Gamepressure.com Staff Picks 2013

Akcji 17 September 2013

The fifth major installment in the massively popular action game series developed by Rockstar North in cooperation with Take Two Interactive. Grand Theft Auto V is set in a fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles). The story revolves around adventures of three characters: Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips, and Franklin Clinton, men infamous for brushing up against the law. The game’s creators stayed true to the franchise tradition of sandbox gameplay model, giving players an unparalleled freedom of choice when it comes to completing missions and moving around the virtual city. The game's budget amounted to 360 million dollars, a record number for a video game.

X360

RPG 23 October 2013

An online action RPG from Grinding Gear Games, a developer team from New Zealand. The action of Path of Exile is set in a fantasy world which was destroyed by a grand cataclysm. The players assume the role of exiles who try to survive in the dangerous continent of Wraeclast. The gameplay is focused on cooperation in teams of several players that traverse instance-based locations together. Each character can be developed choosing from more than 1300 skills. Visually, Path of Exile is inspired by the classics of the action RPG genre (Diablo, Sacred, and others), including the isometric camera. The game is free-to-play, but offers some additional facilities and items via optional micropayments.

PC

Akcji 05 March 2013

The tenth iteration of adventures of Lara Croft, released as a reboot of the original, cult action-adventure series - Tomb Raider. The game was developed by Crystal Dynamics Studios under the auspices of Eidos Montreal. Their goal was to re-imagine the heroine in a new, grittier way. The game is set on an island near the coast of Japan, where young Lara Croft came in search for relics of ancient civilizations. Unfortunately, she gets shipwrecked during a storm. The protagonist survives, but now she has to fight for survival in a mysterious, deadly place. As compared with the previous installments, the new Tomb Raider offers much greater freedom of exploration, and introduces some innovations in gameplay mechanics, such as crafting and a character progression system. The game is powered by the very efficient Crystal Engine, able to generate high quality visuals.

PC

Akcji 29 October 2013

The fourth major installment in a bestselling TPP action-adventure game series. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal in cooperation with other Ubisoft’s inner studios. The main story in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is set in 18th century. You meet a pirate captain Edward Kenway (the grandfather of Connor Kenway from Assassin's Creed III), who gets entangled in the age-long conflict between The Brotherhood of Assassins and the Order of Templars. Interwoven in the story are authentic places and historical events, as well as famous figures (including Edward Teach, Benjamin Hornigold, and Anne Bonny) related to the so called Golden Age of Piracy. The sandbox gameplay model offers the players the complete freedom of exploration and undertaking various missions. Complimentary to the solo mode, the game features an expansive multiplayer with a number of diverse maps and playable characters.

X360

Akcji 14 June 2013

An action adventure game in a post-apocalyptic survival horror setting, created by the Naughty Dog developer studio (known mainly from the Uncharted series) and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The story of Last of Us takes place in the nearby future – 20 years after a mysterious plague decimated the humanity and led to the fall of civilization. Two people – smuggler Joel (controlled by player) and a teenage orphan, Ellie, try to survive in a world filled with dangers. The gameplay revolves around exploring locations and fighting enemies using guns and environment (stones, table legs etc.). In addition to the single player campaign, the game offers fully functional online multiplayer with three different game modes: Supply Raid, Survivors, and Interrogation.

PS3

Akcji 26 March 2013

First person perspective action game released as a spin-off to the BioShock series. This title was produced by Irrational Games with publishing support from the 2K Games company. BioShock Infinite is set in an alternative version of the early 20th century. The main hero, private detective Booker DeWitt, arrives to Columbia, a city floating in the sky, where he needs to locate and rescue a woman named Elizabeth. Turns out she is extremely valuable to two factions competing for control over the city. While playing, you can make use of various fire arms and special powers (e.g. summoning ravens or using telekinesis). The game’s uniquely atmospheric visuals are generated by a modified version of Unreal Engine 3.

PC

Przygodowe 04 September 2013

A survival horror action adventure game. It is the debut project of the independent studio, Red Barrels, established by veterans of the gaming industry: David Chateauneuf, Philippe Morin, and Hugo Dallaire. Outlast’s story is set in an old asylum for mentally ill, adapted, by the Murkoff corporation, into a research center. Journalist Miles Upshur gets his hands on information that strange things occur in that place. Looking for a sensation, he breaks into the asylum, hoping to discover a shocking truth about the experiments and profane rituals. We observe the game world from first-person perspective, and our only weapon is a camera with infrared lens. Gameplay focuses on exploring locations and avoiding direct confrontation with enemies. Due to a terrifying atmosphere and gore aesthetics, game is aimed exclusively at adults.

PC

Strategiczne 03 September 2013

A grand-scale strategy game developed by British studio Creative Assembly. Total War: Rome II lets players become leaders of the nations of antiquity from the Roman Empire period and struggle for dominance over new territories. Like the past Total War games (e.g. Total War: Shogun 2 and Empire: Total War) gameplay combines turn-based and real-time activities. Your task is to manage you provinces and command armies. The game’s highlight are the spectacular battles of armies fielding thousands of units. The developers of Total War: Rome II carefully kept to historical truth when it comes to battle formations, weaponry, and tactics. High-quality graphics was achieved thanks to a modified version of the Warscape Engine.

PC

Sportowe 12 November 2013

A soccer simulation game, and the 21st installment in the FIFA series. The game was created by EA Canada development studio. As always, you can control players from your favorite teams in matches against living opponents or computer AI. FIFA 14's data base contains 15 thousand footballers from several dozen leagues from all over the world. As compared with the previous FIFA games, FIFA 14 brings about some crucial changes to gameplay mechanics, including improved ball physics. Furthermore, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions employ a new game engine, called Ignite (used also in Madden NFL 25), that ensures high quality graphics.

PS4

Akcji 14 May 2013

A post-apocalyptic survival-horror FPS developed by 4A Games studio from Ukraine. The plot continues the events of Metro 2033, a game published in 2010, while the story loosely alludes to the books by Dmitry Glukhowsky. The action takes place in a world of future, destroyed by nuclear bombing. A handful of Moscow citizens who have survived the explosion hid in the city’s subway network. Divided into several conflicted fractions, people try to fend off waves of mutated animals. The player assumes the role of Artem – a young man who tries to prevent a looming war between the survivors from happening. The gameplay combines elements of a dynamic, first-person shooter and a stealth game. When compared to the first installment, Metro: Last Light offers bigger locations and introduces an improved enemy AI. The game features high-quality graphics, as the developer's proprietary technology, the 4A Engine, has also been updated.

PC

Akcji 29 October 2013

Fourth main entry in the bestselling FPS series created and developed by the EA DICE team. The solo campaign shows a vision of military conflict between the United States, Soviet Union, and China. The story takes place in 2020 on the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Player takes on the role of a member of the US Marine Tombstone Squad, which is given the task of rescuing several high-ranked officials from the unsettled Shanghai. The strongest point of the game are its complex multiplayer skirmishes, allowing us to take part in online battles for up to 64 players. Developers made sure to offer a wide selection of game modes and maps with varied terrain and sizes.

PC

Strategiczne 25 June 2013

Second part of the highly successful military real-time strategy. Title was developed by Relic Entertainment and released by the SEGA company. Action of Company of Heroes 2 is once again set in the time of World War II. This time, however, players have the opportunity to take part in the events that took place on the Eastern Front. The main single player campaign focuses on commanding the Red Army, while in multiplayer, forces of the Third Reich are also available. Mechanics are based on solutions known from Company of Heroes, but the developers also decided to add new features, including a completely redesigned cover system and atmospheric conditions that affect units' mobility. Game was built on a new graphics engine Essence 3.0, which resulted in impressive visuals.

PC

Przygodowe 21 May 2013

A survival horror action game initially released exclusively for Nintendo 3DS. Resident Evil: Revelations is a spin-off installment of the Resident Evil series, created and developed by Capcom. The action takes place in 2005, between the events of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5. The players have the opportunity to accompany Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani in their search for Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawa. The trail leads to a ship called Queen Zenobia, the people aboard of which were infected by the t-Virus. Apart from the story campaign, Resident Evil: Revelations also offers the Raid Mode, a set of missions to perform solo or in cooperation with another person.

PC

Strategiczne 12 March 2013

The second episode of StarCraft II, a space real-time strategy trilogy by Blizzard Entertainment. The title was distributed as an expansion and requires StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in order to work. The story campaign is focused on the race of Zerg led by Sara Kerrigan, a character from the original StarCraft, who seeks revenge on the Terran emperor, Arcturus Mengsk. In subsequent missions, we will also encounter other famous characters, such as Jim Raynor, the ghost of Nova, and Matt Horner. In the second episode of the trilogy, the developers concentrated primarily on enhancing the multiplayer mode, introducing new units for every race as well as a character progression system and clan support. Some changes were also introduced to the gameplay mechanics — the interface was improved and the RPG elements were emphasized. The enhancements of the graphics engine translate into better graphics, more realistic physics, and spectacular visual effects.

PC

RPG 23 April 2013

An expanded version of the third-person action RPG, initially released in 2012, developed exclusively for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by Capcom. The action takes place in a vast fantasy world filled with a myriad of mythical creatures. The protagonist is a chosen one who comes back to life, after having been killed by a dragon, to slay his murdered and uncover the truth about his own identity. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, apart from the story campaign featured in the original, offers an additional adventure set in a completely new location, the cursed island of Bitterblack. In addition to a number of new quests, the production introduces a third skill level in character development, lots of new equipment, as well as new enhancements and modification methods. The game is complemented by all minor DLCs that came out after the launch of the basic version. Furthermore, the developers have improved several gameplay mechanics, which translates into an even better gaming experience.

X360

Sportowe 15 November 2013

The next installment in the series of sports games dedicated to the immensely popular discipline, which is basketball. The Visual Concepts studio is responsible for the series, developed by 2K Games initially only on consoles. In the game, we can manage one of the selected basketball teams, leading it to success in one of the wide range of single and multiplayer modes.

PS4

Strategiczne 13 August 2013

The fourth installment in a highly popular strategic game franchise - Europa Universalis. The title was developed by Paradox Development Studio. In accordance with the tradition of the series, Europa Universalis IV lets you command and develop a chosen nation over the course of several centuries. This time the historical framework spans from 11 November 1444 to 2 January 1821. The gameplay is based on classic solutions of the 4X genre (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate). The player has to manage his provinces, develop new technologies, command armies, and conduct diplomacy. Apart from AI enemies the game offers online multiplayer for up to 32 people.

PC

Zręcznościowe 29 August 2013

An action 2D platform game starring a sympathetic creature of a protagonist. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and is the fifth full-fledged installment in the series created by Michel Ancel. This time the titular protagonist and his friend Globox must face nightmares which have created amazing worlds during the 100 years they have spent in the Crossroads of Dreams. Rayman must also free the Teensies captured by the clone of the deceptive Magician. Gameplay mechanics and the visual style of Rayman Legends are similar to the mechanics and style of the previous Rayman game (Rayman Origins). The new features in the game include musical levels and a system that allows other players to freely join the game in split-screen cooperation mode.

X360

Sportowe 31 October 2013

Football manager strategy game, the next instalment of the popular Football Manager series. Players once again have the opportunity to take on the role of manager of their favourite football teams to try and bring them to the top of the football table. The task requires both management of the team's sporting skills (acquiring new players, establishing match tactics, imposing training regimes, etc.) and skilful management of the club's finances.

PC

Wyścigi 04 October 2013

An extensive simulation of Formula One races, using the official license of Formula One World Championship Limited. The game was produced by the British studio Codemasters Software, whose output also includes such series as TOCA Race Driver and Colin McRae DiRT. Like its predecessors, F1 2013 allows players to take on the role of a race car driver and compete against artificial intelligence or live opponents on a faithfully recreated track.

PC

Strategiczne 12 November 2013

First huge add-on to the tactical strategy game, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, released in 2012. Created by the developer team at Firaxis Games, the expansion introduces many new features to basic game. One of the most important among them is a new resource – meld, a type of microscopic, robotic organisms that can modify human genotype. This allows humans to improve their body and even integrate mechanical parts into themselves. The add-on introduces a new soldier class as well – Mec Trooper - along with a special building to “produce” him, two types of aliens (Seeker and Mechtoid) and a new human organization, EXALT, trying to use alien technology to conquer the world. There are also new types of weapons, skills, and maps for multiplayer matches.

PC

Akcji 09 July 2013

A fantasy MOBA game (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) that combines elements of real-time strategy, action RPG, and action adventure game. This title was produced by Valve Software as a follow up to the popular Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos modification, Defense of the Ancients. Just like the original mod, Dota 2 focuses on clashes of two teams made up of up to 5 people, each one controlling one hero. The key to victory is the proper usage of the unique abilities of the heroes and cooperation. When it comes to technical aspects, the game is powered by the popular Source engine, the technology capable of hitting the sweet spot between visual quality and relatively low system requirements.

PC

Strategiczne 29 May 2013

The sequel to Wargame: Cold War, a real-time war strategy game released in 2012. Wargame: AirLand Battle takes the player to the peak period of the Cold War (1975-1985), allowing the player to take part in fictional military operations of NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Northern Europe. Like the original, the game offers several variants of play in single-player and multiplayer modes. Players have over 750 types of combat units at their disposal, representing the military forces of 12 countries.

PC

Akcji 24 April 2013

Monaco is an independent action game, in which players have the opportunity to play as thieves robbing valuables. Creators from Pocketwatch Games emphasize that Monaco was inspired by Pacman and the film Ocean's Eleven. The task of players is to avoid traps, obstacles and guards, reach the defended treasure, take it away and escape from the place of the theft.

PC

Symulacje 23 October 2013

One of many add-ons to The Sims 3. The extension takes the sims into the future. Thanks to this it is possible to use futuristic gadgets and devices, as well as dress in clothes not directly from this earth. The creators have also made time travel available, which affects the lives of the guests.

PC

Towarzyskie 22 October 2013

The next instalment of the innovative game by Ubisoft studio which revolutionised the genre of popular music games promoted by Guitar Hero series by allowing to use an authentic electric or bass guitar as a controller. The core of the game is learning to play the guitar with the help of hits taken from the repertoire of the biggest rock and heavy metal music stars. Among the performers you will find Aerosmith, Green Day, Iron Maiden, Muse, Nirvana, Queen, The Police, Radiohead, Rolling Stones, Slayer and System Of A Down.

PC

Symulacje 25 June 2013

The Sims 3: Island Paradise is an extension to The Sims 3. The main theme of the patch is seaside holidays. Sima are given the opportunity to build their own holiday resort or floating house. In addition, there is the option of diving under the surface of the ocean.

PC

Logiczne 31 January 2013

Antichamber is a first person perspective (FPP) puzzle game that defies strict genre classification. Antichamber is the work of Alexander Bruce and is a commercial development of the popular mod Hazard: Journey of Life for Unreal Tournament 3. The game involves exploration of abstract locations and solving puzzles. The puzzles are designed on the basis of modern knowledge about the functioning of the human mind. Particular puzzles are not only an intellectual challenge, but also influence the emotions and perception of the game.

PC