Gamers worldwide have already been treated to quality titles in 2018 such as God of War, Detroit: Become Human, and Vampyr. The year is only halfway over though, and there are plenty more games to pick up! Below are ten of the most anticipated video-games for the fall and winter seasons, alongside some game-play and their respective release dates.
Spider-Man (PS4) 9/7
Spider-Man, developed by Insomniac Games, is an open world action-adventure title. This iteration of Peter Parker is a 23-year-old who recently graduated from college. He struggles to make ends meet and interns at Oscorp. Surely a lot of us can relate to him in some regard. Not much is known about the overall plot though; We do know that once Spiderman defeats Kingpin early in the game, he inadvertently allows another crime syndicate to fill the vacant spot. I've been anticipating this game since it was first announced two years ago. I was skeptical that it wouldn't live up to expectations, but after seeing some game-play my concerns are alleviated!
Shadow of The Tomb Raider (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 9/14
Shadow of the Tomb Raider, developed by Eidos Montreal, is the third installment in the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise. It's a semi-open world, third-person shooter. Lara Croft grows from a helpless survivor to an apex predator throughout the three games, and I'm curious to know how her story concludes. This time around, she triggers a Mayan apocalypse while searching for an artifact in Mesoamerica and must find a solution to save the day. Gameplay wise, it looks similar to past entries; The vibrant lighting, densely packed hub-world, grappling hook, and environmental interaction, however, make up for that! I'm keeping my eye on this one.
Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 9/27
Life is Strange 2, releasing episodically, is an upcoming video game developed by Dontnod Studios. This game revolves around two new characters, Sean and Daniel Diaz. After an altercation with a police officer leaves him dead on the road, the two brothers go on the run. Not much is known about the plot, but the choices that Sean make over the course of the game will have an impact on his little brother. Max, the protagonist of the first game, had the ability to rewind time. I wonder what power Sean has?
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/5
Assassin's Creed Odyssey, developed by Ubisoft Quebec, is the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. The setting this time around is Ancient Greece. Unlike previous games, this one incorporates several RPG (role-playing game) elements; You can choose to play as either Alexios or Kassandra, you can customize their armor, you can romance any non-playable character regardless of their gender, dialogue trees are available, and there are multiple endings. You can ally yourself with either Athens or Sparta, kick ass with Leonidas's magical spear, and sail the Aegean sea in its entirety! There better be a '300' reference in the game somewhere.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/12
Black Ops 4 is an upcoming first-person shooter developed by Treyarch. It differs from the other 14 games in that it ditches the story mode in favor of a battle royale mode, similar to Fortnite. The traditional multiplayer returns and Zombie mode comes back as well. I'm not 100% sold on buying this game since there's no story mode and I'm tired of zombies, but the multiplayer aspect seems enticing and I want to check out that battle royale mode. We'll see what happens when October arrives.
Battlefield V (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 10/19
Battlefield V is developed by EA DICE. It's the sixth game in the main series, despite the title. Not much is known about the story mode, other than that it'll cover aspects of World War II that are largely ignored. Instead of storming the beach of Normandy for the thousandth time, you'll experience the story of the resistance fighters in Norway, among other recounts. The multiplayer looks as satisfying as ever, and they've improved upon the destruction mechanics and weather effects. They may or may not include a battle royale mode at launch, but it's up in the air.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One) 10/26
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the highly anticipated third-person shooter developed and published by Rockstar Games. Regarding the narrative, the protagonist is Arthur Morgan, a gunslinger on the run from the feds. He and his gang also cope with the realization that the days of the Wild West are coming to a close. Words can't describe how excited I am to play this! Just check out the game-play trailer and you'll see what I mean.
Fallout 76 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 11/14
Fallout 76 is an online-only RPG developed and published by Bethesda. It takes place in West Virginia, decades after a nuclear attack. Once the player awakens and exits their fallout shelter, they're tasked with repopulating and rebuilding the land. I'm not sure how the narrative will work out in an online game, but it looks fun from a game-play perspective.
Darksiders III (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 11/27
Darksiders 3 is an upcoming hack and slash action game, developed by Gunfire Games. The protagonist Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, must hunt down and destroy the seven deadly sins. The story in these games can be outlandish at times and aren't the most memorable, but the gameplay was always fun and this third installment looks no different!
Just Cause 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) 12/4
Just Cause 4 is a third-person action-adventure game being developed by Avalanche Studios. The story takes place in the fictional country of Solis. A military faction, run by a woman named Gabriela, have taken over the country and it's your job to stop them. Yeah, the story doesn't sound all that engaging. The past games didn't have memorable stories either; People mainly played them to para-glide and destroy stuff. This entry piqued my interest because of the dynamic weather effects. I'm not sure that's enough incentive to shell out $65 for, but it's worth a rental.
