Hello and welcome to my brief thoughts on the top 5 PlayStation games that I was able to play at Gamescom 2014. There were many games on display across all platforms and a lot more that weren’t playable that looked amazing and some these will get an honourable mention. So lets begin shall we.
5. FIFA 15
I guess it’s easy to build upon an already successful game but EA have done a great job with FIFA 15. Comparing it to the previous releases in the series it seems by far the most realistic. Players move with much more realism and the keeper is no longer super-human on legendary settings. Improved physics, better ball control (heh), and wide variety of teams and Leagues make an appearance in this instalment of the franchise. The only part I didn’t enjoy about the game was my controversial 1 – 0 loss against fellow PlayStationer, Jack. His uppances will come.
4. Sing Star
Sing Star was one of the (ahem) unsung heroes of playable PlayStation games at Gamescom 2014, for me. The game is always good craic when played with friends and one of the handy new features the game includes is a microphone app for your phone so you don’t need to have the actual game mics. I personally prefer to have the physical microphone but the app is useful nonetheless. There’s a huge variety of songs to choose from so there should be something for everyone next time you’re having a karaoke night.
3. Bloodborne
Rolling in at number 3 is From Software’s Bloodborne. As soon as you begin to play Bloodborne you can instantly recognise that it is from the same developers that brought you Dark Souls. Unforgiving combat is the most obvious feature and in true Dark Souls nature it is very much based around dodging and counter hitting your opponents. In the demo that I played I was able to try two of the primary weapons, the cleaver that can transform into a huge sword, and the axe that can transform in two-handed axe of death (the in-game name). Switching between weapon forms allows for quick lower damage attacks or slower high damage attacks, so knowing which form to use depends on your current opponent although you can switch forms in combat. In the nature of exploration and testing the game I looked around as much as possible and there are corpses littered throughout the game that have useable items such as ammo and potions. You may also run into BIG enemies on your travels. I chose to attack one such enemy (in the interest of demoing, not because I’m stupid) and it made very quick work of smashing my face in… Lesson learned: Bloodborne looks like it’s going to be great, difficult, and unforgiving like Demon Souls.
2. Alien Isolation
Movie to game adaptations are a rare success but there have been a few that I’ve enjoyed. One such adaptation that I played at Gamescom was Alien: Isolation (not a direct translation from a film but based on the franchise). I played a survival mode of the game where you’re trapped in a small section of a spaceship with an Alien and you must use stealth to escape the area. The game has a great atmosphere to it, and is very intense. Using a special tool the player can track the Aliens movement and the direction of your goal to help you traverse the area more safely. You can hide in closets, vents, under tables, and in plenty of other places. The Alien will check these areas though so nowhere is truly safe. I didn’t manage to escape the Alien in the few attempts that I had but I managed to make it a little further every time. The kill animations are awesome and it was different for all three times that I was killed. First I was dragged kicking and screaming from a vent, secondly the Alien dropped from the vent above me, grabbed me and ate my face, and finally I was running for the exit and suddenly stopped… looked down and there was a spike through my chest. Good times. Considering that I only got to try an alpha build of the game and how well that played I’m very excited to see the finished version of the game.
1. The Order: 1886
The number 1 spot has to go to The Order: 1886. One of the few games that I thought looked truly next-gen at Gamescom and they got me wanting more and more. The short demo at Gamescom was about 10 minutes of gameplay and some cutscenes. Graphically it was easily the best looking game at Gamescom and its acting quality reminded me strongly of great story driven games like the Uncharted series and The Last of Us. The gameplay is a third person over the shoulder where shooting from behind cover is definitely necessary. The weapons I was able to sue were a pistol and a Gatling gun that shoots gas pellets and ignition balls. The Gatling gun can do some serious damage including blowing enemies from behind cover, or just blowing up their cover in general. One of the more interesting abilities in the game is Black Sight. This allows the player to enter a sort of focus state where time slows down and you can use the analogue stick to move between enemies and fire an array of bullets at all their major areas. I didn’t get to fight any of the Halfling creatures that the order has been waging war against for centuries but I’m sure we’ll see plenty more combat footage before the game release in February next year.
And there we have it. Honourable mentions to DriveClub, InFamous: First Light, LotR: Shadows of Mordor, Far Cry 4, and Evolve. All very much contenders for the top 5, and would have made it into the list but I tried to pick the best games from different genres. Is there any game you would switch in or out? Let us know.