My Top 5 Most Anticipated Xbox One AAA Exclusives of 2014

Post by Robert (A Virtual Duck), Week of February 17th 2014

Xbox One has a very large selection of AAA exclusives coming with more than a few first and third party studios working on them. Microsoft Studios is working to secure the best of the best for Xbox One, and even through 2014 Xbox has more of the most anticipated exclusives than any other console on the market. Here are my most anticipated exclusives for 2014.

5. Halo Xbox One

Halo Xbox One is expected to bounce Halo back from the quicksand of obscurity that threatens it after the botched job that was Halo 4. With a new platform with more horsepower, and the power of the cloud to rely on, Halo Xbox One has been confirmed to run at 1080p 60fps, and to include dedicated servers in the technical mastery that are the DirectX12 resources it will use, including the titan of space-saving and texture rendering that is Tiled Resources. 

Halo is the defender of Microsoft's technological prowess. Forza 5 has held the title but is being passed over in irrelevance due to the fair amount of titles running at a lower resolution on Xbox One. Despite the fact the high-quality upscaler means there is little difference, Microsoft need a game that pushes the boundaries of the platform in every way, in the "nice looking stuff" area, the resolution, and a steady 60fps. 343 Industries are ready to scratch that itch.

Oh, and it needs to have the classic Halo gameplay as a central feature, or Halo is going to crash and burn...and sink into irrelevancy. #

Halo Xbox One has no release date except "Late 2014". It will not come to any other platforms.

4. Titanfall

Titanfall is the premier FPS of 2014. The beta has had an extremely welcoming reception from critics and players alike, praising the game not for its good, but admittedly not amazing, graphics (792p 60fps, 900p upscaled to 1080p in the full game), but for its innovative but still recognizable and quick-paced gameplay. Respawn Games has done a good job on this one.

The gameplay is simple to understand: A Titan (essentially an angry mech) will drop at your feet to assist you in eliminating the enemy team, and the enemy team's AI players, every three minutes. The Titan can also be boarded to control and use tactically. Each team has 6 regular players, a possible total of 6 titans, and 12 AI players (Grunts and Spectres, the latter of which is actually a worthy opponent), all of which respawn at their respective intervals. 

Killing enemies (AI or players) skips the Titan clock ahead depending on how many points they are worth. Titans are big and chunky but very powerful, whereas a naked (comparatively) Pilot (player) is quick and dangerous, but not very powerful. 

The game is based around parkour-like combat, and it's dangerous to stay in one place for too long. The game also includes campaign-multiplayer, literally missions based in an online match. Another big innovation is being able to change the AI's alliegences from the enemy to your team, with your data knife. This means the enemy can become your buddies if you stab them, which is strange...I guess.

Standby for Titanfall on 11th March 2014 (or 13th in Europe).

This one isn't totally Xbox One exclusive, it is also due to PC on March 11th/13th, and Xbox 360 on March 24th.

3. Kinect Sports Rivals

Kinect Sport Rivals is fun. There's no getting around that. It's accurate, realistic (rendering at 1080p 30fps) and it wants to reintroduce competition to motion gaming. Yes, you are going to have to put in physical work, boo hoo. Rare, the studio that created all previous Kinect Sports titles, are out to beat their own record of quality, with beautiful HD graphics, amazing open environments using the power of the system, and accurate motion detection with the Xbox One Kinect. It will also include Forza 5's innovation of "driveatars" which copy your style of play, and keep playing in other people's games. Be excited. I am.

Kinect Sports Rivals is due 8th April 2014.

2. Sunset Overdrive

Xbox One Exclusive Sunset Overdrive promises almost everything I've ever wanted in a game. Offering a truly open and dynamic world (and I mean dynamic, if the devs ever wanted to replace a shopping mall with a communist monument they just need to press upload), crazy weapons (such as a disc flinger), loads of AI on screen (although not touching Dead Rising 3), and mutants (FTW), this Third Person Shooter (including RPG elements) is everything I want on a Next Gen system. Developed by Insomniac Games (previously developing only for Sony), Microsoft have snagged a winner here. It even uses incredible parkour mechanics to rival and shame Titanfall.

Also, dat mutant blood. My body is ready, but my wallet is shrinking preordering all these games.

Sunset Overdrive has no defined release date other than "2014".

1. Quantum Break

What is Quantum Break?

Your brother was killed by a time manipulation experiment that you were both forced into, and now time is beginning to collapse. Don't stop there though...you have also received time manipulation powers from the experiment. You can pause time in a specific area (such as the air around bullets or a car) step out of the way or wait for your enemies to walk in their path, and  then set the time-lapsed items back into motion. That could be painful for your enemies. 

This is another Third Person Shooter, but it isn't "another Third Person Shooter". This is the beautiful head of innovation appearing in the sea of clones and crap. Time can be manipulated, fast forwarded, skipped, reversed, and simply paused to explore at your leisure. You are playing to stop the collapse of time, which is due to the bad guy. It also has story choices which dramatically affect the story arc. That's all we know for now. However, it's looking beautiful and a great catch for Microsoft. 

You are playing as both the "good" and "evil" characters in the game, and your choices are made both from the "good" view in some episodes, and the "bad" in the others. 

Remedy have included a live-action TV series on-disc, which adapts depending on your choices in-game. At the end of every game episode there is a choice, and that branches the story in many different directions. Does that make this an RPG? Anyway, I'm going to be forcing my family to watch the TV series with me.

I'm extremely excited for this game, and you should be too. Remedy, Microsoft's Naughty Dog, cannot, and will not, disappoint.

Quantum Break doesn't have a release date other than "2014".