Killer Instinct
http://youtu.be/aUaNHjB1hy0 In 1994, to compete with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Rare produced an outstanding fighters that was better than any of the former mentioned. With a killer soundtrack, great game play, nice combos and gory finishing moves, it was everything that you could want from the SNES. This launch title took all of that and made a Dead or Alive 4 clone. It plays woefully, the soundtrack is bland, the characters look like no effort was made with them at all and overall it will be this generation's "poor standard new console fighter" instead of a homage to the mighty KI. Good start, Xbox One.
Ryse: Son Of Rome
The title is stylistically misspelled proving that this game wishes to make you dumber from the get go. Set in Rome, as viewed by someone who thinks Gladiator was a documentary, you play as a Roman general on his path to greatness, or some contrived BS. This is a God of War clone, but one without the charm or tongue in cheek understanding of why those games are great. This commits the moral sin of trying to dress up as a historical experience rather than being a phoned in mess. The multiplayer is what I've had the most experience with at the Expo. This throws you into the arena and you battle as series of gladiatorial matches. So, the setting is clichéd, a random collection of "Roman stuff" is in the background, the combat is confusing to those that haven't muddled through 2000's Rune. A poor idea that was executed about as badly as you would expect.
Dead Rising 3
Remember when games were fun and everything wasn't super realistic and serious? For me, this was embodied by the Dead Rising series: a playful, yet satisfying take on the horror/zombie genre by Capcom. Well, that is kid's stuff. We need more blood, less fun and an open world setting. Yay! That is until you realise that all of that is the total opposite to the charm of the first two games. There is the workbench feature and you can create combo vehicles now but this is a pandering token at best. It's less survival horror and more mindless 720p violence.
Call Of Duty: Ghosts
Malibu Stacy will get a new hat this year. Enjoy! Should you get it? Well, that is up to you. I would advice that you wait and see what happens. This feels like a rushed, buggy but overall pointless console. As a result of the ethos pushed by the Xbox groupthink, this feels like an add on to the Xbox 360 rather than something new, something Earth shattering. Unlike previous generations in which there would be a huge leap forward in the quality and the graphical output of its games. This 8th Generation, on the Microsoft side, seems to be following the path of Sega. That's right, I have just compared the Xbox One to the 32X and the Sega CD.
Like Sega, Microsoft are trying to hold its core base for as long as possible after the mega success of an earlier console. In the past, the "life support" means of extending the life of the, let's say, Genesis was an attempt to try and improve the gaming experience of the player while they waited for the Saturn console. The Xbox One is a cynical ploy to push everything, on a gaming front, that sold very well in the last generation but give FPS' a "new hat" while at the same time trying to catch the "casual market" with its focus on non-gaming entertainment. Before you attack me in the comments, think about what I said. And, I am not a "fanboy" of the PS4. In fact, I have no idea if the PS4 is any better. I was a huge Xbox fan; I love my Xbox and my Xbox 360. But with this, I don't know. It plays like I thought it would, cold and heartless. This is a rushed cash grab in time for Christmas. It might get better, but until we get more than a desecration of a retro fighter and a score of FPS', that look the same as they do on the Xbox 360, I can wait. If you're expected something other than an expensive PS3 with an omnipresent camera and worse games you will be disappointed.