2014 is finally here, which means we may start to see an influx in new games coming to the PlayStation 4. It’s about time, right? This month, January, we will only see two that I know of off the top of my head: Don’t Starve and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. Neither of these can be fully counted, as they are nothing more than ports masquerading as next-gen games. But, hey, at least it’s something new to play on that shiny hardware we shelled out for.
Thankfully, the months following January and February look so much better for the PS4. We will see a ton of great games coming to Sony’s new system. Now all we have to do is wait it out and hope the days pass by quickly. At the very least we can keep using that $400 console as a glorified Netflix stream machine; that’s what I do lately.
Secret Ponchos:
I’m not usually into multiplayer-only games, but we, as gamers, need to see more Wild West-era video games. Secret Ponchos promises to take us back in time to that period of the world where gunslingers and sheriffs roamed around on horses, shooting and doling out justice at will. Except in Secret Ponchos the players will take on the role of the outlaws every time.
Secret Ponchos features a top-down perspective, another aspect I am not overly fond of generally, with a focus solely on player versus player combat. The combatants will duel online against other outlaws to gain reputation and notoriety. With five maps, multiple game modes, and multiplayer playable characters, this is more of an arcade game than anything. Indie developer Switchblade Monkeys will bring about an experience that should last for quite some time, as long as you have good friends to play with at least.
Driveclub:
When the PS4 launched we received Need for Speed: Rivals, a racing game with less realism than some would hope for. At first we were supposed to receive Driveclub at launch, unfortunately it, along with Watch Dogs, was delayed for further improvement and tweaking. Now we will finally get our hands on Evolution Studios’ upcoming racing game this year.
Driveclub is not trying to gain the title of a racing simulator; instead it plans to be a rival to Grid 2. The game will focus on road racing, instead of off-road racing like Evolution’s previous title MotorStorm. Team racing is the feature that interests me the most so far, allowing players to manage racing teams and use the PlayStation Plus network and PS4’s “Share” features to manage other players. Racing clans are some of the most fun groups to be a part of in the gaming world, in my personal opinion, as the competition is always there but the lighthearted camaraderie is as well.
Basement Crawl:
Bloober Team (quite possibly the best developer name) is hard at work on a maze-based action game with strategy elements called Basement Crawl. Taking inspiration from such classics as Spy vs. Spy and Bomberman, the gameplay will revolve around setting traps to take out other players. There is a large focus on multiplayer here as well, but a single player campaign filled with the infamous AI bots will also be available.
Basement Crawl will support 4 player hot-seat and 8 players online, plus a combination of both. This could be a perfect party game, just like Secret Ponchos, for those drunken weekends with friends or family. Players will have their choice from a selection of 4 available characters, each with their own unique skills to use against each other. This type of game screams DLC, so we will probably see more characters and maps in the future.
Infamous: Second Son:
Some of you are probably thinking, “How did it take this long to include Infamous: Second Son on these lists?” Easy answer is that everyone knows of the game already, and I’ve been trying to keep the big name ones to a minimum. Unfortunately the fanboy in me could wait no longer; Infamous: Second Son looks brilliant and I cannot wait for the game to hit the PS4. March cannot come soon enough.
Infamous: Second Son will feature a new city, new powers, a new main character, and new moral choices for the player to drive themselves crazy with. Set in Seattle, the player will take on the role of Delsin Rowe, a superhuman with the abilities of smoke. These new powers look brilliant from the gameplay shown off by Sucker Punch so far, and the moral choices have been discussed a bit. Your brother will play a large part in the game and choices affect not only your relationship with him, but also with the entire city.
PlanetSide 2:
The free-to-play market is relatively new on the consoles, but thankfully we launched with a couple of titles on the PlayStation 4. We could always use more, however, and Sony Online Entertainment understands this. So we shall see PlanetSide 2 on the next-gen console this year. The first-person shooter will be ported over from the PC to the home console. It seems like the type of game that could make use of a controller rather well; we'll have to see.
PlanetSide 2 is a large-scale MMO featuring massive battles with up to 2000 players per continent. These players will duke it out on foot, in the air, and in land vehicles. The game can be immensely confusing for new players, being thrust into this huge war spanning a massive continent. But once you really get into the gameplay and the factions, PlanetSide 2 is a brilliant shooter promising many, many hours of fun and more than enough grinding to last a long time.
2014 will be the year of the PlayStation 4. These five games can attest to that, but what we still have to come will show exactly what the new system can do. The likes of games we have never seen before, the experiences we will share, and the characters we will fall for will only grow as the PS4 gets older and older.
Check out next week for another set of games, and as always let me know if there is something you think I should check out. I’m always looking for new games, especially those that haven’t come out yet. I just love to torment myself with all the info on these titles.
Published: Jan 7, 2014 06:31 am