Console Corner: Gamescom ramps up rivalry

Bloodborne was one of the games touted at Gamescom

Microsoft touted the word “exclusive” a great deal as they showed off games for the Xbox One in Cologne for the annual festival.

Remedy Entertainment showed the first gameplay for it’s new thriller Quantum Break, details on a Halo channel to compliment the highly anticipated Master Chief Collection were announced and Microsoft’s ID@Xbox programme unveiled 25 indie developed titles that were coming to the system.

The line-up includes the surprise hit Goat Simulator by Coffee Stain Studios and the popular free-to-play title SMITE from High-Rez Studios.

But by far the biggest announcement from Microsoft was that Rise of the Tomb Raider, sequel to the successful 2013 reboot, will be released exclusively on the Xbox One in 2015 and may not ever come to PS4 or PC.

By comparison Sony showed off The Order, Bloodborne, Driveclub Uncharted, Far Cry 4, Dayz, Little Big Planet 3 and a host of indie games.

Whatever console you have it promises to be a stellar year ahead where we truly see the power of these new machines.

In addition, Sony announced Share Play, a feature which will allow PS4 owners to play a friend’s games even if they don’t own the title themselves; SP is expected to be added to the console with an update this Autumn.

Sony’s wild card at Gamescom came when famed designer Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear Solid series) took to the stage a day later to announce a collaboration with director Guillermo del Toro on a new Silent Hill game, a long-running horror series which hasn’t been heard from since 2012’s critically mixed Silent Hill: Downpour.