2014 looks set to see some exciting releases for PC and both current and next generation consoles. As developers tap into the awesome power of the Xbox One and PS4, gamers can expect to see titles that are more advanced and more immersive than ever. Sciencefiction.com has carefully selected the most highly anticipated video games coming to your favorite platform this year.

1. ‘Destiny’:

  • Release Date: September 9, 2014
  • Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Playstation 4
  • Developer: Bungie Studios
  • Publisher: Activision

‘Destiny’ is an upcoming action role-playing first-person shooter video game set in a mythic science fiction open world setting.

‘Destiny’ has been described as an always-online first-person shooter that will incorporate massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements, but Bungie has avoided defining ‘Destiny’ as a traditional MMO game. Rather, the game is being referred to as a “shared-world shooter,” as it lacks many of the characteristics of a traditional MMO game. For instance, rather than players being able to see and interact with all other players in the game or on a particular server, Destiny will include on-the-fly matchmaking that will allow players to see and interact only with other players that are “matched” by the game.

The game is set seven hundred years into the future in a post-apocalyptic setting following a prosperous period of exploration, peace and technological advancement known as the Golden Age. In a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the solar system, an event known as “the Collapse” saw the mysterious dissolution of these colonies, the end of the Golden Age, and mankind teetering on the brink of extinction. The only known survivors of the Collapse are those living on Earth, who were saved by “the Traveler”, a white, spherical celestial body whose appearance centuries before had enabled humans to reach the stars. The Traveler now hovers above the last remaining human city, and its presence allows the “Guardians of the City”—the last defenders of the human race—the ability to wield an unknown power.

2. ‘Watch Dogs’: 

  • Release Date:  Spring 2014, TBA
  • Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PC
  • Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
  • Publisher:  Ubisoft

‘Watch Dogs’ is an open world action-adventure title set within a fictionalized version of Chicago, Illinois, in which players control an Irish-American vigilante named Aiden Pearce who can hack into various electronic devices tied to the city’s central operating system (ctOS), allowing various methods for the player to solve numerous objectives. Examples include hacking into people’s phones to retrieve bank data and steal funds, triggering malfunctions in equipment to distract other characters and hacking into traffic lights to cause collisions.

The storyline of ‘Watch Dogs’ is built around the concept of information warfare, data being interconnected and the world’s increasing use of technology—questioning who exactly runs the computers they depend on.

Ubisoft Montreal began development work on ‘Watch Dogs’ back in 2009 but the game was only officially unveiled during Ubisoft’s press conference at E3 2012. With ongoing release delays gamers have been waiting patiently for this title for long time.

3. Titanfall:

  • Release Date: Q2 2014
  • Platforms:  Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
  • Developer: Respawn Entertainment
  • Publisher: Electronic Arts (EA)

Titanfall is one of the most highly anticipated games for 2014 taking over 60 awards at its E3 2013 reveal, including a record-breaking six E3 Critics Awards.

Players fight either on foot as free-running “pilots” or inside agile mech-style walkers called “Titans” to complete team-based objectives on a derelict and war-torn planet as either the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) or the Militia. The game is online multiplayer-only, but injects single-player elements such as plot, character chatter, and non-player characters into its matches.

Up to twelve human players choose their pilot types and are dropped on the map, beginning the game. A timer displays the time until a Titan can be deployed, which is reduced by killing other players. Once deployed, Titans are protected by a forcefield for about 30 seconds, which protects the player-pilot as well. Pilots are agile and accumulate momentum while running, which lets players run on walls and chain together double jumps. Titanfal lis also rumoured to be compatible with the new Occulus Rift VR system.

4. ‘Thief’:

  • Release Dates: North America – February 25, 2014
  •  Australia – February 27, 2014
  •  Europe – February 28, 2014
  • Platforms:  PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One
  • Developer: Eidos Studios Montreal
  • Publisher: Square Enix

After a 10 year hiatus Garret the Thief returns. Officially announced in 2009, ‘Thief’ is technically the fourth game in the ‘Thief’ series from Eidos however, the game is being branded more a reboot than a sequel.

This first-person, stealth, adventure is set in a dark fantasy Victorian world and features intelligent game design that allows players to assume full control, with open sandbox missions providing players the freedom to choose their own path through the game’s levels and how they approach and overcome each challenge.

With stunning graphics, dynamic gameplay and a return to the roots of what made the ‘Thief’ franchise so successful, this title is one to watch.

5. ‘Tom Clancy’s – The Division’:

  • Release Date: Winter 2014
  • Platforms:  Xbox One, Playstation 4, Wii U, PC, Mac
  • Developer: Massive Entertainment
  • Publisher: Ubisoft

‘Tom Clancy’s The Division’ is an online multiplayer third-person tactical shooter action RPG. It was announced during Ubisoft‘s E3 2013 press conference, together with a seven minute gameplay demo. The Division will be running on a new Engine developed by Ubisoft called Snowdrop which will highlight improved features such as more advanced lighting effects, improved textures and increased player physical interactivity with the environment.

Gameplay revolves around a post-apocalyptic New York City and is inspired by Operation Dark Winter and Directive 51, real-world events that supposedly revealed how vulnerable and fragile society has become. In the game, a disease that spreads on Black Friday causes the United States to collapse in five days.  The player is part of a group called “Strategic Homeland Division (SHD)”, or “The Division” for short. This group was established to combat the threat and do whatever it takes to “save what remains” in a massive multiplayer online situation, putting them against friends, AI, and other players.

With a new engine and intensive development, ‘The Division’ looks to maximize the benefits of next gen console technology.

6. ‘Dying Light’:

  • Release Date: TBA 2014
  • Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
  • Developer:  Techland
  • Publisher: WB Interactive

‘Dying Light’ is a first-person open world action survival horror game set against the zombie apocalypse and is the latest game from Dead Island developer Techland.

‘Dying Light’ contains a dynamic day and night cycle. During the day, the player has to go out and scavenge for supplies to send back to the safe zones. They can also set up traps, save random survivors, and make their way to airdrops. The infected are slow, allowing the player to simply make their way past them, but their danger grows in numbers.

But when the night comes, so does the Night Hunter or “Volatile”, which is a rare special type of infected that only comes out at night. If spotted by this infected, escape is almost impossible. In order to escape them, the player will need to use tactics, distractions, and their Night Sense to survive until the morning’s first light.

‘Dying Light’ is definitely a step up from the ‘Dead Island’ series both graphically and mechanically with much more freedom of choice for players, more advanced character control and a more dynamic environment.

7. ‘The Order: 1866’:

  • Release Date: TBA 2014
  • Platforms: Playstation 4
  • Developers: Ready At Dawn Studios / SCE Santa Monica Studios
  • Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

‘The Order: 1886’ is a third-person action-adventure game that follows an alternate history surrounding a group known as the “Order” and their pursuit to stop monster-like creatures and ancient foes that threaten mans existence. ‘The Order: 1886’ essentially re-writes history by introducing a unique vision of a Victorian London where myths and technology co-exist. As a member of an elite order of knights, you will join a centuries-old war that will determine the course of history forever.

Utilizing the extra processing power of the PS4, ‘The Order: 1886’ is graphically rich in detail, textures and realism laced with a gritty steampunk aesthetic.

8. ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’:

  • Release Date: April 4, 2014
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, Xbox One
  • Developer: ZeniMax Online
  • Publisher: Bethesda Softworks       

Officially announced on May 3, 2012, ‘The Elder Scrolls Online‘ is a MMORPG set in the continent of Tamriel as per the previous titles in the franchise and will feature a storyline indirectly connected with the other games. ‘The Elder Scrolls’ will be set a thousand years before the events of ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ and around 800 years before ‘The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind’ and ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’, with the Daedric Prince Molag Bal appearing as the main antagonist as he attempts to pull all of Tamriel to his realm of Coldharbour.

Consoles are in desperate need of catching up to PC’s in the online MMORPG stakes. ‘The Elder Scrolls’ is definitely a step in the right direction and looks like a lot of fun. Definitely one to watch.

9. ‘Deep Down’:

  • Release Date: TBA
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4
  • Developer: Capcom
  • Publisher: Capcom

‘Deep Down’ is an intriguing online Free to Play RPG game coming from Capcom and is set in New York in the year 2094.

Ravens are a group of people that possess a special ability to read the memories of an object and hear voices of the past. As Ravens, players will proceed through dungeons in the past and investigate. There is a theme of ‘emotion’ in this game; there are various dungeons in the past that correspond to the feelings of human emotions. When you read a stone statue and enter a dungeon, things full of past thoughts and grudges are scattered around. If they touch those thoughts, they can read memories of the past.

The game has been compared to ‘Dark Souls’ with its dark dungeon atmosphere. Treasures, traps, and monsters await in the dark mazes. ‘Deep Down’ can have up to at least 3 players playing cooperatively to defeat monsters and find treasure. No two dungeons are ever the same. Capcom has opted to go with random iterations of rooms and dungeons each time you visit a new dungeon. Each dungeon has an infinite amount of variations like ladder locations and monster spawns.

‘Deep Down’ is the working title of the game and could be changed before the game is released sometime in 2014.

10. ‘Infamous: Second Son’:

  • Release Date March 21, 2014
  • Platforms: PlayStation 4
  • Developer: Sucker Punch
  • Publisher: SCEA

‘Infamous: Second Son’ is the third main entry in the ‘Infamous’ series and is set in a fictionalised Seattle, Washington seven years after ‘Infamous 2′, in which Cole MacGrath activated the Ray Field Inhibitor (RFI) to destroy a Conduit (the name given to superhumans with the ability to “channel” powers) named John White, also known as the Beast. The resulting explosion was originally thought to have killed all Conduits across the globe; however, those outside of the blast radius or with a natural resistance have apparently survived. Fearing the Conduits’ abilities after the destruction of Empire City, the US eastern seaboard and the worldwide economy, the Department of Unified Protection (DUP) is formed. Now, major cities across the United States are heavily monitored for Conduit activity, whom the DUP have labelled collectively as “bio-terrorists”.

The game will feature a new protagonist, Delsin Rowe, whose main ability is being able to absorb the power of other conduits. One notable change from previous games is that instead of the accessing an aiming system by holding down the L1 button, the player will not need to do so, and will just be able to fire whenever they want, using an on-screen reticle to aim. Parkour returns as a major element, and is executed in the same way; by jumping up walls, Delsin will automatically grab ledges, from which he can hang, pull himself to another ledge, or fire his weapons. The game will also make use of some of the DualShock 4 controller’s new features to enhance gameplay, such as the Touchpad, and the new built-in speaker. Unlike the previous games, multiple power sets will be available to the player. Those known are smoke and neon, the former allowing the game to be played in a fast-paced, chaotic way, while the latter promotes a slower, more precise way of playing. The smoke power entails a variety of unique gameplay elements, such as turning to smoke and dashing through air vents, while neon lets the player rapidly scale any wall.

Were any of these titles on your list? What are your most anticipated games for 2014?