Fall 2014: The Most Exciting Time for Video Games?

I used to think that last fall was the most exciting time in video games in the last five years. With the arrival of new consoles, who wouldn’t feel excited about video games last November? Gamers saw the dawn of a new generation, but there weren’t a lot of game releases to sustain the momentum in my opinion. The transition is always awkward and there can be a bit of a drought as the industry gradually adjusts to new hardware.

Others would say that 2015 will definitely be THE year for gamers. However, Fall 2014 still has a lot in store for gamers down the line. If this year isn’t the most exciting, then it’s definitely the perfect kickoff to another great year in gaming. My wallet is already crying because it knows it’s going to lose a lot of weight in the next few months.

Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming highlights.

This is going to sound weird, but I am definitely excited about the next WWE video game. I’m definitely singing a different tune especially since developer Visual Concepts, studio behind NBA 2K, will be taking charge of the WWE video game franchise ever since the license was transferred from THQ to 2K. Let’s face the truth, the WWE video games always had sub-par graphics, mediocre voice overs, and clunky gameplay. Thankfully, Visual Concepts is stepping in to make the franchise as visually pleasing as the current-gen NBA 2K games. Additionally, gameplay reportedly feels more like an actual wrestling sim game as opposed to a slobber knocker button masher.

I haven’t played a WWE game in years and I don’t keep with it on television anymore. However, the changes and improvements are enough to hook me back in.  You can also expect me to get NBA 2K15 within the same month as well.

Now, let’s talk about the Assassin’s Creed games coming out this year. People complained to Ubisoft about getting annual releases of the franchises, well the company seems unfazed by this since they will be releasing two titles from the series from this year alone. Gamers can play Assassin’s Creed Unity on current-gen consoles and PC. On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed Rogue will only be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I previously vowed never to buy an AC game again because I’ve always felt like the series exhausted itself for a long time.

It seems like I’ll be breaking that pledge and I believe that it’s for a good reason. Everything I’ve heard about these games so have been exciting so far from the co-op in Unity to the templar premise in Rogue. That’s not the end of gamers pouring digging their pockets for Ubisoft though.

Let’s not forget about Far Cry 4 and the fact that you can ride elephants. An intriguing new locale, a more heinous megalomaniac, and tons of cool features that will surely keep us busy for days or even weeks. It’s definitely a game that’s included in many gamers’ wish lists during the holidays.

How can I forget about the big September releases? The Sims 4 and Destiny. You guys do not need to know how psyched I am for the former. If you’ve followed my posts, I’m a huge fan of The Sims franchise and a lot of die hard fans will surely be getting the game despite the exclusion of pools and toddlers. The revamped create-a-Sim mode is a welcome change and the art style breathes new life into the series once more.

My interest in Destiny is rather surprising. I thought the game was pretty cool, but it wasn’t something I was crazy about. My friends thought the same until the beta was released. From not talking about the game at all to suddenly gushing all about it in chat and around social media. Word of mouth surrounding the game blew up like crazy and I even heard that Activision had to cancel existing pre-orders. Unfortunately, I could no longer pre-order a copy of the limited edition by the time I finally became interested. I guess that I have to stick with the Standard edition for now.

Destiny might just turn out to be more successful than Titanfall.

On top of these titles, I’m also getting Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare because Kevin Spacey. These are just some of the awesome games coming out this year and there are plenty more. I’m praying that this will be an excellent start to 2015 and hope that the next year will not disappoint.