As Gamescom 2018 draws to a close, it signals that September is nearly upon us and the busiest release period of the year is just about to start. Which games have you got as your definite day one purchases?
It’s a bonus double weekend for F1 fans, as the latest yearly game released yesterday and the F1 circus has started up again, this time taking us to the traditional post-summer break race at Spa in Belgium. Who’s your money on to win this weekend?
In the News This Week
- Rumor: New Super Mario Bros. U Maybe Heading To Switch
- Check Out These New Cyberpunk 2077 Screens
- Limited Edition Dualshock 4 Controllers Revealed
- Life Is Strange 2 Revealed, Watch The Entire First Chapter Here
- Amazon Announce The Grand Tour Game For PlayStation 4 And Xbox One
- Limited Edition Dark Souls Trilogy Compilation Announced [This won’t be released in Europe, sadly]
- The PlayStation Store Games Under €20/£16 Sale Returns
- The Crew 2’s Free Gator Rush Expansion Lands In September
- Anthem Will Have A Demo, Not A Public Beta
Games in Review
With so much news from Gamescom, it was easy for the reviews to slip by:
- Guacamelee! 2 – PS4 – 10/10
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 – PS4 – 9/10
- The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 1 – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
- Death’s Gambit – PS4, PC – 6/10
- Bad North – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 5/10
- Shenmue I & II Remaster – PS4, XBO, PC – No Score
Reviewed platform in bold.
This Week’s Features
Jason kicked off the previews with a look at Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark, a turn-based tactical RPG that even though is currently in Early Access, feels like it is the final release due to its gameplay and overall polish.
Meanwhile, Stefan went hands on with Life Is Strange 2 after its reveal earlier this week. Dontnod has evolved the sequel, adding responsibility for the actions you take and improved graphics and visual effects.
With the departure of the big supporters behind the Toys to Life Genre, it looked like it was all over for the medium until Ubisoft came along with Starlink: Battle for Atlas. Stefan reckons it will be worth keeping an eye on, and it will be perfect for the Switch.
Fans of the original Alan Wake should have an interest in Remedy’s upcoming game, Control, while Space Hulk: Tactics does a good job of replicating the board game.
The last preview was for The Division 2, which heads to Washington DC. Fans should pretty much know what to expect gameplay wise, however the new setting offers a variety of environments and an overall more colourful theme.
Wrapping up, What We Played ended the week with Guacamelee! 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2 & the stories from Gamescom 2018.
Trailer Park
A New Trailer For Metro Exodus Has Landed
Ace Combat 7 Gets A Release Date And A New Trailer
The New Battlefield 5 Trailer Explains The Company
FIFA 19’s Latest Trailer Is About The Journey
Here’s The Fade To Silence Gamescom Trailer
Your Achievements
Let’s see what everyone was up to this week:
- Tony Cawley played the “absolutely brilliant” Nioh.
- MrYd didn’t provide me with a tl;dr this week, so in summary he got around to Tales of Berseria, Monster Hunter World, Doom VFR, Ultrawings, Farpoint, Arizona Sunshine and the Transference demo.
- ron_mcphatty is hooked on EverSpace, which has that ‘1 more go feel to it’.
- aerobes continued bingeing the PES 2019 demo ahead of next week’s release, and dropped in a bit of the Witcher 3 too.
- Andrewww tried out Fortnite this week, but couldn’t get to grips with it so continued with Horizon Zero Dawn.
If you want to be included in this section, make sure to comment on What We Played of a Friday evening.
The Week Ahead
Tuesday is looking incredibly busy for game releases!
- De Blob 2 Remastered – Switch– 28/08
- Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate – Switch – 28/08
- Strange Brigade – PS4, XBO, PC – 28/08
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition – PS4, XBO, PC – 28/08
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 – PS4 – 28/08
- The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season – Switch – 28/08
- Firewall Zero Hour – PSVR – 29/08
- Two Point Hospital – PC – 30/08
- PES 2019 – PS4, XBO, PC – 30/08
Let me know if you’ve got any plans for the Bank Holiday, and I hope you have a good week too!
gazzagb
Is anyone else looking forward to the grand finals of Dota 2’s The International tonight? Here’s hoping OG take the win for the slice of the $25 million prize pool!
camdaz
The best addition to F1 2018 is…….wait for it……..a practice gearbox. In my first two seasons in the previous game I lost count of the number of gearbox penalties I got. I’m also liking the controllable ERS.
Has anyone else noticed that Vettel has grown a pair of breasts? While walking to his garage at the start of practice 1 and 3 it was clear to see.
ron_mcphatty
It’s been a couple of years since I lost interest in F1 but the improbable boob news is not surprising. It’s probably a new safety feature, during a crash they inflate to jam his helmet against the headrest and prevent whiplash, around the paddock they inflate to knock annoying paps off their feet or provide a handy iPad stand. I think I read somewhere they’re called T.I.I.T.S, totally improbably inflating tit safety?