June 3 - June 7

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This is the kind of week that's easy to overlook, but holds some quietly interesting titles. Looking down this list, it's not unreasonable for me to imagine myself playing, at some point, four or more of the games listed.

At the top of the list is a title both Shawn and I ended up being impressed by at PAX East: Remember Me. This futuristic action game from Capcom is set around the main character, Nilin, who is a memory hunter in Neo-Paris and has, for some reason, had their own memory wiped. This somewhat stale sci-fi cliche leads to all kinds of action-y, beat-em-up escapades. Though I recall being impressed by the aesthetics of the game, early reviews have been unfortunately tepid, describing Remember Me as a game with moments of excellence interspersed throughout an otherwise bland game.

Also this week, Minecraft creator Mojang sends their next title, Scrolls, into open beta. A deck-building strategy game, Scrolls at first glance seems a complete departure from Mojang's monolithic, indie juggernaut. If I'm honest, I'm dying to play a great PC deck-building game — preferably one that doesn't abuse my wallet through microtransactions in the process — and I'm eager to see what Notch and crew do with the genre. I'm hopeful their implementation, which includes trading cards among friends and multiplayer matches, hits the right spot.

Neither of those doing much for you? Consider Panzer Corps: Allied Corps. A standalone pseudo-sequel to the excellent Panzer Corps, and firmly entrenched in the spiritual realm of the old Panzer General games, Allied Corps is a relatively fast-paced, turn-based strategy game played out on old-school hexagons.

None of that floating your boat? How about a 3DS Animal Crossing game? Or the release of the free-to-play Diablo-meets-licensed-superheroes efforts of Marvel Heroes? Some Penny Arcade action with On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4? Or the decent tower-defense Prime World Defenders?

I look at this week's release list and it's a microcosm of the story of the gaming industry right now to my mind. Lots of inventive, diverse games to soak up hours and days of time, and not a AAA title in the bunch.

PC
- Alltynex Second (download - $8)
- Gunpoint (download - $10)
- Kamui (download - $8)
- Marvel Heroes (free-to-play)
- Panzer Corps: Allied Corps
- Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 (download - $5)
- Prime World: Defenders (download - $15)
- RefleX (download - $8)
- Remember Me
- Scrolls (download - $20)

Xbox 360
- Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 (XBLIG - $5)
- Remember Me

PS3
- Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano (PSN - PS2 Classics)
- Remember Me
- Ultimate Board Game Collection (PSN - PS2 Classics)

Vita
- Limbo (PSN - $15)
- Quell Memento (PSN)

3DS
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf

PSP
- Class of Heroes II (PSN - $25)

Comments

I look at this week's release list and it's a microcosm of the story of the gaming industry right now to my mind. Lots of inventive, diverse games to soak up hours and days of time, and not a AAA title in the bunch.

Reminds me of my Steam pile, too.

Ive been interested in Remember Me. Although in a 'cheap steam sale sometime' way. The reviews have only confirmed that it probably should be a long wait.
So yet another week "dedicated" to the pile.

That's pretty fast turnaround for Bethesda! Good timing too, since I finally just finished all the DLC. Can't wait to try this new Scrolls game, if it's anything like Skyrim, I'll be busy for another couple of years lol

Gunpoint is the only thing I'm particularly excited for as a new release. Otherwise everything else would be an add to the pile. Who am I kidding? Gunpoint goes on the pile also.

Gravey wrote:

That's pretty fast turnaround for Bethesda! Good timing too, since I finally just finished all the DLC. Can't wait to try this new Scrolls game, if it's anything like Skyrim, I'll be busy for another couple of years lol

Wait, it's not Skyrim DLC?

garion333 wrote:
Gravey wrote:

That's pretty fast turnaround for Bethesda! Good timing too, since I finally just finished all the DLC. Can't wait to try this new Scrolls game, if it's anything like Skyrim, I'll be busy for another couple of years lol

Wait, it's not Skyrim DLC?

Well it's called Scrolls, so I just assume it's the next Elder Scrolls game.

If it's not, that really should have been cleared up by now.

Now, where did I put that popcorn?

Eagerly awaiting Gunpoint to unlock, and I'm waiting for other people to take the dive on Scrolls and surface with impressions before I consider it. Was originally intrigued by Scrolls, but a lot of other digital card games have launched since the announcement so I'm less interested in it these days.

I look at this week's release list and it's a microcosm of the story of the gaming industry right now to my mind. Lots of inventive, diverse games to soak up hours and days of time, and not a AAA title in the bunch.

The current state really reminds me of the '80s when companies were throwing weird ideas at the wall just to see what stuck. Really enjoying the incredible variety of games available in the $20 or under price range over the last couple of years.

Speaking of Scrolls, the "Skyrim Legendary Edition" will be released tomorrow (June 4th).

Looking forward to impressions of Scrolls.

I have been playing Prime World Defenders and it is pretty fun. Deeper than your average tower defense game and has RPG-type elements and deck elements where you collect cards and use them to level up your towers. At least so far, I recommend it.

Nothing this week. Waiting patiently for The Last of Us!

Gunpoint is getting lots of great buzz and looks pretty fun. Remember Me is making me kind of sad, but I've got it pre-ordered so we'll see how it turns out.

I don't really much about Remember Me, but this "interactive" review on OXM UK is fantastic for more reasons than one. It reminds me of Kieron Gillen's review for Boiling Point, but now I'm talking more about game reviews than Remember Me.

Gravey wrote:

I don't really much about Remember Me

You accidentally a word.

Wow. Well, if anyone has somehow managed to not play Limbo on either 360 or PC for the multiple years it's been out on both platforms, now's your chance! It's worth it. I'm astonished it took that long to get to PS3, though.

wordsmythe wrote:
Gravey wrote:

I don't really much about Remember Me

You accidentally a word.

There was meant to be a drop-down menu in the spirit of the OXM review, but I couldn't figure out the BBCode.

Spoiler:

Not really. It was "know".

Animal Crossing New Leaf is coming for me, though since it's apparently releasing on Sunday it won't be until next week. Excited!

I was interested in Remember Me but sad to learn that it might not be so great. I'll have to check some reviews to decide whether it's a "play now" or a "play later" or a "skip".

The comment about Scrolls being a deckbuilding game makes me wish there were a deckbuilding game of the Dominion sort that started as a video game and took advantage of the medium. In fact I had been throwing around an idea of an RPG with Dominion-style deckbuilding as a combat mechanic. Alas, you probably mean deckbuilding in the Magic sense.

But yeah, there's a lot of potentially interesting stuff this week. Animal Crossing, Remember Me, Scrolls, Marvel Heroes and Penny Arcade are all games I was interested in playing/trying at some point.

It's Remember Me and Animal Crossing: NL calling out to me. Been a sucker for AC since way back in the Gamecube (still own it) and the original DS' entry took entirely too much of my life

Demyx wrote:

The comment about Scrolls being a deckbuilding game makes me wish there were a deckbuilding game of the Dominion sort that started as a video game and took advantage of the medium. In fact I had been throwing around an idea of an RPG with Dominion-style deckbuilding as a combat mechanic. Alas, you probably mean deckbuilding in the Magic sense.

I seem to remember there was an RPG like that, and you had a deck of cards for combat where you could draw like a sword card for an attack, or special attack cards, or heart cards to heal, etc. I think I read about it on Penny Arcade a year or two ago?

Also not really Dominion-similar but there is the Card Hunter RPG in beta.

LeapingGnome wrote:
Demyx wrote:

The comment about Scrolls being a deckbuilding game makes me wish there were a deckbuilding game of the Dominion sort that started as a video game and took advantage of the medium. In fact I had been throwing around an idea of an RPG with Dominion-style deckbuilding as a combat mechanic. Alas, you probably mean deckbuilding in the Magic sense.

I seem to remember there was an RPG like that, and you had a deck of cards for combat where you could draw like a sword card for an attack, or special attack cards, or heart cards to heal, etc. I think I read about it on Penny Arcade a year or two ago?

Also not really Dominion-similar but there is the Card Hunter RPG in beta.

Sounds like you're thinking of Sword and Poker or 10000000

Tanglebones wrote:
LeapingGnome wrote:
Demyx wrote:

The comment about Scrolls being a deckbuilding game makes me wish there were a deckbuilding game of the Dominion sort that started as a video game and took advantage of the medium. In fact I had been throwing around an idea of an RPG with Dominion-style deckbuilding as a combat mechanic. Alas, you probably mean deckbuilding in the Magic sense.

I seem to remember there was an RPG like that, and you had a deck of cards for combat where you could draw like a sword card for an attack, or special attack cards, or heart cards to heal, etc. I think I read about it on Penny Arcade a year or two ago?

Also not really Dominion-similar but there is the Card Hunter RPG in beta.

Sounds like you're thinking of Sword and Poker or 10000000

I think one of the Penny Arcade guys was actually designing the system LeapingGnome described and was talking about playtesting it last year or earlier this year. I could be wrong though.

Minarchist wrote:

Wow. Well, if anyone has somehow managed to not play Limbo on either 360 or PC for the multiple years it's been out on both platforms, now's your chance! It's worth it. I'm astonished it took that long to get to PS3, though.

Limbo came out last year for PS3. This is the Vita release. I played it on the PS3 and it was great. Should be good on the Vita as well.

Agricola for iPad this week....?

Wasn't Baten Kaitos an RPG that used cards?

I'm grabbing Remember Me tomorrow morning. What I've skimmed over in reviews just makes me kind of irritated. "Here's a game that takes a variety of elements from three AAA games, mashes them together, but since none of them are as great as each of those triple A games it's obviously not as good. Also, even though we claim we want room for lower-budget games so not everything has to be big budget blockbuster AAA titles, we're still going to complain that it's not a AAA title".

That's the general impression I've got skimming reviews so far.

I'll play Remember Me and judge it for what it is, but I can already see it being another Darksiders.

ccesarano wrote:

Wasn't Baten Kaitos an RPG that used cards?

Yes. That's still the most interesting inventory and battle system I've seen on any RPG.

Remember Me has looked interesting but considering the size of the pile it's a "Steam sale buy".

For anyone thinking about Marvel Heroes we have a thread where you can find some friends. And once the patch supergroups back in (yeah it's still a big buggy and probably could have used another week or two cooking), we'll have a GWJ group I'm sure.

Was looking forward to Remember Me, but might wait until a sale to grab it.

Aristophan wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

Wow. Well, if anyone has somehow managed to not play Limbo on either 360 or PC for the multiple years it's been out on both platforms, now's your chance! It's worth it. I'm astonished it took that long to get to PS3, though.

Limbo came out last year for PS3. This is the Vita release. I played it on the PS3 and it was great. Should be good on the Vita as well.

Tried to find a Limbo thread to ask this, but my search skills failed me.
*raises fire shield* What is the big deal with Limbo? Am I missing something here? All I saw was a bleak, incredibly frustrating platform puzzler, and I don't understand why all the hype. I finished it, I "get" what's depicting, but... Someone please, please help me understand what all the hullabaloo is about.

Eleima wrote:

Was looking forward to Remember Me, but might wait until a sale to grab it.

Aristophan wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

Wow. Well, if anyone has somehow managed to not play Limbo on either 360 or PC for the multiple years it's been out on both platforms, now's your chance! It's worth it. I'm astonished it took that long to get to PS3, though.

Limbo came out last year for PS3. This is the Vita release. I played it on the PS3 and it was great. Should be good on the Vita as well.

Tried to find a Limbo thread to ask this, but my search skills failed me.
*raises fire shield* What is the big deal with Limbo? Am I missing something here? All I saw was a bleak, incredibly frustrating platform puzzler, and I don't understand why all the hype. I finished it, I "get" what's depicting, but... Someone please, please help me understand what all the hullabaloo is about. :(

You aren't alone. I bought it on 360 ages ago, and my interest lasted as long as the novelty of the art style.

I'm seeing that more and more now. Just as people love to beat on 'generic' gritty modern shooters or zombie games, or WWII games, there seems to be a really intense wave of initial hype over anything vaguely novel, and that intensity seems to bring a downside. Not that that novelty isn't a good thing, but it does raise expectations.