Gamescom 2013: the publishers’ biggest games

All of Gamescom’s exhibitors, publishers and trade attendees have announced the games that will be making an appearance at the colossal game show, and barring a few secrets, here are the biggest games that will be featuring in Cologne:

Sony: Killzone: Shadow Fall

Killzone: Shadow Fall has to be on Sony’s radar as one of the big PS4 flagship titles and will undoubtedly be a big feature of Gamescom.

Set thirty years after the events of the Killzone trilogy, the world of Killzone Shadow Fall is a very different place. Forced together by circumstance, the two rival factions of the Helghast and the Vektans live side by side in a futuristic city, divided by a vast wall.

Tensions are high, and a war can spark at any moment. In the midst of this all stands a Shadow Marshall, the most special of the special forces, tasked with maintaining the delicate balance.

Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

After Assassin’s Creed III didn’t quite satiate the face-stabbing cravings around the MyGaming office, Assassin’s Creed 4 has instilled some hope in us for Ubisoft’s next effort, and the title will attract some serious attention at Gamescom.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag takes place at the dawn of the 18^th Century during the Golden Age of Pirates, and features famous sea-dwellers, such as Blackbeard and Charles Vane.

The game features more than 50 navigable locations (3 main locations – Kingston, Nassau and Havana), including underwater exploration, and new weaponry from the game’s era.

Activision: Call of Duty: Ghosts

Call of Duty Ghosts boasts a new world, a new cast of characters, and a story written by Stephen Gaghan (screenwriter of Syriana and Traffic), but Gamescom should show us a whole lot more of Infinity Ward’s new offering.

Ghosts will also showcase a new next-generation model of the Infinity Ward engine, which will hopefully add some spit and polish to the familiar Call of Duty look.

The game’s multiplayer will also be a highlight of Gamescom and will undoubtedly attack a lot of eyes to the Activision booth.

Nintendo: Super Mario 3D World

Nintendo will need Gamescom to be a big draw towards the Wii U and after the announcement of a new first-party 3D Mario title, its likely that they’ll achieve just that.

Super Mario 3D World is a four-player co-op game that has gamers in control of Mario, Toad, Luigi, and Princess Peach, and work together to traverse diverse and colourful environments.

Joining the long list of power-ups, there will be a new Cat power-up, allowing Mario to gain the ability to climb up walls and scratch and pounce on enemies.

The game is being developed by the Nintendo team that was behind Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.

EA: Battlefield 4

EA’s big hitter is obviously Battlefield 4, and the colossal shooter is pulling out all the stops this time around.

We have learnt a fair bit about the single-player campaign. The campaign will follow Sergeant Daniel Recker, who players will control. Recker is part of Tombstone squad who are sent into China in order to stop Admiral Chang, who is planning a coup in the country. If Chang goes ahead with his plans, the Russians would also back him up.

We’ve also been learning a lot about the multiplayer features, as well as getting to check out the online gameplay in action.