You can finally put down Team Fortress 2, because 2015 is going to be a huge year for class-based multiplayer shooters. Here’s an overview of seven games you’re going to want to keep your eye on.
1. Overwatch | Blizzard
After a lengthy and troubled development, Blizzard has retooled their MMO Titan into a class-based multiplayer shooter. The project is now called Overwatch, and it made a huge splash at 2014’s BlizzCon.
The game will feature at least a dozen different character classes at launch, and each of them looks and feels extremely distinct. That’ll be a tough balancing act, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Blizzard. You can sign up for the upcoming beta through Battle.net.
In addition to the main trailers below, you can check out all of the character-specific gameplay videos here.
2. Evolve | Turtle Rock
Evolve is interesting, because unlike the rest of the entries on this list, it’s very asymmetrical in its multiplayer approach. The game pits a team of four “hunters” against one “monster,” all of whom are player controlled.
The hunters job is to track down the monster and kill it. The monster meanwhile needs to avoid detection while feeding off of the local wildlife, growing bigger and stronger in the process. Eventually, if the monster is able to grow big enough, he can attempt to destroy the hunter base.
The game has so far been extremely well-received at E3 and during its initial closed alpha, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the team behind it also developed Left 4 Dead.
The game is currently aiming for a February 10, 2015 release date.
3. Star Wars: Battlefront | DICE
EA made a lot of fans very happy when they revealed that Star Wars: Battlefront would be making a comeback. We know very little about the game’s specifics so far, other than that it will be developed by DICE, makers of the Battlefield series, and will run on the Frostbite 3 engine.
The last we heard, Star Wars: Battlefront is aiming for a Holiday 2015 release.
4. Battleborn | Gearbox
Combining FPS and MOBA elements, Battleborn had a big showing at this E3 2014. On the MOBA end of things, the game will feature 5v5 character-based combat across several lanes of action, a setup that should be familiar for anyone’s who’s booted up League of Legends or Dota. You’ll level up your character in game by fighting NPC creeps or opposing players, upgrading your abilities as you go along.
The action is played out in a mix of first-person and third-person, depending on the attack. Ranged stuff tends to look like a traditional FPS, while a lot of melee attacks use a third-person view.
Some players are likely going to be drawing a few comparisons to Smite, another first-person-centric MOBA, but with Battleborn‘s crazy colorful art style, the two are definitely not going to be mixed up.
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