A look ahead at the next generation of gaming - Battlefield 4, The Witcher 3 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

Battlefield 4

This gameplay demo that was revealed at E3 shows a squad of soldiers infiltrating an aircraft carrier and getting into a firefight with enemy forces before the layout of the level is radically changed by the Frostbite 3 Engine.

As the soldiers make their way through the dark, lower decks of the ship, we can see a high level of detail not just on the equipment around the player but also on his weapons and his squadmates. In the ensuing firefight, we can see how the Frostbite 3 allows for major deformation to occur even in a relatively bland interior environment. The firefight also shows off some impressive lighting and particle effects as electronics shatter and explode in a shower of sparks.

Having cleared out the room, the squad moves through a door to a dark hallway. Suddenly, the hallway, and the entire ship itself, is torn in two and we’re treated to a spectacular show as debris and metal go flying but not before the shorn side of the ship falls back down, against the side where our soldiers still stand. Now, with a clear exit route, the soldiers jump onto the now exposed top deck of the ship to continue taking the fight to their enemies.

The firefight on the deck is even more impressive as it shows off a few interesting gameplay mechanics, the first of which seems to be a method of controlling your AI squadmates by directing them to move and attack enemy positions. With the enemies occupied, the player begins destroying the environment enough to let loose an F14 fighter plane that crushes their enemies before careening into the sea in a massive shower of sparks and debris. Another interesting bit I noticed during the outdoor firefight was how the player appeared to be using two different scopes on the same weapon.

Battlefield 4 should prove to be just as amazing as its predecessor, Battlefield 3, while delivering higher quality visuals, a higher level of destruction in environments as well as allowing larger amounts of players in online, multiplayer games. Battlefield 4 will be available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in October 2013 and on next generation consoles in November.

The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3 is a fantasy RPG that is the final chapter in the story of Geralt of Rivia. In a land where strife and political upheaval are unending, Geralt is a Witcher, a trained monster hunter who is not entirely human. In The Witcher 3, Geralt continues his quest to find his lost love and uncover the truth behind the mythical Wild Hunt.

I only became familiar with this series after playing The Witcher 2. It was a much different RPG than I had ever played, one that focused as greatly on storytelling and choice as it did on intense combat where careful planning and preparation were just as important as tactical movement and attack. While the second game in the Witcher series was a more directed experience, following Geralt’s quest to regain his memory from area to area, the third game promises a massive, open-world setting that is larger than all previous iterations. Developer CD Projekt Red even claims that the world of The Witcher 3 will be even larger than that of Skyrim, a feat that hardly sounds possible.

In the third and final installment of Geralt’s story, CD Projekt Red is trying to create a world where the player has the freedom to explore anywhere and take on any quest while still maintaining the deep storytelling that the first two games were known for. In addition to telling a compelling story in an open-world environment, I’ll be interested to see how heavily your choices while playing weigh on the game’s course and outcome. For instance, The Witcher 2 can play out very differently depending on the quests you take and the alliances you forge. If the third title is to capture the same feeling, weight will need to be added to your decisions – something that is not easy to accomplish in an open-world game.

The Witcher 3 has a tentative release date of 2014 for PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

Over the years, I’ve fallen in and out of love with the Assassin’s Creed series. I played the very first game in the series and wasn’t a big fan. The mechanics didn’t feel very tight and the objectives all felt pretty tedious. I didn’t end up playing it for very long before putting it aside for good. Considering my experience with the first title, I’m not even sure how I came to play the second one, but I’m glad I did. Assassin’s Creed 2 improved on almost everything that the first title did, basically making the title a giant open-world sandbox title set in the Italian Renaissance.

The sequels to Assassin’s Creed 2 were fun but didn’t do much to add onto the second title. The biggest change to the series overall came with Assassin’s Creed 3 as the historical setting moved to America during the time of the Revolutionary War and also placed more importance on the modern day story of Desmond and his team. The third numbered entry in the series, for the first time, allowed players to free run across the vast wilderness of North America as well as the growing city of Boston. Along with the forest free running, Assassin’s Creed 3 also introduced sailing, which was my absolute favorite aspect of the game. Sprinting through the tree tops while stalking deer was fun, sure, but it didn’t hold a candle to taking to the high seas and engaging other ships in combat. Heck, even just sailing your boat was fun enough and I remember in my review, lamenting that there wasn’t more opportunity to sail your ship outside of side missions.

And it seems rather than creating a straight sequel to Connor’s story in Assassin’s Creed 3, Ubisoft opted to move to another entirely new setting for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Players will take on the role of Edward Kenway, a British privateer-turned-pirate and also Connor’s grandfather. Being that it’s a game about pirates, sailing and naval combat will have a large role in Black Flag and if the video above is true to the game, there should even be opportunities for ship-to-ship combat. The Wikipedia entry for Black Flag also mentions that there will be “open-ended ship-based exploration” as well as land exploration over a number of Caribbean Island and even parts of southern Florida. I can’t wait to see more of Black Flag and I’ll be counting the days until I can fulfill my childhood dream of sailing the open seas in search of buried treasure.