Gamescom 2014 Pressers: My thoughts

Gamescom 2014 was, much like E3 rather sub-par, filled with games we all knew were coming and little surprises throughout. Although the games that were present at the show did do quite a bit to impress throughout the week. Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest news from the conferences and my opinion on some of the games that were shown off.

Microsoft’s Conference

5. More exclusive deals

As has become so common in Microsoft’s gaming strategy, more exclusive deals were announced at their press conference; these include exclusive betas for the upcoming coop shooter Evolve as well as the Ultimate Team Legends mode for FIFA 15. It’s typical of the corporation; they have the money to buy these kinds as they have done in the past, but as you’ll see reading on, they went one step further this year.

4. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare demo

Sledgehammer Games have had a lot to prove with Advanced Warfare; after last year’s embarrassing failure from Infinity Ward with Ghosts, pressure has been mounting higher than ever to bring innovation to a long and tired franchise. Even consumers finally seem to be catching on with pre-orders lowering since last year’s game. From the look of the multiplayer reveal and the single-player demo at Microsoft’s conference a day later, it seems that Sledgehammer are trying their best to meet expectations.

While the changes aren’t really a revolution in terms of FPS gameplay, they do add new dimensions to the overall gameplay; in combat you have more options thanks to grenade types that can track enemies and you can rip off car doors and use them as shields, movement has become more vertical with the addition of the exo-suit and to top it all off, the game looks like a real step forward visually, an improvement bolstered by the lack of a heads-up-display; instead all information is projected into the game world, whether it be ammunition count or current objectives. These changes have also been applied to multiplayer along with more dynamic maps and what looks to be the deepest customisation feature yet seen in the series Consumers will judge the game for themselves come November but at the very least AW can and should be better than last year’s disappointment. 

3. Halo Channel

Halo 5 will be making its big debut next year and to ease the wait, 343 Industries announced that the Halo 5 multiplayer beta will be accessible to anyone who purchases the Master Chief Collection (Halo 1 through 4). From the looks of it, the beta appears to be focusing on arena style combat, though we’ll know the full story this Christmas. In addition, the Halo channel was announced as a spiritual successor to Halo Waypoint. It will contain the same basic features such as stat tracking and leader boards as well as live streaming for multiplayer matches and unlockable rewards. After Call of Duty Elite (which ran from 2011 to 2013) Halo is doing a similar thing with its online multiplayer and as long as the content is mostly free then players should embrace it upon release later this year.

2. Quantum Break gameplay reveal

Remedy Entertainment’s Quantum Break has been teased since last year and at this year’s Gamescom, we finally saw the first gameplay and how was it? I thought it was OK; in the demo protagonist Jack Joyce fought his way across the docks and eventually made his way onto a bridge to take on two enemies kitted out in high-tech exoskeletons.

The gameplay was fairly typical for a third person cover shooter, with a bit of time manipulation on the side. Jack could freeze time around enemies to stop their attacks or even slow time completely to get behind them or avoid grenade explosions. The game certainly looks the part too with some dazzling effects that go off whenever time is manipulated. Although my biggest concern right now is that there isn’t a real hook to the third person combat just yet; there needs to be a whole variety of powers to use in order to keep it from going stale. Because the game is set to be linked in with a TV show upon release, the game may have no choice but to be shallow so that the two mediums can co-exist effectively (There’s still no word on how player actions in the game will impact the TV show). With that said, Quantum Break won’t be ready till the second quarter of next year so that should be plenty of time for Remedy to add to the title before release.

1. Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox Exclusivity

Not content with having exclusive downloadable content, probably the biggest moment of the Gamescom this year was Microsoft’s extremely controversial decision to place the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One and Xbox 360 only when it releases in Christmas 2015. The move is most definitely a bid by Microsoft to snap up a franchise in order to compete with Sony’s upcoming Uncharted 4, which is also coming out next year. Though some thought this was a good business decision on Microsoft’s part for a system lagging far behind the PS4, the vast majority of the gaming community were absolutely furious and took to the forums and comment sections to insult Crystal Dynamics and Microsoft as much as they could. Then one day later, information spread across the web stating no, the game would only be a timed exclusive and would eventually arrive on PS4 and PC at a later date. My guess is that one of two things may have happened here; either…

One: Crystal Dynamics buckled under the weight of all the angry fans and quickly decided to be more lenient on their deal with Microsoft.

Two: The announcement was just poorly worded and was sugar coated by Microsoft to make the Xbox versions look as attractive as possible.

Either way, this is a dreadful decision from Microsoft, plain and simple yet ironically, this decision may severely backfire on them next year; because they angered a lot of people, more consumers may dislike them and refuse to buy an Xbox One just for the game and even if Rise truly is Xbox exclusive then Sqaure Enix and Crystal Dynamics may end up complaining about the sales all over again (which is quite silly, considering how they are limiting themselves to just one major platform) and will release the game on PS4 and PC anyway. This deal also says a lot about how Microsoft just doesn’t care about making new franchises; instead they have the money to deprive other systems of what was once a multi-platform series, enraging the fan base in the process. Personally I was more disappointed than angry at this deal as I never really got into the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. It’s difficult to tell where this deal will go or what it will entail in the future at the moment.

Overall Microsoft’s conference was quite good with a fair few games to the Xbox One’s name; although enraging the gaming community again really isn’t the best way to go after last year’s debacle. People want to see more than just three upcoming IPs (Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive and Ori and the Blind Forest) that can stand up to those offered by Sony, not endless rehashes and paid exclusivity deals.

Sony’s Conference

5. DriveClub Demo

For the soon-to-be-released DriveClub, Sony and Evolution Studios showed off the social aspects of its newest racer to emphasise the importance of clubs; players can earn points, ranks and new cars even if they’re not playing the game; in clubs, experience is shared across all players in a club in order to form a more connected experience all around. Evolution Studios have said that racing games have been mostly solo experiences; a trend they hope to break when the game comes out in October. Whether it can match up to the likes of Forza Horizon 2 and The Crew is another matter entirely.

The game is looking quite good graphically with a variety of environments and weather effects which will also affect each race. The only concern I have personally is the damage effects. If cars simply bounce off walls rather than breaking realistically, that might really put the game behind its competitors and would really contradict the realism Driveclub is trying to put across.

4. More PS4 ports on the way

Given the success of The Last of Us Remastered which came out over the summer with over 1.5 Million units sold, Sony announced they were bringing artistic wonders Journey and The Unfinished Swan to the PS4. It’s most likely a move to keep fans occupied until the big exclusives roll out next year though it may not be as successful, given how both titles are downloadable games which were quite successful, but nowhere near as popular as The Last of Us. Sony has said that the remasters will eventually slow down over time but they’re definitely going to have to deliver massively to make up for the wait times next year.

3. Wild announcement

One of the few new games announced at Sony’s conference was from Rayman creator Michel Ancel. Ever since Minecraft launched there seems to have been an explosion of titles where you must collect resources to survive against monsters and other threats. Wild (which is still in the early stages of development) will feature a more caveman-esque aesthetic where players can play as any creature in the environment, be it man or beast. If all goes well with development, this could be a brilliant exclusive for the PlayStation 4.

2. BloodBorne demo

The fourth in the now-wildly popular Souls series, BloodBorne marks the franchise’s debut on the next-generation platforms, this time exclusively on the PlayStation store. From the demo that was shown off at Sony’s conference, the game seemed to look and play very similar to the games that came before, but with some notable differences. The environments in the game now veer more towards a more gothic, almost Victorian like background; this is turn results in a more gloomy and dark atmosphere which is enhanced further by the more violent nature of the combat. In keeping with the title of the game, there’s much more blood and gore effects this time which goes hand in hand with the more offensive combat seen in the demo. Though you’ll still dodge and wait for the right moment to attack, Bloodborne’s new dual weapons and ranged muskets (Which allow for stunning, not direct attacks) allow for more intimate combat scenarios.

The only weak spot I saw in the demo was that the graphical quality didn’t look like much of a step forward from the recent Dark Souls 2 which may end up hurting both the game upon release and the PS4 in terms of comparison with PC. Despite this gripe, BloodBorne remains arguably the most important exclusive on Sony’s platform and if FromSoftware’s reputation amongst the hardcore crowd is any indication, the game should be a smash hit next year.

1. PT and Silent Hills

Though it wasn’t shown off at Sony’s presser, PT and Silent Hills proved to have the biggest impact for the Japanese company this year both as a demo and eventual announcement. Released on the PlayStation store, scores of gamers were treated to a rather unique experiment with the playable teaser. After several playthroughs, it was revealed that Hideo Kojima was collaborating with film director Guillermo Del Toro and The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus for a brand new incarnation of the Silent Hill series, which hasn’t been heard from since 2012.

What looked like a trudge through the same corridor over and over again became more twisted and freakish as things went on, with atmosphere being built through the noises of wailing and scrambled radio chatter gradually changing and growing stranger throughout the playthrough. Judging from the demo, this is looking more than just a much needed come-back for Silent Hill but it could also bring about a new wave of horror games that actually build up tension rather than devolving into action-fests. If there’s anyone who can treat the franchise right and bring it back from the brink, its Kojima and after the release of Metal Gear Solid 5, it shouldn’t be too long before gamers dread turning corners once again.

Sony’s conference had a few solid moments but nothing to really set the world on fire; the continuing absence of The Last Guardian is still a disappointment to many fans and although Sony still has a fair few new IPs and big projects in the pipeline, their offerings for the rest of this year seem quite muted with DriveClub being the only major exclusive to be released in the latter half of 2014. Sony is probably saving most of their exclusives for 2015, leaving a couple of HD remasters to pick up the slack.

So that's it for the Gamescom 2014 pressers this year; is there a chance I might go to the show myself again? Watch this space.