Summer has officially started. Break out the coolers and the sunscreen as we leave our consoles at home making a nice little, rectangular-shaped dust free zone on your shelf. Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. I’m sure they won’t run amok in your house and burn it to the ground or anything. But just in case, why don’t you try feeding them these titles before you head out to the beach next time.

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

 

Honorable Mention

Spec Ops: The Line (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tuesday June 26, 2012

Ever heard of the Spec Ops series? No? It has about eight games under its belt. How could you not have heard of it? Oh right. The last one came out a full decade ago, and that plus the ones before it ended up being bargain bin fillers. No wonder why you’ve never heard of it. In this case though, that could be an advantage for this revitalization of the brand.

In Spec Ops: The Line Dubai has been devastated by a series of sandstorms. A U.S. general and his men became stranded in there. U.S. Army Captain Martin Walker and his men must go in to Dubai to search for the general and his men and extract them if possible. In most other military shooters, that premise would be one mission of many with the overall mission being to save the world from World War III or something like that, but The Line differentiate itself from others by both narrowing the scope of the story and having a strong focus on narrative and morality. This mission only serves as a backdrop for the experiences of Capt. Walker and his men as they deal with the realities of ravaged Dubai and a few of its armed inhabitants who have gotten a little defensive.

Mechanically The Line probably won’t be any different from other third person cover based shooters, and even the multiplayer probably won’t take up to many people’s precious Call of Duty multiplaying time. That said The Line could be the first military shooter that focuses on the toll military combat takes on the soldiers involved. It just so happens that you get to headshot people along the way.

 

Coming This Week

Tuesday June 26, 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS, DS)

Normally a movie licensed game doesn’t deserve a second look, but Spider-Man games avoid that pitfall altogether. This one brings Spider-Man back to the open world setting that elevated the series to begin with raising a lot of gamers’ hopes that it will be the second coming of the beloved PlayStation classic. With new mechanics like Web Rush, which lets Spider-Man traverse the city faster or take down enemies quickly, and a very Batman-esque combat system, this licensed game could be one of the few that people will still remember long past the movie itself.

Dead Island Game of the Year Edition (Xbox 360, PS3)

Will the publication/website that actually had Dead Island as their Game of the Year please e-mail me. Because of you, Deep Silver published this repackaged game with all of its DLC with the Game of the Year moniker. We have enough trouble as it is making the Game of the Year to mean something, and this offense to the moniker does that effort no favors, either that of Deep Silver just slapped that label on for the lols.

Just Dance: Greatest Hits (Xbox 360 Kinect, Wii)

Xbox 360 owners who always wanted to play the first two Just Dance games just got a lucky break. This compilation disc has about 30 tracks from the first two Just Dance games and three tracks from Just Dance 3. As for the Wii owners, well, uhm… now you won’t have to switch discs! 

London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games  (Xbox 360, PS3)

Well consider this the Official Coming Soon Entry of the London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games. This iteration covers 49 events across 13 different sports. It will also include events with tweaked rules that would make the event a touch more arcadey than normal. Just try not to bring shame to your country or anything by streaking the medal ceremony or something like that.

Record of Agarest War 2 (PS3)

Everyone’s favorite breeding Strategy Role Playing Game returns once again. Like the first Record of Agarest War, this one has you gathering companions to fight evil and also as a pool of potential brides. Because the war you’ll be fighting is so epic, the game spans three generations, meaning your kids will have to continue the war for you. Who you choose to have kids matters because the stats on your kids will be based on yours and your mate’s stats. Happy humping!

 

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