One of the biggest complaints gamers have had regarding the Xbox One has been the slow trickle of releases
for the console. It's a complaint Microsoft has attempted to tackle head on, using its Gamescom conference to spotlight a wave of new titles coming over the next twelve months, and refocus on some already announced ones.
In addition to the newly exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider, Microsoft announced SCREAMride by British studio Frontier Developments, due for release in spring 2015. A sci-fi lite version of Theme Park, the game sees you constructing vast thrill rides across a futuristic city and testing them to destruction. It's all in the name of bettering humanity's prospects apparently, though players will likely have more fun propelling their virtual volunteers along roller coaster tracks snaking across the vast world until they collapse. There also seems to be a good amount of physics at play, with buildings collapsing or ride pods careening into the air if the ride isn't properly thought out. Too sharp a curve on a track, and the entire carriage can fly into space.
Quantum Break, developed by Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind horror game Alan Wake, was also shown. Sam Lake, the game's Creative Director, showed off the game's time manipulation gameplay. Set in a world where a time travel experiment has instead broken time, you'll have to navigate temporal distortions called "Time Stutters" to try to put things right. It's a great concept but the live gameplay demo only featured lead character Jack Joyce repeatedly manipulating time to freeze enemies, delay or dodge bullets, and deliver brutal slow-motion melee take downs. The locations are appropriately vast with stunning draw distance, but the gameplay really needs to deliver some more inventive uses of Jack's powers to impress. The game will launch with a companion TV series helping tell the story, an approach only once tried before with Defiance. Hopefully, this fares better on both game and show fronts as it has the potential to be amazing if execution can match premise.
Fable Legends, a four-player focussed fantasy action RPG and the latest in the series from Lionhead Studios, had a new villain mode revealed. Although the previous Fable games have let you play as either good or evil, this allows you to play as the game's actual antagonist for the first time. With a top-down tactical view, a fifth player can drop enemies or obstacles in the hero team's path, unleashing minions from on high. A multiplayer beta for the game will launch on 16 October, while the full game, which is set 400 years before the first Fable game, is released next year.
Microsoft's exclusive racing franchise Forza got a double-header of new content announced. The already-available Forza Motorsport 5 has Formula E hot lap events, featuring electric vehicles, introduced to the game today, along with a selection of new cars. The Rolls Royce Wraith -- the most powerful Rolls Royce ever, according to developer Turn 10 Studios' Dan Greenwalt, and the first time the luxurious motor house has allowed any of its cars to be used in a video game -- and the 2015 Ford Mustang are amongst those available now.
Ralph Fulton, creative director of Forza Horizon 2, the more open-world racer compared to Motorsport's serious sim racing, also confirmed there would be over 200 vehicles in that game. Fulton also drew attention to the social aspects of Horizon 2, calling it "the most social racing game ever made." Players will be able to set up driving teams, view stats, and stream races when it releases on 30 September. A new feature called Forza Fuel was also teased, with no further details provided.
Finally, Ted Price, the president and CEO of developer Insomniac Games, took the stage to reveal more details on its open-world action title, Sunset Overdrive. Set in a colourful post-apocalyptic environment after the evil soda company Fizzco has unleashed a mutant plague, players are encouraged to rampage through the city using an array of unorthodox weapons -- think explosive teddy bears for an idea of how serious the game's tone is. It's all about fast-movement, deranged comedy, and huge carnage. Price introduced new characters, notably Floyd, an absent minded scientist who used to work for Fizzco. The game is one of Microsoft's biggest exclusives for the remainder of 2014, so there are big hopes hanging on its 31 October launch.
Also announced were a slate of game-specific custom consoles. A Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare bundle delivers a 1TB HDD-equipped gunmetal Xbox One with gold trim, a matching controller, microphone headset and a downloadable copy of the game for £429.99. Sunset Overdrive's bundle offers a sleek white version of the hardware with a digital copy of the game for £349.99, while European gamers can get a FIFA bundle for the same price. The latter two had no mention made of hard drive size, so presume the standard 500GB capacity, and none include the much-maligned Kinect 2.0 peripheral.
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