Gamescom 2013 Impressions
After a long week of Gamescom its time for a summary of our impressions. We got to try out both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Since there was a lot to play and see during the past week we’ll just summarize it into our top favorite and least favorite things seen.
Top favorites:
Knack
It was a lot better than my first impression during the PlayStation meeting back in February. While it seemed childish at first, the combat came out pretty intense, far from the simple button masher I had initially imagined, frequently forcing you to quickly dodge incoming enemy attacks. The way you can absorb different things and use them to your advantage is a really creative feature. The visuals are no slouch either. Everything looks so sharp and detailed you can finally say that PlayStation 4 will have “Toy Story Graphics”.
Beyond Two Souls
After playing through Heavy Rain, I came out a bit disappointed. While far from a bad game it felt more like an interactive movie, one that in my honest opinion was less enjoyable than Indigo Prophecy/Farenheit. Expecting more of the same, Beyond Two Souls ended up being quite enjoyable. You control an spirit-like entity following the main character. The controls have been fixed and finally you get to do things the way you want them. Do you want to listen to the scientists orders and do tests as they say, or do you want to go around possessing everyone and destroying things in your path, the choice is yours.
Tearaway
Media Molecule always makes innovative games, their newest being Tearaway. Instead of a sack boy you are a paper boy. You go around collecting pieces of papers. What makes this title really impressive is the way it uses the PlayStation Vita.
Dual Shock 4
Having gotten used to the better fit of the Xbox 360 controller when compared to the previous Dual Shock controllers, I was expecting more of the same with the Dual Shock 4. However I was pleasantly shocked (sorry for the bad pun), with how well the Dual Shock 4 felt in my hands. I even prefer it over the Xbox One controller.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2
Have you ever thought about how life is too short to play games? Well worry not, now you can play while lying in a coffin, equiped with its private monitor running the new Castlevania Lords of Shadow. If all the coffins are full you can always sit on a cold tombstone in the corner and play like that.
Top least favorite:
Xbox One
The amazing thing was Xbox One was put out open on the show floor and most of the time there was a free unit to try out. This was probably because all those consoles where running Peggle 2. No wonder no one played for more than 5 minutes.
Pikmin 3
The game is not bad, just the length of demo I had. I basically got 5 minutes to try the game before the demo was over. I didn’t even get the general feel of the game. What’s worse is that since I played two player we where both stuck with the Wii mote so I don’t even see why this title is a Wii U exclusive.
Destiny
Remember the impressive Destiny gameplay video during E3? Well wait in line a few hours to see the same 15 minutes of video, except this time you get 3 small trading cards.
Killer is Dead
After playing Killer is Dead for 10 minutes, I still have absolutely no idea what the game is about. All I do know is I want whatever Suda 51 is having. I’m looking forward to this game but still, the demo could have been made a bit more… normal, since I don’t know what to take from it.
As you can see the main issue I have with Gamescom is there is too much of the same. Some games such as Destiny, Murdered Souls Suspect, The Evil Within and Thief where just gameplay videos of things that are readily available on YouTube. Don’t get me wrong, Gamescom is a great place to visit and try out some of the upcoming games. But if you are like me and have watched every single press conference you will be disappointed by the lack of new content when compared to E3. Still, I had a great time in Cologne, Germany, and I managed to see a lot of interesting things during Gamescom. I will be most definitely coming next year and hopefully there will be a bit more innovative indie games as well.
- Gal Gun 2 Review (PS4) (Switch) - April 17, 2018
- Aegis Defenders Review (PC) - April 6, 2018
- The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 Review (PS4) - March 26, 2018
