Injustice 2
Ed Boon and the rest of the team at NetherRealm Studios did everything in their power to make Mortal Kombat X one of the best fighters on the market. Mission accomplished! So now it’s time for them to transition into crafting the much-deserved sequel for the all DC Comics fighter. And from what we’ve seen of Injustice 2 thus far, we’re convinced that it’s going to be one of the best games of the year. The graphics look amazing and the impactful moves landed by each hero/villain look and sound insane. As for what’s new, a new gear system has been implemented in order to give players the chance to craft their own take on popular characters. Batman Beyond taking on a more glossy shielded version of Supergirl? Yep, you can do that! Injustice 2 looks to be the DC Comics battle royale that will rule 2017.
Prey
Remember that sequel to Prey that sported some type of bounty hunter taking down alien bounties? Welp, it’s alive no longer. Arkane Studios decided to offer their vision to Bethesda on how they’d like to represent the Prey universe and now we’re here. 2017’s version of Prey still relies on 1st-person shooting, but it includes the “many ways players can accomplish a goal” mechanic that’s been a part of both Dishonored games. Confronting a severe alien race means you can rely on man made firearms or combine their use with alien abilities that warp your character into something unrecognizable. Prey looks like a dangerous good time and we can’t wait to face our fears in deep space.
Tekken 7
Tekken 7 is one of the few examples where a new fighting game has remained in arcades and gotten updated long before it hit consoles. Early 2017 has been tied to this upcoming Bandai Namco fighter for such a long time, but the wait is almost over. The home release will bring everything featured in the arcade cabinet edition and throw in so much more. Street Fighter’s Akuma, brand new tournament entrants, returning fighters and a deeper Story Mode means Tekken 7 will excel as expected. We’ve been watching this thing get played at a pro level on Twitch for far too long. We’re so ready to compete in the next King of the Iron Fist Tournament.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Commander Shepard’s journey has come to a close. 600 years later, a new interplanetary trek has begun and now we’ll get the chance to take on the role of a new hero. Mass Effect: Andromeda makes us one of the newest members of N7 and places our male/female Ryder into the role of “Pathfinder.” This means plenty of planet exploring, heated gunfights with hostile alien races, discoveries of new species of animal and deeper conversations to participate in. BioWare has gone all out with this game, as evidenced by the extensive cover story on the game that was featured in Game Informer. We’re all about brand new BioWare RPG’s, so count us in for the next part of the Mass Effect legacy.
Pre-Order Mass Effect: Andromeda here.
Nioh
Nioh was supposed to come out a long, long, LONG time ago. Koei Tecmo put this one on the back burner for a good while, but last year it came out of hiding. And it looked a whole hell of a lot better. We hopped into the demo and came away impressed. It’s this great mix of Onimusha samurai elements and the super punishing gameplay that the Dark Souls series is known for. The game’s main hero can clash with demons and other samurai’s with different sword stances, parries, blocks and tons of other combative maneuvers. The spirit animals, dangerous bosses and varied open world has given us a reason to keep Nioh on our radar. As far as PS4 exclusives go, this action/adventure title is one of 2017’s best.
