Let Matt Reynolds guide you through the last of our most anticipated for 2016 – there are some corkers here…
UNCHARTED 4 – PS4
Delayed more times than a Bristol bus; the fourth and supposedly final installment in Nathan Drake’s loot-em-up/mass murder simulator sure looks impressive. With generation-leading visuals, the usual epic sense of adventure and new dialogue choice system; Uncharted 4 is sure to do massively well for Sony when it finally drops in April. Will it also contain closed rooms spawning, never-ending bullet sponge monsters in its third act? Will Naughty Dog finally have a handle on combat pacing? Will Sully finally be a good character? Only time will tell.
FINAL FANTASY XV – PS4, Xbox One
Speaking of delays, not many games have had as tumultuous a time as the latest iteration of Square Enix’s flagship franchise. I can’t say I was massively impressed with ‘Episode Duscae‘, the hour-long demo that came free with Type-0 last year. However it did have some impressive ideas, and with the extra time Square have had to add some much needed polish, this could well be a pleasant surprise. We should be hearing news on a release date in a matter of weeks – and will we also end up with a playable teaser for the Final Fantasy 7 remake bundled with the game? Its a long standing Final Fantasy tradition, so don’t count it out.
MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA – PS4, PC, Xbox One
The big one. So, so many questions still surround the fourth Mass Effect game, due to land this Christmas. All we know so far is that its set in the Andromeda galaxy, the Mako is back, and it just might star a protagonist named Commander Rider (Ryder?). Just as long as it features the same mind-bending sense of epic scale, fantastic music, immersive lore and many, many aliens to bump uglies with, all will be well with me. Plus, more bad dancing if we’re very lucky. Will the game still sell massively well with the shadow of Mass Effect 3’s still controversial ending ever present? One can only hope. While this game may get a showing at E3 on either Microsoft or Sony’s stage; we should perhaps put our money on EA doing a grand reveal at their own external shows this June.
- Matt Reynolds
