• An open world much larger than in previous Witcher games
• A novel-like story that allows over 100 hours of gameplay
• Tactical, responsive, multi-layered combat
• Next generation audio-visual fidelity
The opening cinematic for the game was recently released.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is scheduled to be released for the Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 24 February 2015.
In Civilization: Beyond Earth, players lead an expedition from Earth to a new world, which they have to explore and colonise.
The reviews for the game are already out. The following is from GameSpot.
Civilization: Beyond Earth will also be available for players on Mac and Linux by Aspyr Media this holiday season.
See also my earlier post on Civilization: Beyond Earth.
Swordsman is based on a popular Chinese martial arts novel by author Louis Cha.
In the game, ten martial arts schools compete to become the most powerful in China. The player takes on the role of a survivor of a tiny village torn apart by war and must avenge his people while discovering the mysterious connection between him and the martial arts world.
The Gilded Wasteland expansion brings the following features:
• Increased level cap to 94
• New weapon crafting
• Exotic desert wasteland zones
• New instances and gear
• Leveling improvements
• Updated companion system
• Increased player vs. player options
Wrath of the Nagas was released for the Windows PC on 21 October and, for the first time, will also be available for the Mac and Linux.
The expansion includes a new campaign, the new Naga race, new great mages and two new lords.
In conjunction with the launch of Samurai Warriors 4 in North America and Europe, Koei Tecmo released a launch trailer for the game.
In preparation for the launch, Activision has released the official gameplay launch trailer.
The first video is for Patch 2.4: Dreams of Ice and is eight minutes long, a lengthy trailer for a large patch. The patch introduces the Rogue class, the new Ninja job, the ice queen Shiva, new dungeons, recipes, as well as other content.
Patch 2.4 will be released later this month.
The second video is a teaser trailer for the first expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, Heavensward. The expansion will increase the game’s level cap to 60, introduce a new playable race, new jobs, new dungeons, high-end raids, and will enable players to build airships and go to Ishgard and beyond.
Heavensward will be released in the spring of 2015.
In preparation for this expansion, Blizzard Entertainment released Patch 6.0.2: The Iron Tide last week. This patch introduced the following:
• New Character Models
• World Event: Iron Horde Incursion
• Revamped Group Finder/Premade Groups
• Quest Log
• Inventory Improvements
• New Raid Structure
• Boosted Characters
For detail of the patch, read the patch notes or watch the following video.
Assassin’s Creed Unity will be available on 11 November on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC.
Dragon Age: Inquisition will be available from 18 November on the Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3.
The Crew takes the player on a ride inside a massive, open world depicting the United States. The player has to infiltrate a gang grown around Detroit’s illegal street racing scene and sabotage their activities city-by-city all across the United States.
Missions can be played alone, with friends, or with online co-op matchmaking. The multiplayer mode lets players create teams to compete online in races and other game-types.
The following video shows the types of cars available in The Crew.
Watch the launch trailer below.
Also see my earlier post on the game.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a video game that fuses the first-person shooter and role-playing genres. It was developed by 2K Australia with assistance from Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. It is the third game in the Borderlands series and is set in the period between the original Borderlands and Borderlands 2.
The Pre-Sequel features four playable characters, each belonging to a different class and having different abilities. The characters begin as henchmen of Handsome Jack but have to take him on as he turns villainous.
The game expands upon the engine of Borderlands 2 and introduces new gameplay mechanics, including low-gravity environments, freeze weapons, and oxygen tanks which are used to navigate environments and perform special attacks.
Assassin's Creed Rogue is set in 18th century North America amidst the chaos and violence of the French and Indian War. You play as Shay Cormac, an Assassin who turns his back on the Brotherhood after a mission goes tragically wrong. The latter, in response, attempt to end his life, forcing Shay to set out to wipe out all who turned against him.
Watch the story trailer about Shay below.
Battleline: Steel Warfare is an upcoming free-to-play online game that combines real time strategy with tank shooter.
Watch the announcement trailer below.
For details of the game, visit the official website
Art of War is the fourth expansion to be released for Europa Universalis IV and is claimed to be the largest one to date.
In the following video, Martin Anward, Project Lead for Europa Universalis IV, explains some of the new features available to players in the expansion.
Developed by Crystal Dynamics, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is the latest game in the action-adventure Tomb Raider series and is the sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.
This new game takes place in the Temple of Osiris, hidden deep in the deserts of Egypt, where Lara must overcome deadly traps and forsaken gods to uncover the missing pieces of Osiris and change her fate.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is scheduled for release on the Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on 9 December.
The game is based on the movie franchise, Aliens, and sees the player following the story of Amanda Ripley as she seeks to unlock the truth about her mother’s disappearance while being stalked by a deadly xenomorph.
The reviews for Alien: Isolation have generally been positive, although there are still flaws in the game, at least in the opinion of Jeff Marchiafava at Game Informer.
Unlike its titular organism, Alien: Isolation is decidedly imperfect. The story falls flat, your objectives lack a sense of accomplishment, and the campaign drags on longer than it should. When the gameplay is at its best, however, Isolation delivers the thrill of being in the Alien universe, something fans like me have waited a long time to properly experience.
The game is already available on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, part of the Metal Gear series, is an open-world action-adventure stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami. It is set in 1975 and follows the hero Big Boss as he infiltrates a sprawling secret prison base called Camp Omega in Cuba on a rescue mission.
The game features Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who encounters a mysterious and powerful force while investigating the scene of a gruesome mass murder. With limited resources, the player has to guide the protagonist in his fight for survival as he tries to unravel what is behind this evil force.
Bethesda Softworks has released a new trailer for The Evil Within that shows the enemies that the protagonist has to face in the game.
The Evil Within will be released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation4, Xbox One and Windows PC on 14 October.
Styx: Master of Shadows features stealth gameplay designed to reward player skill and strategy. Playing the very short and very green goblin, Styx, the player has to battle his way to the top of the lofty Tower of Akenash to complete numerous missions and gradually reconstruct the puzzle that provides the key to the mystery of his origins.
The launch trailer above focuses on the story behind the game. For some gameplay, see my earlier post on the game.
Crusader Kings II is a strategy game set in Medieval Europe. The player has to take on the role of a Christian noble and carry him through the ages from Count to Emperor via the line of succession.
Charlemagne adds new story events, the ability to create new kingdoms, an additional century to play, and a new in-game “Chronicle” that allows players to follow their progress in history.
Charlemagne will be available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs and will come with four new pieces of downloadable content.
Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game in which up to four players use various attacks, techniques, and items to damage their opponents.
For more details of the game, visit the official website.
The following video specifically focuses on character creation.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is scheduled to be released on November 18 for the Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3.
Developed by Blue Byte, Might & Magic Heroes Online combines the original Heroes gameplay formula with new massively multiplayer online features. Players control powerful, customisable Heroes, explore a multitude of fantasy environments, build towns, and compose armies out of creatures from different factions to dominate the battlefield.
