Spike TV’s VGX 2013: Xbox One Announcements
DJ Arruda ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Spike’s annual Video Game Awards premiered Saturday night with a new name, and a new format. Taking an all-digital approach, the renamed VGX Awards was hosted by Joel McHale and Geoff Keighley, and was broadcast across various websites and consoles, as opposed to the usual timeslot on Spike TV. And while the Xbox One did not have any hardware or groundbreaking updates to announce, seeing as it was just released two weeks ago, there were plenty of games to be excited for.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons took home Best Xbox Game, and Microsoft exclusive Titanfall took home Most Anticipated Game.
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The world premieres the award show is known for did not disappoint, and featured two Xbox One exclusive games: Titanfall (also on PC) and Quantum Break.
The former showcased some exciting action sequences with two new Titans, named The Ogre, more of a tank, and The Stryder, more agile, whom players will be able to utilize in next year’s release.
The latter, coming from Remedy Entertainment of Alan Wake and Max Payne fame, looks amazing. Combining the story telling genius of Alan Wake with the dynamic action of Max Payne and throwing in time powers to boot, Quantum Break is sure to be one of next year’s biggest hits and a powerful Xbox One exclusive.
A port of Crystal Dynamic’s reboot of Tomb Raider was also announced, coming to both the Xbox One and PS4 with updated graphics, all of the DLC, and a digital art book and comic. This Definitive Edition is slated to release on January 24th, 2013.
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Telltale Games stole the show with the announcement of not one, but two new series. Game of Thrones will follow the books, not the television show, of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, and with such a rich world to work with, this could very well be the game fans of the series have been waiting for.
Tales from the Borderlands will follow an original story based on the world of Pandora from the 2K games’ titular franchise, and this unexpected treat looks to be just as dark and witty as the series’ main two games, featuring faces both old and new.
With the overwhelming success of The Walking Dead, and season two incoming, along with The Wolf Among Us just beginning, Telltale has quickly become one of the industry’s leading storyteller’s and looks to be up to the task of doing justice to these two worlds.
Having just announced a September 9, 2014 release date, Bungie revealed a new trailer for the highly anticipated multiplayer shooter Destiny. Showcasing plenty of action, engaging set pieces, and wonderful dramatic music, this new trailer only builds the hype and makes the wait for the game so much harder. The beta is scheduled to begin in summer 2014.
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Ubisoft showed off the Snowdrop Engine behind its upcoming MMO-shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division, and it gives a good indicator of just what the next generation of consoles is capable of. The recreated New York City looks stunning as the trailer shows off the day/night cycle, weather system, realistic lighting and realistic destruction, and particles and shaders to give us a look at just how beautiful and real this world will be come next year’s release.
Hello Games’ unexpected announcement of No Man’s Sky was surprising and exciting. It looks to be a sci-fi game like no other, with plenty of planetary exploration and multiplayer combat, and this unique premise looks to be one to keep your eyes on in the coming year.
Eidos Montreal debuted a new story trailer for the upcoming fourth entry in the Thief series. Thief looks to take us on a journey through a city brewing with revolution as Garret searches for the woman he lost, and the stealth gameplay looks as fluid and slick as ever.
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CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looked stunning in the short trailer revealed. Boasting an open world, tactical combat, and a sweeping dark fantasy story, this end of Geralt’s trilogy is shaping up to be one of next year’s biggest games.
South Park: The Stick of Truth, the long anticipated adaption of the TV show, was given a short gameplay trailer, dealing with, unsurprisingly, farts. Looking to capture the vulgar hilarity of the show within the RPG genre, Obsidian’s upcoming title looks to be the game fans have waited for when players take control of Douchebag in the March 2014 release.
Techland’s Dying Light had a five minute demo showing off the freedom of movement and first-person brutality of the survival action game. With x-ray cutaways on particularly heavy hits on zombies, and a focus on melee combat, the game looks like a unique entry into the zombie genre filled with plenty of dive kicking, head bashing, and zombie killing fun.
Overall there was much to be excited for with this year’s VGX, and 2014 is looking to be an exciting and fruitful first year for the Xbox One.