As we say goodbye to 2016, which was, in almost every possible way, a great year for games, both console and mobile, we wonder what the incoming 2017 has in store for us.
Here are five of the most exciting games to look forward to in 2017.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Grand theft horsey returns next year, a full seven years since we last got to play 2010’s divine original as outlaw John Marston. The first trailer – the only thing we have to go on at the moment – gives us practically next to nothing concrete, providing only the merest of glimpse at what’s in store in Red Dead Redemption 2. Once again, we will be playing in the same territories as before, likely with a different protagonist as John didn’t survive the first runout. Sorry for the spoiler but you’ve had six years to find that out. This will probably take place after the original and that the towns will be more developed than before. We saw the industrial progress being made in RDR1’s storyline so it seems only natural to continue this development here. As for the characters, we know there is a magnificent seven in the poster art, so maybe we will be playing as a gang of outlaws. But who is the leader of the gang? Jack Marston perhaps? Who knows, but all will be slowly revealed in true Rockstar style between now and next autumn/winter when it will be released.
Gangstar: New Orleans
Gangstar: New Orleans is an upcoming game from developers Gameloft. It’s a mobile take on GTA and set in New Orleansin an openworld style. Free to play open worlds are growing and getting bigger, better and deeper as the phones that they run on improve and advance each year. GNO might just be the biggest and best of them yet. The fiendishly secretive Gameloft have form in this arena and GNO will make up just a part of their 2017 offering which will also include Modern Combat Versus,Asphalt Xtreme and, for those who no amount of zombie games is too many, Zombie Anarchy. But, if you fancy a healthy slice of cloned GTA for the mobile, then watch this space.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
As the incoming NX comes to market to confine the unloved WiiU to console heaven where it will live out its days for all eternity with the equally rejected Sega pair of Dreamcast and Saturn, Nintendo will be breathing new life into one the favourite franchises. Launching with the Nintendo newbie is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which should be a close relation to the original NES game from multiple decades ago. As ever, players can expect the usual vast world, filled to the brim with monsters, dragons and the likeand should be a drastic shift from the 2DS, 3DS and even WiiUhand held adventures we have become used to over the years. It has the early feelings of an instant classic.
Warlords: Crystals of Power
Upcoming from Scandinavian-based NetEnt, the new title Warlords: Crystals of Power promises to provide a slots experience like no other before it. The slots and pokies industry has been very successful with popular providers like All Slots Casino continuing to grow online. NetEnt has also steadily worked on developing games that enhance the experience of classic casino games and Warlords is set in a time where rulers would conquer the land and riches of others. After the apocalyptic war that devastated the land, only three rulers are left remaining. These are The Barbarian, The Priestess and The Samurai who must now defeat each other and claim everything for themselves. This particular online video slots game will run on 5-reels, 3-rows, 30 fixed lines and will feature Wild substitutions, Stacked symbols, Scatter symbols, Re-Spins, Free Spins and Random Features.The game will flourish with gorgeous looking animations, an awesome soundtrack, and a massive range of special features. NetEnt promise that the three character design will triple the fun of the user but will it triple the payouts?
Sea of Thieves
Coming next year for PC and Xbox only is the pirate epic, Sea of Thieves. There has been a pirate shaped hole missing in this reviewer’s life since we left the Jackdaw behind in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, so here’s to hoping that the void is about to be filled. Sea of Thieves will be an open-world pirate adventure with, from the looks of the trailer, strongonline multiplayer elements. These multiplayers and you will make up a crew of hearty braves as you plunder your way across the seven seas. The seven seas, it has to be said, look really rather lush in the aforementioned trailer. Anyway, playing as the first person, you must find buried treasure, look out for enemy crews, engage in sword fights, hunt for lands to loot and bars to frequent and other pirate things. Go easy on the rum though, as your in-game, first person viewing point will distort and blur on inebriation. This one looks a lot of fun.