Gamescom 2014 Awards - Worlds Factory
Even this year’s rainy Gamescom is over, and it’s time to draw conclusions on the best games we saw in Cologne. Keep in mind that we’ve seen many more promising games, as you’ll notice in our extended coverage, but eventually we had to choose one winner per each category, and these are our Gamescom 2014 Awards (many of which we gave physically to the winners).
Evolve
Turtle Rock Studios may be on to something with Evolve. The Gamescom hands-on allowed us to check some more maps, hunters and monsters, providing interesting variation to what we had seen up until this point. The feeling of the hunt is strong, graphics is awesome and the controls are tight; the only uncertainty is possibly related to the degree of replayability, since Evolve won’t allow modding, unlike Left 4 Dead 1&2.
Runner-up: Far Cry 4
Ubisoft made a fantastic FPS with Far Cry 3, and it’s clear that they know it. Far Cry 4 isn’t going to shake the formula too much, but there are a few interesting additions such as the ability to use elephants to wreak havoc, or even to fly the gyrocopter, although this proved very difficult in our hands-on session. We liked what we saw, including the strong challenge - we died multiple times while trying different approaches.
The Division
Ever since the E3 2013 reveal, The Division has been one of the most anticipated games in development for many gamers. Massive Entertainment is trying to create a unique game with MMO and RPG elements, but it’s clear that at its core, The Division is a third person shooter. We’ve seen live gameplay on Xbox One and everything was synchronized with the tablet version of the game, where a developer operated a supporting drone.
This game is massively ambitious; even realizing just half of the premise could mean getting a fantastic game. Hopefully it won’t slip into 2016.
Runner-up: Sunset Overdrive
Sunset Overdrive is Insomniac’s return to more cheerful gaming, and based on what we’ve played, it works. The game, which blends traversal with combat in a somewhat unprecedented way, will feature a cooperative mode called Chaos Squad, featuring up to eight players in the same session.
The Witcher 3
We’ve seen the presentation, and it was fantastic. We’ve interviewed Jose Teixeira, and it sounded fantastic. Even with many great RPGs on the horizon, The Witcher 3 emerged as the winner, and it won’t be the last time this happens in the Awards.
Runner-up: Dragon Age: Inquisition
We didn’t get the chance to play this, but nonetheless we were able to watch some people playing and it looks great. While The Witcher 3 is firmly interested in putting Geralt at the center of the action, Dragon Age: Inquisition will satisfy the party-juggler in you, with many different options to ponder of while in Tactical View (paused game).
Black Desert
Pearl Abyss continues to impress with this fantasy sandbox MMORPG. We’ve covered the game multiple times and each time, it looks better than the last one; based on our short session at Gamescom, it seems like optimization has been improved a lot. It has been recently announced that the game will be published in the West by Daum, which is also publishing in South Korea, however the wait is still going to be long - the Western release could either arrive in late 2015 or slip into 2016.
Runner-up: Skyforge
Skyforge is the result of a collaboration between the team behind Allods Online and Obsidian Entertainment. It’s an action based MMORPG which has an interesting premise: players are immortals, and the character progression will eventually upgrade them to gods. Skyforge doesn’t have a seamless world, but both combat and graphics look good from what we’ve seen, with a beta scheduled for later this year.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Monolith seems to have a winner with this one. Playing with Talion was instantly both satisfying and empowering, thanks to the plethora of options that he has available, and the Nemesis system looks like it could bring some much needed rivalry with the targets.
Runner-up: Batman: Arkham Knight
The big new feature of Rocksteady’s last Batman game is the Batmobile, and it certainly felt interesting to say the least. During the hands-on session, it proved useful not only to dispatch some enemy tanks (yes, you read that right), but also to clear Batman’s path with a powerful hook. Finally, Batman will be able to use the most versatile weapon in its arsenal.
Driveclub
With a year long delay, Driveclub has been polished considerably by Evolution Studios and feels better than ever now, powered by amazing graphics (especially when the weather system will be patched in) and tight controls. With its freemium approach, it’s a fair bet that the community will become big enough to allow for some serious Club vs Club competitions.
Runner-up: Project CARS
For simulation fans, there is no contest - Project CARS will be the game to get, after a lot of fine tuning with the help of the community. For the ultimate immersion, you may also use either the Oculus Rift or Project Morpheus, both supported by the game. Check out our Gamescom interview to learn more on the game!
Civilization: Beyond Earth
In a time ruled by FPS and Action-RPG, there is little space for Turn Based Strategy, an important sub-genre of strategic games. After X-COM it has been very difficult to find a great game to reward, although some are on the way, following in the giant’s footsteps. This year, the choice is too easy: Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth, a spiritual successor to Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, looks like the monumental, huge, deep, classic turn based strategic game that you just have to buy.
Runner-up: Shadowrun Online
Shadowrun Online takes the mechanics of Shadowrun Returns and puts it in the context of cooperative and competitive play. The gameplay is inspired by XCOM: Enemy Unknown, although of course Shadowrun has a much heavier RPG component. The game world becomes a chessboard on which to move our soldiers and spend action points in the most effective way. It’s a throwback to the strategy of the past, and one which you will be able to undertake with your friends.
FIFA 15
Electronic Arts has been on the soccer games’ throne for a few years now, and it doesn’t look like they intend to give it up any time soon. Even after the amazing FIFA 14, it looks like FIFA 15 will be an improvement, and this time PC users will be able to fully enjoy it as well. Now, if they could just hurry up with the release…
Runner-up: NBA2K15
Although Europe isn’t quite the homeland of basketball, NBA 2K15 might be able to reach into the hearts of sports fans thanks to the obsessive attention to detail. For this latest version of the game, Visual Concepts has been able to use the potential offered by new consoles even better, and the result is simply awesome. One impressive thing I noticed was that injured players during season are now showing off protective bandages on the exact spot where they were injured.
Mortal Kombat X
Despite others in the fighting genre experimenting with the formula, Mortal Kombat X still holds out with rock solid 1v1 battles. With smoother controls and a system that allows new players to pick up the game while keeping enough depth for the veterans, Mortal Kombat X is great playing side by side with a friend, even if you squirm at the more uncomfortable X-Ray moves and fatalities.
Runner-up: Rise of the Incarnates
Rise of the Incarnates offers a new style of fighting game to the Western market. Despite its popularity in the East, this hectic blend of ‘hack and slash’ meets 3rd person shooter never really found an audience in Europe and America until now. With an interesting mix of characters (although none of them particularly new) and Gods as well as its focus on 2v2 combat, Rise is an interesting game, but might not hold out as long as some of the more classic fighters.
Grey Goo
Some of the developers now in Petroglyph have written the history of RTS games in the 90s. Titles such as Dune 2, Command & Conquer, Red Alert can be counted among the milestones of the genre.
Grey Goo looks like a small but welcome step forward in the evolution of the genre, a courageous project that will test the player’s management skills and tactics more than some popular games. Here it won’t just be a matter of speed, but rather the ability to take advantage of the specific features of the chosen faction among the three, each one authentically and profoundly different from the others.
Runner-up: Stronghold Crusader 2
Stronghold Crusader 2 from the everlasting Firefly Studios is a title for those interested in an experience which blends strategy and management in a way that’s reminiscent of the classics. Based on Stronghold 3, this is a sequel that the community has been waiting for twelve long years. The developers also told us that they expect to support the game via DLC and patches for a very long time.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The first game in development by The Astronauts impressed us at Gamescom 2014, as you can tell by reading our preview. You will be able to play it on PC in about a month from now, and a PS4 version is bound for early 2015 as well.
Runner-up: Never Alone
Never Alone is a spellbinding game. Featuring a young girl with her fox friend exploring the arctic tundra of Alaska. Its a 2D puzzle platform with a focus on team work, but where Never Alone truly makes its mark is that it derives its story from real Alaskan Inuit tribes. Made in cooperation with the tribal council, Never Alone is a wonderful exploration of a culture so isolated from the rest of the world; read more about what makes it special in our gamescom preview.
Driveclub
Driveclub is a fantastic achievement from a graphics standpoint, especially when the weather system kicks in. Evolution Studios did an amazing job on PlayStation 4, setting the benchmark for racing games at least until Gran Turismo lands on PS4.
Runner-up: The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 looks unbelievably good on PC, and it shouldn’t be super-heavy either. The only question is how it will look on consoles, although CD Projekt RED is trying to push them as much as they can. Either way, look forward to exploring a beautiful world in February 2015.
The Witcher 3
Yes, it won again. It’s not that surprising once you consider that PC gamers will be able to not only enjoy the best graphics (provided that they have the horsepower for it), but also to extend the game’s natural longevity with the modding tools, which CD Projekt RED promised to release earlier than the last time.
Runner-up: Pillars of Eternity
Many old-school PC gamers will be probably squirming at the mere thought of this. Based on what we’ve seen during the Gamescom presentation, Obsidian seems to be on the right track to usher the CRPG genre in 2014. The backer beta is available now and the full release is still scheduled for Winter 2014.
Sunset Overdrive
Based on what we were able to play at Gamescom 2014, Sunset Overdrive seems the most exciting Xbox One game in development. Unless you hate the genre and/or mood, you’d do well to take a look at it once it releases in a couple of months.
Runner-up: Forza Horizon 2
Forza Horizon 2 has a decidedly arcade feel and in a way, it’s almost like it was made by SEGA. The game seems all about happily moving through crop fields and countryside rather than racing to death, which some may find very appealing; plus, it looks quite nice, although not nearly as good as Driveclub or Project CARS.
Driveclub
Driveclub convinced us, you probably understood that by now, and we’re confident that it will be very successful. Unfortunately, the other PS4 exclusives we tried left us pretty cold, at least for now, so there was little choice for the winning spot.
Runner-up: Until Dawn
This game managed to be very scary even in the middle of a huge, noisy convention like Gamescom, which I’m sure horror fans will approve. The mechanics are clearly borrowed from Heavy Rain/Beyond: Two Souls, and while graphics isn’t exactly mindblowing (Quantic Dream will probably do much better with their PS4 games), this looks like an interesting title for sure.
The Witcher 3
Yes, it’s the best thing we saw at Gamescom 2014. It’s the closest game to release which really deserves that next generation label on all accounts. I’m not even the biggest fan of the previous The Witcher titles, but this one looks like it’s aiming for the stars and with a good chance to actually hit.
Runner-up: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
It’s been a very long time since a worthy game set in Middle-earth was released. Shadow of Mordor looks like that game, based on everything we’ve seen (and our hands-on at Gamescom) up to this point. Plus, it’s almost here, unlike most games showcased during Gamescom 2014. Ready your wallets, as you won’t want to miss Talion’s adventure.