Temperatures and leaves aren’t the only things dropping this fall.. Smaller downloadable games come out all year, but the major AAA games are still stacked in September, October and November. Tons of games are coming out.
Whoa, something new??
I am going to divide these games into three categories. This category will focus on new IPs””intellectual property””which doesn’t include sequels or games based on movies or books.
Bungie Studio’s “Destiny” came out last Tuesday for both the Playstation and Xbox consoles. Bungie is known for one of the best-selling franchises of all-time: “Halo.” “Destiny” seems to combine the excellent controls of “Halo” with the RPG elements of games like “Borderlands” or “Diablo.”
Insomniac Games, makers of “Ratchet & Clank” and “Resistance,” have jumped ship from making Sony-exclusive games to making a Microsoft-exclusive game, “Sunset Overdrive.” Set in a colorful post-apocalyptic world, the game features some of Insomniac’s famous weaponry inventions. For example, there’s the “TNTeddy,” which is a teddy bear strapped with (you guessed it) TNT.
It is very rare to find big-budget games that are also new IP because of the huge risks. If you want something really new and crazy, go look at independent games on Steam, Xbox Live or the Playstation Store.
I’ve played this before!
It is a bit frustrating to see developers become sequel factories, which is what happened with Infinity Ward and its “Call of Duty” series. There are only a few developers that keep the games fresh with each iteration.
The sequel I am most excited for is “Assassin Creed’s Unity.” It is set during the French Revolution and it really feels like a next-generation game. There are hundreds of NPCs (non-player characters), and it feels like the missions are much more dynamic.
There really isn’t much to be said about “Super Smash Bros.” You pick a Nintendo character, you fight against other Nintendo characters, you and your friends play and hate each other forever. There is a new one coming out for the Wii U and the 3DS.
A quick aside: “Grand Theft Auto V” is being re-released for the current generation of consoles. Rockstar seems to be giving the game a full makeover. They just made the prettiest and smartest-looking girl at prom the prettiest and smartest girl in the whole town.
You don’t belong here!
These days, gimmicks are in style. Everything has to be some sort of transmedia “experience.” Games have fallen victim to this trend as well.
For example, “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor” is almost certainly making Tolkien cry somewhere. However, I must admit that some aspects of the gameplay look really cool. I’ll be cautiously optimistic about this one.
Games based on the horror franchise “Alien” have generally sucked as much as a black hole (get it? space joke?). They tend to miss what made the movies scary in the first place. However, “Alien: Isolation” seems like it might convey the sense of isolation (zing!) and pure fear that the original “Alien” films did so well.
And with that, I bid you a happy and successful gaming season.
