Surviving The Summer Gaming Drought Of 2014

Stefan L 42 Comments

The summer drought is nothing new to the world of gaming, but when it comes during the first year of a console’s life, following a very gradual drip feed of major titles during the first half of the year, it feels all the more galling for July and August to arrive and the release schedule to clam up for weeks at a time. There’s even a paucity of releases on the older machines.

In an industry so heavily focussed on the next big thing, the monsoon season can’t come quickly enough for many gamers, but this yearly downtime gives you and the games industry as a whole the opportunity to catch up and experiment.

Destiny-E3P1-IL1

Of course, this week still sees the second coming of Destiny, as the Beta arrives on PS4 and PS3 on Thursday. It’s an opportunistic move from Bungie and Activision on several levels, as it rewards pre-orders with a taster of the game that should further build up the levels of hype and excitement for its release in early September, but it also makes use of this quiet release schedule to become one of the biggest focal points for gamers over the next few weeks.

I know that I, for one, will be taking part in the Beta, to load up the game with some friends and see if the game is really for me – though yes, we will also be writing about the game on TSA. There’s a distinct appeal to playing co-operative games for me, but I personally struggled with the Borderlands formula, so it may well be that my time in Destiny is disappointing and brief.

Destiny aside, I will no doubt be casting my gaze back across the games from the last few months. Sniper Elite 3 has certainly tickled my co-operative fancy in the few sessions I’ve played so far and there are several more hours of fun to be had. Additionally, my focus free tomfoolery in Watch Dogs prior to E3 means that this game lies completely unfinished and I’ve barely even begun playing games like Child of Light or Valiant Hearts (though I did start Valiant Hearts last night). Now is the time for me to play these before they are forgotten and consigned to the deepest recesses of my hard drive.

There’s also a slightly strange dichotomy between the large number of complaints at a lack of major releases for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and the lasting presence of a “pile of shame” in many people’s gaming collections. My own is steadily growing, especially with the likes of the Steam Summer Sale and monthly additions to PlayStation Plus, but at least, in its own special way, the games industry is helping.

I am talking, of course, about the spate of HD/Redux/Remastered releases. With The Last of Us re-arriving in the next few weeks and the Metro Redux collection at the end of August, alongside the likes of Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition and the far more extensive work done for Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty!, you’re regularly given a push to play these older games once again, whether it’s bringing the original releases back to the top of the pile, crying out for another play through or as a fresh experience.

Yet I know that, for all my good intentions, I’ll get nowhere near to playing all of the games I feel I ought to catch up on this summer. I will, however, be making an effort to play games with other people, and some of this comes through TSA. Battlefield 4 – which is generally a complete game these days – will be seeing weekly meets on PS4 on a Friday night that you’re more than welcome to join, and I’ll be getting some racing in on Gran Turismo 6 each Monday, where there’s even a little championship in the offing. Similarly, I feel obliged to coax people into playing GRID Autosport online too.

With a cursory glance, there’s not a lot going on in the games industry during the summer months, as thousands of developers are working long hours to try and get their games ready for release towards the end of the year – October 7th, to be exact. I’ll be trying to use the time to explore some more of the games from the last year or so, how about you?

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42 Comments

  1. I need to pull my finger out and get involved in these BF4 meets.
    Think I’m gonna get Oddworld to see me through ’til TLOU is released, then possibly Metro Redux.
    Anyone seen any PS4 Metro gameplay?

  2. My pile of shame has received quite the trimming over the last few months. Still have quite a way to go though, trying to reduce it as much as possible before Destiny releases in September.

  3. Luckily for me I’m on my 3 month summer break from uni so I’m just cracking on with my backlog.

    Need to finish up Wolfenstein, Watch Dogs and a few of the PS digital offerings. For some reason though I’ve nearly got the plat for FIFA which never happens (just need to win a pro clubs seasons match *hint hint TSAers* and finish an online friendlies season).

    Otherwise it’s the BF4 meets on Friday. It’s Forrest’s get up but I hijack being squad leader, the others will back me up on why that’s the case ;)

  4. I simply haven’t felt the need yet to upgrade in favour of next gen with it’s half hearted line up, unlike previous gen releases where resistance was weak and unavoidable.
    There is so much on offer with the PS3 and Vita currently that even if I took the plunge, the PS4 would likely turn out to be a worthy partner in crime to the Dyson dust remover.
    However, times are moving on and I will indulge in the near future I’m sure.
    If only there was a next gen Ratchet & Clank, Gran Turismo, Everybody’s Golf, Formula one, Just Cause 3 it’d be a no brainer.
    Back on topic though, plenty of last gen/handheld shizz for the Summer :P

  5. I’ll be fine, i’m now the proud owner of three backlogs, one each for PS3, PS4 and Vita.

  6. Hey I just preordered destiny today and redeemed the code, does that mean 2 other people can use it, if so how do I give them to you guys?
    Also child of light is fantastic, just playing new game plus now, can’t gift oculi though cause none of my friends have it, if anyone wants an oculi my tag is sparks1

    • Once you’ve redeemed the code the retailer gives you with Bungie, wait till the 17th when they start sending the actual codes out. I had to select which region and console I wanted as well so it only works on the one console you’ve chosen I believe.

  7. Been very disappointed in the PS4 games to the point I was thinking of putting the PS3 back on the main TV instead and getting some PS+ games played. Battlefield 4 has been my only PS4 focus but I’ve now had Wolfenstein bought for me so that’s my new play thing.

    Have to echo the Everybody’s Golf comment, loved playing that and might have to install it again :-D

    • Can you not hook up both, ps+ library is so good on ps3 I wouldn’t think of butting it away yet, things can only get better on ps4, trine 2 is a good freebie but I’m with ya in that I havnt bought anything other than kzsf or child of light yet, destiny and inquisition are my likely next AAA purchases, maybe whicher but cause I havnt played the last two I’m not sure if it’s a good move!

  8. In fact that might be a good one, the first two members to friend me with child of light can have the code, that’s if it works the way you guys day it does, if not any ideas welcome!

    • Someone’s run into the inevitable “I can’t do absolutely everything in the game because I have no friends” wall? Or at least no friends with Child of Light.

      Well, fine. If you absolutely have to get those last UPlay points, I guess I can help you out there. And if you happen to have a spare Density beta download code (whenever they send them out), I’ll happily relieve you of that. I’ll pop a friend request your way right now.

      • Lol you nailed it there. The codes are out tomorrow so I’ll message one to you when I get home from work tomorrow evening. And thanks for that

      • You, sir (or indeed, madam, because you can never tell on the internets) are a star.

        Which, if you think about it, isn’t that much of a compliment. A massive ball of firey gas? (Ok, technically not really a gas)

  9. *say, dam phone

  10. Now would be a great time for me to catch up on some of the PS+ things that have come out for PS3 since I bought a PS4. Tomb Raider and Puppeteer spring to mind. Unfortunately, my PS3 is on loan to a XB360 friend, so I shall weather the drought alone for now.

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