Next Gen is finally here! As the dust settles and gamers everywhere begin prestiging through Call of Duty multiplayer and collect those final few Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag treasure chests, it's hard not to start looking forward.
It's usually the year after consoles launch that the huge, generation-shaping games make their debut. We didn't experience Assassin's Creed's free-form freerunning until one year after the PS3 launched. We didn't chainsaw any Locust in Gears of War until the Xbox 360 had already been around a full year either. So what 2014 action games have us most hyped? Let's take a look!
Note:*Some of these games are more action-oriented than others (looking at you, Lightning Returns) - but they all have enough fast-paced, action-oriented elements to qualify in our opinion. We're also not totally sure that all of these games, most notably the as-yet-unrevealed Tomb Raider 2, will actually drop in 2014. But for now we're keeping our fingers crossed that we do indeed get our hands on all these games next year, and that they all deliver on their promise.
Destiny - Justin Davis
Why I'm hyped: Halo is my favorite shooter franchise of all-time, and a newly-independent Bungie turned loose to create a brand-new universe is incredibly exciting. Destiny's combination of magic powers and sci-fi weapons looks hot, too.
A word of caution: There's a chance Destiny might just feel like a "Bungie Borderlands" and nothing more.
The Order: 1886 - Colin Moriarty
Why I’m hyped: Everything we’ve seen about The Order suggests that it’s going to be a unique third-person shooter with an amazing alternate history slant. It’s dark, dreary, and stands apart in a landscape absolutely littered with military bro shooters.
A word of caution: Developer Ready at Dawn is best-known for its triple-A PSP games. Could a bona fide console game be too big for the studio to deliver?
Mad Max - Mitch Dyer
Why I'm hyped: I trust the Just Cause team implicitly. Avalanche understands what makes a great open world game, how to keep you busy within it, and giving you entertaining ways to navigate. Mad Max is a great license, and the vehicular combat sounds like a great way to keep things interesting while exploring the wasteland.
A word of caution: It is a wasteland, after all, so here's hoping that doesn't strip the world of cool stuff to see and find.
Infamous: Second Son - Mitch Dyer
Why I'm hyped: Delsin's powers are more flexible than Cole's ever were, allowing him to traverse a real-life Seattle in interesting ways. Sucker Punch is great with combat design, and Second Son already seems to be a terrific evolution of what's been done great before. Plus, Troy Baker.
A word of caution: PS4 touch pad stuff sucks, and for now Second Son's implementation seems weird and out of place.
Titanfall - Brian Albert
Why I’m Hyped:*First-person shooters are one of my favorite genres, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen one that really shakes up the formula. Titanfall’s vertical level design and balanced mechs are looking to challenge what I’ve mastered over the past decade.
A word of caution:*Though Respawn is a team full of game development veterans, this is still the first game coming from the studio – and it's on unfamiliar next-gen technology to boot.
Bayonetta 2 - Caleb Lawson
Why I'm hyped: Bayonetta took the Devil May Cry formula, fine tuned the combat to near perfection, and kicked the over-the-top presentation into the stratosphere. For Bayonetta 2, developer PlatinumGames promises that "it will feel like fighting the last boss from the very beginning." That's good enough for me.
A word of caution: Wii U GamePad specific mechanics could impact core gameplay.
Watch Dogs - Jon Ryan
Why I'm hyped: This was far and away my most anticipated game of 2013, and they recent delay has only made me want to get my hands on Ubisoft's latest even more. As someone who loves playing with physics and open-world mechanics, the infrastructure / cTOS elements are something I can't wait to play with at length (giving me control of a street light grid is a bad,*bad*idea).
A word of caution: After finding several links to the Blume company and cTOS in*AC4, I'm concerned (perhaps unnecessarily) that Watch Dogs will end up being Assassin's Creed 5: Chicago Hope.
Hotline Miami 2 - Brian Albert
Why I’m Hyped: Hotline Miami’s brutal, fast-paced combat, memorable music, and ambiguous morals made it one of my favorite games of 2012. The story and bosses were a bit rough around the edges, so I can’t wait to see what’s been improved in part two.
A word of caution: The music and setting were so perfect that it’s hard to imagine lighting striking twice.
Earth Defense Force 2025 - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: EDF foregoes graphical beauty in favor of rendering hundreds of giant bugs, killer robots, and destructible buildings. When I was a kid and imagined the future of video games, it looked a lot like Earth Defense Force.
A word of caution: If you want pretty visuals or a deep multiplayer experience, look elsewhere.
Samurai Gunn - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: Samurai Gunn is a fast, stylish competitive melee in the Towerfall vein. It's a five-second transition from title screen to four player shenanigans.
Word of caution: If you don't have three friends willing to join you on your real-world couch, Samurai Gunn loses most of its appeal.
Thief - Greg Miller
Why I'm hyped:*I heard good things about Thief, but it wasn't until I saw it at the PS4 event that it jumped onto my "Must Have" list. It's a game that's all about stealing. I could kill everyone, but why not slink around, get the objective, and then spent 15 minutes completely robbing a jeweler blind before bouncing? Choice -- it's here and it allows me to be a scoundrel!
A word of caution:*I've seen about 20 minutes of the game. Who knows if it's interesting beyond a controlled demo.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Leah Jackson
Why I'm hyped: The combat of Final Fantasy XIII has evolved over two entries now to culminate in one of the most fast-paced and beautiful battle systems I've ever seen in a Final Fantasy title. Not to mention Lightning and all of her various new costumes look bad ass.
A word of caution: The story of every FFXIII iteration has been lackluster, so we'll have to wait and see if the final chapter ties up loose ends or once again leaves us scratching our heads.
Transistor - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: I walked away from my first hands-on with Supergiant’s follow-up to Bastion as impressed as I’ve ever been with a 10-minute slice of a game. Transistor is a gorgeous action game with a simple-yet-genius combat twist that allows you to freeze time and take a moment to plan out your actions before executing on them. Oh, and your sword talks to you and is voiced by the narrator from Bastion, so yeah, get hyped.
A word of caution: Supergiant knocked it out of the park with Bastion, but Transistor is still only the team’s second game. Will they be able to find magic twice?
Super TIME Force - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: Capybara's upcoming XBLA throwback is utter insanity in the best possible way. Though it might initially feel like Contra, you’ll soon realize that rewinding time after each death and subsequently fighting alongside copies of your previous lives transforms the game into an awesome, chaotic, and massively entertaining mess.
A word of caution:*The game has been delayed many times, which leaves us a bit concerned about the finished product.
X - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: We know very little about X, Monolith Soft’s spiritual successor to Xenoblade Chronicles. But from what Nintendo has shown off during Directs and at E3, X looks like it’ll be bringing a beautiful world filled with giant robots and massive swords to the Wii U. If you aren’t excited after those last two things, you’re dead to me.
A word of caution:*We know so little about this game, so we can’t get our hopes up too high until Nintendo and Monolith Soft show us a bit more.
Super Smash Brothers - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: SUMABURA! My favorite Nintendo characters tussling in a superb action platformer disguised as a fighting game. I may purchase both the Wii U and 3DS versions.
A word of caution: They might omit Sukapon again.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Chuck Osborn
Why I’m hyped: Open-world Spidey games, when done well, are totally my thing. Swinging around a fully rendered version of New York City on a next-gen system sounds like a comic geek's dream, and I can’t wait to see what kind of alternate storyline they create that fits into the movie’s continuity.
A word of caution: It’s still a movie tie-in game, and we all know how well those often turn out.
Tomb Raider 2 - Naomi Kyle
Why I'm hyped:*I grew up a fan of Lara and Chrissy D’s reboot ensured I could continue that trend. If they announced a sequel for 2014 I would be more than ecstatic, knowing there’d be a new story to discover and improvements added to the already solid experience of the first game. (More puzzles please!)
A word of caution:**Chances are high we’ll see more of Lara suffering.
Which 2014 games are you most hyped for? Let us know!
More...
It's usually the year after consoles launch that the huge, generation-shaping games make their debut. We didn't experience Assassin's Creed's free-form freerunning until one year after the PS3 launched. We didn't chainsaw any Locust in Gears of War until the Xbox 360 had already been around a full year either. So what 2014 action games have us most hyped? Let's take a look!
Note:*Some of these games are more action-oriented than others (looking at you, Lightning Returns) - but they all have enough fast-paced, action-oriented elements to qualify in our opinion. We're also not totally sure that all of these games, most notably the as-yet-unrevealed Tomb Raider 2, will actually drop in 2014. But for now we're keeping our fingers crossed that we do indeed get our hands on all these games next year, and that they all deliver on their promise.
Destiny - Justin Davis
Why I'm hyped: Halo is my favorite shooter franchise of all-time, and a newly-independent Bungie turned loose to create a brand-new universe is incredibly exciting. Destiny's combination of magic powers and sci-fi weapons looks hot, too.
A word of caution: There's a chance Destiny might just feel like a "Bungie Borderlands" and nothing more.
The Order: 1886 - Colin Moriarty
Why I’m hyped: Everything we’ve seen about The Order suggests that it’s going to be a unique third-person shooter with an amazing alternate history slant. It’s dark, dreary, and stands apart in a landscape absolutely littered with military bro shooters.
A word of caution: Developer Ready at Dawn is best-known for its triple-A PSP games. Could a bona fide console game be too big for the studio to deliver?
Mad Max - Mitch Dyer
Why I'm hyped: I trust the Just Cause team implicitly. Avalanche understands what makes a great open world game, how to keep you busy within it, and giving you entertaining ways to navigate. Mad Max is a great license, and the vehicular combat sounds like a great way to keep things interesting while exploring the wasteland.
A word of caution: It is a wasteland, after all, so here's hoping that doesn't strip the world of cool stuff to see and find.
Infamous: Second Son - Mitch Dyer
Why I'm hyped: Delsin's powers are more flexible than Cole's ever were, allowing him to traverse a real-life Seattle in interesting ways. Sucker Punch is great with combat design, and Second Son already seems to be a terrific evolution of what's been done great before. Plus, Troy Baker.
A word of caution: PS4 touch pad stuff sucks, and for now Second Son's implementation seems weird and out of place.
Titanfall - Brian Albert
Why I’m Hyped:*First-person shooters are one of my favorite genres, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen one that really shakes up the formula. Titanfall’s vertical level design and balanced mechs are looking to challenge what I’ve mastered over the past decade.
A word of caution:*Though Respawn is a team full of game development veterans, this is still the first game coming from the studio – and it's on unfamiliar next-gen technology to boot.
Bayonetta 2 - Caleb Lawson
Why I'm hyped: Bayonetta took the Devil May Cry formula, fine tuned the combat to near perfection, and kicked the over-the-top presentation into the stratosphere. For Bayonetta 2, developer PlatinumGames promises that "it will feel like fighting the last boss from the very beginning." That's good enough for me.
A word of caution: Wii U GamePad specific mechanics could impact core gameplay.
Watch Dogs - Jon Ryan
Why I'm hyped: This was far and away my most anticipated game of 2013, and they recent delay has only made me want to get my hands on Ubisoft's latest even more. As someone who loves playing with physics and open-world mechanics, the infrastructure / cTOS elements are something I can't wait to play with at length (giving me control of a street light grid is a bad,*bad*idea).
A word of caution: After finding several links to the Blume company and cTOS in*AC4, I'm concerned (perhaps unnecessarily) that Watch Dogs will end up being Assassin's Creed 5: Chicago Hope.
Hotline Miami 2 - Brian Albert
Why I’m Hyped: Hotline Miami’s brutal, fast-paced combat, memorable music, and ambiguous morals made it one of my favorite games of 2012. The story and bosses were a bit rough around the edges, so I can’t wait to see what’s been improved in part two.
A word of caution: The music and setting were so perfect that it’s hard to imagine lighting striking twice.
Earth Defense Force 2025 - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: EDF foregoes graphical beauty in favor of rendering hundreds of giant bugs, killer robots, and destructible buildings. When I was a kid and imagined the future of video games, it looked a lot like Earth Defense Force.
A word of caution: If you want pretty visuals or a deep multiplayer experience, look elsewhere.
Samurai Gunn - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: Samurai Gunn is a fast, stylish competitive melee in the Towerfall vein. It's a five-second transition from title screen to four player shenanigans.
Word of caution: If you don't have three friends willing to join you on your real-world couch, Samurai Gunn loses most of its appeal.
Thief - Greg Miller
Why I'm hyped:*I heard good things about Thief, but it wasn't until I saw it at the PS4 event that it jumped onto my "Must Have" list. It's a game that's all about stealing. I could kill everyone, but why not slink around, get the objective, and then spent 15 minutes completely robbing a jeweler blind before bouncing? Choice -- it's here and it allows me to be a scoundrel!
A word of caution:*I've seen about 20 minutes of the game. Who knows if it's interesting beyond a controlled demo.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Leah Jackson
Why I'm hyped: The combat of Final Fantasy XIII has evolved over two entries now to culminate in one of the most fast-paced and beautiful battle systems I've ever seen in a Final Fantasy title. Not to mention Lightning and all of her various new costumes look bad ass.
A word of caution: The story of every FFXIII iteration has been lackluster, so we'll have to wait and see if the final chapter ties up loose ends or once again leaves us scratching our heads.
Transistor - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: I walked away from my first hands-on with Supergiant’s follow-up to Bastion as impressed as I’ve ever been with a 10-minute slice of a game. Transistor is a gorgeous action game with a simple-yet-genius combat twist that allows you to freeze time and take a moment to plan out your actions before executing on them. Oh, and your sword talks to you and is voiced by the narrator from Bastion, so yeah, get hyped.
A word of caution: Supergiant knocked it out of the park with Bastion, but Transistor is still only the team’s second game. Will they be able to find magic twice?
Super TIME Force - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: Capybara's upcoming XBLA throwback is utter insanity in the best possible way. Though it might initially feel like Contra, you’ll soon realize that rewinding time after each death and subsequently fighting alongside copies of your previous lives transforms the game into an awesome, chaotic, and massively entertaining mess.
A word of caution:*The game has been delayed many times, which leaves us a bit concerned about the finished product.
X - Marty Sliva
Why I'm hyped: We know very little about X, Monolith Soft’s spiritual successor to Xenoblade Chronicles. But from what Nintendo has shown off during Directs and at E3, X looks like it’ll be bringing a beautiful world filled with giant robots and massive swords to the Wii U. If you aren’t excited after those last two things, you’re dead to me.
A word of caution:*We know so little about this game, so we can’t get our hopes up too high until Nintendo and Monolith Soft show us a bit more.
Super Smash Brothers - Jared Petty
Why I'm hyped: SUMABURA! My favorite Nintendo characters tussling in a superb action platformer disguised as a fighting game. I may purchase both the Wii U and 3DS versions.
A word of caution: They might omit Sukapon again.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Chuck Osborn
Why I’m hyped: Open-world Spidey games, when done well, are totally my thing. Swinging around a fully rendered version of New York City on a next-gen system sounds like a comic geek's dream, and I can’t wait to see what kind of alternate storyline they create that fits into the movie’s continuity.
A word of caution: It’s still a movie tie-in game, and we all know how well those often turn out.
Tomb Raider 2 - Naomi Kyle
Why I'm hyped:*I grew up a fan of Lara and Chrissy D’s reboot ensured I could continue that trend. If they announced a sequel for 2014 I would be more than ecstatic, knowing there’d be a new story to discover and improvements added to the already solid experience of the first game. (More puzzles please!)
A word of caution:**Chances are high we’ll see more of Lara suffering.
Which 2014 games are you most hyped for? Let us know!
More...
