details, gameplay looks to revolutionise the shooter genre again. We have now seen the always-on “massively multiplayer” shooter and can understand how it seamlessly moves from a single-player to a multiplayer experience.

The secrets of Destiny have still been kept close to Bungie’s chest and we still have no idea what the moon-sized object hovering close above the earth is – (see The Traveller).

E3 is at its best when its exhibitors show us ideas that are new and this game fulfilled that expectation. The bigger and more audacious a title is, the better it comes off. Destiny is about as big and audacious as they come. It’s gaming’s biggest publisher funding one of the industry’s most renowned developers.

The skirmish, online objectives and the close quarter single player gameplay has wet my appetite – it’s the only title without a solid release date that I’ve already pre-ordered.

Thief 4

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Eidos Montreal

Release Date: 2014

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Thief II is arguably the best stealth game ever; blending a dank atmosphere, believable AI, a compelling and likeable anti-hero, huge open-ended missions, and of course strong ‘pure’ stealth gameplay. It held a rich assortment of weapons and items, still holding the crown nearly 15 years on.

In 2014 we will see the return of the franchise with a new packaging on next-gen software tools. The player’s avatar, Garrett, no longer has a mechanical eye, but it has been confirmed that he does have a Batman: Arkham Asylum style Detective Mode vision ability. The game is set in a dark, steam-punk style world, not unlike Dishonoured, that will give players various options for completing each and every quest.

Patience has always been a key ingredient for the series and one that looks to be in place for the reboot. Shadows (and now dynamic lighting), which was key in Thief II, will make an important return and with it the ‘get spotted and die’ gameplay. Missions are shaping up nicely and a ‘easier mode’ will be put in place for the less hardcore of us. In any event; bursting through the main doorway is sure you get you a quick death/

Eidos Monteal took over development from Looking Glass Studios after they disbanded a few years ago. The studio earned our respect, in 2011, with a great reboot of the Deus Ex franchise. Multiplayer has been skipped over, when questions have been flung at Eidos, which makes me think it’s not out of the question.