OddballGreg - 8 Personally Anticipated Upcoming Games

Image is a screenshot of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and was taken from www.pcgamer.com. TCSA are in no way related to or supported by The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red or pcgamer.com, nor do we own the image.

In the information era, games are big business. If you believe the statistics, more than 75% of people below the age of 30 play videogames on a regular basis. Why? Because they're fun as hell. So today I'm going to tell you about 8 of my most anticipated games yet to be released, and why I think they'll be awesome.

If you're a frequenter of this blog, or just happen to know me in person, then you likely know that I really like games of all kinds. I spend a great deal of time playing them, thinking about them, talking about them and researching things about them, including when the latest and greatest are to come out. So without further ado, allow me to tell you about 8 of my most Personally Anticipated Upcoming Games (In no particular order):

1. Borderlands: The Pre Sequel!

No that's not actually a mistake in grammar or punctuation, "Borderlands: The Pre Sequel!" is the actual title of the upcoming 3rd Borderlands game being developed by 2K Australia, Gearbox Software and being published by 2K Games. Slated for a release on the 14th of October 2014, there a couple of reasons I'm excited for this game.

First and foremost. It's Borderlands! I will admit to being a huge Borderlands fan ever since Cage The Elephant introduced the original 4, rather mental characters of the original Borderlands. Borderlands as series of games is (in)famous for it's crazy, over the top characters and sheer mental attitude towards mass slaughter of robots, wildlife, and other people, (Misanthrope challenge anyone?), has made the Borderlands games the go-to series for hilarious co-operative play.

Secondly, any gamer who's been around the block has probably played Diablo or a similarly themed clone. The fight, loot, shops and repeat formula is responsible for making many games famous simply because of it's fun and simplicity; and Borderlands does that and more, combining great gameplay, an outrageous storyline and fun multiplayer to create an unforgettable experience. All in all, this is looking to be another great experience to be played when it comes out.

I may or may not also be biased because they had The Kongo's in their most recent trailer, a South African alternative rock band.

2. Tales From The Borderlands

Okay... so maybe I'm a bit of a fanboy. I'll admit it. (Teehee) But allow me a moment to tell you why the Telltale Games developed and published Tales From The Borderlands is going to blow your mind when it (hopefully) comes out in 4th quarter 2014.

What's the difference between Tales From The Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre Sequel? Simple. The former is being developed by Telltale Games, a fact which you might understand as important when you consider that they are the creators of The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead episodic story games which have left many in tears and many more in awe at their story telling ability. I myself have played The Walking Dead game which followed the story of Lee and Clementine in their hopes of surviving the zombie apocalypse. 

In few words, I expect Tales From The Borderlands to offer a different perspective on the Borderlands compared to the other games in the series, as it has been said multiple times that the game will not be as much about the shooting and looting, but more about the incredible story and background of the fictional planet of Pandora, with a fair few cameos of characters from other titles in the series. Without sounding deluded, I think with Telltale's reputation for making meaningful games, Tales From The Borderlands could easily end up being a great story that many will remember for a long time.

3. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Third game in the series, number three in the list... HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED! (Teehee) Just kidding. But on a more serious note, Dragon Age: Inquisition is shaping up to be fair competition for the holy grail of RPG's as far as we can so far tell. Developed by Bioware and set to be published by Electronic Arts on the 21st of November 2014 to the European (and thus South African) audiences, in terms of  scope, history and reputation, Dragon Age: Inquisition is looking fantastic so far.

So what precisely is Dragon Age: Inquisition? It's a rather massive, story based RPG based in the lands of Thedas. That probably makes no sense to you, but believe me when I say you should be excited for this game. The 3rd Dragon Age game following on from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition takes the scope of everything previously experienced in the series and blows it to massive proportions. An epic story, fully fleshed out companions and world and a lore rich story that would likely make Lovecraft and Tolkien cry out in awe.

People more familiar with games have likely played or heard of the Mass Effect series which was largely developed by the same people who are now currently developing Dragon Age: Inquisition, so it is fair to say that a massive and brilliant story awaits those who are willing to wait the few months left until Inquisitions release. (Suffice to say, I'm bouncing in my chair in excitement like a ADHD 5 year old that's been told they can drink the sugar bowl, and promptly done so.)

4. Dead Island 2

What self respecting gaming fan doesn't like the following: Zombie Apocalypses, Borderlands-like Co-op fun, Over the top weaponry and combat and finding new loot to do the aforementioned with. If you like those things, then it's possible that you might be looking forward to playing the Yager Development made and Deep Silver published Dead Island 2 when it comes out (hopefully) sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2015.

Now you may be wondering. If it play like Borderlands, then why should I bother with it? Which is a fair question. many have been saying that they will rather play Dying Light when it comes out rather than play Dead Island 2 which seems a bit like everything else. So why is it worth playing? Probably because the same could have been said about the original Dead Island. It was buggy, it used ideas from other games, just in a different setting with a different focus. You would be right if you thought that sounded slightly dull. Of course, I thought the original Borderlands was dull too. And then I played it with someone else. Like Borderlands, Dead Island was notoriously fun as a co-op game as you ran around yelling random things to your friends while decapitating the newly undead. Perhaps not groundbreaking in itself, the experience of doing these crazy things with friends is always unforgettable.

Extra bonus, if you consider the Dead Island 2 trailer, it can be reasonably asserted that the developers are embracing the over the top craziness that people enjoy in these types of games, so Dead Island 2 could easily give us more of what we want, more crazy fun with friends. I'd say that sounds like fun, no?

5. Dying Light

You might note that the most read post on this blog, (at the time of writing), is an article I wrote about Parkour. If you don't know what parkour is, you should probably read that to get a quick understanding since it's one of the reasons people are so looking forward to Dying Light. Combine Zombie Killing with night time horror and parkour building climbing and running, and you get the Techland developed and Warner Bro's Interactive Entertainment published Dying Light, slated for release sometime or other in February 2015. 

Here's the irony: Dying Light originally started out as a sequel for Dead Island, but quickly became it's own project as the team started to change it's focuses in terms of gameplay, looking to bring something new and interesting into the zombie apocalypse genre. Considering the MASSIVE cult following of the first mainstream parkour game, Mirrors Edge, it comes as little surprise that people would lose their minds when a Parkour based, zombie apocalypse survival game got announced. Suffice to say that Dying Light could turn out to be a ton of fun if they pull it off right.

6. The Witcher 3: Wild hunt

The Witcher, a name synonymous with... well, not that much if you haven't played or heard of these games by CD Project Red which is to be published by a whole slew of companies on the 24th of February 2015. For those of you who do know what the Witcher is about, you already know why I'm excited for this game.

Earlier in the post I mentioned that Dragon Age: Inquisition is shaping up to be a fair contender for the holy grail of RPG's. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is it's competition. (And also, ironically, also the third game in it's series as well. Gabe Newell conspiracies abound.) The Witcher is the hardcore RPG players love... or one of them at least. Famous for a very in depth story, dark,brooding mood, need for preparation to survive near most fights and a grim faced but relateable and believable character by the name of Geralt of Rivea; The Witcher has been a paragon of fine storytelling for 2 games already, so it should come as no surprise that I'm looking forward to what's looking to be a great game when it finally comes out.

7. Sid Meiers Civilization: Beyond Earth

I might not always sound like, but I enjoy thinking. (*cough* Philosophy Friday *cough*) As such, believe me when I say that I am looking forward to what is being called the spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri, a strategy game built on an alien world that I played when I was still knee high to most things. In development by Firaxis Games and to be published by 2K Games on the 24th of October 2014, my thinking cap is anxiously awaiting another strategy game of excellence from the great Sid Meiers.

Sid Meiers and strategy games have been synonymous terms for a long time with the series of fantastic civilization building strategy games that have been around longer than I have. (Seriously, the first one was released in 1991.) The point is, these games are good. It's not easy to beat them, and the many different strategies one can take to win means that there's plenty reason to keep playing again and again. So I'm fairly interested to see how Civilization changes up the mixture with it's first game not based around actual human history, but rather around the science fiction that so many Alpha Centauri fans adored.

8. Wasteland 2

A hand for the only game that's technically released already and yet slated for release as well. (*Claps by himself*) Anyways, Wasteland 2 is the creation of Brian Fargo and his crowdfunded and undefunct game studio inXile Entertainment. (That basically means that he got a Kickstarter that was successful, and restarted his company.) While technically playable in it's beta phases through Steam early access, the official release is slated for the 19th September 2014.

So what is Wasteland 2? It is, in the words of Brian Fargo, "The Fallout he always wanted to make". "The Fallout?" you may be wondering, thinking of the vastly popular 3rd person RPG's by Bethesda Softworks that were described as "like Skyrim with guns". Yes, same series, originally inspired by a game called Wasteland which turned into Fallout, the first 2 of which were developed by Brian Fargo. Make sense? Nevermind. The point is, Wasteland is looking to be the isometric, tactical RPG that should have been Fallout 3 before inXile went out of business. As a fan of the alternative and strange, Wasteland is looking to be the thinking mans RPG, with many ambiguous decisions which can have far reaching impacts on the world in way you would not expect. Definitely an interesting game to watch out for if you like different things. (Like me!)

In any case, I should mention that this is mostly based on conjecture about what I know about the previous games, what the developers have done and what they have promised. So don't get mad at me if any of these games flop for some reason. Hype is notorious for being hard to meet, as those who waited so patiently for Watch Dogs found out. Also, this is not all the games I'm waiting for, there are a fair few more that are looking like they could be great games, but I can only do so much writing in one day. (*crying face*) Suffice to say that games like Star Citizen and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfighter are definitely on my watch list, and will most likely be subjects of discussion down the line.

In any case, that's all I've got for you today. If you enjoyed this article, or think that there's another good upcoming game that you think I should check out, then be sure to tell us about it in the comments below or over Facebook/Twitter. And of course I'd appreciate it greatly if you share this post with any of your gaming buddies. They'll probably also appreciate it. And if you would like to read more articles like this one, do be sure to like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left so that you can get the latest posts as they go up. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this article; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Happy gaming my friends.