Recently I posted an article about the seven hottest games of 2014. Naturally whenever you do an article of this type there will be those who disagree with your selections and offer up several other options for titles that did not make the list. As I pointed out to one reader, the list was not intended to indicate the seven best games of 2014 rather the seven hottest games of the year based upon early buzz to date and past sales of previous titles in the series.
Why agree with many of the suggestions they had four games that should’ve been included I did not include them simply because of question marks that surround the games. As such, I decided to create a new list of intriguing games of 2014 that come with some big question marks.
Dying Light
Warner Bros
It would be very difficult to imagine a zombie survival game that allows players to move around the map quickly, craft items, and engage in Parcour physics as anything but a slam dunk. Having played the game at PAX Prime last Spetember, I was definitely impressed with what I saw however there are question marks that need to be answered. As impressive as the game looks and plays to date, many people harken back to the previous efforts by the developer Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide which while having great potential failed to reach it due to numerous issues. The original Dead Island was plagued by bugs and stability issues which in my opinion greatly hampered the game at launch as many gamers became frustrated waiting for the necessary updates for the game.
The fact that the developers seem to of learn from their mistakes and are deftly taking their time with this one as well as the advantages of having Warner Bros. help distribute the game definitely makes this one to keep an eye on.
Mad Max
Warner Bros.
I’m a big fan of the film series up through the first half of Beyond Thunderdome, but as we wait for “Fury Road” and Tom Hardy to take on the role made famous by Mel Gibson, one has to wonder if this game is going to appeal only to hard-core fans of the series. Being able to step into the knee brace of Max is certainly going to be appealing as is the mix of vehicle and personal combat in a post-apocalyptic world. When I have to reserve my judgment on this one until I get my hands on some gameplay because as of now there are four more questions than answers related to this game.
The Elder Scrolls Online
Bethesda
The Elder Scrolls has been a phenomenally popular and award-winning series that has legions of fans. Bethesda has certainly put a lot of time and money into the online version of the game and I have certainly spent some time with it at Pax Prime and in the beta. While the game is impressive looking and certainly offers plenty of action and adventure, I wonder how many of the series fans are going to be willing to jump over to a massive online version of the game. If the rumored monthly subscription fee is true then the other question will be how many of the early questor’s for the game will stay with the series beyond the first 90 days. Having the game available on both the Xbox one and PlayStation 4 is a step in the right direction and while I cannot find anything from a technical standpoint to complain about, seeing how World of Warcraft has watched its subscriber base decline in recent years as well as the less than amazing responses for massive online games in the Star Trek and Star Wars universes, there is reason to pause before anointing this one is the next great release.
Star Citizen
Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts has promised us has gone the crowd funding round and with a reported $39 million in assets at his disposal, has crafted a massive online flight and combat simulator worthy of the Wing Commander series he created. The impressive looking ships as well is intriguing gameplay model that reportedly will allow up to 50 human players in a single battle as well as the option to leave your ship and combat on foot definitely raises a high level of interest. Combine that with the reported customization that made Privateer such a massive hit and this could be one for the ages. The biggest question marks about this game are whether or not gamers are ready to embrace a combat flight Sim and that whether or not the final product will manage the lofty expectations and goals for the game. I for one would not bet against Roberts and I’m very intrigued to see what he comes up with.
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Ubisoft
This is one of those games that I think will either be a massive hit or a spectacular failure as I do not know if there’s going to be much of a middle ground for this game. The game involves a pandemic wiping out the United States in just five days and players are tasked with competing in a massive online situation against threats that have arisen in the ravaged world both human and A.I. Alike. There’s so much intriguing potential with this game that it will be impossible to ignore. Originally only for next-generation systems and online outcry has caused developers to rethink their release plans and include a PC version of the game. For me, team-based combat the post apocalyptic setting is right up my alley and assuming the game plays out as well as it looks this could be a massive hit.
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