New year, new surprises

As we near the end of 2016, most gamers look to the horizon and what the new year will bring. While we’re still a couple of months away and not all titles have released all their info, things still look great for PC gamers everywhere. We’re seeing not only favorite franchises make a return, but also new IPs set to rock our socks off. So let’s dive in and take a look at some of the top action games we can all look forward to playing in 2017.

For Honor

Fight against some of history's greatest warriors in For Honor

Vikings, Samurai and Knights (oh my). For Honor brings to our computer screens an epic struggle between 3 factions for the few resources available after a devastating cataclysm lay waste to the world. Each of the 3 aforementioned factions (Vikings, Knights and Samurai) have 4 classes each, specializing in different styles of combat. Each class has their own unique weapon and fighting style, making them seem completely fresh and offering the player multiple options with which to complete the game. Also, one can’t deny just how good the game looks. The character models and environments are all polished, the combat is exciting and epic. This title is definitely one to look out for if you’re a fan of action. Get ready to fight for your honor when it releases on February 14th.

Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3 showing off its Microsoft Azure engine and the destruction it allows

If you’re a fan of super hero and police-themed games, then it’s almost a sure thing that at one point or another you’ve played a Crackdown game. In this series of sandbox action games, you play the role of an operative, known simply as an “Agent”, working for an all-powerful Agency in order to maintain law and order in the metropolis of Pacific City. All agents are genetically modified as to have super-human abilities such as super strength and super speed. As one of these Agents, it is the player’s job to take down different criminal organizations and other assorted baddies in order to keep Pacific City safe.

Not much info has been released on Crackdown 3 but one of the features that have been announced and make it stand out from its predecessors is the use of Microsoft’s Azure engine which allows for complete destruction of EVERYTHING in the world. Buildings, bridges, walls, you name it. So far it has been announced that the full power of this feature will be available in co-op mode, while single player will only get partial destruction. Regardless the game looks promising and while it has no set release date yet, you can look forward to taking down bad guys with your super-cop sometime in 2017.

Mass Effect Andromeda

For the first time in the series, Andromeda offers open world exploration

There is nary a gamer in the world who hasn’t at least heard of the Mass Effect series. Bioware’s hugely popular series met with a disappointing end in 2012’s Mass Effect 3, and fans have been clamoring for another entry in the series since. Now finally after 5 years it has happened. This new Mass Effect takes place 600 years after the adventures of Shepard and his crew came to an end, so don’t expect to see too many familiar faces. With that said, there are a slew of new characters, both human and alien, to interact with. One of the most exciting features of this title is that for the first time ever in the series, Andromeda will have open world exploration of not only a few select planets (like in the first Mass Effect) but the entire Andromeda galaxy, hence the name.

Players will be able to go anywhere at will aboard their ship, the Tempest and explore planets with their customizable buggy, the Nomad. Like all past Mass Effects, players will chose a gender and class for their characters before starting the game. This main character has been revealed to be a Pathfinder, a human operative who explores the galaxy looking for pontentially habitable planets for humans to colonize. So far Bioware has kept the plot details pretty tight lipped but from the looks of the cinematic reveal trailer this adventure in space will rival, maybe even surpass, that of Commander Shepard’s. Get ready to explore this new galaxy in the first quarter of 2017.

Escape From Tarkov

Fight for survival in the war torn region of Norvinsk

In a gaming world filled to the brim with First Person Shooters, it’s refreshing when a game comes along that tries to change the formula. Escape From Tarkov mixes survival mechanics with pulse racing action and presents it in a gorgeous MMO setting with RPG elements. After a corporate dispute escalates into a full blown armed conflict involving various international entities, the fictional area of Norvinsk is sealed off, leaving the inhabitants to fend for themselves. Tarkov offers character development at a level rarely seen in combat sims. Apart from the usual different classes of weapons (of which this game has 14 of), players will also obtain skills that improve not only these weapons’ effectiveness but also their ability to survive with improving  such skills as lockpicking, first aid, stress resistance, metabolism, memory and trap placement, just to name a few. Some skills are available only to members of certain factions, giving the player even more options for how to build their character. With top-of-the-line graphics and great changes to an old formula, Escape From Tarkov is definitely a title to keep a lookout for in 2017.

Prey (2017)

Prey's protagonist Morgan Yu, possibly suffering from some alien infection

This game is curious as it began its life cycle almost 10 years ago, after the release of the original Prey as its sequel. Since that time the title was in development hell for a while when 3D Realms sold the rights to Bethesda who then proceeded to cancel it. However, it seems that Bethesda had a change of heart and decided to bring us back to the world of Human vs. Alien conflict. This new installment, also called Prey, is not a sequel to the original but rather a re-imagining. The story takes place in an alternate universe where President John F. Kennedy was not assassinated and was able to further his dreams of space exploration. Due to his efforts, a space station called Talos I was built by his administration and maintained/upgraded by all those that came after and it is on this station that we find ourselves controlling Mr. Morgan Yu.

Set in the not-so-distant future of 2032, you find yourself on Talos I orbiting the moon, but you’re not alone. Somehow the station has been overrun by hostile alien creatures and it is up to you to gather weapons and items in order to survive. These aliens seem to have different abilities, including that of transforming into inanimate objects such as chairs to more than likely prey (pun intended) on unsuspecting victims. Actual gameplay details are scarce but this game looks like a cross between Dead Space and Doom. After so much time having passed since the release of the original, it’s nice to see that Bethesda is taking this IP in a new direction and it looks gorgeous to boot. Yet another game with a release date of “sometime 2017”, I for one am very anxious to see more!

Scalebound

In Scalebound you fight enemies alongside your dragon companion. Awesome.

Humanity has always had a fascination with dragons. Whether they be terrible monsters like in the movie Reign of Fire or friendly companions like in How To Train Your Dragon, we as a society can’t seem to get enough of these scaly creatures. However when it comes to gaming, more often than not we find dragons to be adversaries, big scary enemies we have to annihilate. Luckily in PlatinumGames’ upcoming action RPG Scalebound, this is not the case. You play as Drew, a human youth who is bonded to a dragon named Thuban. This bond, while granting Drew and Thuban increased powers and heightened abilities, is alsor deadly, causing the death of the other when one falls in battle. Your pal Thuban can be upgraded with different draconic abilities and you yourself can absorb draconic power to become a dragon/human hybrid. Coordination with Thuban is key to victory and even though he is AI controlled, there are various ways to give him orders and control him during combat. Thuban can also become a mode of transportation for the player, making the game that much more awesome. Be on the lookout for this one when it drops sometime next year.

System Shock (2017)

Remake of a sci-fi classic

The year is 1994. PC gaming was still in its infancy. Along came a title that blew everyone out of the water, not only for its amazing gameplay but also its well fleshed out narrative. A sci-fi story to rival that of the terminator series, System Shock put you in control of a nameless hacker who, after agreeing to hack the AI in control of a space station, wakes up from a “healing” coma to find that the AI went rogue and has either killed, mutated or transformed all humans into cyborgs. What follows is a fight for survival against SHODAN, the renegade AI, and its devilish creations. This was the plot for the original System Shock and as far as we know, the new 2017 remake will keep the plot faithful to the original while adding new features. The spiritual predecessor to the Bioshock series, this is one game I’m sure many gamers are excited to have remade.

Shenmue 3

Ryo Hazuki finally resumes his quest for revenge in 2017

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. It’s the year 2000 and Sega’s Dreamcast is the hottest console around, and although its reign was short-lived, it delivered some truly great gaming gems. Of particular note was Shenmue, a tale about martial artist teen Ryo Hazuki on a quest to avenge the death of his father at the hands of martial arts master, Lan Di. What followed was an adventure with depth and detail never seen before and rarely since. Shenmue was, at the time, the most expensive game ever to be developed with a price tag on its development rumored to be $70 million. Although the game was praised by critics and gamers alike, it and its sequel Shenmue II were financial flops. This pretty much sealed the fate for the already planned Shenmue III and although fans spent years clamoring for a 3rd installment in the series, it seemed as though we would never witness a continuation of Ryo’s epic quest. However, thanks to an enormously successful Kickstarter campaign, fans everywhere can rejoice because this 3rd entry is becoming a reality.

Shenmue III finds Ryo having traveled from Japan to China still in search of Lan Di. There he meets the mysterious Ling Shenhua, a girl he had previously seen in his dreams and they embark together on a journey to discover their shared destiny and hopefully bring them face to face with Lan Di. While this game is still in development, work seems to be progressing well and what little has been shown of the game looks great. It has been almost 16 years since the last Shenmue title and it’s starting to look as if the wait was well worth it.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Bloodstained is a spiritual successor from the brilliant mind of Koji Igarashi

Fans of the Castlevania series were shocked and saddened by the departure of series director Koji Igarashi from Konami. He was responsible for the style of gameplay first seen in Symphony of the Night, dubbed Metroidvania. Luckily for fans, even though Igarashi-san is no longer at Konami, his development on these types of games has not gone away. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series and it looks amazing. The art is gorgeous, the game being presented in 2.5D in order to connect with the Castlevania titles developed by Igarashi-san.

The story follows the orphan girl Miriam whom, after being afflicted with an alchemist’s curse that turns her skin to crystal, must traverse a castle filled with demons and other monstrosities in order to find a summoner named Gebel to stop the curse. Like Shenmue III, this game was born out of a successful Kickstarter campaign and so far it’s looking amazing. Gameplay is very akin to that of post SOTN Castlevanias, with Miriam defeating enemies in order to level up and acquire new weapons and armor. As a fan of this style of Castlevania, I can’t wait for this game. While it is expected to release in either late 2017 or even early 2018 (sad face) we can be sure the wait will definitely be worth it.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

For the first time ever Ghost Recon is going open world in Wildlands

For a series of games with 9 previous entries, Ghost Recon is definitely spicing things up in Wildlands. Taking a step back from the previous entry in the series, Advanced Warfighter and its futuristic setting, Wildlands will take players to the South American nation Bolivia in order to take down the Santa Blanca drug cartel and expose their ties to the local government. A first for the series, Wildlands will be open world and will offer an unprecedented scale of such. Ubisoft themselves stated that this is one of the biggest open world games they have ever created, with various environments such as jungles, mountains, forests and saltpans as well as dynamic weather and a day/night cycle.

This 3rd person tactical shooter is based on current tech available to armed forces around the world, with some new toys thrown in the mix. Missions can be reached by different means, it’s not all drive here and shoot bad guys. Assaulting a mountain stronghold? Try parachuting in. Enemies spotting you easily? Come back at night and take advantage of the darkness. Players are also free to explore the world in-between missions in any way they see fit and take on side-missions if they so choose, another first for the Ghost Recon series. This game offers 4 player co-op for those looking to coordinate assault tactics with their friends or if you’re the lone wolf type you can take 3 AI companions along for the ride. Another great installment in one of the best tactical shooter series in history, Wildlands is set to release March 7th 2017.

Action games tend to be very similar, most of them follow the formula of “Go here, Kill this” but 2017 is looking to grab that formula and toss it out the window. Whether it be a remake of an old hit like System Shock, a long awaited sequel like Shenmue III, or an action packed new IP like For Honor, PC gaming in 2017 is definitely looking to deliver  in many aspects and we can all be excited for one title or another. So get ready to free up some space on your hard drive, next year is going to bring a lot of gems!

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