May 22 – May 28

Section: 

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/pictures/picture-5877.jpg)   Greg "Doubtingthomas396" Decker

May is, apparently, Old Property Month in the game industry. Last week we saw Reservoir Dogs and The Great Gatsby get videogame transitions, and this week we get Friday the 13th and Vanquish.

Well, I’m nothing if not a bandwagon jumper (or, for Felix’s benefit: a bandwagon pinafore dress). Just the other day there was a bandwagon meandering through my neighborhood, and I said to myself “I should jump that thing!”

Now, I don’t have any particular affinity for Friday the 13th, as I consider Jason to be a Johnny-come-lately that learned the wrong lessons from Michael Myers. I saw one of the movies at a Halloween party when I was in high school, and don’t remember much because I was sitting next to a young lady dressed as a dominatrix. (I was dressed as Garth, from Wayne’s World, in case you were wondering, and my drumsticks were very distracting.)

So let’s go with Vanquish. I didn’t play Vanquish when it first came out, for reasons that I can’t quite recall. It probably had something to do with the incredibly generic title and box art that made me think it was probably a multiplayer game masquerading as something that’s worth the price of a full-priced video game. (See also: Massive Action Game, released in the same year, which narrowly beat out Things On Wheels for the most generic videogame title in the past or future history of video games)

Well, I watched a trailer for Vanquish last week, and it just hit all the right buttons for me. It’s got the stylish action and combo multipliers that used to be my bread and butter back when they made more games that featured them. (Hey Bethesda, you remade Doom and resurrected Prey. How about a sequel to Wet?) I’ll play acrobatic shooters all day, and all night too if they feature giant robots. I even bought Bayonetta just to tide me over, and to get the 25% discount on Vanquish (I’m bad at math when video games are involved). So that’s my game of the week.

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/pictures/picture-13445.jpg)   Felix “Got Antaloor in my pantaloor and I need to dantaloor” Threepaper

This week, the GWJ conference call hosts discussed the gaming afterglow. Well, last night I finished the main quest in Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, bidding farewell to 4 sublime months of Witchering, and leaving Geralt in his vineyard in the south of France Toussaint. I therefore approach this week’s releases feeling like Mr. Creosote when offered a wafer-thin mint. But choose I must!

Do I pick a co-op block-pushing game like BugsBox to reconnect with my daughter, who has been wondering why I’ve been making weird Unicorn jokes whenever she talks about My Little Pony?

Do I try to keep the hack-and-slash vibe going with the port of Koei’s Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada?

Do I get back on the learning curve with a new mechanic, switching between platforming and twin-stick controls in Embers of Mirrim?

Do I use the release of The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind to finally dip my toe into an MMO, even though I’ve never played one before and what I really want is Elder Scrolls 6?

Nah. In typical rebound fashion, I go back to something that’s a pale imitation of what I’ve just had. Two Worlds II was an open-world RPG that tried to run with the big dogs. It had some interesting features – such as the “design your own spell” magic system and lovely art design – and some glaring flaws, such as an unbalanced skills system. It must have some support out there though, because 6 years after its release, it gets a second DLC expansion, Call of the Tenbebrae. I’ll blow the dust off my save files and give it a whirl.

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/picture-111373-1483294321.jpg)   Chris "C" Cesarano

You can't say it's not an interesting week. Greg already mentioned the asymmetrical Friday the 13th multiplayer game. The most immediate comparison that comes to mind is Evolve, though the survivor angle brings Resident Evil Outbreak to mind – only because the survivors aren't really trying to defeat the murderer, of course.

Vanquish is certainly worth picking up, but for those that are less interested in frantic third-person shooters designed like combo-heavy action games, there's a few slower options available. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition finally rides onto the WiiU as perhaps the last high-profile game to release on the system (as high profile as a port can get). Disgaea 5 also drops onto the Nintendo Switch, allowing players to take their min-maxing strategy obsession away from the TV and on the go.

I'm kind of throwing darts at a board this week as I'm quite content with what I've got, but I'll go ahead and toss the nod to Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers on the Switch. I have fond memories of Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo, and being able to take the Switch to my brother-in-law's or a friend's house where I can easily challenge them to a 16-bit duel is one of the better experiences this week can promise me.

This week:

PC

  • Balthazar's Dream
  • Black Desert Online
  • Constructor
  • CrossCells
  • Detective Butler: Maiden Voyage Murder
  • Dynasty Feud
  • Emily is Away Too
  • Empyrean Frontier
  • Flight to Eternity
  • Friday the 13th: The Game
  • Geneshift
  • Get Even
  • Icarus Starship Command Simulator
  • Impact Winter
  • Masked Shooters
  • MidBoss
  • Mirage: Arcane Warfare
  • OMEGA PATTERN
  • Ophidia
  • Planet Nomads
  • Ricky Raccoon
  • RiME
  • Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada
  • Solaroids: Prologue
  • Soul Harvest
  • Spellspire
  • StarSmashers
  • Tanks vs Aliens
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
  • Three Kingdoms: The Last Warlord
  • Trail of Destruction
  • Two Worlds II: Call of the Tenebrae Pushed out to June 15
  • Unit 4
  • Unlasting Horror
  • Vanquish
  • Walkerman
  • World of DASM: DASM Spell Quest --Release pushed to June 30

PS4

  • ACA NeoGeo The Last Blade
  • ACA NeoGeo World Heroes 2
  • BugsBox
  • Deliriant
  • Embers of Mirrim
  • Eternal Ring (PS2)
  • Friday the 13th: The Game
  • Get Even
  • Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2
  • Portal Knights
  • Pox Nora
  • Puzzle Showdown 4K
  • RiME
  • Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada
  • SmuggleCraft
  • Spellspire
  • Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
  • Summon Night 6: Lost Borders
  • Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception

Xbox One

  • Friday the 13th: The Game
  • Get Even
  • Portal Knights
  • RiME
  • Spellspire
  • Unit 4

Switch

  • Disgaea 5 Complete
  • Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

Wii U

  • Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
  • The Girl and the Robot

3DS

  • Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop

Vita

  • Kung Fury: Street Rage
  • Plantera
  • Spellspire
  • Summon Night 6: Lost Borders
  • Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception

RIFT

Vive

  • Battle Summoners
  • Delila's Gift
  • Mech League Boxing
  • Medusa's Labyrinth VR

Comments

One day I will pick up a Summon Night game. One day. Of course, I believe we've gotten all of two of them translated into English, but one day I will get one of these games. One day.

For me, I'll be dipping into Disgaea 5 once again. I much prefer my Disgaea to be on a handheld and the Switch is the perfect Vita replacement for that.

Something something Rime. Someone has to mention it.

Two Worlds II getting an expansion in 2017? Wtf?!? Oh, sounds like it's a way to get people hyped for Two Worlds III. Clever girl.

This might be the week that I finally pick up a Summon Night game. Almost finished with the slog that is World of Final Fantasy so need something new. Otherwise, the wallet looks safe for another week.

While I bide my time for the official launch of the ultimate snowpocalypse survival simulator in Aug., I've got my eye on a more humble snowpocalypse colony sim launching this week.

Impact Winter looks to have an intriguing blend of scavenging/building, survival and colony management. And it falls right into that $20 indie, impulse-price range. But for the life of me I can't figure out why the lead character has no pants!

Looking out for Emily is Away Too, as I quite enjoyed the original. But I can't help but feel a bit of trepidation. The first game was so fresh, honest and unique, I fear a sequel might be like biting from the apple twice. Perhaps we'll be surprised, but did this game need a sequel?

Aaron D. wrote:

Looking out for Emily is Away Too, as I quite enjoyed the original. But I can't help but feel a bit of trepidation. The first game was so fresh, honest and unique, I fear a sequel might be like biting from the apple twice. Perhaps we'll be surprised, but did this game need a sequel?

One bite only.

garion333 wrote:

Two Worlds II getting an expansion in 2017? Wtf?!? Oh, sounds like it's a way to get people hyped for Two Worlds III. Clever girl.

Is this like how Uwe Boll was able to take advantage of tax breaks and sh*t to somehow keep getting funding for sh*t movies? Because the notion that Two Worlds has achieved official franchise status just has my mind supremely boggled.

ccesarano wrote:
garion333 wrote:

Two Worlds II getting an expansion in 2017? Wtf?!? Oh, sounds like it's a way to get people hyped for Two Worlds III. Clever girl.

Is this like how Uwe Boll was able to take advantage of tax breaks and sh*t to somehow keep getting funding for sh*t movies? Because the notion that Two Worlds has achieved official franchise status just has my mind supremely boggled.

It's Springtime for Gandohar!

RiME got a great review in EDGE magazine so I'm looking forward to check that one out. The Vanquish PC port is also on my list, I'm curious to see how it plays in 1080p@60fps.

Vanquish already ordered. Hyped.

V A N Q U I SH !!

Darksiders on Wii U? Any good?

Darksiders: Warmastered Edition finally rides onto the WiiU as perhaps the last high-profile game to release on the system (as high profile as a port can get).

Nintendo wasn't lying when they said the last major release for the Wii U would be a Zelda game.

Pretty sure Summon Night game got delayed to late June. I'll be picking up Rime, been looking forward to it.

Call of the Tenbebrae pushed out to June? I gave it such a half-hearted GOTW nod, too.

I'll have found something better by then.