Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates, Video Games | Tagged: Assassin's Creed Rogue, Assassin's Creed Unity, entertainment, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, lego batman 3, Pro Evo Soccer, Sonic Boom, video games

Sweet Release! LEGO Batman 3, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Assassin's Creed Unity & Rogue, Sonic Boom, Pro Evo Soccer

Published Tue, 11 Nov 2014 23:30:00 -0600

by Hannah Means Shannon

Comments

By Jared Cornelius

It's time again for your weekly update on the video game release calendar, welcome back to Sweet Release! After last week's relative lull thanks to Call of Duty's ominous presence, our calendar is filled again with a huge slate of triple A releases. I usually try and tie these games together with some sort of theme, but this week there's no method to the madness, only games…so many games. So open that wallet and prepare to lose some more of your hard earned cash as we dive into an extensive and expensive week.

Fans of Swedish building bricks rejoice it's time for another LEGO game! DC Comics to get the spotlight again as we return to Gotham City with Traveler's Tales LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. This go around, Batman and the Justice League are taking on the Injustice Society and Brainiac, with an emphasis on the larger DC Universe and more varied locations. Traveler's Tales 3rd person action adventure games run the spectrum of gameplay types including races, combat challenges, platforming, and puzzle solving wrapped up in a whimsical package of tiny collectable bricks.

The series has made a couple of minor upgrades from last title, with players being able to switch between Batman's various puzzle solving suits any time as well as cosmetic upgrades with this version having over 150 playable characters. They've also included far out locations from the recent Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run like Odym, and the inclusion of new big figure LEGO like Swamp Thing and Solomon Grundy. The LEGO games have been solid fun adventures that have been friendly for kids and adults alike, with a ton of little winks and nods for comic fans. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham released Tuesday on everything that plays video games.

Remember 13 years ago when the Xbox was a huge black monolith and a little game called Halo was a huge franchise? Hmmm…that actually kind of sounds like now, anyway, Microsoft and 343 Studios have seen fit to repackage the original mainline Halos' for release in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The compilation contains the Master Chief centric series entries including Halo Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, all with a new generation visual upgrade. Both Halo and Halo 2 Anniversary have a classic mode that allows you to switch to the original games low-fi visuals any time. The collection also includes over 100 multi-player maps making for one hell of a deep play list to choose from and a menu system that allows you to jump through the four games timelines. Microsoft packed in access to their Halo TV show, Nightfall, and beta access for the Halo 5 multiplayer too. Truth be told it's a pretty good value even if they didn't include ODST and Reach. Halo: The Master Chief Collection released Tuesday exclusively on Xbox One.

In what's become a yearly tradition for Ubi Soft, it's Assassin's Creed time again, but with a twist! It's the first time we'll be seeing two different games for two different generations, with Assassin's Creed Unity leading off on the new generation consoles. Taking place presumably in the French Revolution, you play as Arno, who Ubi Soft describe as a, "new breed of Assassin". They've also taken to offering a deeper level of customization with unique weapons and gear that can be interchanged. Ubi Soft have been pretty up front about the games visual upgrade being the star of Unity and are also touting an upgraded fighting and movement system as well. They've also put a ton of marketing into their four player co-op mode that offers a whole new set of missions to play through online. Assassin's Creed Unity is out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC Tuesday.

With the current generation Assassin's Creed out of the way, we also have Assassin's Creed Rogue for last generation consoles. Taking place in the 1800's and looking largely like an upgrade to Black Flag, Assassin's Creed Rogue has you playing as Assassin turned Templar, Shay Cormac, who's out to hunt down his former colleagues. Rogue features refined ship combat that people were so fond of from Assassin's Creed III and Black Flag, as well as expanded locations to the series like the north Atlantic sea, and an expansive New York city. The story actually sounds more interesting to me than the new generation version making me wish they hadn't split the series off into two different directions, but place your bets on how long before we see it ported up to new generation. Regardless, Assassin's Creed Rogue released Tuesday on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Time to see if Sega can get the Sonic franchise right again with Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Based on the upcoming rebooted Sonic cartoon series, Sonic Boom focuses on series regulars Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles but now wearing more cloths. This version seems to have slowed down the movement and has a bigger emphasis on 3rd person combat and puzzle solving as well as two player drop in co-op and four player challenges as well. I'm always skeptical of these games, Sonic Adventure was a long time ago, although it presumably has 100 percent less hedgehog on human love scenes so that's a plus. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric released Tuesday exclusively for the Wii U.

If you're looking for a more traditional Sonic game, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal might be the game for you. Also based on the upcoming cartoon series, this version is sticking closer to the Genesis 2D entries in the series. The action platformer offers familiar gameplay and combat with elements of the series kinetic past. Players can also switch between the four characters at any time to solve puzzles and navigate environments, and offer a 5th playable character, "Sticks" who uses boomerangs. More like the original is a good thing, and also less animal/human romance. Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is released Tuesday for Nintendo 3/2DS.

For all of our European friends Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 from Konami releases this week. Another in a long running line of sports games, PES as it's commonly referred to received high marks last year for its updated visuals and heavier play style. This year's version boasts a "new shooting system" along with a clutch of other technical tweaks. I'll be honest I don't know much about soccer other than Pele, David Beckham, and hooliganism, so this falls under the umbrella of, "You know if you like this". Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 released Tuesday for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.

It's not really a game of the year edition, because I don't know any outlet that made it a game of the year, but Payday 2 is re-releasing this week. Payday 2: Safecracker Edition, contains three packs of downloadable content for the four player co-op heist game. The first person shooter is one part Left 4 Dead, one part Heat, with players having to balance stealth, security, and oncoming law enforcement to accomplish nefarious bank robbing goals. If you've got a group of three to four dedicated people to play with I've heard Payday's excellent, but for single players I've heard the AI isn't great so be warned. Payday 2: Safecracker Edition is available Tuesday on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Remember the poor-man's Pokémon, Digimon? Well for some reason Bandai Namco decided this of all weeks was a good time to put out an arena fighting game based on the anime. Digimon All-Star Rumble features the titular digital monsters you may remember from early 2000's television or their semi-popular video game series. The arena fighter has 12 Digimon with the ability to "Digivolve" into advanced forms and 10 stages to fight in. I'd normally skip over a game like this with how much is coming out, but I watched a gameplay video and it turns out it plays a lot like Power Stone from the Sega Dreamcast. I love Power Stone, so I begrudgingly included Digimon in this week's write up. Digimon All-Star Rumble released Tuesday for PlayStation 3.

Another week, another release of Minecraft. In what may be the last boxed Vita game to hit the shelf this year, Mojang's blocky world builder comes stores for Sony's handheld platform this week. You know the drill, build stuff out of other stuff, and make incredibly intricate sculptures and buildings. I still can't get over how it's technically a Microsoft product on a Sony machine, anyway the digital version has been available for some time but boxed copy hoarders like me finally get a treat. Minecraft PlayStation Vita Edition released Tuesday.

That's all for this week folks, remember to check out my monthly look at the new issue of The Walking Dead, in my ongoing column, Typing on The Dead. Also maybe go look at the reborn, Live From The Comic Shop, feature that our dear Christine Marie writes live from Conquest Comics in Bayville New Jersey every Wednesday.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from the Jersey coast who'll be bringing back drunken adventure from Montreal. If you'd like him to pick some up for you, contact him on Twitter @John_Laryngitis

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!