November 22nd is right around the corner and the Xbox One will soon be one of the most fought over holiday gifts of 2013. There has been lots of discussion over the Xbox One hardware, Microsoft’s inclusion of and subsequent back-pedaling on DRM, and the bundled Kinect 2.0. But in my opinion, what makes a console successful are the games.
Now that the Xbox One’s launch titles have been confirmed, it’s time to decide what game(s) you’ll be spending your hard-earned money on. There are also games that are coming out in 2014, but are still considered to be in the “launch window.” These games will be discussed in a separate post. Here is a list of the games that will be available for the Xbox One on Day One:
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
- Battlefield 4 (Electronic Arts)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
- Crimson Dragon (Microsoft Studios)
- Dead Rising 3 (Capcom)
- FIFA 14 (Electronic Arts)
- Fighter Within (Ubisoft)
- Forza Motorsport 5 (Microsoft Studios)
- Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft)
- Killer Instinct (Microsoft Studios)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Warner Bros. Interactive)
- Lococycle (Microsoft Studios)
- Madden NFL 25 (Electronic Arts)
- NBA 2K14 (2K Sports)
- NBA LIVE 14 (Electronic Arts)
- Need for Speed: Rivals (Electronic Arts)
- Peggle 2 (Electronic Arts)
- Powerstar Golf (Microsoft Studios)
- Ryse: Son of Rome (Microsoft Studios)
- Skylanders: Swap Force (Activision)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
- Zoo Tycoon (Microsoft Studios)
- Zumba Fitness: World Party (Majesco)
The game that I’m most looking forward to and likely the only game I’ll be buying at first is Watch Dogs. I’m not a big fan of sports video games as the gameplay always felt a little too repetitive for me, so games like Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NBA Live 14, and FIFA 14 are outside of my wheelhouse. I’ve always been attracted to the first person shooter games, starting all the way back with Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64, but solidified with the Halo series on the original Xbox and Xbox 360. However, Call of Duty has never appealed to me after buying and then returning Call of Duty a couple of years ago after experiencing the awful multiplayer experience of spawning and dying within 25 seconds or so.
A Battlefield 4 screenshot, showing an entire building falling down, one of the neat new features in the new Frostbite engine.
Battlefield 4 is one of the most attractive first person shooters in this bunch for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Battlefield 3 multiplayer experience with its sprawling maps and tactical combat. The graphics were fantastic and the gameplay actually felt real to me, well, as real as I can imagine having never experienced being in the military myself. Battlefield 4 will also have a new, enhanced version of the Frostbite engine. However, this isn’t the game I’m most interested in because it’s been done before and I’m not as excited for a reboot as I am for some original content from Watch Dogs.
A screenshot from Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs takes place in Chicago, where a central computer system connects everything and everyone. You are Aiden Pearce, a genius hacker and former thug who lost his family through tragic circumstances and you are taking your revenge on those responsible. Using your knowledge, you will be able to hack the central computer system to find your enemies, control traffic lights, trains, and more. You’ll use all of your abilities, including hacking, espionage, shooting, fighting, etc. to find whoever was responsible for your family’s untimely demise. Check out some gameplay footage from Watch Dogs, below:
Finally, we want to hear from you. Which Xbox One launch title are you most excited about?