2014 was the first full year of the next-gen (now called current-gen) consoles. There was a constant struggle between the PS4 and the XBox One, but the Wii U really had its moments this year as well, making a very powerful comeback with its exclusive titles! Many new games, many shocking announcements, lots of expos and a lot of cool new gadgets is what 2014 left the gaming world to remember. Let's take a look! (Due to the massive amount of games that were released in 2014, this blog will only make reference to the games that received the greatest attention.)
January may have started things off a little slow. The biggest release of this month was an unexpected one, and came as proof that independent developers had a lot to give to the industry. Broken Age Act 1 received such attention and praise that it forced Sony to approach Double Fine studios who were behind the creation of this game in order for them to bring the title to the PS4 and so that they may have exclusivity of the eventual Act 2 of the series. Also, the definitive (a.k.a. remastered) edition of Tomb Raider was released for next-gen consoles, with a major upscale in graphics.
February saw Nintendo's "counter attack" finally begin. The first game out of their arsenal was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freece, a title that combined the old-style feeling of the classic SNES Donkey Kong Country games with some of the new capabilities of the Wii U. It received many good reviews.
In March a few of the most anticipated titles began to drop on the PS4 and the XBox One, with Titanfall being the greatest among them. There was a lot of buzz for the colossus battling shooter and it was obvious that this was a title that Microsoft had a lot to wager on. On the other hand, Sony released Infamous Second Son almost simultaneously, so the flames of the console war began to ignite anew. Other titles that released in March that made an impact in the industry were Dark Souls II and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (a mini-game that served as a prequel to MGS V: The Phantom Pain). Last-gen also got a whole lotta love in March however, with South Park: The Stick Of Truth, Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea 2 and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD.
April and May served as the calm before the storm that is E3 for the gaming industry. However there were a few interesting titles released such as the indie developed game Child Of Light that received a lot of praise throughout the year and, of course, Mario Kart 8. One of many titles for the Wii U that was just too much fun not to notice. This game was what pretty much forced the gaming community towards Nintendo's console and to go out and buy it as opposed to the other two. Of course, there was a lot more to come...
The month of June was dedicated to the gaming industry and for no small reason. E3 was once again held in San Francisco and everyone's eyes were glued either on the stages or on their live-streaming screens to see what cool new stuff they would have to look forward to. A lot of new games were announced and shown: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Mass Effect 4, Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, The Division, a new Legend of Zelda and a new Star-Fox game. Also Sony showed off a new product called PlaystationTV, a tiny gadget that would allow the user to play his PS4 on any TV just by connecting it (provided he has WiFi connectivity).
In July, one of the best (if not the best) games of 2013 was re-released. The Last Of Us was remastered for the PS4 so that the people that got to experience this adventure can relive it, and those who never did can do so in the marvelous graphics that the PS4 can provide.
August shifted the gaming world's attention to Europe and more specifically, Cologne, Germany, where the annual Gamescom expo was held. At the local Sony Conference, it was announced (among other things) that the creator or Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima and well-known Hollywood producer, Guillermo Del Toro would be collaborating in the creation of a new Silent Hill title. In fact, they brought with them a small playable trailer tentatively titled "P.T.". Whoever played it or even saw it could say that it was one of the scariest games ever. Meanwhile, at the XBox convention, Microsoft was announcing and showing off a plethora of their own games such as FIFA '15, Fable Legends, Halo: Master Chief Collection and Quantum Break. But the most shocking news was the exclusivity of Rise Of the Tomb Raider for the XBox One!
September was when the big guns finally started to come out. A lot of games released for the next-gen consoles including The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor but Sony's major title was undoubtedly Destiny. A lot of players had joined up for the alpha and beta trial stages of this game and when it released it gathered the attention of even more. Nintendo also released Bayonetta 2 that was well sought out throughout the year. But more news came from Japan, where the annual Tokyo Game Show was held. Square Enix released a trailer for the long forgotten title Final Fantasy XV and announced the release of a demo of the game called "Episode Duscae" along with the release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
In October, Microsoft released yet another exclusive. Sunset Overdrive was a fun, colorful shoot-em' up title that gave killing zombies a whole different side. Super Smash Bros came to the 3DS and showed that the handheld industry also has a lot going for it, especially in the Japanese market!
So many major titles released in November it was hard for gamers to keep track or choose! Dragon Age: Inquisition, Alien Isolation, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Little Big Planet 3, Grand Theft Auto V (for next-gen) and if that wasn't enough, Pokemon Alpha Ruby/Omega Sapphire and Super Smash Bros Wii U all hit stores within the same month! This was a bit of a taste for the things to come, that were shown off in...
December! The month of the Video Game Awards, where gamers worldwide also got a glimpse of the epic-scale projects that are yet to come to their systems. No Man's Sky, Metal Gear Solid V Online Mode, Adrift, The Witcher 3, Godzilla, Bloodborne, King's Quest, The Legend Of Zelda Wii U, are all things that were shown off at the event and players can look forward to in 2015. And as if that wasn't enough, PS4 owners got to see even more at the Playstation Experience, an event held by Sony at Las Vegas as a sort of "thank you" for the over 10 million(!) of PS4 units sold within its first year. An expansion to Destiny was shown, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Persona 5, Grim Fandango: HD, Day Of The Tentacle HD, Final Fantasy VII (the original), Shovel Knight, Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter V, Bastion and more are all titles that PS4 owners can anticipate within the next year (or two). As for the releases of the last month of the year, things were kind of slow, with Kingdom Hearts 2,5 HD ReMix (for the PS3!) being the most noteworthy release.
And there you have it! It's been a year full of new things for the games world. And even though players got a bunch of new games, they still look on to 2015, each one having his/her own game that they "can't wait to get their hands on"! So here's to a year full of new adventures, races, matches, epic battles, record breaking, and lots of trophies and achievements!! Happy 2015 to all gamers!!!
January may have started things off a little slow. The biggest release of this month was an unexpected one, and came as proof that independent developers had a lot to give to the industry. Broken Age Act 1 received such attention and praise that it forced Sony to approach Double Fine studios who were behind the creation of this game in order for them to bring the title to the PS4 and so that they may have exclusivity of the eventual Act 2 of the series. Also, the definitive (a.k.a. remastered) edition of Tomb Raider was released for next-gen consoles, with a major upscale in graphics.
February saw Nintendo's "counter attack" finally begin. The first game out of their arsenal was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freece, a title that combined the old-style feeling of the classic SNES Donkey Kong Country games with some of the new capabilities of the Wii U. It received many good reviews.
In March a few of the most anticipated titles began to drop on the PS4 and the XBox One, with Titanfall being the greatest among them. There was a lot of buzz for the colossus battling shooter and it was obvious that this was a title that Microsoft had a lot to wager on. On the other hand, Sony released Infamous Second Son almost simultaneously, so the flames of the console war began to ignite anew. Other titles that released in March that made an impact in the industry were Dark Souls II and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (a mini-game that served as a prequel to MGS V: The Phantom Pain). Last-gen also got a whole lotta love in March however, with South Park: The Stick Of Truth, Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea 2 and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD.
April and May served as the calm before the storm that is E3 for the gaming industry. However there were a few interesting titles released such as the indie developed game Child Of Light that received a lot of praise throughout the year and, of course, Mario Kart 8. One of many titles for the Wii U that was just too much fun not to notice. This game was what pretty much forced the gaming community towards Nintendo's console and to go out and buy it as opposed to the other two. Of course, there was a lot more to come...
The month of June was dedicated to the gaming industry and for no small reason. E3 was once again held in San Francisco and everyone's eyes were glued either on the stages or on their live-streaming screens to see what cool new stuff they would have to look forward to. A lot of new games were announced and shown: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Mass Effect 4, Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, The Division, a new Legend of Zelda and a new Star-Fox game. Also Sony showed off a new product called PlaystationTV, a tiny gadget that would allow the user to play his PS4 on any TV just by connecting it (provided he has WiFi connectivity).
In July, one of the best (if not the best) games of 2013 was re-released. The Last Of Us was remastered for the PS4 so that the people that got to experience this adventure can relive it, and those who never did can do so in the marvelous graphics that the PS4 can provide.
August shifted the gaming world's attention to Europe and more specifically, Cologne, Germany, where the annual Gamescom expo was held. At the local Sony Conference, it was announced (among other things) that the creator or Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima and well-known Hollywood producer, Guillermo Del Toro would be collaborating in the creation of a new Silent Hill title. In fact, they brought with them a small playable trailer tentatively titled "P.T.". Whoever played it or even saw it could say that it was one of the scariest games ever. Meanwhile, at the XBox convention, Microsoft was announcing and showing off a plethora of their own games such as FIFA '15, Fable Legends, Halo: Master Chief Collection and Quantum Break. But the most shocking news was the exclusivity of Rise Of the Tomb Raider for the XBox One!
September was when the big guns finally started to come out. A lot of games released for the next-gen consoles including The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor but Sony's major title was undoubtedly Destiny. A lot of players had joined up for the alpha and beta trial stages of this game and when it released it gathered the attention of even more. Nintendo also released Bayonetta 2 that was well sought out throughout the year. But more news came from Japan, where the annual Tokyo Game Show was held. Square Enix released a trailer for the long forgotten title Final Fantasy XV and announced the release of a demo of the game called "Episode Duscae" along with the release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
In October, Microsoft released yet another exclusive. Sunset Overdrive was a fun, colorful shoot-em' up title that gave killing zombies a whole different side. Super Smash Bros came to the 3DS and showed that the handheld industry also has a lot going for it, especially in the Japanese market!
So many major titles released in November it was hard for gamers to keep track or choose! Dragon Age: Inquisition, Alien Isolation, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Little Big Planet 3, Grand Theft Auto V (for next-gen) and if that wasn't enough, Pokemon Alpha Ruby/Omega Sapphire and Super Smash Bros Wii U all hit stores within the same month! This was a bit of a taste for the things to come, that were shown off in...
December! The month of the Video Game Awards, where gamers worldwide also got a glimpse of the epic-scale projects that are yet to come to their systems. No Man's Sky, Metal Gear Solid V Online Mode, Adrift, The Witcher 3, Godzilla, Bloodborne, King's Quest, The Legend Of Zelda Wii U, are all things that were shown off at the event and players can look forward to in 2015. And as if that wasn't enough, PS4 owners got to see even more at the Playstation Experience, an event held by Sony at Las Vegas as a sort of "thank you" for the over 10 million(!) of PS4 units sold within its first year. An expansion to Destiny was shown, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Persona 5, Grim Fandango: HD, Day Of The Tentacle HD, Final Fantasy VII (the original), Shovel Knight, Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter V, Bastion and more are all titles that PS4 owners can anticipate within the next year (or two). As for the releases of the last month of the year, things were kind of slow, with Kingdom Hearts 2,5 HD ReMix (for the PS3!) being the most noteworthy release.
And there you have it! It's been a year full of new things for the games world. And even though players got a bunch of new games, they still look on to 2015, each one having his/her own game that they "can't wait to get their hands on"! So here's to a year full of new adventures, races, matches, epic battles, record breaking, and lots of trophies and achievements!! Happy 2015 to all gamers!!!
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