• Published October 12, 2016

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This year’s rAge was a little sparse compared to previous years’ expos when it came to pre-release demos. Prima Games’ two major publishing houses, EA and 2K Games had some games on display. 2K Games was the stronger showings of the two this year with a number of great titles appealing to different demographics. EA on the other hand only had one title, FIFA 17. Seeing Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1 at the expo would’ve been icing on the cake. I’ll still eat that sponge, mind you. While there were no pre-release titles on the rAge 2016 floor, 2K’s games were both competent and interesting. Let’s take a look at what we got our hands on. Release the Chrysalids!

NBA 2K17

ports games are getting prettier by the iteration. NBA 2k17 was no different. Like EA’s FIFA 17, NBA incorporates RPG elements like skill attributes and career progression. All this comes off the need to cross genres and make more fun experiences. How does it play? Here’s my unqualified opinion as a gamer who rarely plays sports games. You’re guided well from the beginning, worked through the basics and progress fast. Controls are responsive, graphics pretty and as with most modern sports games well presented. My only issue is that basketball isn’t that big a game in South Africa. I doubt that NBA 2K17 will sell as much as other popular titles like FIFA 17 here in South Africa.

Bioshock: The Collection

As a fan of the System Shock and Thief series, it’s hard to top such pioneering franchises. After the taffers Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios had their way with me, the expectations were sky high. A bad effort on Irrational’s part would’ve silenced the dischord for certain. Ken Levine and his twisted vision of the days of future past did me a number in the end. Bioshock and Bioshock: Infinite blew my mind. They were more action-oriented yes, yet the environmental storytelling brought the world to life.

How did the remaster hold up on the Xbox One on display? Great I’d say. The first area that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions lacked in were framerate. That’s fixed. You’ll play it at native 1080p and up to 60 frames per second. This remaster is prettier than the old PC version and plays more or less the same. Expect slow, deliberate and fun gunplay mixed with superpowers (plasmids and vigors), and thought-provoking narrative. Those who’ve played a Bioshock game before will have a great trip down memory lane. Those who have not, sit back and enjoy the ride. The value proposition is strong with all DLC included in the package. There’s just one issue: the installation size is 70gb. Happy downloading!

XCOM 2

If you’ve played XCOM: Enemy Within or XCOM: Enemy Unknown, your heart will have ached a little. It’s probably not because you lost your squad after a chrysalis attack. I digress, maybe that’s part of why XCOM is so emotionally compelling. The loss of a good soldier meant more than losing territory. At least you know there’ll be no trade discussions with aliens, right? With that said, XCOM 2 brought more difficulty, pain and RNG.

Sounds like a fun combination right? Sure, to the right kind of masochist. Gameplay is more of the same. Graphics, were better than previous games and still remained secondary to gameplay. Controls are still sharp as they were with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of previous Firaxis games. XCOM 2 is wonderful in a terrible sort of way. The sacrifice is real and consequences brutal. Oh, and did I mention that the dreaded Chrysalids are more powerful than before? Would I recommend it? Yes, without question.

Mafia III

Mafia III is the game that used almost every idea GTA had, only with a unique story and more detailed model animations. Everything from the weapon wheel to vehicle physics reminded me of Rockstar’s flagship. You’re going to see microexpressions in the cutscenes, though, and those animations are smooth as silk. This applies to all platforms, including the Xbox One. Game visual design sure has gone a long way. Mafia III plays like GTA, and uses much of its game designs. This includes the weapon wheel and driving physics. I appreciated getting forced to hide my crimes, as opposed to committing them in the open. Voice acting was top notch in the little I got to try out too. I must admit, weapon aim didn’t quite feel as fluid as most open world action titles out there. The cover system wasn’t quite as effective as I’d hoped too.

The game used a system similar to Gears of War which I felt wasn’t quite as useful in an open world as it would’ve been in tighter designs. Car handling didn’t quite feel as precarious as I expected as well. Mafia III was fun even if some of the game felt out of place with the era the game was set in.

FIFA 17

FIFA 17’s been out quite some time already. If you haven’t read about it yet, I’ll provide a quick synopsis based on the review copy I’ve received. As I’ve stated before on my Tech It Out review, FIFA 17 is to football games what Porsche is to the motoring industry. The formula’s refined, tuned and improved to the point of abstraction. You really have to look deep into the game to see the changes. The latest entry features a career mode, updated clubs, teams, better motion capture and graphics and an overall improvement to presentation.

EA Sports has improved the physics. It’s made the game more difficult compared to FIFA 16. Fans of the series will love the changes to ball and player movement, and the career mode has strong appeal for those passionate about The Beautiful Game. The frostbite engine has overhauled the visuals and it really is a feast for the eyes.

That sums up Prima Games’ showing at rAge 2016 this year. What did you readers think? I thought the demos on the rAge floor were a great indicator of 2K’s best offerings out there. EA’s games could’ve had more of a presence. Did any of you out there get to try out some of the titles on display? Did you enjoy any? Tell us in the comments below.

Article Tags: 2k games · Bioshock: The Collection · featured · Games · Gaming · mafia iii · nba 2k17 · rage 2016 · XCom 2

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