New year, new games
The future is NOW, and we want it to be as bright as can be.
But when it comes to game reveals, this new year will have to work hard to even
come close to 2013. Those 365 days saw the unveiling of the PS4 and Xbox One,
along with Titanfall, Destiny, Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, and dozens more massively
hyped games. 2014 will need some big titles to match that, and we know just the
games that could get our hearts racing.
This week’s top 7 has us dreaming up the releases that we
not only want revealed in 2014, but are also the ones that the industry needs
right now. But there’s one important ground rule with this list: No Half-Life 3
Episode 3 (and HL3 is even less likely). We’re not wasting valuable list space
on a game that we all know will never come out--and no Last Guardian either.
Our list is filled with games that at least have a remote possibility of
happening, such as...
7. Star Fox Wii U
Why we need it in 2014: Because we deserve an
honest-to-goodness reboot of the space fighting fox and friends. Not “Star Fox
Becomes King of the Dinosaurs.” Not “Starfox On Foot With A Bazooka.” Not “Star
Fox 64 with Different Voice Actors in 3D.” We need Fox, Peppy, Falco, and yes,
even Slippy back in our lives, better than we remember them. Star Fox Command
kinda had that, but it was burdened with gimmicky touch controls. This is the
year to get it right.
Who should make it: Nintendo, clearly. Despite our gripes
with previous games, they’ve yet to truly messed up Star Fox--it’s just that
Nintendo added things that weren’t the best fit for the series. Strip away all
the new and strange mechanics, put the little critters back in their jets, give
us Bill and Kat back, and you have yourself a new blockbuster. Of course, we’d
also be fine with Nintendo handing this big boy over to Platinum Games. Fans
have been rumbling about this potential mash-up for a while, and with the
developer’s track record, it might just be the refreshing pair of eyes that
this old franchise needs.
6. Next-gen Crash Bandicoot
Why we need it in 2014: Because we know it’s coming. Well,
maybe “know” is too strong a word, but hints have
most definitely been dropped.
For instance, this is an image of a brief moment in Sony’s PS4 launch trailer.
Notice Crash’s outline in the background. Notice how it’s vaguely implying
“Hey, he’s up ahead.” We know what you’re doing Sony--just spill the beans
already.
Who should make it: This is a bit tricky. There’ve been a
ton of developers and producers rifling through what’s left of poor Crash since
he stopped being a Sony exclusive. So who deserves to reboot the marsupial?
Naughty Dog created him, but they’re kind of onto other things now. Sony just came
out with the nostalgic Knack, which was packed with old-school gameplay, but
kind of fell apart. Insomniac just came out with the newest Ratchet and Clank,
so maybe they should keep their retro gears spinning. Or maybe a smaller, newer
dev should take a chance with Crash. There’s definitely no shortage of
developers to choose from should Activision and/or Sony choose to bring him
back.
5. Star Wars: Rogue Leader II
Why we need it in 2014: Star Wars games saw a death and
rebirth last year. It began with the unfortunate (but anticipated) closure of
LucasArts--then EA signed a deal to develop new Star Wars games, beginning with
a new Star Wars Battlefront. You’d think that’d cover the need for combat in a
galaxy far, far away, but we doubt it’ll provide the kind of gorgeous, fun
space battles that GameCube’s Rogue Leader offered back in 2001. Yes, the 'Cube
saw a Rogue Squadron III, but what we want is a direct sequel with at least one
next-gen trench run through the Death Star.
Who should make it: EA has the current Star Wars rights, so
it would seem that legally, the developer should be one of its internal
studios. DICE is busy with Battlefront and Visceral has some other game on its
plate, so let’s go with the Burnout/Need for Speed guys at Criterion. That team
has been slowly shrinking over the last year, so crafting X-Wings and TIE
Fighters could get its motor running once more. Though as a gesture to fans,
perhaps EA could hire one (or more) of the creative leads from the original
Rogue Squadron games.
4. thatgamecompany’s next journey
Why we need it in 2014: Because its games have only become
exponentially more incredible as they’ve been released. Flow? Cool. Flower? Oh,
this is nice. Journey? Dear god. What’s next?! And thatgamecompany, while being
coy about its next project, is definitely working on something. There's a slot
for its unannounced game on its website, and the developer is hiring a bunch of
new engineers. With the power of the next gen at its fingertips, it’s only a
matter of time before thatgamecompany wows us again.
Who should make it: BioWare. No, that’s obviously a
joke--thatgamecompany has a flavor all of its own that no one else can touch.
However, that flavor may have diminished as some heavy hitters left TGC after
Journey was completed: among them being the producer of Journey, one of the
lead designers, and the company’s then-president. We’ll just have to wait and
see how these absences will affect the next project, and we want to find out
before December 31, 2014.
3. Doom 4
Why we need it in 2014: Doom just had its 20th anniversary,
which got many older gamers nostalgic for a time when shooting demons with a
BFG was all a game needed to be great. But even as the FPS genre thrives, id
Software and owner Bethesda have done very little to keep the Doom franchise
current. 2014 needs to be the year that the world finally gets to see the
never-truly-announced Doom 4 in all its id Tech 5 glory.
Who should make it: But how do you do it without John
Carmack? id’s tech-wizard boss left the company in 2013 after teasing Doom 4
for years. That leaves the ball in Bethesda’s court, and while it could keep
the development internal, we think it should look outside to the guys behind
Bulletstorm. A joint development between People Can Fly and id could give Doom
4 the creative violence it needs, while keeping the same level of technical
savvy. You’d just have to convince the Epic-owned dev to work in id’s game
engine instead of Unreal 4.
2. A new, 2.5 Metroid
Why we need it in 2014: For the last three years, it’s felt
like Nintendo forgot all about the Metroid franchise--and we wouldn’t blame
them after the lackluster Other M. That game should've been the triumphant
return to Samus Aran's 2D glory, but what the cybernetic bounty hunter needs
now is an actual return to form to reestablish her place as gaming royalty.
Sure, Nintendo could make another Prime game, but we’d rather see the first
truly HD Metroid as a spiritual sequel to the SNES classic.
Who should make it: After the poor results from sharing the
series with an outside developer, Nintendo should hand back Metroid to its
internal studio, Retro. That team made the incredible Prime trilogy, but are
now focused on recreating the Donkey Kong Country franchise. That experience
with platforming gameplay is great practice for making a new 2.5D game in the
style of Super Metroid, but only under the direction of Yoshio Sakamoto, the
longtime creative lead of the series. C’mon Nintendo, this is long overdue.
1. Fallout 4
Why we need it in 2014: Look, we all know this one is
happening, and it’s long overdue. Fallout 3 and New Vegas were massive hits,
and Bethesda now owns all the rights to the franchise, making Fallout 4 all but
inevitable. Rumors have been swirling for some time, with some convincing
casting documents popping up recently, and we’re so in need for a return to the
wasteland that we really want them to be true. Honestly, Skyrim was two years
ago.
Who should make it: No offense to Obsidian, but when Fallout
comes to next-gen, we want it made by Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls team. Those guys
found a way to modernize the series while staying true to its past, and they
need to be the ones that lead us through post-Apocalypse Boston or whatever.
We’re not sure why they haven’t announced the game already (open world games
aren’t easy), and we’re only hoping that the extended delay will mean that
Fallout 4 won’t be riddled with the countless bugs that Bethesda is infamous
for.
No comments:
Post a Comment