Next-Gen November
November is going to be one of the biggest months of gaming we’ve seen in a very long time. Not only do we have two major new generation consoles coming out this month, but we also have a slew of release games to accompany them. In fact, the launch list for each console is exhaustive and the competition has already started, with quite a few day one exclusive games on each.
Sony’s Playstation 4 will be the first next gen console hitting store shelves on November 15th, a full week before the X-Box One launch date on November 22nd. While it seems Microsoft struggled at first, following the botched X-box One announcement back in June, reportedly both consoles are completely sold out until next year. So, if you planned to get a new console without pre-ordering, be prepared to camp out in front of a retailer for a few days and hope they have a few non pre-order units.
Many of the games coming out day one on both consoles are ‘generation crossover titles;’ that is, games that will be both on current generation and next generation consoles. Games such as CoD: Ghost, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and Battlefield 4 will be on both new consoles on day one for those who either waited, or plan on double dipping. Despite the heavy use of crossover titles, both consoles boast a good amount of console exclusives themselves.
Notably, the X-Box One totes Dead Rising, Killer Instinct, and Forza Motorsport as their exclusive day one titles along with many others. Alternatively, the PS4 has released a large list of day one exclusives including Killzone: Shadow Fall, Resogun, Knack, and Warframe. While this is not the complete list of all of the exclusives, you can find a more complete list of exclusives here.
Undeterred by the release of the new consoles, Bioshock Infinite’s first story-based downloadable content releases on November 12th, right before Sony’s PS4. Burial at Sea: Episode One is the first in a two-part series that will feature the days before Rapture’s fall and presumably the fall itself, and should prove very interesting for long-time fans of the series. Burial at Sea: Episode One will feature new weaponry and a new plasmid ability called Old Man Winter– Sign me up!
Another piece of downloadable content to get excited about is the new expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown called Enemy Within. The expansion promises to add a ton of new content, including a base attack, new enemy types, and new upgrade paths for your soldiers through the new cybernetics lab. Unfortunately, in order to get XCOM Enemy Within on console, you’ll be required to purchase the new retail release of the whole XCOM package, which includes all of the previous downloadable content, as well. Enemy Within will be available for purchase November 12th.
Not to be outdone, Nintendo will release their new Zelda title: A Link Between Worlds toward the end of the month on November 22, the same day as the X-Box One release. A Link Between Worlds is a indirect sequel to the original A Link to the Past, taking place six generations after. Watching gameplay videos, it appears that the gameplay may transition prospective from the top-down view to 3D in some parts of the game, similar to Mario 3D lands switching from 2D to 3D gameplay. Being a big fan of A Link to the Past during the SNES days, I am very excited about this release.
Quick Release List:
- PS4 – November 12th
- Bioshock: Burial at Sea: Episode One – November 12th
- XCOM: Enemy Within – November 12th
- X-Box One – November 22nd
- Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – November 22
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