Forget aliens or ninjas. This week’s videogame releases are all about pirates, assassins and battlefield commanders that span two generations of gaming. What may wind up being two of the best Xbox One and PS4 titles sit atop this week’s schedule.

Note: The PlayStation 4’s DualShock4 controller is now available for anyone who wishes to check it out ahead of the new console’s launch.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS3, Wii U)

The promise of a pirate setting, complete with naval sieges and a host of colorful captains, has ‘Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag‘ poised to be a must-play title. The only real question is whether to play now or wait a few weeks for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC versions. The PS3 and PS4 copies will get an extra hour of content (three missions) that will be exclusive for six months.

Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, PC)

‘Battlefield 4‘ is the ultimate form thus far for 32- or 64-player shooter, tank and plane domination games. The leap from ‘Battlefield 3’ to ‘Battlefield 4’ hopefully means that the single-player campaign has stepped up to be worthy of playing on its own. That said, this game is not a looker on the old consoles, and asks a lot from the PC. Once the Xbox One and PS4 versions appear as launch titles, ‘Battlefield 4’ will likely surpass the already huge user base for ‘Battlefield 3’.

Sonic Lost World (Wii U, 3DS)

‘Sonic Lost World‘ was announced with much of the typical “This will save the Sonic franchise” hype, and that hype has come back to Earth. Nevertheless, on either the Wii U or the 3DS, this looks to be the best 3D ‘Sonic’ game since the advent of the Dreamcast.

WWE 2K14 (Wii U, 3DS)

‘WWE 2K14‘ seems perfect for wrestling fans. The game features so much of the theatrics of pro wrestling, plus the nostalgia of wrestling from the last thirty years.

https://youtu.be/7C2AdPGRcQk

Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate HD (XBLA, PSN)

‘Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate HD’ is the high-def version of last’s years 3DS hit. It includes a demo for ‘Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2’. The ‘Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection‘ follows next week and will include the original ‘Lords of Shadow’ and ‘Lords of Shadow 2’ and ‘Mirror of Fate HD’.

https://youtu.be/iWDZzTtmSIw