Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl – This 3DS role playing aficionado (follow up to Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan) is an anime-themed dungeon-crawler, you can play through a new, narrative-enhanced Story mode as well as Classic mode, a visually upgraded and mechanically finessed version of the original Etrian Odyssey. Beyond: Two Souls – Described as a “psychological action thriller,” the game lets you guide a young girl (voiced by Ellen Page) from childhood to adulthood while guided by a supernatural entity only she can communicate with. Expect an atypically high-concept story, exquisite character and world design, and critics fussing over whether to brand it as a movie-like game. Batman: Arkham Origins – A prequel to Arkham Asylum and City, it mines Batman: Year One territory thematically, depicting Bruce Wayne as a less experienced crime-fighter tangling with mainstay Bat-verse rogues. The big bad looks to be Black Mask, (we wonder though) in an expanded, snow-filled, creepy Christmas-lit version of Gotham City Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – Imagine all the gameplay breakthroughs of Assassin’s Creed III folded into a bigger sandbox, 100% less Desmond Miles and you’re now a sort of buccaneer living smack during the Golden Age of Piracy. Everyone loves pirates, everyone loves assassins, so imagine the allure of playing a character who’s both in the most freeform riff on this crypto-historical series to date. NBA 2K14 – Developer Visual Concepts pretty much owns the hoops-based gaming scene. After releasing critically acclaimed b-ballers year after year, prepare yourselves for the NBA 2K14, which (in addition to control tweaks and returning popular game modes) harnesses LeBron James for a new “Path to Greatness” mode that lets you future-cast his career by tweaking who he signs and plays with.
