Fall 2015 Video Game Guide
This
fall is shaping up to be one of the most robust video game seasons we’ve ever
seen, especially in terms of potential blockbusters and highly anticipated
sequels.
A
virtual arcade full of top-tier titles is headed our way, from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Sept.
1), the latest iteration of the popular stealth series, to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Oct. 13), inspired by the works of
the late author, to Call of Duty: Black
Ops III (Nov. 6), the next entry in the ubiquitous first-person shooter franchise.
Here
are nine more A-listers that are guaranteed to keep your thumbs busy, your
adrenaline flowing and your wallet empty. As always, release dates are subject
to change.
Super Mario Maker
Nintendo
Wii U
Publisher:
Nintendo
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
Release
Date: Sept. 11
$59.99
Have
you ever dreamed of designing your own Mario games? Now you can without going
to programming school. Simply grab a copy of Super Mario Maker, which lets you create, play and share a
virtually endless number of levels. The only limit is your imagination as you
use the Wii U controller touch screen to place such elements as blocks,
enemies, and pipes wherever you want, including the creation of non-traditional
combinations. There are different themes/styles to work with: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super
Mario World, and New Super Mario
Bros. U.
If
you simply want to jump straight into the action, you can play levels created
by Nintendo and by other gamers around the world.
Forza Motorsport 6
Xbox
One
Publisher:
Microsoft Studios
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
Release
Date: Sept. 15
$59.99
This
year marks the 10th anniversary of the “Forza Motorsport” series, and what
better way to celebrate than with the release of a new game? In Forza Motorsport 6, you can collect and
race more than 450 Forzvista cars, each of which is customizable to your
liking. Authenticity is the order of the day as you compete in photorealistic
races on 26 different tracks, some that feature up to 24 drivers at a time.
The
single-player campaign mode boasts more than 70 hours of gameplay content, and
you can race a buddy head-to-head in two-player split-screen action. New to the
series is League play, along with nighttime driving and rain physics that mimic
their real-life counterparts.
Rock Band 4
PlayStation
4, Xbox One
Publisher:
Harmonix
ESRB
Rating: Teen
Release
Date: Oct. 6
$129.99
(with guitar), $249.99 (with guitar, drums, and microphone)
Once
a cornerstone of any party where mere karaoke was considered as unfashionable
as wearing a lampshade over your head,
rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band died out three to four years
ago, relegating thousands of play microphones and plastic guitars to the
bargain bins of thrift stores everywhere.
With
Rock Band 4, Harmonix hopes to revitalize
the faded fad by tapping into our narcissistic tendencies. Instead of simply
following along with the on-screen prompts, budding rock stars can improvise
their own guitar solos, drum fills and vocal gymnastics. In short, players can
add more of their own personality to the game, which sounds like fun
(narcissistic or not). There are 60 new songs built-in, plus more than 1,500 downloadable
tunes available for purchase from the in-game Music Store.
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Nintendo
Wii U
Publisher:
Nintendo
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
Release
Date: Oct. 16
$49.99
If you enjoyed Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii, you should get a kick out of Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Wii U, a colorful side-scrolling platformer set in a world of yarn and cloth. As with the “Yoshi’s Island” series, the titular dinosaur can use his tongue to swallow enemies. However, instead of producing eggs to throw, swallowing enemies creates balls of yarn, which can be used to create platforms, tie up enemies and much more.
If you enjoyed Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii, you should get a kick out of Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Wii U, a colorful side-scrolling platformer set in a world of yarn and cloth. As with the “Yoshi’s Island” series, the titular dinosaur can use his tongue to swallow enemies. However, instead of producing eggs to throw, swallowing enemies creates balls of yarn, which can be used to create platforms, tie up enemies and much more.
Available in Europe since June, Yoshi’s Woolly World, which includes two-player cooperative action, is easy to beat when played straight through. However, it offers special challenges when you try to find all the items, some of which are hidden in fiendishly clever places.
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
Nintendo
3DS
Publisher:
Nintendo
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
Release
Date: Oct. 23
$39.99
While
waiting for the long-delayed The Legend
of Zelda Wii U, which has been pushed back to sometime in 2016, Nintendo
fans can bide their time with The Legend
of Zelda: Triforce Heroes, a game that evokes The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, but focuses on cooperation between
three players instead of competition among four.
Each
of the three players, controlling a different colored Link (blue, green, or
red), works together to battle enemies and solve puzzles, including those that
require gamers to form a three-Link totem to reach enemies on a higher plane.
In one-player mode, you can use the touch screen to control doll-like
representations of the other two Links, who are mindlessly at your command. A
competitive Coliseum battle arena mode is included as well.
Halo 5: Guardians
Xbox
One
Publisher:
Microsoft Studios
ESRB
Rating: Teen
Release
Date: Oct. 27
$59.99
“Halo,”
one of the industry’s premiere first-person shooter franchises, returns with Halo 5: Guardians, which developer 343
Industries promises to be the biggest game in the series. In Campaign
mode, gamers play as Master Chief and Spartan Locke across three vast new
worlds, with Locke in hot pursuit of MC’s rogue Blue Team.
New
modes of play include Arena, which is four-on-four action created with
professional eSport tournaments in mind, and Warzone, an epic battle in which
two teams of 12 compete on massive maps. If you haven’t played Halo since the original Xbox game (Halo: Combat Evolved) came out way back
in 2001, it may be time to jump back on the proverbial bandwagon.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Xbox
360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Publisher:
Microsoft Studios/Square Enix
ESRB
Rating: Mature
Release
Date: Nov. 10 (Xbox 360, Xbox One); TBA 2016 (PlayStation 4).
$59.99
Surpassing
even Ms. Pac-Man, Lara Croft is the most prominent female protagonist in
video game history, inspiring the creation of action figures, comic books,
paperback originals, theme park rides, feature films and more. She debuted in
1996 on the groundbreaking Tomb Raider
for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn and has raided more tombs than Indiana
Jones.
In
Rise of the Tomb Raider, which takes
place after 2013’s Tomb Raider
reboot, Croft is at it again, using a wily combination of stealth, brains,
athletic ability and weaponry (bows and arrows, a hunting knife, a pistol, a
climbing axe and the like) to explore exotic environments, solve dangerous
puzzles and survive against hostile humans and animals.
Star Wars Battlefront
PlayStation
4, Xbox One
Publisher:
Electronic Arts
ESRB
Rating: Teen
Release
Date: Nov. 17
$59.99
Star Wars and the Atari
2600 both launched in 1977, but an officially licensed Star Wars video game didn’t hit store shelves until 1982, when
Parker Brothers released Star Wars: The
Empire Strikes Back for Atari’s venerable console. In that game, all
players did was pilot a snowspeeder on Hoth, shooting missiles at Imperial
Walkers.
Now,
more than 100 Star Wars video games
later, “We’ve Come a Long Way Baby,” as Loretta Lynn once sang. Star Wars Battlefront, which is a reboot
of the “Star Wars: Battlefront” series, lets players engage enemies on a
variety of planets (including a new one called Sullust), pilot airborne and
ground-based vehicles, wield blasters and light sabers, encounter R2-D2, C-3PO
and other popular characters, and much more. The force will be with you as you play
as a member of the Rebel Alliance or the Empire.
Just Cause 3
PlayStation
4, Xbox One
Publisher:
Square Enix
ESRB
Rating: Mature
Release
Date: Dec. 1
$59.99
Set
several years after Just Cause 2, Just Cause 3 once again puts players in
the role of Rico Rodriguez, who has returned to his homeland (Medici, a
fictional Mediterranean island) to thwart a brutal dictator named General Di
Ravello. The chaotic, over-the-top action, which takes place among caves,
harbors, prisons, military bases and the like, has been tweaked to let players wreak
more havoc more efficiently and more dramatically than in previous games in the
series.
Rodriguez’
grappling hook and parachute are more versatile, his C-4 explosives are unlimited
and he’s equipped with a new wingsuit that lets him glide across the land very
quickly. He can also commandeer a number of vehicles, including helicopters,
speedboats, sports cars and tractors.
As
if those nine weren’t enough, here are nine more big-budget games to look
forward to this fall:
Lego Dimensions (PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Sept. 27)
NBA 2K16 (PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Sept. 29)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 (PlayStation 4,
Xbox One, Sept. 29; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nov. 10)
Guitar Hero Live (PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Oct. 20)
Just Dance 2016 (PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Oct. 20)
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (PlayStation 4,
Xbox One, Oct. 23)
WWE 2K16 (PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Oct. 27)
Need for Speed (PlayStation 4,
Xbox One, Nov. 3)
Fallout 4 (PlayStation 4,
Xbox One, Nov. 10)
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