The Gamescom 2014 Closing Ceremony - Best Game of the Show, Surprise of the Show, Disappointment of the Show, And More!

Written By: Tyler

Gamescom is over for another year, and like any respectable gaming website (ha), I need to give out a few awards. Let's get right to it.



Game of the Show
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

I gave Evolve the award at E3 this year because it does look like a special game, and I don't know if it's just because I'm starting to get burnt out on it or what, but I'm not giving it to Evolve this time around.

I think I have to give it to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor because while I am well aware of the game and what it is promising, getting to see it in action more just left me more excited. I don't feel like I'm getting burnt out on it. Both Middle-earth and Evolve are revolutionary to some extent, but I dig Mordor more.



Surprise of the Show
Silent Hills/PT

It's really hard to beat a new Silent Hill announcement, especially when it's done suddenly and in the form of a seemingly unrelated teaser trailer.

Aside from that, I was really intrigued by Wild and I'm curious by what it's going to offer.



Press Conference of the Show
Sony

Even though the Microsoft press conference felt bigger with the emphasis on bigger titles, Sony had two of the biggest surprises of the show for me -- as mentioned above -- and it was just a solid collection of lesser-known games. There is a time for AAA titles and a time for indies, so I'm not really putting more importance on either, so it is literally just Wild and the announcement of the Silent Hills teaser that put it over the edge for me.



Disappointment of the Show
Dead Island 2 Has No Story, Assassin's Creed Unity Has Microtransactions


I was wondering why we had Dying Light and Dead Island 2 coming out fairly close to one another, but Gamescom has shown that they are a lot different. Though they have some similar elements, Dying Light has more parkour and more story, so it'll be more like the first Dead Island but better.

Dead Island 2, on the other hand, seems to be endless with no real narrative to drive it forward. Even though the first Dead Island, and Riptide, didn't have amazing stories it was still something. So unless I'm completely misunderstanding, I think Dead Island 2 will get boring because doing missions is not what it's all about. Give us something else.

I'm also disappointed with Ubisoft because there is no fucking reason for a AAA title to have Microtransactions. I always thought Ubisoft was a company we could love, but they seem to be going down an EA route in some ways. They aren't nearly as bad, but Ubi... don't mess this up. There is no justification for this, even if they claim it won't affect gameplay and you can acquire all the stuff without spending money. How do we trust that progression hasn't been tweaked to accommodate the cash grab?


Unrealistic Desire For Gamescom
An Announcement of a New Perfect Dark

Before Gamescom, there was talk of a new Rare game that wasn't focused on Kinect. I'm all for that. While other people said a new Conkers (which would be awesome, don't get me wrong), Banzo-Kazooie or even a Diddy Kong Racing, I wanted a new Perfect Dark because I loved the first one and Perfect Dark Zero, even if Zero was a bit of a step down. Alas, no such luck. I knew this though, because PD doesn't seem to be the series that people want to see Rare revive. I don't get it though, because Rare became truly legendary with Goldeneye for the N64 and Perfect Dark is actually a better game.


The Trend of Gamescom
4 vs 1 Multiplayer, Player Invasion In Single-Player

There is no doubt that this year, the trend of Gamescom was a focus on 4 vs 1 multiplayer. When Evolve was first shown, everyone thought it was really cool. It still is, but games like Shadow Realms, Dying Light and I think a couple others are now jumping on the bandwagon. I'm not criticizing it, I'm just simply saying that it seems to be the newest trend in gaming.

There is also a focus on having multiplayer that blends seemlessly into the single-player experience. We've seen a few games in Gamescom like this, such as the new Metal Gear, Dying Light, etc. I'm iffy on this because when I'm playing a single-player game I want to enjoy the single-player without fearing that I'm going to miss out on stuff in my campaign because I'm not playing multiplayer. It's still a very cool idea, however.

August 12, Gamescom 2014: The Sony Press Conference: There's A Game Called Destiny Coming, Plus Some Awesome Boxes From MGS5! Oh Yeah... Some Indie Games Too

Written By: Tyler

Even though the Microsoft Press Conference was earlier today, I was at work so I didn't get a chance to watch it. After I post this article I will do so and do an article for it, so don't think that I'm only picking and choosing. I am trying to give the most comprehensive coverage of Gamescom that one man can do from his bedroom.

Keep in mind that a lot of this article is just me taking the notes I made and cleaning them up a little bit. That's why you're not exactly getting Cormac McCarthy in any of these Gamescom articles, because I am just watching the videos, taking quick notes and then tidying them up before posting. That, and I don't have half the talent that Cormac does.

Let's get to this.



When the Sony press conference officially begins, after showing us some clips from games like Little Big Planet 3, The Order: 1886 and Bloodborne, we get some eerie music and some different colours flash up on the screen. This, of course, is simply to introduce Playstation by showing us the classic square, x, triangle and circle. After those pop up on the screen, "This is for the players" flashes and then we're off to the races. We are shown clips from various games, interspersed with images of players enjoying the games on top of the clips... which is beyond cheesy.

Jim Ryan rolls up on screen, saying that the PS4 sales have exceeded 10 million units globally. You're welcome, Sony.

Then it cuts to showing us games that are "just a little bit different."

Q-Games has a new game that isn't Pixel Junk, and it's called The Tomorrow Children. The video shows some people digging then a girl shooting some robot things, while some definite nationalist music plays. "We will be comrades" flashes on the screen. There appears to be a jetpack as well. The video ends with a creepy dude and looking at us.

Then a more realistic looking game, visually, joins the fight. It is called The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter and in a nutshell there's a dead guy in a tomb and it looks like his spirit leaves his body and we watch a bunch of ghosts do stuff.

When we come back, the guy who made Thomas Was Alone is on the stage. He talked about how Thomas Was Alone changed his life. He announced Volume, which is a stealth game based on creativity. It is coming to PS4 and Vita first next year. It starts with sad music and I'm already into it because I loved Thomas Was Alone... then there's a narrator. It has an interesting visual style and seems to be going for something a little different in the genre.

Next we have a game where you play as a mercenary, and it's up to 4 player co-op. Lots of bullets fly, and it's called Hollowpoint. It's probably pretty okay, and inoffensive. Nothing awe-inspiring. It will come first to Playstation.

Runemaster will be talked about in the future.

My internet messed up and when I came back I was being told that PS4 owners could get into DayZ. In my estimate it'll probably never get out of Alpha on PC anyway, so don't bother looking forward to this one PS4 owners.

Next I'm told that the abyss stares into me if I stare into it, and that creeps me out because it's too metaphorical for me. We see a girl kneeling down holding a sword and there's some really atmospheric music. From the makers of Enslaved, DMC and Heavenly Sword comes Hellblade. The trailer was entertaining and mysterious but since there's no gameplay, who really knows? These types of reveals do very little for me.

Next we see a guy sitting with his feet int he water, then he sets out on his quest. We see him running, jumping, climbing, and seemingly going through a lot. It looks like it's a pretty interesting world.  The game looks beautiful and is called Rime. Think along the lines of "Journey" in ways, and less cryptic, and you have an idea of what's going on. It will also be a Playstation exclusive. Go Playstation!

Then we get a monstage of a bunch of indie games that will be showing up on Playstation.

 It was only a matter of time before we got to Destiny and here it is...  in 4 weeks nobody will be doing anything else. The economy will collapse, and the terrorists will win, because Destiny will be released then. Thanks for the reminder! It's the most pre-ordered new IP in history.

We got more details on the multiplayer, and the world premiere of the multiplayer trailer. We saw the different modes, and I think I missed one of them, but we get Skirmish, Rumble, Salvage, Clash, Combined Arms, and Control. There are timed exclusive maps for Playstation owners, with two expansions coming. The first expansion, The Dark Below, will be in December. Nothing makes the internet happier than announcing content that you have to buy before the game is even out.

Far Cry 4 shows up next and it basically just shows off a variety of environments and they talk about how you can invite your friend to join you in the open-world. Exclusive to Playstation, you can send up to ten free trials and your friends (if you have ten... I don't) can play the game with you for two hours.

There's a Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor trailer but meh, whatever. I'm already sold and this didn't show any gameplay.

Hideo Kojima pimps onto the stage, and shows off the different functions of the classic box. You can stand up with the box on you and there will be a variety of pictures to distract enemies or fool them, such as a saluting soldier or a hot chick. You can get different pictures like a hot chick (of course) laying in some roses. Use these realistic tactics to escape enemies. It ended with Big Boss putting a PS4 box on his head, and I laughed.

Then we get the "worlds first interactive teaser" called P.T. It's a little eerie and shows actual reactions from players playing it. I don't know if I believe these things, but whatever. It's available now on Playstation so I may have to check it out.

Then we get into the more technical aspects like System Software 2.0. It will have a better friend finder, you can see recommendations of players, upload shared videos to Youtube. You can share play where any PS Plus member can invite any friend, anywhere, to play your games with you. Or you can invite another PS Plus member to play with you and your friend doesn't need to own or download the game. 

There is then brief conversation about a bunch of things like Project Morpheus but nothing comes from it. Same with Playstation Now except for the fact that it is coming to Europe in 2015. The Playstation TV can pair your PS4 with a second TV and will be released in PAL territory for 99 Euros, and you get three digital games.

Until Dawn is rebuilt and is no longer a PS3 game. It's now on PS4 and and it's "a horror game unlike any other."  It's eight friends trying to survive a night from hell. You're stranded on a mountain like most horror movies. You decide who will survive. I don't really know if this will be any good or not. It will be arriving next year.

Next we have Driveclub. You can collaborate with your club and get the benefits together. You can use an app to keep up to speed with your club. You can live stream with the app to watch your friends. You can do anything besides actually race on it and conquer the world. We got to see a new element which is dynamic weather.

Driveclub is seeing a release on October 8th of this year, until it gets delayed.

Tearaway is now Tearaway Unfolded... reworked for ps4. The light bar will shine into the world. The touch pad will allow you to push down onto the surface of the world and when you release it, it will bounce back up. Swiping the touch pad will cause wind. There's also something to do with using the directional pad and shaking the controller to put things into the world. This will also come out next year.

The makers of Dead Nation and Resogun have another shooter where you have to survive at all costs. It is called Alienation and while it doesn't seem to promise anything new, Dead Nation was good and Resogun was awesome so count me in. By the way, it is also exclusive.

Then we have another exclusive game: Wild. It has a unique weather system, and you can play as humans or any living creature in the game. It doesn't show much besides the various creatures running around and doing shit, but I actually kinda dug it and am curious to see where this goes.



That's it. I'm sure there are disappointed people because they didn't show a ton of AAA titles, but they did show a good selection of smaller games. If you don't look forward to any indie games at this point, you're missing out on a lot.