10 Video Games To Look Forward To This Year
Your wallet's gonna hate you for this.
Gamers worldwide have already been treated to quality titles in 2018 such as God of War, Detroit: Become Human, and Vampyr. The year is only halfway over though, and there are plenty more games to pick up! Below are ten of the most anticipated video-games for the fall and winter seasons, alongside some game-play and their respective release dates.
Spider-Man (PS4) 9/7
Spider-Man, developed by Insomniac Games, is an open world action-adventure title. This iteration of Peter Parker is a 23-year-old who recently graduated from college. He struggles to make ends meet and interns at Oscorp. Surely a lot of us can relate to him in some regard. Not much is known about the overall plot though; We do know that once Spiderman defeats Kingpin early in the game, he inadvertently allows another crime syndicate to fill the vacant spot. I've been anticipating this game since it was first announced two years ago. I was skeptical that it wouldn't live up to expectations, but after seeing some game-play my concerns are alleviated!
Shadow of The Tomb Raider (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 9/14
Shadow of the Tomb Raider, developed by Eidos Montreal, is the third installment in the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise. It's a semi-open world, third-person shooter. Lara Croft grows from a helpless survivor to an apex predator throughout the three games, and I'm curious to know how her story concludes. This time around, she triggers a Mayan apocalypse while searching for an artifact in Mesoamerica and must find a solution to save the day. Gameplay wise, it looks similar to past entries; The vibrant lighting, densely packed hub-world, grappling hook, and environmental interaction, however, make up for that! I'm keeping my eye on this one.
Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 9/27
Life is Strange 2, releasing episodically, is an upcoming video game developed by Dontnod Studios. This game revolves around two new characters, Sean and Daniel Diaz. After an altercation with a police officer leaves him dead on the road, the two brothers go on the run. Not much is known about the plot, but the choices that Sean make over the course of the game will have an impact on his little brother. Max, the protagonist of the first game, had the ability to rewind time. I wonder what power Sean has?
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/5
Assassin's Creed Odyssey, developed by Ubisoft Quebec, is the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. The setting this time around is Ancient Greece. Unlike previous games, this one incorporates several RPG (role-playing game) elements; You can choose to play as either Alexios or Kassandra, you can customize their armor, you can romance any non-playable character regardless of their gender, dialogue trees are available, and there are multiple endings. You can ally yourself with either Athens or Sparta, kick ass with Leonidas's magical spear, and sail the Aegean sea in its entirety! There better be a '300' reference in the game somewhere.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/12
Black Ops 4 is an upcoming first-person shooter developed by Treyarch. It differs from the other 14 games in that it ditches the story mode in favor of a battle royale mode, similar to Fortnite. The traditional multiplayer returns and Zombie mode comes back as well. I'm not 100% sold on buying this game since there's no story mode and I'm tired of zombies, but the multiplayer aspect seems enticing and I want to check out that battle royale mode. We'll see what happens when October arrives.
Battlefield V (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/19
Battlefield V is developed by EA DICE. It's the sixth game in the main series, despite the title. Not much is known about the story mode, other than that it'll cover aspects of World War II that are largely ignored. Instead of storming the beach of Normandy for the thousandth time, you'll experience the story of the resistance fighters in Norway, among other recounts. The multiplayer looks as satisfying as ever, and they've improved upon the destruction mechanics and weather effects. They may or may not include a battle royale mode at launch, but it's up in the air.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One) 10/26
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the highly anticipated third-person shooter developed and published by Rockstar Games. Regarding the narrative, the protagonist is Arthur Morgan, a gunslinger on the run from the feds. He and his gang also cope with the realization that the days of the Wild West are coming to a close. Words can't describe how excited I am to play this! Just check out the game-play trailer and you'll see what I mean.
Fallout 76 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 11/14
Fallout 76 is an online-only RPG developed and published by Bethesda. It takes place in West Virginia, decades after a nuclear attack. Once the player awakens and exits their fallout shelter, they're tasked with repopulating and rebuilding the land. I'm not sure how the narrative will work out in an online game, but it looks fun from a game-play perspective.
Darksiders III (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 11/27
Darksiders 3 is an upcoming hack and slash action game, developed by Gunfire Games. The protagonist Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, must hunt down and destroy the seven deadly sins. The story in these games can be outlandish at times and aren't the most memorable, but the gameplay was always fun and this third installment looks no different!
Just Cause 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 12/4
Just Cause 4 is a third-person action-adventure game being developed by Avalanche Studios. The story takes place in the fictional country of Solis. A military faction, run by a woman named Gabriela, have taken over the country and it's your job to stop them. Yeah, the story doesn't sound all that engaging. The past games didn't have memorable stories either; People mainly played them to para-glide and destroy stuff. This entry piqued my interest because of the dynamic weather effects. I'm not sure that's enough incentive to shell out $65 for, but it's worth a rental.
Top 3 Best Zombie Survival Games
From slayers to survivors, here are the best of the genre.
Zombie games have taken a life of their own as of recent. The film genre of the dead coming to life has been a hit since George A Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead' and has since perpetrated many modern forms of entertainment, gaming being the primary one. These three zombie survival games are ranked and top the charts for very distinct and fun reasons.
3. 'Call of Duty: Black Ops'
The sequel zombie survival from the original Nazi Zombies from 'Call of Duty: World at War', this game focuses on surviving as long as possible using whatever guns you can get. Despite what would appear to be incredibly repetitive gameplay, it never feels as such as the pain of trying to survive and have enough ammo, etc, is enough to freshen it up every time. There are 4 notable characters that you are randomly assigned one of to play at the start of the round on most maps: Tank Dempsey, representing how a 1940's American soldier would handle being put in such a situation, then from Germany, Professor Edward Richtofen who is shown to be one of the people started the zombie plague, then Nikolai Belinski, a Russian who constant quips about his ex-wives or needing more vodka, and finally, Takeo Masaki, a Japanese soldier who is just kind of quietly there. All characters have fun voice lines that keep the game refreshing.
2. 'Killing Floor 2'
In a similar style to 'Black Ops Zombies', 'Killing Floor 2' is all about survival but it is limited to 10 rounds plus a boss. 'Killing Floor 2' is a sequel to an arcade game about pretty much the same exact thing, killing zombies. The game keeps itself fresh by having so many different and fun options for loadouts to fight the zombies with, from old Winchester rifles to the most modern submachine guns, and even chainsaws and samurai swords. 'Killing Floor 2' is a fun zombie fighting experience.
1. 'Dying Light'
On the surface, 'Dying Light' seems like it would be a very bleak game, as you seemed to be trapped in a hellish nightmare with no escape from the town. But it is actually a quite entertaining and charming zombie game. It is a free roam game, meaning you have full control over where you go and what you explore, and the two different parts of the town are so unique and have so many hidden places are quite satisfying to find. But what makes dying light stand out is its movement and fighting system. Grappling hooks in games are rarely smooth and tend to feel either too tedious or too clunky, but dying light hits the sweet spot here as grappling is incredibly smooth and enjoyable. Also, 'Dying Light' is the only game I have played with so many different and creative ways to take down zombies. Along with the typical melee weapons, there is a host of flying punches and drop kicks that you can combine with other moves to clear out areas of zombies. Overall 'Dying Light' was the best experience I have had playing a zombie game and I would highly recommend it.