A bumper crop of video games for fall

Besides Microsoft and Sony releasing new consoles, it’s going to be a busy season for video gamers. Here’s a look at what’s coming in the next few months.

Hardware In November (the exact date hasn’t been announced), Microsoft’s Xbox One entertainment console will be released. Priced at $500, it comes with the next version of Kinect, the peripheral that allows for controller-free gaming. Sony’s PlayStation 4 arrives on November 15. It costs $400 and won’t include a variant controller. Other than that, the two consoles are very similar. Both will play Blu-ray Discs. Both have 8 GB of RAM, an 8-core processor, and a 500 GB hard drive. Neither will be backwards compatible with existing games. What will separate the PS4 and the Xbox One are the games you’ll play on them.

Next-gen exclusives

From Sony for the PS4 are Knack and Killzone: Shadow Fall. The former is an action platformer in which the player’s character can incorporate objects from the environment into its body (à la Katamari Damacy). The latter is a first-person shooter that explores the conflict between two humanoid races separated by massive walls. Among the Xbox One exclusives are Dead Rising 3, developed by Capcom Vancouver, which takes place 10 years after the events of the previous game. With a fully open world, players can now craft weapons on the fly. Killer Instinct is a reboot of the head-to-head fighting game that includes special attacks and ultra combos.

PS4, Xbox One non-exclusives

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft; also on PS3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360) is a prequel of sorts to last year’s game. Set in the Caribbean, your base of operations is a pirate ship.

There’s a story you can play in Battlefield 4 (Electronic Arts; also on PC, PS3, Xbox 360), but most will want to engage in wild, 64-player battles on three fronts: air, land, sea. In addition to the four base classes, there’s a commander class that allows elite players to issue orders directly to squad leaders.

Multiplayer is also where it’s at with Call of Duty. The next incarnation of the franchise, Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision; also on PS3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360), allows for full character customization in multiplayer, including female troops. The single-player campaign includes a dog.

EA Canada’s massively successful soccer franchise gets another upgrade with FIFA 14 (EA Sports; also on PS2, PS3, PS Vita, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360). It has a revised career mode that allows players to acquire talent from any club in the world through a network of scouts.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Warner Bros.; also on DS, 3DS, PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360) introduces “big figs”, which are up to three times larger—and stronger—than standard mini fig characters. There are some 100 characters to play and unlock.

Don’t get too paranoid when you play Watch Dogs (Ubisoft; also PS3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360), in which protagonist Aiden Pearce uses his cellphone as a weapon, controlling electronic devices and “jumping” from one surveillance camera to another.

Games for current systems

Set before the incidents of 2009 took place at Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros.; PS3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360), developed in Montreal, has Batman fighting off assassins who’ve come to Gotham at the invitation of Black Mask.

In Beyond: Two Souls (Sony), you take on the guise of Jodi Holmes and the invisible companion that protects her. You play through 15 years of her life, during three critical phases: age 8, 15, and 22. The non-linear narrative means that you’ll sometimes witness consequences before causes.

The jam-packed Elder Scrolls Anthology (Bethesda; PC) includes all five games and expansions in the franchise: Arena, Daggerfall (II), Morrowind (III), Oblivion (IV), and Skyrim (V).

Set in the biggest open world ever created by Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar; PS3, Xbox 360) has three protagonists. You’ll play each of them, even switching between them in the midst of a mission. When you’re playing as one, the AI controls the others.

The new puzzle-solving mechanic in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo; 3DS) involves Link becoming two- dimensional and moving onto the surface of a wall in order to get around obstacles.

NHL 14 (EA Sports), from Burnaby’s EA Canada, includes NHL 94 Anniversary Mode, so you can play the hockey sim as it was 20 years ago, when it first started turning heads.

The clever Tearaway (Sony; PS Vita) comes from the developers responsible for LittleBigPlanet. Showcasing nearly every capability of the Vita handheld, the concept is that the game takes place in a world of paper.

The Wonderful 101 (Nintendo; Wii U) is a bright and light action game for up to five players (one on the touchscreen tablet controller and four with game pads). Your mission is to rescue ordinary citizens while recruiting 100 heroes to help save the world from an alien invasion.