Boys and girls, it is now 2014 and as we venture forth into this new year I’d like to start my first post with a new Top 5 WANTED Games list.

The last list I came up with for 2013 was pretty much a mixed bag of good, not so good, and some were disappointing after the fact.

This list, comprising of the games that have either been announced in mid to late 2013, were chosen by me in no particular order. So without further adue here are my choices for the year:

Transistor

Supergiant is known for making some very beautiful games, one of which is Bastion. Originally released on Xbox 360, Bastion has since been ported PC, Mac, and to the mobile platform such as iOS. Bastion is an action RPG in an isometric landscape starring a boy and an awesome narrator, cataloging your every movement. Supergiant decided to take the same successful formula that made Bastion what it is, and inject it in their new IP, Transistor. Confirmed to be released on PS4 and PC, the game will also make it’s way to Linux and Mac in future updates. Since I won’t own a PS4 for sometime and last gen consoles won’t see a release anytime soon, I’ll have to wait for this to drop on Mac. But still looking forward to it nonetheless. Transistor shares a similar isometric POV and art style with Bastion, though it gives off this sort of cyberpunk noire vibe akin to Shadowrun Returns or even XCOM. I’m definitely keeping both eyes open for this beauty.

The Evil Within

Next on my list of games is a game from a genre I’ve only really touched upon in recent years. Survival Horror has been a mainstay ever since the inception of the Resident Evil franchise and Shinji Mikami, the father of the genre, together with Bethesda, is posed to make his return. His new offering, The Evil Within, is very reminiscent of Resident Evil, itself. Not just in name but also in play style. TEW seems to borrow from the likes of Resident Evil 4 onward, with it’s similar OTS third person POV as well as various elements that made Survival Horror so exciting in the first place. The best part I can say about this is that it’s being produced for last gen consoles as well as now current gen. That means great news for PS4/XB1 owners as well as PS3/360 owners like myself. And heck, if this is anywhere close to RE4 or RE Revelations then color me sold.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

If Shinji Mikami is the father of Resident Evil and Survival Horror then Hideo Kojima is the father of Stealth and Metal Gear Solid. Well every gamer knows that of these two. For those of you readers who’ve kept up with my writings, this should be of no surprise that MGSV is on my list. It’s pretty obvious that I’m a big MGS fan so when Hideo Kojima made the announcement I became a giddy little school girl. From that whole fake Moby Dick Studio fiasco to the varitable spring 2014 release date for Ground Zeroes, the gaming world gas been waiting with baited breath. As of now Kojima is hard at work testing and quality controlling every aspect of MGSV. I expect nothing less from the tireless work ethic of Hideo himself. One interesting tidbit about the whole production process us that MGSV was supposed to be developed only for then current gen platforms PS3 and 360. Since the announcement of the PS4 and XB1 though, Kojima decided to take it up a notch and make the game for all four consoles. What a guy, huh? This again, means that last gen gamers won’t be left out in the cold. I’ve been keeping my eyes and ears open for this one so you bet I’m going to be writing about this gem more once I get my mitts on this.

Watch Dogs

Ubisoft is responsible for for such big hits as the Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed series. With their NKOTB in Watch Dogs, Ubisoft wanted to delve into the cyberpunk like genre and tap into the world of hacking. The masked protagonist vigilante has the ability to hack any mainframe or computer controlled mechanism as he pleases with what looks like his smartphone. He literally can harness the power of this open world in the palm of his hand. The gameplay, as you can see up top, looks very polished and gives a sense of richness, lending itself to what looks to be a massive open world as only Ubisoft can do. The world itself seems as open as Assassin’s Creed where one can easily get lost in all the beautiful architecture and even the liveliness of the NPCs wandering about, whose personal info you can also hack into, bee tee dubs. Truth be told, this game was on my 2013 list to be released in November/December but Ubisoft decided that they wanted to deliver the best game possible in Watch Dogs so they delayed the hell out of it for quality sake. Well till Q2 2014 anyway. Here’s to hoping that Watch Dogs makes it out of the pound soon. AMIRITE??

The Division

Rounding out my current 2014 Want list is another game by Ubisoft that made it’s way to E3. The Division appropriately bookends my list as it is another title that will release specifically for PS4/XB1. It is being touted as an MMO, Action RPG and is of the third person shooter variety likened to another Ubisoft title in Ghost Recon Future Soldier. The game takes place in a not so distant future version of New York City. Ubi seemed to want to really pull out all the stops when it comes to the graphics and details, not just of the city, but the elements, environment, characters, not to mention the great looking gameplay. The Division unfortunately for me won’t be available until I really commit to a new console, namely a PS4. But since my boy Big Cheese has such a console handy I might have him take a peek for you guys.

Well that about does it for my list. Tune in for updates on the games I’ve posted here as well as Big Cheese’s own Top 5 list, inbound.

Stay classy.