Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (PS3)

Tales of Symphonia was one of the best games in the very long Tales JRPG series, and a stand-out game on the Gamecube. It also had a sequel for the Wii, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, which no one played; it wasn't a bad game by any means, but it released at a time when very few people were playing the Wii, beyond old folks in nursing homes who were enamored with Wii Sports Bowling. If you love JRPGs and missed either of these games, now's your chance: releasing in Japan in a couple weeks under the incomprehensible name of 'The Unisonant Pack', Tales of Symphonia Chronicles contains both games and is supposed to come out in the States in 2014. Both games have been updated to HD and cleaned up, and they look lovely. They both play the same as pretty much every other game in the series, but the story and characters in Symphonia made it a fan favorite. If you played Tales of Xillia and want more of the series, or are just a fan of classic JRPGs in general, keep an eye out for this game on the PS3 in 2014.

Ace Combat: Infinity (PSN)

Fair warning; I am a huge Ace Combat fan. Just to give you some idea of how bad I am, I have an official Ace Combat flight jacket (complete with squadron patches from the various titles) that I sometimes wear while playing the games. Unfortunately, my jacket has been gathering dust since the release of Ace Combat Horizons, as there hasn't been a new Ace Combat in a while. Finally, a few months ago, Namco-Bandai announced a new downloadable PlayStation Network title called Ace Combat Infinity. It eventually came out that the game would be a free-to-play, freemium title, and I got worried. However, my fears were soon assuaged after I got to play the game itself at TGS.

First off, lets talk about the elephant in the room, the freemium gameplay. Ace Combat Infinity producer, Kazutoki Kono, addressed the issue at TGS by saying that Horizons would consist of both a stand-alone offline and online co-operative campaign, both of which would be free. However, Infinity's multi-player is said to be the larger, more lengthier portion of the two and as such will take advantage of the freemium model. The multiplayer mode will incorporate a "fuel" system in which players' fighters have a set amount of fuel which is used-up when you deploy on a mission. After your mission is over, you will have to wait a set amount of time for your fuel to be replenished. Now, if you aren't willing to wait for this recharge time, you can purchase more fuel for your fighter; there will also be purchasable items as well. According to Kono, players that don't wish to buy more fuel or items will still be able to complete the entire game, if they are willing to take the time. After playing both of Infinity's offline and online modes at TGS, though, I am sold. There is nothing new or drastic here, and none of the "arcade-style" gameplay or mechanics from Horizon is present either, thankfully. This is classic Ace Combat, pure and simple, and I am already dusting off my jacket in preparation for it.