The impending release of the PlayStation 4 is only months away (we assume), but details of the hardware's architecture, new controller, and streaming capabilities have us chomping at the bit for new PS4 rumors, details, and more.
Of course, one thing stands in the way of the PS4 and global domination: the launch lineup. What games will come with Sony's new machine? What will you be buying side-by-side with your next-generation console? This is our wishlist for PS4 launch games, and if you don't like it, make your own damn list! Nothing's stopping you…
1) Uncharted 4
This should be a no-brainer for any Sony fan looking to make a big splash at home with their new, expensive machine. Wouldn't the PS4 look so good underneath your big flat-screen TV while it projects a brand new adventure for Drake, Sully, and the rest of the gang?
Plundering dank temples, racing around the world, and getting the occasional suggestive glance from Elena all along the way would be totally awesome, though even all that would take a backseat to the gorgeous next-generation visuals an Uncharted sequel would no doubt push. Uncharted 4 might just be a glint in the eyes of every staffer working on The Last of Us, but the PS4 launch window could serve as the perfect setting for the release of a new entry in the Naughty Dog's popular treasure-hunting franchise.
2) Resistance 4
The Resistance series made its debut during the PS3's launch with the entertaining and totally passable Resistance: Fall of Man, but the series has come so far since then. Resistance 3 attained near perfection in its single-player campaign, and multiplayer served as a time sink for anyone willing to give it a shot. But where might Sony take it with its next iteration?
Maybe we'd get a chance to play as the Chimera, or perhaps there's an entirely new universe of Resistance-esque baddies to take on. Maybe Sony should fast-forward a few decades and see what mankind is up to with all of the technological advances made thanks to the advent of new alien hardware. There's a wide world of possibilities for Resistance 4, and while Insomniac Games has officially stepped away from the franchise, that shouldn't stop Sony from getting a different studio involved to make this the start of a new trilogy alongside the launch of the PS4.
3) Watch_Dogs
Ubisoft has proven time and time again that it thinks hardware launches are an integral part of its business. I don't anticipate Watch_Dogs to have the same underwhelming qualities seen in most launch games, and the open-world tech-fused action/adventure would make for a perfect fit for the PS4.
Simply put, this game has the potential to push the boundaries of online multiplayer like we've never seen before. What if you could zoom around the city and see all of your fellow Watch_Dogs players running around and assassinating each other at will? The PS4 could pull that off with its next-gen graphics and processing power. Our hope is that Watch_Dogs replaces Assassin's Creed in 2013's inevitable holiday showdown between publishers.
4) Jak & Daxter 4
Naughty Dog already has the ongoing Uncharted series and The Last of Us to deal with, but what if they're also working on a sequel to their beloved PS2 series and we just don't know about it yet? The idea that Jak and that weird dog animal thing he's always hanging around with will make their return on the PlayStation 4 might seem absurd to many of you, but it doesn't to us.
A new Jak & Daxter title could serve the same purpose as a fresh entry in any other highly recognizable Sony franchise at launch—to move units to excited fans. Crash Bandicoot can't come back to Naughty Dog, but Jak & Daxter is still with the company for one reason: They'd like to come back to it eventually. At this point in our countdown, you should realize that we here at GR just really want to see something from Naughty Dog at the PS4's launch. Anything, please.
5) Syphon Filter 4
We know it's out there. In the past year, there have been many rumblings about an eventual sequel to Syphon Filter, but the convenience of launching the PS4 with the fourth entry in the series is too good to be false. Not only would Syphon Filter 4 enjoy the enhanced graphics and processing power of next-gen hardware, but Sony would be able to capitalize on Syphon Filter's multiplayer in new and exciting ways, as the PS4 marks their second stab at working with an online-focused console.
Launching SF4 with the PS4 means that gamers will have an online battlefield full of espionage and, well, shooting. I mean, you must have some shooting at launch. Otherwise, what will people play on the PS4? Syphon Filter helped get the PS2 online two generations ago. It's time for Sony to step it up again and lead off the next-generation's online environment.
6) Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto set the world on fire with its open play space and incredible fidelity on PS2 with GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas. If there's one current-gen game that can really floor people on a next-gen system, it's Grand Theft Auto V.
Why? Because in order to keep the gorgeous, massive Los Santos world running at 60 frames per second, you're going to need the PS4's beefy graphics and processing chips. The same can be said of Grand Theft Auto V's sure-to-be chaotic multiplayer. While a GTA V optimized for the PS4 might not be on your wish list for launch games, it's on mine because I can only imagine how bored I might be when the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions come with reduced traffic and long load times.
7) Haze, but get it right this time
Bottom line, the PS3 had some great ideas in its software launch lineup, but none like Haze. There are few development studios that know shooting like Free Radical Design (now a part of Crytek, one of the biggest shooter developers on the planet), and a second chance on next-gen hardware might be just the thing Haze needs to lift it off as a truly AAA franchise.
You mean to tell me that a game about "a biomedical multinational corporation that develops a drug called Nectar that enables soldiers to fight harder and smarter, but also produces a hallucinogenic effect, where soldiers are no longer cognizant of the real battlefield around them" doesn't sound cool? It f***ing does, but the execution was all wrong. Having such a wild and crazy premise can only lead to thinking outside the box, which is exactly what the PlayStation 4 launch lineup needs.
Of course, if even one of these games actually showed up in the PS4's launch lineup, we'd be thrilled. We're practically guaranteed to see a Madden port and maybe a few more ports of games launching this holiday season, but our wish list is just that, a wish.
What titles do you want to see on the PS4? Will Sony's next-gen console suffer from months of "nogaems" as the PS3 did? Will launching before the Next Xbox make Sony tons of money? TELL US! Use the comments below to speculate as wildly as I have.
