PS4 vs. Xbox One: Exclusives for 2016

Everyone loves competition. As a gamer, I love to see the battle between the two video game console giants, the PS4 and the Xbox One. I also believe that it helps the game industry, as each side try's desperately to beat the other. This competition can help bring along new advancements in graphics and gameplay, as well as keep prices low and prevent a monopoly. However, with most competition, there is usually a clear winner and a clear loser, and with the new line of exclusives coming out this year for both consoles, I believe there is going to be a clear winner this year.

Don't get me wrong, I love both consoles.

Both the Xbox One and the PS4 (although more so) have been successful, and I find them very impressive. This analysis is not based on my personal bias towards one or the other. It is an honest opinion of what I see going into 2016 from both of these consoles. Both will have entertaining game exclusives this year, but one system in this duo has pulled off a more impressive list.

First, lets start with the Xbox One and it's hefty list of exclusives for 2016.

The Xbox One and it's list of game exclusives this year is not going to be steam rolled too easily by the PS4. However, of the top ten game exclusives for the Xbox this year, three of them specifically pop out at me, some as positive, some as negative.

Let's start with the obvious, Quantum Break.

This game looks absolutely incredible, and if it lives up to the hopes I and many other gamers have, this game will be a massive hit. Although not the first, Quantum Break's idea is to blend a TV show and a video game into one experience. Episodes of the live action show will be intertwined with actual game play segments. The live action episodes you see will be effected by your decisions in-game. If they can indeed do this, it will be something fresh and new the industry has been craving.

However.

This is going to be insanely hard to pull off. There's a reason we don't see these kind of games too often. First, I believe they may have dug a hole for themselves when they decided to go down the "make your own choices, see the results" path.

I'll give you an example to show my point.

Let's say there is a game called "The Adventures of Timmy and the Dreams of Time" (awesome right? I know). In this game are episodes of a live action show inserted between gameplay segments, just as Quantum Break is doing. They also boast that the episodes you see will be determined by your decisions and choices in the game. So, if you are playing as Timmy and decide to run into the forest, instead of run into the city, you get a different episode. However, this gives a false impression that there will be many choices throughout the game that will give you an unique experience.

• It takes a long time to film a show.
• It takes a long time to develop a game.

So in reality, the choices and decisions made in the game left to the player will be close to minimal as it would take forever to film enough episodes and create enough gameplay to make such an experience capable of giving the gamer full control of the outcome.

As this may not concern some, and may just think I'm petty for bringing this up, it may turn off others. In my opinion, I believe once people get home and boot up this game for themselves, they will realize that the amount of decision moments were lower than expected. Plus, there will probably be around only two different outcomes for the game. Filming enough episodes to make more would take forever.

Also, people who don't really know much about the game and buy it because it "looks cool" (yea I know this is kind of a ridiculous argument, but some parents may buy a game for their child because of the front cover graphics. I've seen it before.) might be turned off by the live action show part of things. If you are allowed to skip the episodes, which please God let it be an option, then maybe they will be fine. But if they are forced to watch the episodes, which may be at least thirty minutes long, they may go back to something like Call of Duty to fulfill their action-craving nature.

Yes, Quantum Break's story will probably be pretty neat, but if I'm right, it could leave a lot of people disappointed. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Quantum Break will release April 5, 2016

The second game on this list for the Xbox One is Gears of War 4.

I'm going to be quick and honest with this one. Watching the reveal for this game at E3 was a snooze fest for me.

Yes, the graphics look good. The weather effects look incredible. The environment is neat. However, this looks like the same old Gears we've been getting for a while. After playing the previous installment, Gears of War: Judgement, I'm not really looking forward to another one. Yes, Gears of War 3 was a great game, but I'm afraid this series could turn into what Call of Duty or Halo has sort of turned into. A rehashed version of the same thing over and over, with no significant or clever change.

I know I'm going to get some negative feedback from this, but that's my personal opinion. We will have to again wait and see, I may be wrong and will admit so if this game ends up being a good addition to the series.

Gears of War 4 will be released sometime in 2016.

The final game on our list for the Xbox One is Crackdown 3.

As you can see from this video below about destruction...

...this is a big new factor for the series, as it justifies a 17-minute long video.

I honestly think Crackdown 3 looks sorta...stupid.

I mean yes it looks like the original games, as the art style looks definitely similar, I feel like it could just get boring, quick. Also, unless you are a die hard Crackdown 3 fan and have played it since the original, I wouldn't be that interested in this.

I have to admit the destruction is quite impressive, and they've done a good job with that. Just honestly, the gameplay looks sort of boring. I've played the original Crackdown and this game looks like more of the same, which may be a good thing, and it may not be. I honestly got bored fairly quickly of the first installment, and didn't really even play Crackdown 2.

But hey you never know, this may be a fun sandbox-game. We'll see.

Crackdown 3 will be released sometime in 2016.

There are honestly a lot of impressive titles coming out as PS4 exclusives in 2016. Two in particular stand out amongst the crowd.

The first, which is incredibly obvious, and from reading the title of this article you probably expected it to be on here, is No Man's Sky.

Holy crap.

That's honestly what comes to my mind when I look at this game. Holy. Crap.

I don't care if you are an Xbox fanboy, a Sony extremist, or a PC elitist, you know you think this game looks amazing. No Man's Sky (which technically comes out for PC too, but between these two consoles, it's a PS4 exclusive.), is a PS4 exclusive procedurally generated universe.

Yea. I know right.

This game looks amazing, as it boasts a universe sized map for the players to explore, and in fact it would take 500 million years for one to see the entire game. There are around 18 quintillion life-sized planets in this game, each with it's own unique atmosphere and ecosystem. No two planets will be the same.

Now that is a bold statement, that no two planets are the same. I mean honestly players will probably run into a similar planet that they had previously seen before, but the developers at Hello Games are working hard to make sure that happens at a minimal amount.

However, there is one thing I'm worried about. What do we do in this game? Yes, there is sort of a goal. Sean Murray has said that players may take a journey to get to the "center of the galaxy" where a surprise awaits for players. But besides this, what do we even do? Exploring these planets and naming them (which yes you can do) will be cool, but it won't last forever.

I hope this game is everything it promises to be, and I am honestly super hyped for this, but it could be one of the biggest letdowns of the year.

No Man's Sky will release in June 2016.

The other game on our list for the PS4 is Horizon Zero Dawn.

Of course graphics don't make a game or good, but dang. The graphics in Horizon Zero Dawn are mind blowing, especially for a console.

But that's not the only thing, this game is unique and something no one has ever seen or experienced.

In a quick summary, Horizon Zero Dawn is set in the future. Humanity has fallen considerably, as different tribes and factions seem to control bits and pieces of the land. Sounds familiar so far...

However, with humanity's downfall, came the uprising of robot dinosaurs. Robot. Dinosaurs.

I don't even care how they explain how that happened or if they even do at all, but that's cool. That's like every child's dream on steroids. Children love robots. Children love dinosaurs. To recapture the kid in all of us, Guerilla Games has combined the two.

I am honestly super hyped for this game. It's something different for the industry, as it's not just some sequel to an ongoing series. I'm excited to see what they do with this.

This could go all wrong though. I thought the same thing about Watch Dogs. It looked very promising, but ended up being mediocre at most. We'll have to wait and see.

Horizon Zero Dawn will release sometime in 2016.

After looking at both lists, I honestly see the PS4 winning this one.

People may think I'm biased towards the PS4 after reading this article, but I honestly believe Sony has the better game list in 2016. I am not biased and actually believe Xbox had the edge last year with Halo 5 in 2015.

The PS4 just has a strong list, especially with No Man's Sky and Horizon Zero Dawn.

If No Man's Sky is as cool as it seems to be, it could honestly be a system seller for the PS4.

The Xbox exclusives this year are just sort of...bleh. I mean I wrote a lot about Quantum Break because honestly, that's really the only one that interested me that much. If this game can do what it wants to do, it will be a very neat game. But Quantum Break alone cannot give Microsoft the victory. Sony wins.

Let me know what you guys think. Is Sony's list truly the superior, or are the Xbox exclusives bound to surprise us?