August 22 – August 28

Section: 

It’s mid-August, which means one of the much steadier hands that pilots the Week Ahead these days is going to send me a note asking if I want to come to the big show one more time and throw out the first pitch of the fall gaming season by naming Madden game of the week. I blow the thin veneer of dust off my crown, grab the scepter out of the back of the closet, behind the Rock Band drum kit and intertwined in a tangle of PS2 controllers, and make my way up to the stage to announce …

“This week, Madden week, I am here to bestow my royal decree that, August 22nd shall be the week of … Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.”

Then I throw my scepter at a wall projecting a 1984-style video, and run down a hall or something. I don’t know. This vignette is getting away from me.

If I’m honest, it’s been two years or more since I last bought a Madden game, and I can’t say I’m fighting the urge this year. It’s not for lack of a clever, kitschy marketing video or a failure to properly appreciate Gronk on the cover. It’s just that the game has become so focused on improving the online, drafting and trading-card stuff that I just can’t drum up any enthusiasm to play those other parts. I get why the focus has gone where it has, and it’s not like I can even think of anything left to add to the basic game anymore, but with even a passing alternative available, I’m hard pressed to care all that much.

Besides, I played the hell out of Human Revolution, and while far from a flawless game, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next iteration for more than a year. Another swing at techno-mayhem, as dealt by series protagonist Adam Jensen, is exactly what I want to spend the week doing.

Sorry, old friend. Madden can grab some bench this week. My Game of the Week goes to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Greg "Doubtingthomas396" Decker

I have two problems with sports. The first is I don’t see the point in playing unless you’re going to win. The second is that I’m from Buffalo, NY.

Being a sports fan under those conditions is a recipe for a drinking problem.

I also have two problems with the Deus Ex series. First, I don’t like orange. Second, and more pertinent, is the ending of Human Revolution, which called to mind your average Bills game: It managed to end both predictably and badly.

So this week Madden 2017 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided are out for the running for me, and for largely the same reason.

Fortunately, I have only one problem with this week’s list: Nothing on it looks particularly fun to play. There are some neat ideas. There’s a political cat dating sim, or as I like to call it “Catoful Boyfriend.” The cease-and-desist order that’s sure to come from Team Meat is likely to be an entertaining read after Beeftacular comes out. Mitch: Berry Challenge looks cute but the trailer suggests it controls about as well as a Chevy Corvair after the steering wheel falls off.

In the absence of a fun game, I’ll have to go with a fun premise. Hardware Engineers puts you in the role of an IT professional trying to build your own consulting company from the ground up. It’s kind of American Truck Simulator crossed with trying to play anything from Bethesda. Hardware Engineers gets my pick for Game of the Week.

Felix “AUGust” Threepaper

How can I convey how much I loved Deus Ex: Human Revolution? By telling you I played it three times? That I still dream in black and gold? How about if I told you I made the drop in “Detroit Marketplace” into a ringtone for when my wife calls?

I’ve been hanging for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided all year.

Chris "C" Cesarano

Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Believe it or not, I only recently began playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Of all platforms, I'm playing it on the WiiU. If that wasn't enough to hurt the brain of the most dedicated purist, this is also the first time I've played any proper Deus Ex game. Not unless you count the not-always-spiritual successor Project Snowblind, a game I recall enjoying but without any concrete memories of actually playing.

Kind of describes most of the games I played from GameFly.

There's a lot there in Human Revolution to like, even if the hook has failed to sink into me yet. It is with that bare-boned appreciation that I choose Mankind Divided as my pick of the week. Otherwise I'd have to choose the new Master of Orion, and as much as I love Alan Tudyk, I'm not really interested in my serious-business game about serious conquest of the stars to be interrupted by a breakfast cereal mascot.

Erik "wordsmythe" Hanson
The new Master of Orion leaves early-access on Thursday, and somehow I heard nothing of it. That could be on me: I was deep in the Newborn Zone back when it was announced. I hope it's good.

Hey, anyone remember that comment I made on the Conference Call a couple weeks ago about the risk in designing a game to handle big, important, and politically charged topics? The Housewife puts you in the role of an abuse victim. Even more than for Orion, I truly hope that it's good.

Colleen “Momgamer” Hannon
Master of Orion and Deus Ex are the only things on this list that’s even pulling my brain a little bit of the way back from Azeroth and prepping for PAX. I’m not sure if I had to pick just one which I’d choose, though. They both hit the nostalgia button, and their predecessors were and still are some of my favorite gaming experiences.

This week:

PC

  • Assault Squad 2: Men of War Origins
  • Beeftacular
  • Blight of the Immortals
  • Cat President: A More Purrfect Union
  • Crawlers and Brawlers
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Evil Robot Traffic Jam HD
  • FrightShow Fighter
  • Grey Phobia
  • Hardware Engineers
  • In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor
  • Maraiyum: Rise of the Setting Sun
  • Master of Orion
  • Metris Soccer
  • miniLAW: Ministry of Law
  • Mitch: Berry Challenge
  • Mugen Souls Z
  • Neon Shadow
  • Obduction
  • Panzer Warfare
  • Parvaneh: Legacy of the Light's Guardian
  • Rogue Contracts: Syndicate
  • SHINRAI: Broken Beyond Despair
  • SkyBoats
  • Space Ranger: Arcade Shooter Kit
  • Stay Close
  • Super Destronaut
  • The Housewife
  • The Other 99
  • The West
  • Tribe Of Pok
  • Veilia
  • Wills and Wonders
  • Worms WMD
  • Z. Year One

PS4

  • Alone With You
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Hue
  • Inside
  • Madden NFL 17
  • Metrico+
  • The King of Fighters XIV
  • The Other 99
  • Valley
  • Worms WMD

Xbox One

  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Hue
  • Madden NFL 17
  • Metrico+
  • Obliteracers
  • The Other 99
  • Solar Shifter EX
  • Valley
  • Worms WMD

PS3

  • Madden NFL 17

Xbox 360

  • Madden NFL 17

Vita

  • Hue
  • Alone With You

Vive

  • Island 359
  • Puzzling Rooms VR
  • Watching Grass Grow In VR: The Game

Comments

I *DID* ask for this!

Alone With You

The perfect Vita game.

Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Raptor delayed to Sept. 21st.

I know that all these delays have been really frustrating to folks, and may have looked unprofessional in some respects. I've spoken on the Arcen forums on this subject at some length, but basically I've been caught between competing "challenges" for a while now.

Ultimately I've chosen to continue to do what is in the best interest of the launch of the game, even if that means a later launch, and I think that you'll appreciate that when you get the launch version.

When you've said basically that same thing the past six delays...

I've heard good things about Mankind Divided from a trusted source, so I'll probably get around to playing it later in the year.

Blight of the Immortals

According to the Steam page, it's releasing next week, on the 29th.

IMAGE(http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/427100/header.jpg?t=1471879446)

Fernbus Simulator gets my vote this week. Been following it for a bit and it appears to have potential in the oft maligned Mundane Vehicle Simulator sub-genre.

It's coming from TML Studios, who has a decent track record (WoS 3: London Underground was amazing), and Fernbus is running on Unreal 4. Honestly, the visuals look on par and perhaps even better than Euro Truck / American Truck Simulator...the crown jewel of MVS's. Though on the downside, some of the most recent Beta demos I've watched on YouTube make it seem like the game is coming in hot.

I can't wait to see how Fernbus is received. I'm 99% on board if all systems are in place and fully functional at launch. Game looks fantastic so far.

Man I miss the days of Madden on PC. Oh well.

Aaron D. wrote:

IMAGE(http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/427100/header.jpg?t=1471879446)

Fernbus Simulator gets my vote this week. Been following it for a bit and it appears to have potential in the oft maligned Mundane Vehicle Simulator sub-genre.

It's coming from TML Studios, who has a decent track record (WoS 3: London Underground was amazing), and Fernbus is running on Unreal 4. Honestly, the visuals look on par and perhaps even better than Euro Truck / American Truck Simulator...the crown jewel of MVS's. Though on the downside, some of the most recent Beta demos I've watched on YouTube make it seem like the game is coming in hot.

I can't wait to see how Fernbus is received. I'm 99% on board if all systems are in place and fully functional at launch. Game looks fantastic so far.

Wait, that was this week?

Dang, can I change my vote?

LOL, I did find it strange that Fernbus flew under your radar.

Stele wrote:

Man I miss the days of Madden on PC. Oh well.

I miss the days of Tiger Woods PC.

Dang I'd kill to get EA PGA back on personal computers.

Also releasing this week and missing from the list is Tempest, which left Early Access and had its full release yesterday, August 22.

It's an open-world, pirate game for $15 with a 78% positive user rating on Steam. I had $6 in my Steam Wallet, so I just bought it and will give it a go.

MeatMan wrote:

Also releasing this week and missing from the list is Tempest, which left Early Access and had its full release yesterday, August 22.

It's an open-world, pirate game for $15 with a 78% positive user rating on Steam. I had $6 in my Steam Wallet, so I just bought it and will give it a go.

How they were able to use that name I'll never know.

garion333 wrote:
MeatMan wrote:

Also releasing this week and missing from the list is Tempest, which left Early Access and had its full release yesterday, August 22.

It's an open-world, pirate game for $15 with a 78% positive user rating on Steam. I had $6 in my Steam Wallet, so I just bought it and will give it a go.

How they were able to use that name I'll never know.

Heh. Good point.

inb4 Atari forces them to change the name?

MeatMan wrote:
garion333 wrote:
MeatMan wrote:

Also releasing this week and missing from the list is Tempest, which left Early Access and had its full release yesterday, August 22.

It's an open-world, pirate game for $15 with a 78% positive user rating on Steam. I had $6 in my Steam Wallet, so I just bought it and will give it a go.

How they were able to use that name I'll never know.

Heh. Good point.

inb4 Atari forces them to change the name?

Can Atari make them change the name of the game has nothing to do with the original Tempest? It's not an uncommon word. If the game isn't trying to be Atari's Tempest, I'm not sure what legal legs they'd have to stand on.

I don't know copyright law, but I think there are rules about whether you can copyright common words. Then again, Mojang got forced to change the name of a game based on Bethesda apparently owning the word "scrolls" in any context, so what do I know? Maybe I'd need to worry if I were a meteorologist (tempest) or an entomologist (centipede) or a veteran (combat).

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/lj0xmk5.jpg)

Does this mean The Bard's estate should be suing Atari? :p

They launched Inside for the PS4? Great, now I might have to go digging through the couch cushions.

I have two problems with sports. The first is I don’t see the point in playing unless you’re going to win. The second is that I’m from Buffalo, NY.
Being a sports fan under those conditions is a recipe for a drinking problem.

This made me laugh actually out loud.

Aaron D. wrote:

IMAGE(http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/427100/header.jpg?t=1471879446)

Fernbus Simulator gets my vote this week. Been following it for a bit and it appears to have potential in the oft maligned Mundane Vehicle Simulator sub-genre.

It's coming from TML Studios, who has a decent track record (WoS 3: London Underground was amazing), and Fernbus is running on Unreal 4. Honestly, the visuals look on par and perhaps even better than Euro Truck / American Truck Simulator...the crown jewel of MVS's. Though on the downside, some of the most recent Beta demos I've watched on YouTube make it seem like the game is coming in hot.

I can't wait to see how Fernbus is received. I'm 99% on board if all systems are in place and fully functional at launch. Game looks fantastic so far.

/me Hopes "TML" stands for "Truck My Life."

doubtingthomas396 wrote:
MeatMan wrote:
garion333 wrote:
MeatMan wrote:

Also releasing this week and missing from the list is Tempest, which left Early Access and had its full release yesterday, August 22.

It's an open-world, pirate game for $15 with a 78% positive user rating on Steam. I had $6 in my Steam Wallet, so I just bought it and will give it a go.

How they were able to use that name I'll never know.

Heh. Good point.

inb4 Atari forces them to change the name?

Can Atari make them change the name of the game has nothing to do with the original Tempest? It's not an uncommon word. If the game isn't trying to be Atari's Tempest, I'm not sure what legal legs they'd have to stand on.

I don't know copyright law, but I think there are rules about whether you can copyright common words. Then again, Mojang got forced to change the name of a game based on Bethesda apparently owning the word "scrolls" in any context, so what do I know? Maybe I'd need to worry if I were a meteorologist (tempest) or an entomologist (centipede) or a veteran (combat).

Did they get forced by a court, or just bullied with the threat of protracted and expensive legal fighting? Not that the latter doesn't ultimately act like force, but I want to be clear.

Mojang did not change the name of the game, despite Bethesda filing a lawsuit.

From Wikipedia:

Mojang was involved in a legal disagreement with Bethesda Softworks, who claimed that the use of the name Scrolls would cause confusion with its own The Elder Scrolls series. Mojang won the interim injunction regarding the issue with the name "Scrolls", and is allowed to continue using that name for future development. In March 2012, Mojang and Bethesda reached a settlement, in which Mojang would not trademark Scrolls, but Bethesda would not contest the naming of Scrolls, so long as it would not be a competitor against The Elder Scrolls.

It's trademark, not copyright. No one is going to confuse Shakespeare's The Tempest with Atari's Tempest because they're in totally different domains. But having two different video games with the same name, yeah that has legal legs, even if they're spindly removed-from-reality Dali-esque legs, e.g. Scrolls. It can be fought, but if you're the underdog it might not be practical. Probably why the original Age of Booty was tragically not titled Call of Booty.

wordsmythe wrote:

/me Hopes "TML" stands for "Truck My Life."

That is amazing.

garion333 wrote:
Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Raptor delayed to Sept. 21st.

I know that all these delays have been really frustrating to folks, and may have looked unprofessional in some respects. I've spoken on the Arcen forums on this subject at some length, but basically I've been caught between competing "challenges" for a while now.

Ultimately I've chosen to continue to do what is in the best interest of the launch of the game, even if that means a later launch, and I think that you'll appreciate that when you get the launch version.

When you've said basically that same thing the past six delays...

NEVERMIND IT RELEASED!

Chris wrote the wrong date, he didn't mean 21st, he meant 23rd!

All that drama, and it's just for a game entering Early Access.

Calling it now: The actual, full release of the game gets delayed more times than the Early Access "release".

{/cynical}

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/z2oSeyR.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/1a0YgqQ.jpg)

Well fiddlesticks.

Just as I suspected, it came in too hot.

Sounds like the game looks great, but it's a technical mess. AI is borked. Cars don't even stop for red lights, etc.

Woof.

Aaron D. wrote:

Well fiddlesticks.

Just as I suspected, it came in too hot.

Sounds like the game looks great, but it's a technical mess. AI is borked. Cars don't even stop for red lights, etc.

Woof.

Patch notes
v1.1 - Renamed Fernbus Coach Simulator to Extreme Coach Simulator.

Ha!

Now that's making some lemonade!

Gravey wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

Well fiddlesticks.

Just as I suspected, it came in too hot.

Sounds like the game looks great, but it's a technical mess. AI is borked. Cars don't even stop for red lights, etc.

Woof.

Patch notes
v1.1
- Renamed Fernbus Coach Simulator to Extreme Coach Simulator.
- Minor text edits.

Fixed that for you.

garion333 wrote:
Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Raptor delayed to Sept. 21st.

And now canceled. What a weird little saga.

Bummer. We made light because it's annoying to track and recant, but I never like to see projects fail.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Raptor delayed to Sept. 21st.

And now canceled. What a weird little saga.

It is unfortunate, but I do respect the decision of the developers, based on these quotes from the lead designer.

I'm going to give all the customers of In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor a full refund and let them keep the game, then take the game off sale.

We don't need Release Raptor to be our sole source of income, or even our largest one. However, if it's going to be our largest expense it also has to vaguely earn its keep or at least show the promise that it will someday do so. That's what is missing here.

I'd rather be known for honorably pulling a game than slapping a 1.0 sticker on something

When I read that last sentence, I immediately was reminded of how Double Fine (mis)handled Spacebase DF-9.

MeatMan wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Oh, look. There's In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor again.

Raptor delayed to Sept. 21st.

And now canceled. What a weird little saga.

It is unfortunate, but I do respect the decision of the developers, based on these quotes from the lead designer.

I'm going to give all the customers of In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor a full refund and let them keep the game, then take the game off sale.

We don't need Release Raptor to be our sole source of income, or even our largest one. However, if it's going to be our largest expense it also has to vaguely earn its keep or at least show the promise that it will someday do so. That's what is missing here.

I'd rather be known for honorably pulling a game than slapping a 1.0 sticker on something

When I read that last sentence, I immediately was reminded of how Double Fine (mis)handled Spacebase DF-9.

Finally. Yes, that was a directed jab.

Anyway, I've been expecting this for a while now. Chris kept mentioning how some devs said their Early Access release was bigger than their proper release and I knew they were screwed. The constant delays meant no one had it in their hands but a few streamers and with no game to the alpha release I'm not surprised it didn't pick up enough steam.

I am surprised they killed the project outright though. The intent was to do a quick and dirty game to get comfortable with Unity 3D and it appears it wasn't quick and dirty.

It's a shame. I did my very first solo let's play of In Case of Emergency: Release Raptor.

It was rough, but not bad. I was looking forward to seeing where they went with it.