Gaming

August is traditionally the last month before the glut of game releases begins in earnest. It’s usually when Madden is released and a whole bunch of shovelware that studios want to get out the door before they start launching their heavy hitters in anticipation of the Fall and Holiday seasons. This year, August actually has a few games that aren’t Madden that are still worth a look or two.

With that said, on to this month’s releases:

Week of August 19th
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition – I’m still not sure why Diablo III didn’t do it for me the way Diablo II did. I also wonder if the console version is worth the time. Either way, Diablo III has a faithful fanbase and they love them some console Diablo.

Week of August 26th
Madden NFL 15 – With everything that EA is dealing with concerning the Ed O’Bannon case, this year marked the first time in over a decade that they didn’t release an NCAA version of their football game. Even though it was Madden’s neglected younger cousin, it was a fan favorite among college football fans, myself included. And since last year’s cover was graced by Denard Robinson, a former University of Meatchicken Skunk Weasel, I guess my run with EA’s NCAA ended two years ago. That’s all to say I loved NCAA Football and never cared for Madden. I don’t think I’ll care this year, either.
Metro Redux

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Week of August 5th
Darksiders – Collection
Ultra Street Fighter IV – One thing Capcom can never be accused of is being unoriginal with their iterative titles.
Sacred 3 – Sacred 3 is intriguing to me. Way back in the day, (five years ago, to be exact), we were provided a copy of Sacred 2 for review. James reviewed and gave it a solid “BUY” rating back then. I’ve played it, and while it was rough around the edges, it had its moments. With the eminent release of Sacred 3, I am intrigued. I don’t think it will have the tactical depth of Divinity: Original Sin, but I think it could be a fun hack-and-slash romp. I’m putting this on my “definitely maybe” list. (But I’ll probably pick up the already released PC version)

Week of August 12th
Risen 3: Titan Lords
World of Tanks

Week of August 19th
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition

Week of August 26th
Madden NFL 15

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Week of August 5th
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Week of August 26th
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

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Week of August 5th
Ultra Street Fighter IV
MX vs. ATV: Alive + Supercross
Red Faction – Collection
Darksiders – Collection
Weather Lord: In Pursuit of the Shaman – (Included for completeness sake, and a totally bonkers name of a game. Weather Lord? Seriously?)

Week of August 12th
Risen 3 – Titan Lords

Week of August 19th
Week of August 26th
Metro 2033 Redux
Metro: Last Light Redux
Metro Redux

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Week of August 19th
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare

Week of August 26th
Madden NFL 15
Metro Redux
inFAMOUS First Light

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Week of August 5th
Darksiders – Collection
Red Faction – Collection
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Sacred 3

Week of August 12th
AKIBA’S TRIP: Undead & Undressed
Risen 3: Titan Lords

Week of August 19th
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare

Week of August 26th
Madden NFL 15
Tales of Xillia 2

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Week of August 12th
Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited
AKIBA’S TRIP: Undead & Undressed

Week of August 26th
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

Well, this is rather embarrassing. It has been over two months since our last post. That means I’ve missed two monthly release posts and even though I have been mashing buttons, I haven’t written anything of substance. (More accurately, I’ve been mashing the right button on my mouse, because Dota 2 still has a stranglehold on my gaming time). But with that said, let’s get on to this month’s releases:

Week of June 3rd
Murdered Soul Suspect

Week of June 17th
UFC – Nice to see EA eschewing adding a number to each one of their franchises. Sometimes simple is better.

Week of June 24th
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark – The last Transformers video game got some decent sleeper-status buzz. Will Rise of the Dark Spark get it, as well?

Week of June 3rd
Murdered: Soul Suspect

Week of June 10th
Enemy Front

Week of June 24th
GRID Autosport Black Edition
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark

Week of June 24th
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark

Week of June 3rd
Tomodachi Life

Week of June 24th
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark
Farming Simulator ’14 – If it was like this (questionable content alert), I’d be in on Farming Simulator for my 3DS.

Week of June 3rd
Wildstar
Murdered: Soul Suspect
Legends of Persia

Week of June 10th
Enemy Front
SPINTIRES – The description of this game includes the sentence “Fasten your seatbelt and become the driver of unique vehicles that have been based on Soviet off-road classics.” I don’t think you can get a nicher than a driving game based of Soviet off-road classics. The audience is narrow with this one.

Week of June 17th
Black Gold Online – I’ll take games I’ve never heard of for 500, Alex.
MotoGP 14
Tropico 5

Week of June 24th
GRID Autosport

Week of June 3rd
Murdered Soul Suspect

Week of June 17th
UFC

Week of June 24th
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark

Week of June 3rd
Murdered: Soul Suspect

Week of June 24th
Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
Xblaze Code:Embryo
Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark
GRID Autosport Black Edition

Week of June 3rd
Hyperdimension Neptunia PP – Nope, this title wouldn’t make ten-year old me laugh at all. Not at all!

Week of June 24th
Xblaze Code:Embryo
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

Weekend Gaming posts are normally Tony’s shtick. For this weekend’s post he explained that he meant to write it last night but somehow mysteriously ended up in a couple DOTA 2 matches instead – just the same as a gambler says no more for the night but somehow mysteriously ends up cranking slots for two more hours, or the struggling chocaholic who somehow mysteriously finds his cheeks stuffed with whoppers. So this morning, while in the throes of fighting this personal demon, Tony assigned the Weekend Gaming task to me.

And well-timed, too! Should he have asked me to do this next weekend – or even tomorrow – there’s a strong chance that I would be unable to write this post as well because I somehow mysteriously have slipped ever-deeper into the realm of Dark Souls 2. I anticipated this game so much that I actually bought it on launch day (this past Tuesday), which I have never done with any other title. Several months ago there was a stir within the Dark Souls community when game co-director Yui Tanimura made mention that DS2 would be more ‘accessible’ than the first game. After seeing the buzz that his comment made he quickly issued a statement clarifying his meaning. For what it’s worth, I here now testify that ‘accessible’ does not mean easier. Not in the slightest. The same expectations on the player as the first Dark Souls are in place, perhaps even more pressing: Souls have more value (retrieve yours!); your HP is penalized the longer you play and die as a hollow; fall damage is more severe; the areas are gnarly and confusing. And yet, battered and bruised I press forward, along with so many other players.

A harder reality must be recognized. I am playing Dark Souls 2 on the PS3. And our family has only one HDTV. And my kids wanna watch stuff. And my wife would rather the kids watch stuff than me play Dark Souls 2. And these are enemies far more powerful and frightening than anything I will ever encounter in the game. So I must relinquish the TV at times. When this happens I do believe I shall resurface to join Tony and James and any other ButtonMasher in a nice, level-headed round or two of Dota. I am glad that Tony has been on a 2-month Dota kick because it has gotten me to gravitate back to the game as well. I’ve learned to take the losses along with the wins. I better understand the strategy, the items, the skills. When to use what, what to use where. Chatting with fellow ButtonMasher about the game is fun! But, more than anything, I no longer feel like I’m a slippery n00b.  Or as Major Payne once said to his squad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you playing this weekend, turd?

(I’m a little last this month, but since there wasn’t anything released the first week of March, all is forgiven, right?)

I’ve seen some bad March release lists, but: Buzz — your release list: WOOF! Here are a bunch of games you probably won’t be playing in March (and a couple you almost certainly will be):

Week of March 11th
Titanfall – Microsoft is clearly planning on riding the coattails of Titanfall to tide over any and all Xbox One owners. From all accounts, it’s a great game.

Week of March 11th
Dark Souls II (Collector’s Edition) – I know one buttonmasher who is very excited (and afraid) that March is Dark Souls II month. Very excited.

Week of March 25th
Titanfall

Week of March 25th
Cut The Rope: Triple Treat

Week of March 11th
Titanfall

Week of March 18th
Men of War : Assault Squad 2

Week of March 25th
Rambo The Video Game – I’m not saying this is an obvious budget title or anything, but it does say it’s compatible on Windows 95.
MXGP
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – If I pick up anything this month (and that’s a big IF) it will be the Diablo 3 expansion.

Week of March 11th
Putty Squad

Week of March 18th
inFAMOUS: Second Son
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Week of March 11th
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
Dark Souls II (Black Armor Edition)

Week of March 18th
Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster Special Edition

Week of March 25th
Rambo The Video Game
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma
The Witch and the Hundred Knight

Week of March 18th
FINAL FANTASY X|X-2 HD Remaster

Week of March 25th
Deception IV: Blood Ties

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

There still hasn’t been any great next-gen (which I guess is now this-gen) titles to really hit the release list yet, but things are getting better. But February is a great month of games if you haven’t moved on to the Xbox One or the PS4. The Playstation 3 line up is particularly strong this go-round. With that said, on to this month’s releases:

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Week of February 18th
Rayman Legends

Week of February 25th
Thief
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame
Fable Anniversary

Week of February 11th
The Borderlands 2 & Dishonored Bundle
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII – I gave FFXIII the real college try and it never clicked. Now that I’ve been methodically working through my backlog I wonder if I’ll ever get back to it.

Week of February 18th
Earth Defense Force 2025
NASCAR ’14

Week of February 25th
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Thief

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Week of February 18th
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame
Bravely Default – This is probably the only pick up for me this month. I’ve heard great things about Bravely Default and hope to grab it after I finish A Link Between Worlds.

Week of February 25th
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Week of February 4th
The Sims 3 Roaring Heights World
Airport Simulator 2014

Week of February 25th
Thief

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Week of February 11th
Week of February 18th
Rayman Legends

Week of February 25th
Thief
Putty Squad

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Week of February 11th
The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC
The Elder Scrolls: V:Skyrim & Bioshock Infinite Bundle – This is the “I only have time for two games this year” Bundle.
Far Cry Compilation
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
The Borderlands 2 & Dishonored Bundle – This is the “I love loot and killing things in gruesome ways” Bundle

Week of February 18th
Earth Defense Force 2025
NASCAR ’14
Ragnarok Odyssey ACE

Week of February 25th
Putty Squad
Magus
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
Thief

Week of February 4th
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Week of February 11th
Toukiden: The Age of Demons
DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Week of February 18th
Ragnarok Odyssey ACE

Week of February 25th
Putty Squad

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)