I don’t even have to guess. You’re not done with Diablo 3. Seriously how could anybody be done with that game in one week? Obviously the game industry thinks one week is more than enough because we have yet another open world, potentially hundred hour Role Playing Game knocking on the doors and a shooter that snuck up on us without too much fanfare oddly enough. Does anybody have a TARDIS I can borrow? I swear I’ll give it back when I’m done catching up!

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

 

Releases To Watch For This Week

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tuesday May 22, 2012
Ever get the feeling that military shooters these days are just too fast? Perhaps the Ghost Recon series would be more to your taste than the run-and-gun fest that is the Call of Duty series.

In this installation of Ghost Recon, you get to play as the soldier of the future complete with active camouflage that makes you almost completely invisible, X-Ray vision not too dissimilar to the one Batman uses in the Arkham games, and a hud display built into the glasses that adds a digital overlay that displays information like which people are enemy combatants or which one of your allies have their sights on which enemies. In other words, you have near total battlefield awareness. Notice however that none of these advantages will actually stop a bullet from hitting you.

The hallmark of these tactical shooters revolve around planning your attacks and coordinating your three AI controlled squadmates, which can be entirely sidestepped by having your friends play as the squadmates instead. To help with that, Future Soldier implements the Synch Shot system, a system redolent of the Mark and Execute system from Splinter Cell: Conviction. By marking up to four enemy combatants, you and your squad will be able to take down up to four targets simultaneously with ease. During Synch Shot, the hud shows you who’s aiming at whom and whether or not they’re ready to take the shot. They take their shot only when you take the shot.

A Ghost Recon game wouldn’t be complete without its prerequisite multiplayer mode, and Future Soldier most definitely has one with your standard variants like controlling territories, planting/defusing bombs, and team deathmatch among others. Although it does have a single player mode, the multiplayer mode will undoubtedly be the big draw for this game. Like all Ghost Recons before it, the focus for the multiplayer mode will be teamwork and communication, two traits that ultimately doesn’t jive well with the generally pick-up and play, lone wolves of the multiplayer crowd on the console space.

 

Honorable Mention

Dragon’s Dogma (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tuesday May 22, 2012
Once Tuesday rolls around, we’ll finally get out grubby mitts on that $60 pass for the Resident Evil 6 demo that comes out on July 3/September 4 (Xbox 360 version and PS3 version respectively). I know demos are supposed to be free, but we are talking about Resident Evil 6 here. Just to sweeten the pot, Capcom even threw in a free game to go along with the pass.

Passing off Dragon’s Dogma like this may have been a little bit unfair of me, so let’s talk about what this game actually is. By screenshots alone you can easily make the mistake that you’re looking at Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls. Dragon’s Dogma has a very strong medieval aesthetic and, very much like the Souls games, plays like an action game with RPG elements. Unlike those games though, Dragon’s Dogma will have a stronger emphasis on the action element especially with the grabbing mechanic.

Unlike most RPGs where you can hack at a giant’s ankles and somehow miraculously kill it, your character, which is customizable as per RPG tradition, will be able to climb enemies Shadow of the Colossus style. This aspect becomes vital when said enemies can fly or towers over you. The grab mechanic also works on human sized enemies as well. Grabbing these guys enables you to throw them around the field, like off a cliff for example.

In addition to monsters and whatnot, Dragon’s Dogma gives you an open world to explore to your heart’s content. You will be able to find hidden items, receive side quests from villagers, soldier, whatever other stereotypical quest givers one find in these types of games, slay optional bosses, and whatever else open world gamers like to do in these kinds of games.

You won’t be alone in your quest. In addition to various characters that will join you, you will always have a Pawn by your side. Pawns can be customized right up to their AI. They can be the aggressive type, or they can stay back. Perhaps most surprising of all, the Pawns you have may not even be yours at all. Players will be able to put their Pawns up for hire. Like your character, these Pawns also gain experience as they get used regardless of who actually uses the Pawns. If you somehow managed to design a really good Pawn, and other players noticed, you might just come back surprised to see your Pawn has outlevel you.

Perhaps Capcom made the right choice to bundle this game with the RE6 demo. Without it, Dragon’s Dogma would have slipped below far too many people’s radar. From the sound of the various previews and descriptions of the game, that would’ve a bit of a shame.

 

Coming This Week

Tuesday May 22, 2012

Men In Black: Alien Crisis (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

Another week, another summer blockbuster, another movie-licensed game. This time around we get a cover based, third person shooter in the guise of the Men in Black movie that comes out the same week despite the fact that the game has zero to do with the movie. No Will Smith. No Tommy Lee Jones. Although I think that pug is in it if that box art is to be believed.

Sorcery (PS3 Move)

You remember the PlayStation Move don’t you? You know that wand with the glowy ball attached on one end. Well, they finally went and made a wizard game out of it. This generically named game puts you in the shoes of an apprentice who somehow have to stop an evil queen. You cast spells and whatnot by waving the Move correctly to get out the right spells while you use the Move Navigation controller to move the apprentice around. Ultimately, it almost sort of look like a third person shooter except instead of shooting bullets, you shoot magic. If you can get over the non-descript title, this game could be a decent nicotine patch-like product for those suffering from Harry Potter withdrawal.

Deer Drive Legends (3DS)

If you’re like me, you too feel the craving to hunt game while standing in lines or taking public transit. Fortunately for us, we get Deer Drive Legends, a gallery shooter where you get to hunt stuff as they run past the screen. Sure some will attack you like aurochs and lions, and even a freakin’ T-Rex, but then you get to call it self-defense.

Purr Pals: Perfection (3DS)

Nope. The 3DS does not have enough pet simulators yet. This imbalance must be corrected at all cost starting with a kitten simulator.

 

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