Team Talk | What will be the highlight at Gamescom 2019?

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​E3 has disappeared from the rear view mirror and the next stop in the 2019 gaming road map is Gamescom. With new content and announcements promised right from the get go during Opening Night Live (hosted by The Game Awards creator, Geoff Keighley), here's what we're looking forward to.

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by Chris Brand

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@SuperCrisco

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by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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​Chris | Marvel's Avengers
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One of the standout games from Square's E3 briefing, Marvel's Avengers is ticking all the right boxes. A new singleplayer story, separate from the MHU, could prove to be even more engaging than the movies. Though the titular Avengers are the main draw, there's definite scope for developers Crystal Dynamics (supported by an Avengers-worthy team composed of Crystal Northwest, Eidos Montreal and Nixxes) to add some lesser known heroes and villains to the cast.

Even without any surprise cameos, this is still new territory. The heroes we've witnessed on the silver screen are not the same ones we'll take control of in game. Sure, their backstories are unlikely to diverge too much from the canonical lore but I'm going in with no expectations regarding the overarching narrative, in fact I'm even more excited to experience a different take on the characters I've grown to love.

Optional co-op side missions, a seemingly broad spectrum of character customisation options (of both stat-boosting and purely cosmetic varieties) and free updates are the icing on an already scrumptious looking cake.

May 2020 can't come soon enough.

Will the Avengers be bolstering their ranks?

Sam | Death Stranding

It’s been confirmed that Hideo Kojima will be taking a break from crunching on Death Stranding with the team at Kojima Productions, what with its 8 November release fast approaching, to join best buddy Geoff Keighley at Gamescom 2019’s Opening Night Live event.

Making the trip to the show, which takes place in Cologne, Germany, for the first time since 2014, it’s reasonable to assume that the former Metal Gear Solid director has big news regarding his latest project to share. It’d be about time, as Death Stranding remains shrouded in an air of mystery less than two months ahead of its PS4 release.

Long-term Team Talk readers may already know how devastating Silent Hills’ cancellation was for me, largely due to a collaboration between some of my favourite talents from multiple mediums - namely Kojima himself, film director Guillermo del Toro, and actor Norman Reedus - being wrestled from almost within my grasp. Now, albeit in a different form, that majorly mouth-watering meeting of masterminds is back on.

As such, I already know that you can count me in wherever Death Stranding is concerned, but I’d rather like to find out if the game really is about an incredibly devoted package delivery service assigning babies in jars as co-drivers...

Every image seems to reinforce that theory.

Liam | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s absence from the E3 public meant that my predication - along with pretty much every other guess I made - failed to come true. So, it’s up to Gamescom to get the hype train back on track after the summer’s minor derailment.

I was initially excited about the reboot following an announcement trailer in which we get our first glimpse of the grounded, modern day setting and a fresh-faced Captain Price (complete with his iconic boonie hat) but since then my enthusiasm has waned somewhat.

So far, I’ve seen nothing of the campaign and very little of the multiplayer, save for a brief round of Gun Game and a trailer that dropped earlier in the month. Whilst the latter started off well, highlighting new tactical abilities like being able to peak through doors before entering a room, it quickly descended into some trademark Call of Duty silliness.
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I'm not totally against some over-the-top action, but I’m hoping that next week's show will present something similar in style and tone to the announcement trailer, especially if it includes a look at the campaign. Even if the final product is only half as good as the original Modern Warfare, I’ll still be satisfied.

War never changes, but it does look better each year.

James | Astral Chain

There are still quite a few games due to come out this year which we'll hear all about at Gamescom, but I feel fairly confident that none of them are quite like Astral Chain.

Platinum Games' latest jumped to the top of my Switch list after the Nintendo Direct at E3. The game comes from Takahisa Taura, who was previously lead game designer for Nier: Automata, and sees you fighting alien-like monsters from another dimension with help from your Legion, a powerful weapon who fights independently in combat.

Platinum is known for its slightly off-beat approach to action games, with Bayonetta, Vanquish and Neir under its belt, which has me thinking this could be one of the most original releases due out this year.

Better still, it's a Switch exclusive, so it has the best possible chance to be well-optimised and the gameplay shown off so far looks really impressive. Plus, with potentially all of what we'll see about Pokémon ahead of its release out of the bag, this is the Nintendo game that really tops the excitement-o-meter.

While it's not likely to make the biggest smash of the show (especially when some have the Hulk in their corner), it's an experience which is sure to be unlike anything else.​

Platinum Games' portfolio has us eager to see more.

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Lets us know what you're most excited to see at Gamescom 2019 in the comments below.