The “Fall Gaming Season” is here and the number of new releases increased substantially during the month of September.
Thankfully, if you missed any Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week selections during the last four weeks, I’ve collected them below.
Week of September 5, 2016
The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week was a tie between two monster-hunting titles… Bandai Namco’s God Eater 2: Rage Burst and Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan.
Japanese developers love pitting a single player (or a small co-op team) against a giant monster. Ever since the success of Monster Hunter back in the PS2 days, “monster hunting” games have almost become their own genre. And this week, players might be interested in trying out God Eater 2: Rage Burst, a PS4 game where players use “God Arcs” to battle demonic entities known as Aragami. The Aragami like to chow down on lowly humans, much like the Titans at the center of Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan, which is another adaptation of the popular anime for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Also of note this week was a trio of re-releases. Things starterd off with Assetto Corsa, a racing simulation that was originally released for the PC and is now available for the PS4 and Xbox One. Your patrons might also be interested in slaying more giant monsters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition, which collects all of the game’s downloadable expansions in a single package for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Finally, Capcom added improved graphics to Resident Evil 4, which is a bona fide classic, and re-released it for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Week of September 12, 2016
The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week was The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, a turn-based RPG for the PS3 and Vita.
Published by XSEED and developed by Falcom, Trails of Cold Steel II is a tactical turn-based title where the fate of the kingdom is at stake and only a plucky band of outsiders can save the day. Players interested in obscure Japanese RPGs will definitely be interested in this one.
Also of note this week was Just Sing, Ubisoft’s singing spinoff of the Just Dance franchise. Available for the PS4 and Xbox One, players are able to sing (or lip sync) along with songs from Britney Spears, Sia, Justin Bieber, and others. Best of all, Just Sing can easily be used during an open gaming program because it doesn’t require a microphone peripheral. Ubisoft has released a companion app that’ll turn any smartphone into a microphone.
Week of September 19, 2016
The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week expanded this week thanks to the beginning of the “Fall Gaming Season.” With more than a dozen new titles this week, there was something to recommend for everybody.
With the NFL season kicking off and the baseball season winding down, so let’s start with some new sports games. EA Sports released Madden NFL 17 a month ago, but the publisher was back this week with NHL 17 for the PS4 and Xbox One. If you’re more of a basketball fan, 2K Games released NBA 2K17 this week for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Soccer supporters will also get a new simulation this week with the release of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. And the checkered flag goes to NASCAR Heat: Evolution, which was released for the PS4 and Xbox One this week. All four games always score very well with gamers and would make a good addition to any collection.
Far away from Earth’s athletic fields is the planet of Far Eden, an interstellar colony that’s been overrun by villainous robots in Microsoft’s ReCore. Developed by Armature Studio, with additional idea work by Keiji Inafune, ReCore lets players fight back as Joule Adams, a resourceful woman who has her own team of robotic helpers. ReCore is available for the Xbox One.
Finally this week, a trio of re-releases will reintroduce gamers to a few beloved franchises. BioShock: The Collection brought BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite together in a single package for the PS4 and Xbox One with improved graphics and exclusive commentary by Ken Levine and other developers from Irrational. Meanwhile, Capcom’s Dead Rising also made the leap to the PS4 and Xbox One with improved graphics. And Square Enix and Nintendo collaborated on a brand new localization for the 3DS release of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, an absolutely massive RPG that was originally released in 2001.
Week of September 26, 2016
The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week was yet another three-way tie.
Believe it or not, Bungie released the original version of Destiny nearly two years ago. After building up a devoted fanbase that continues to obsessively play the shooter to the this day, the developer launched the game’s final expansion this week. The Rise of Iron expansion will be exclusively available to download from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store, but players who haven’t yet jumped into Destiny’s universe should pick up Destiny: The Collection this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to the original game and Rise of Iron, The Collection will also include all of Destiny’s previously released expansion content… Expansion I: The Dark Below, Expansion II: House of Wolves, and The Taken King. Destiny: The Collection is highly recommended for all your patrons who love shooters.
Also recommended this week was Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition, which technically made its debut during the Xbox One’s launch period. The Definitive Edition is a collected edition that includes all 26 characters and 20 stages from the game’s first three seasons, as well as a pair of bonus games (Killer Instinct Classic and Killer Instinct 2 Classic). Fans of fighting games will definitely enjoy seeing it on the shelf.
Finally this week, Atlus published Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, a side-story to the original Shin Megami Tensei IV, for the 3DS. Fans of the weird world of Japanese RPGs will enjoy the chance to check this one out.