Gareth Brierley

Gaming is now all about the experience, and much of the draw of recent games has been the ability to take in a journey with others - cooperative style! For me, 2017 has been a blast, playing with friends on games that I probably would have got bored with on my own. Ghost Recon Wildlands, Destiny 2 and the continuing sagas of The Division were probably my highlights, with FIFA and its Pro Clubs feature already having been a staple nightly event for years now. So without further ado I’m going to highlight my most anticipated Xbox One co-op games of 2018.

You’ll always find symmetrical opposites throughout the world of fiction. Star Wars is all about the opposing battles between light and dark and the fine line that lies between the two, whilst heroes and villains are the ying and yang of a narrative's main thrust. But what would happen if you’re put in control of both the light and the dark characters, at exactly the same time, while trying to navigate your way through the two strange worlds they occupy? Well, my friend, you’ve just entered the world of Fearful Symmetry & the Cursed Prince.

There are certain games that have the magical Minecraft effect. A game that comes from nowhere and, pretty much overnight, becomes one of the biggest games of all time. PUBG started life over on Steam before very soon selling over 20 million copies, making it the biggest selling game on that platform. Now it’s hoping to do the same on Xbox. 

There are games out there that like nothing more than to hold your hand, whisper sweet nothings of reassurance in your ear, and give you little paths to follow, telling you what button to press, even after 15 hours of gameplay. Then there are games that like to give you a world of choice, letting you discover everything alone, whilst having a ball. Then there’s a game like Rememoried - a game that basically puts you into a surreal world of philosophy, astrology and mind bending physics, and hopes you might find out what the hell is going on. Welcome to a journey of the unreal. Where am I? What is this? Who is telling me these strange things? These are just some of the questions that will be running through your head in the couple of hours of playing through this game.

I fell in love with the previous Metro games. The atmosphere, the story, the beautiful design. Yes, the combat was tricky, and sometimes, especially in the first game it was a bit clumsy, but the deep strange world was brilliant to play in. So when Deep Silver and 4A games teased Metro Exodus at E3 my heart was pumping fast. Now today I’m very close to a cardiac arrest as they’ve announced a new trailer and a confirmed Autumn release for the game. The trailer is called “THE AURORA”. Enjoy.

Someone once said to me that the key to happiness is to wear a different hat every day. I’ve never tried this, but now I might get the chance with a game that’s all about hats and the magical special powers each one gives you. But is the gaming experience like an elegant and proud top hat, or a dirty old bobble hat sold in a charity shop for five pence? Only time will tell…

When you think of a town or city drenched in snow, your heart generally skips a beat and you instantly feel warm, cosy and a bit Christmassy. Or is that just me? The twinkling lights and magical streets filled with a blanket of pure white heaven is not just superb, but hugely enticing. What you don’t think about though are the heating problems, the amount of electricity needed to keep the lights in action and the constant surge in power that starts to cause problems for the economy; let alone having to worry about keeping the roads clear as it keeps bloody snowing all the time? AHHHHH... damn you winter. But welcome to the wonderful world of Snowfall.

Reboots are a thing the modern day man and woman loves - like Fidget Spinners and reality TV shows. There have been hugely successful reboots like 21 Jump Street and massively failures - I’m looking at you the Baywatch movie. In gaming terms though we are looking at the reboot of two things here; the point and click adventure game and the Black Mirror franchise which was hugely successful on PC. Can it obtain a new following with the latest generation of gamers?

I’ve a childhood memory of two large teddy bears as the first toys I ever received as presents. They were huge, and I would wrestle them, throw them down the stairs and make them be prisoners of war. I was a disturbed child I think. What happened to these types of toys I wonder? Some must get passed down to other disturbed children in other families, some are destroyed by angry dogs and others just simply get lost. But what happens if they seek you out in your nightmares? Well, if that sounds horrible…welcome to Your Toy.

So I went all in. New Xbox One X, new 4K TV and a new smart kettle. My girlfriend thinks I’m having a midlife crisis, but I’ve told her that I’m winning at life. So much so that I haven’t seen her for three days. But was it worth it? Was the expense, the emotional toil and the huge indecision making worth it for some shiny new graphics? Well… yes it was.

The gaming world has been full of heavy narratives this year. There have been stories about race, and about our existence in a complex and unknown universe. There have been narratives about what it is to be a hero, and how secrets in families can tear people apart mentally. In Wuppo, the main issue though is having to deal with being thrown out of a hotel for spilling your ice cream in the lobby for the hundredth time. And it’s so nice to take a break from the real world and enter the imaginative, crazy world of Wuppo.

Interesting friendly-looking platform games are a hard find on the Xbox One - or any console for that matter. Gaming is currently all about adventure, guns, horror, sports or, strangely, farming sims. So after a successful period pleasuring the PC world, gaining critical acclaim in the process, the wonderful world of Wuppo is coming to our console.

I’ve recently expanded my gaming experiences by trying a whole load of new things, most of which have put me out of my comfort zone. I’ve played hockey and found that it is pretty good, I’ve dunked in basketball, and I've discovered that being a gaming firefighter is horrid. Now I get the chance to be farmer. But a quick disclaimer: I don’t do the countryside in real life - the sheep scare me, what with those eyes and the conspiracy bleating and whispering. In fact, I’ve never been to a farm since those trips everyone took in at primary school. So loading up Real Farm on Xbox One, I was both excited and nervous about trying to make it big in the country. So am I a real life Farmer Brown now?

Whenever we pay our little video games we always play the hero don’t we? We’re always the one saving the day, racing to the action, putting out fires, defusing bombs, or capturing criminals in a 50vs1 shootout, that of course is hugely against all the odds. But maybe you should spare a thought for the people behind the heroes. What about those who have to clean up the mess you made in your heroic attempts? Or the insurance companies that have to deal with the many claims after an event? Or what about the humble 911 operator?

Over the last ten years I’ve seen some things, things you people wouldn’t believe. I’ve travelled across the Middle East and fought my old teacher for my life. I’ve been to Rome and toppled the corrupt pope, been to Turkey and enlisted a league of friends. I’ve then ventured across America and sailed the seven seas, started a revolution in Paris and obtained, through force and guile, territories across the whole of London town. But now after a short break I’m going back to where it all began, back to the beginning of the Assassin’s Creed.