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Exclusive games
A quick look at Metacritic reveals that the most highly rated games on the PS4 and Xbox One tend to be available on competing platforms. Neither system has a genuine killer app you can’t play elsewhere, but they both have diverse enough content to keep most gamers happy.
The PS4 has secured a wealth of indie and downloadable content you won’t get on the Xbox One, but much of it also available on PC. Standouts include TowerFall (also on PC and Ouya), Rogue Legacy (PC, PS4 and Vita), Transistor (PC), Resogun (exclusive), and Velocity 2X (Vita).
The PS4’s highest rated retail exclusive to date is the re-mastered version of The Last of Us, which is a must-buy for anyone who missed the PS3 version. Infamous: Second Son is worth a look to see what your PS4 can do — it’s one of the most technically impressive games on the system and a fun open-world superhero game besides.
For the festive season, Sony’s big PS4 titles are Driveclub, a visually impressive racer, and LittleBigPlanet 3 (also on PS3), the next title in the popular PlayStation family game creation-cum-platformer series. But Sony’s amazing first-party studios will only begin to really hit their stride next year and beyond.
PS4 highlights for 2015 include Uncharted 4 from Naughty Dog; Bloodborne — created in partnership with Demon’s Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki; the gorgeous-looking adventure Rime; “filmic” third-person shooter 1886: The Order; indie space exploration game No Man’s Land; and much more besides.
Microsoft doesn’t have the depth of Sony’s indie line-up, but it does have a wider portfolio of big-budget “console” exclusives. As with the PS4, many so-called Xbox One exclusives are available on other platforms. The mediocre Xbox One launch titles Ryse and Dead Rising 3 have made the shift to PC, and the heavily hyped TitanFall launched on the PC and Xbox as well as the One.
Watch video: Rise of the Tomb Raider will be Xbox One exclusive for at least a while
Where Sony lacked a PS4 exclusive racing game at launch due to the yearlong delay of Driveclub, Microsoft got Forza 5 out the door. An exclusive fighter remains a gap in the PS4’s catalogue, but the Xbox One has Killer Instinct.
The One’s list of exclusive games for the important last quarter of the year includes the critically acclaimed open-world racer Forza Horizon 2 (also on Xbox 360); Insomniac’s colourful shooter-platformer hybrid, Sunset Overdrive; and the Master Chief Collection, a recession-busting compendium comprising remasters of Halo 1 through 4.
Confirmed Xbox One exclusives for 2015 include Halo 5, Quantum Break from Max Payne creators Remedy, and Fable Legends, another entry in the popular RPG series. Microsoft has announced some games further into the future, such as Scalebound from Japan’s Platinum Studios and a new Crackdown game.
Winner: For now, the Xbox One. But this could change next year
Next page: The verdict
