Microsoft made it known that they would hold some meaningful presence at the German-hosted Gamescom this year. On August 12, Microsoft will be hosting a major press conference to showcase what’s coming to Xbox One over the course of the next year or so. We should be getting more extensive looks at games like Fable Legends and Quantum Break, two titles that should help bolster and round out the Xbox One’s exclusive offerings. Sunset Overdrive could see some extra light as well, though we’ve seen a reasonable amount already. Xbox team members have hinted at a possible reveal or news break that would be very significant. New information leaking onto the internet suggest the return of a full-fledged backwards compatibility update that will allow Xbox 360 games to play on the Xbox One.
Remedy
Quantum Break Confirmed For 2015
Remedy Entertainment’s “Quantum Break”, one of the big teases from E3 that is to be an exclusive for Xbox One, has finally received a confirmed release year. Now slated for 2015, Quantum Break will combine both a full-scale game alongside a TV series in which feeds off of your in-game experience and, to some unknown extend, your choices. Little else is known, but as you’ll see from the teaser trailer below we will be getting a bigger dose of Quantum Break in August at Gamescom, which also means this game will likely be scarce (if present at all) at the June E3 event.
What Is Quantum Break?
Microsoft is betting bigger than ever on games with its new Xbox One console as the delivery system. We’ve gotten a little taste of the exclusives via Forza, Ryse and Dead Rising 3 at launch. Soon, we’ll have TitanFall, Halo, Project Spark and eventually Gears of War. Other games have yet to be announced as new franchise opportunities under Microsoft Studios, but there is one we have been teased on and it stands to deliver perhaps the most unique gaming experience to date. Quantum Break is a sci-fi thriller that will bend the laws of entertainment, crossing the boundaries of game and television to deliver one cohesive entertainment experience. Behind the new title is Remedy Entertainment, who is best known for their previous work on Max Payne, Max Payne 2, and the Xbox 360-exclusive Alan Wake. Though the actual effort of blending TV and gaming together has been tried before with the game Defiance, the outcome was nothing close to sung praises but merely applause for the “idea”. Now Remedy Entertainment stands to properly bridge the two mediums of entertainment in what could be the dark horse of next-gen gaming.
The premise for Quantum Break almost sounds like a season of Fringe, where certain characters gain the ability to control or manipulate time after a time-traveling experiment conducted at a Riverport University goes wrong. The result fragments time and seems to potentially play with alternate universe themes, likely parallel realities that would exist had certain decisions been made different throughout pivotal points of history (very much a part of what Fringe played off of), and it seems only a few main characters have any ability to work in or around these time “skips” that are so beginning to destroy time as we know it. Not a whole lot is really known about the characters and plot outside of this and a seemingly-bad corporate entity known as Monarch, but time is now broken and you are going to perhaps play an important role in mankind’s survival in what we’d assume is putting time back together. This is where the TV aspect comes into play – in an interview with Oskari Hakkinen, Head of Franchise Development:
“You’ll unlock the live-action episode at the end of the gameplay episode, but you can choose when you jump into that. The best experience would be to play the game, watch the live action, then play the game some more, but if you’ve chosen to dedicate your two-hour slot to gaming and you don’t want to watch live action straight away, you can continue on with the game and pick up on the live action from your iPad or phone at a later date”.
It’s interesting to see Remedy and Microsoft Studios working to find seamless ways to integrate these two forms of entertainment consumption without forcing the television aspect on the player. For the gaming-only crowd, you’ll be somewhat free to progress without having to constantly stop to watch an episode of Quantum Break, the TV show. It’s important to note that, while the details of the story are entirely custom to your experience and decisions in-game, the overall plot and ending doesn’t seem to be totally changeable. All roads will eventually lead to the same, or at least similar, outcomes. But just as interesting as the protagonist’s side of the story is the villain’s side.
“At the end of the episode, you get to play the bad guy, who has the most powerful time-manipulation powers of all. So he gets to choose which future comes to pass. You play that bad guy – you choose the moment. Then, once you’ve made your choice, you can enjoy a high-quality TV episode where you’ll see how your choices impacted certain things”.
Phil Spencer of Microsoft Studios made a short comment on Quantum Break’s progress, saying Remedy Entertainment is doing a “great job” with the game, the story and its characters. Spencer seems to think that the time control mechanic you’ll have access to within Quantum Break will be something special and iconic, like Bullet Time was within the Max Payne series. With any luck, we’ll have some more information to comb through come E3 2014 which is set for June 10-12, 2014. Until then it stands to reason that this is perhaps the most interesting game on anyone’s radar when considering the question “will it, or will it not?” Remedy have an outstanding story and plot history. Quantum Break looks to stand on that pillar, but this third person shooter has a lot going for it that no other game has. There will be other franchises launching in 2014 and early 2015 that are sure to be excellent titles, but Quantum Break quite remains a mystery that will intrigue adventurous gamers heavily. It’s possible that Quantum Break will drop late 2014, but don’t be too surprised if this game is staggered back to early 2015. Microsoft have a road map for games and there’s no real gains to be had in releasing a game like this when the holiday season will likely face a new iterations of Battlefield and Call of Duty on top of several other multiplatform titles like Metal Gear Solid 5 and The Division.
Why 2014 Could Be The Best Year For Xbox Ever
With the Xbox One off and running, now may be as good a time as any to take a look at what gamers owning the console have to look forward to. That’s not to say what was available on day one wasn’t good, but if you really are looking for a next generation experience then you may be feeling a little lackluster for the time being. The good news is that is all changing in 2014 because if it all comes together, the year is a shoe-in for best year in Xbox history. If you’re not all caught up yet, here’s a look at the exclusive titles you should have the opportunity to drool over soon enough.
TitanFall
Anyone that read any news in the past six months should have heard of this most-anticipated game of 2014. TitanFall is basically the always-online hybrid of Mech Assault and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. How so? Well, Respawn Entertainment is headed up by the two brainiacs that created the very first Modern Warfare title which stole a lot of Halo’s competitive FPS thunder back during its launch. TitanFall marries the pace of first person combat shooters as we know them with more of an MMO feel that includes both infantry combat plus mech combat. This game has already won tons of “best of show” awards from the likes of Gamescom, E3, Penny Arcade Expo – to name a few. This likely blockbuster is set to release on March 11, 2014. Make sure you have some sick or vacation time stored up. If it comes together as good as all these other critics are saying it is, social lives will end for at least a little while.
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This highly intriguing indie-developed title gained a lot of interest upon its unveiling at E3 2013. The game is about magic, swords, and perma-death. The game is slated for 2014 but has no official launch date that as of this moment. It won’t be the best looking title by a longshot, but its story telling and gameplay could be deeply addicting for those that crave something outside of the typical AAA experiences from franchises like Call of Duty or Tomb Raider. Keep your eyes and ears out for this one.
Fable Legends
This long-standing Xbox franchise is set to reinvent itself and make good on true cooperative play. Little is known for sure, but Lionhead Studios and the game’s first official gameplay trailer lead to the likelihood that multiplayer will have a much bigger role this time around. We don’t have any reason to expect an MMORPG, at least not yet, but Fable is a franchise that is deserves an incredible entry. To date, all the Fable games have been good, but always lack the longevity or lovability of comparative games such as Zelda. Could this be the breakout game that fans have hoped for? Without much to go on its hard to say, but we’re all rooting for this one to go nuclear and is expected to land by the end of 2014, though we still haven’t seen an official announcement for a release date or even a seasonal window to lean on.
Quantum Break
To boast that your game is a next-generation title, you must have more than just pretty graphics at higher resolutions to depend on. Quantum Break is garnering all kinds of interest and antsy-pants for Xbox owners. This game is being birthed from the likes of Remedy, the creators of the novel-based adventure Alan Wake. The idea of the game is very reminiscent of J.J. Abrams’ Fringe television series: events across the world begin to break out where time seems to freeze or fast-forward time (that is, as far as we can tell). What is truly unique here is the television series tie-in that you’ll be experiencing as you play the game. There’s still much to learn here, but in 2014 gamers will get their first bout with a game that tells part of its story through a TV show that directly related to the game you’ve been playing. That means choices and outcomes you make within the game will play out in the television series. Super cool!
Project Spark
Minecraft was wildly popular on Xbox 360 and remains one of the most-played online titles to date. Minecraft is coming to the Xbox One, but for those that were never drawn to the old school Nintendo Entertainment System graphics will be relieved to hear that Project Spark is on its way. It’s a world-builder game that makes it easy for players to craft worlds that can span a vast amount of unique experiences. You craft the world so you and your friends can play within them. Create a tower or hero defense game to ward off ogres attacking a small village. Design a sky-high platformer where failure is a 10,000 foot drop to death. Project Spark literally brings everything to life that you see on screen, if that what you wish. Coming sometime 2014 unless its release gets pushed back.
Sunset Overdrive
It’s silly and comically inspired. Imagine the insanity of that old South Park FPS mixed with Dead Rising’s zombie-apocalypse with over-the-top antics. We also see some parkour influences from the likes of Mirrors Edge and Assassin’s Creed make their way into the mix. If you’re game for a departure from the norm and can embrace the zaniness, Sunset Overdrive might be a must-buy come later 2014.
Halo 5
The first cinematic trailer was revealed well into Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference earlier this year and took gamers by surprise. At first we thought it was Destiny, but when Chief’s cloaked hood gets blown off in the trailer (see below) an incredible sense of amazement and giddiness overcame many of us. It’s clear that Master Chief is seeking some kind of resurrection to his AI companion, and sort-of love, Cortana. But how this is done and what the fate of mankind is this time around is hard to tell this early. We do know the Prometheans are back, a welcomed adversary that mixed things up nicely in Halo 4’s campaign. It’s expected out during the late fall/holiday season 2014. Halo carried Xbox early on and has sustained it when other exclusives went into hiatus or lost some of their appeal. What’s more interesting is that new series-owner 343 (a part of Microsoft Game Studios) promised a better game than Halo 4. Some of the cast commented that they could do better and would do better going forward. How that translates into Halo 5 isn’t totally clear. But get this – Tomb Raider Creative Director Tim Longo, largely responsible for the Tomb Raider series reboot, has joined 343 to help drive Halo 5 and perhaps future Halo titles. Who’s pumped!?
There are many Xbox One exclusives that are due out in 2014-2015 not listed here, but these are the confirmed ones that likely will see releases in 2014. Another article featuring the non-exclusives will likely find its way onto this site in the coming weeks so stay tuned if you want to know more about what is to come on Xbox One!
Xbox One Game Source 