This Week In Games, September 14 - 20, 2014: Wasteland 2! Mursaki Baby! Plus Reprisal Universe, ArcheAge, Fairy Fencer F, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, Life Is Feudal: Your Own, Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall (Directors Cut), Endless Legend And More!

Written By: Tyler

Herrow everybody, and welcome to another edition of This Week In Games, a weekly feature where I tell you who Jack the Ripper was.

Every week I go on Gamespot.com and look at what games are coming out. From there, I pick some of the more interesting (for better or worse) games that are seeing a release this week. Then I do a little research, wave my magic wand, and tell you a little bit about each game.

The release dates are North American because that's where I'm from. Generally you'll see similar release dates in other major gaming countries, but I'm not from there so I focus on where my hood is. You feel me? I promise I won't talk like this anymore. Let's get on with the fun.


September 14

Notta.


September 15

Reprisal Universe

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Strategy
Gameplay: http://store.steampowered.com/app/319560/

Think Populous when you think of this game. You raise your land, develop your tribe, take on other tribes, master Totem Powers to do battle... all that good stuff. If you're into this kind of thing, then this is something you should check out. It's already technically out, but it's hitting Steam this week.


The Masterplan

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Strategy/Action
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFF3iQbBOF8&list=PLHVUIGUZ1rjerc6W8XTIOREYf4IszGZ0n

The Masterplan is a game where you pick the perfect team to commit heists. It has a top-down view like Hotline Miami, but it is a different game because it's all about planning and perfecting your mission. Think Hotline Miami meets Payday, and you have a pretty good idea of what this is offering. It looks awesome, and it hits Early Access this week.



September 16

ArcheAge

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: MMORPG
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ9AnXZGKYs

ArcheAge is a free-to-play sandbox MMORPG. Don't leave just because you saw f2p and MMORPG, because not all of them are bad. For example, I think Neverwinter got an undeserved bad reputation. So does ArcheAge look like something that you should invest your time in?

I would say yes. I am probably going to give it a try, but read this blurb from their website and make your own mind up: "Adventure in an open-ended MMORPG freed from predefined paths and progression. Build massive castles and lay claim to lands whose riches fuel a deep, player-driven economy. Band together to protect your fortune in epic siege battles and naval combat – or live the life of an outlaw, prying glory and coin from foes left in your wake."


Mursaki Baby

Coming Out For: PS Vita
Genre: Platformer/Puzzle
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc3rV2U9HFY

I'm really excited for this, but unfortunately I don't own a PS Vita and can't afford one. I've been into this since I first saw it at, I think, E3 because I absolutely love the visuals, the art design and the trailer. You basically use the touch screen to make the main character move and solve puzzles in a terrifying, surreal world. I don't know if the game is going to be anything special from a strict gameplay perspective or not, though I'm inclined to believe it will be. However, the art alone makes it worthy of a pickup. 


Fairy Fencer F

Coming Out For: PS3
Genre: JRPG
Gameplay: http://www.gamespot.com/videos/fairy-fencer-f-official-trailer/2300-6417275/

Truthfully I don't know a lot about Fairy Fencer F, but it was already released in Japan and is now coming over here this week. It looks to me to be like a normal JRPG, so if you're a JRPG nut then you can check it out. It probably won't get much of a following otherwise, simply because JRPGs have a more niche audience than they did when I was growing up.


Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Coming Out For: 3DS
Genre: Rhythm
Gameplay: http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/avj8hm/theatrhythm-final-fantasy--curtain-call-review

The video above does a really good job of describing everything, but in case you don't want to click it, here's Theatrhythm in a nutshell: it's a rhythm game starring Final Fantasy characters where you get to listen to classic Final Fantasy songs and in typical fashion for the genre, hit buttons at the right time. I'm not huge into rhythm games, but this one is interesting to me because I love Final Fantasy music and that alone makes the game somewhat enjoyable. It has light RPG elements but they appear to be insignificant.


Cooking Mama 5: Bon Appetit! 

Coming Out For: 3DS
Genre: Simulation
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-qjZ_OvMLU

Cooking Mama 5 was released in Japan earlier this year, and now it is coming over to North America. If you're interested in this, you probably are already familiar with the game, but in case you aren't... here's a description from somebody who has no interest or experience with the game: it's a cooking simulator where you use the touchscreen to prepare food. There must be an audience for this.


The Waste Land

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Metroidvania/Platformer/Action
Gameplay: http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-waste-land (there's a video on the main page)

Indie developers seem to really love Metroidvanias (which is a combination of Metroid and Castlevania if you've never heard the term). Players also seem to like the organic exploration in these games because they often don't really tell you what to do, but with smart game design can be fun. It can be a real blast figuring out where to go once you get the right item or talk to the right person. This game looks like a worthy addition to the genre, so make sure to pick it up if you can.


September 17

Spacecom

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Strategy
Gameplay: http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/27/6074767/spacecom-4x-strategy-fast-and-made-for-multiplayer

Spacecom is a 4X strategy space fleet command game with a focus on multiplayer. Use your tactics that are up in your brain to do battle with rival fleets when this game drops this week.


Cosmonautica

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Simulation
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHpyxIW7deo
 
In Cosmonautica you manage your space ship, trade and do battle. The game looks to have a sense of humour and this looks like a neat little simulation game so it's worth a play.



September 18

Endless Legend

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Strategy
Gameplay:  http://ca.ign.com/videos/2014/04/18/endless-legend-video-preview (Alpha footage)

Endless Legends exits Early Access and gets a full release this week. It looks like a gorgeous 4X strategy game with a lot of depth. There are a bunch of side-quests to do along with the main game, and some RPG elements to go along with it, with customizable skill trees, crafting gear and level-ups. There's more to it, but I will end this by saying that this game could be something special.


Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Director's Cut)

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: RPG
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyUktyFHrb4

I haven't played the Dragonfall expansion, but I can speak from experience that Shadowrun Returns is a welcome... rebirth of Shadowrun. It's not as good as the old SNES one, but it's pretty damn good on its own merits, so I can only imagine Dragonfall is great too. The Director's Cut expands on it with new missions, music, endings, etc. If you already have Dragonfall you get the updates for free.


Elminage Gothic

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: RPG
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYbOLrnHLtM (it's in Japanese)

Released on PSP originally, it is now making its way to PC. Part of a neglected genre, the old-school dungeon crawling RPG, Elminage Gothic hopes to make enjoying big dungeons enjoyable again. These types of games were so popular at one point, and it's nice to see them still being made here and there.


September 19

Wasteland 2

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: RPG
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYtc5Y96coM

Did you play the original Wasteland? Do you like classic computer RPGs? Do you like RPGs where your choices in conversations directly impact the world around you? Do you like RPGs with tactical combat? Do you like post-apocalyptic RPGs? If you answered yes to any of these, then this is an important release for you.

I haven't actually played the original Wasteland, but I'm incredibly excited for this to finally see a full release. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this RPG that is going to take up dozens of hours of my time. I can't wait to experience the rich story where what you do actually has an effect on things. This is the biggest release of the week for me, along with Murasaki Baby.



Life Is Feudal: Your Own 

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Sandbox MMORPG
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMzMLo0hQ_c

I've never heard of Life Is Feudal before, but it seems ambitious, and definitely a lot different than other MMORPGs. When you think of MMORPGs, you no doubt have a certain idea in your head because for the most part, they're pretty similar to one another. There are differences between games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2, for example, but they still follow pretty similar models.

From my understanding, Life is Feudal doesn't have level caps or levels at all, no grinding, quests that are more about becoming familiar with game mechanics rather than being something you do daily. The gameplay consists more of terraforming, meaning you can dig tunnels, manipulate the terrain, build cities underground or above ground, or build walls. The combat is different than other MMORPGs, and the gameplay seems to consist of doing medieval things like sieges and wars. There is crafting, and other game features that I'm not getting into.

The first thing that comes to my head when I think of this game is a game like Rust. They're quite different than one another and it appears that Rust has more emphasis on survival, but the idea of basically just being in a world populated by other people and living, while occasionally killing each other, seems very similar to this influx of games of this type. I'm not trying to say Life is Feudal is copying because they're a lot different, but there are similarities that I enjoy. Still, they'll offer very different experiences.

It hits open Early Alpha this week.



September 20

Nothing.


There are a lot of releases this week, especially from smaller studios, or at least from studios developing games that may not get the mainstream recognition that they deserve. Surely there is something this week that you are interested in.

Did I miss anything of importance to you? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me on the twitter thing @ArtBathednCrime

News Round-Up February 9 - 15: More News About Titanfall, Nintendo And GOAT SIMULATOR?

Written By: Tyler

Hey peeps, what's up? Hope your week is going okay, and now that it's Saturday you can read my long-ass News Round-Up... which is a weekly thing I do where I make fun of some of the more important news of the week. Read on.


Arkham Origins Is A Bug Collector
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-has-no-plans-to-fix-several-game-breaking-bugs/1100-6417619/

How do you piss off your fans? How do you piss off people that paid for your product? You do exactly what Warner Brothers Montreal did this week. You tell people that if you release a patch, you will address the progression glitches, but you will not fix the other bugs. Why not push DLC over a broken game? I mean, don't even promise people that you'll fix the major issues that literally corrupt save files. Great customer service.


Remember How The Creator Of Flappy Bird Took It Down?

Last week I reported (meaning I ripped the news off of other, more credible sites... and Twitter) that the creator of Flappy Bird issued a Refused style break-up message with Flappy Bird and took it down. Well don't worry, because there's more!

You can buy a phone with Flappy Bird on it if you don't already have it... for a tremendous amount of money. Or you could buy one of the many clones that have popped up.

No... this:

Jonathan Blow would love this.

Oh, people.


Steam Update Rolls In, Shows New Updates
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/10/steam-store-adds-a-recently-updated-section

Valve updated Steam this week and the new update is an easy way to tell what games have recently been given updates. Of course this will be a good way to go back to old games. Great, just what I need, more reasons to play more games.


Minecraft-Inspired Movie SHUT DOWN
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-inspired-movie-shut-down/1100-6417633/

The Minecraft movie that wasn't licensed by Notch that apparently didn't even have a deal in place was shut down. It's really not a surprise that Notch shut it down "Brendan Schaub vs Cyborg Abreu at Metamoris II" style considering the director of the movie doesn't own the IP.


Watch Dogs For The Wii U Delayed
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/10/watch-dogs-coming-to-wii-u-later-than-other-systems

Once upon a time there was this game called Watch Dogs that flew under the radar. When it came close to release date, it got delayed but very few people cared. Now it's scheduled for release in the Spring... except for Wii U. It's very rare that bad things happen to the Wii U so this isn't such a big deal.

...

World of Speed Is Coming And It's Going To Be Free
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/world-of-speed-a-racing-mmo-with-grand-ambitions/1100-6417561/

World of Speed is an ambitious free-to-play... oh wait, I have to listen to the internet grumble for a bit over "free-to-play."

Titanfall Will Not Allow You To Shoot Through Walls
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dev-explains-why-you-can-t-shoot-through-walls/1100-6417629/

In a decidedly non-Next-Gen move, Respawn announced that you can not shoot through walls in the much hyped Titanfall. So of course, in the comments section the internet erupted and argued about why this does or doesn't make sense. Screw you Titanfall! It doesn't make sense to have Titans destroying everything! This is going to be shit like CoD! Battlefield 4 rulez! DUDE TITANFALL ISN'T OUT YET! I PEED MY PANTS!

It was an internet war unlike any other, and many lives were lost. They will be missed.


New Call of Duty Will Prioritize Next-Gen Consoles and PC
http://www.destructoid.com/this-year-s-call-of-duty-to-prioritize-pc-ps4-xbox-one-270313.phtml

Speaking of next-gen, do I have some news for you.

Instead of making something for current gen (last gen? What IS IT NOW?), Sledgehammer is going to develop for the brand spankin' new consoles and PC and then port to the old systems from there. What this means is that in the new CoD we will have two dogs on screen at a time during campaign and we will also see real fish AI like Super Mario 64 since we'll be able to handle it now.


Supposedly Dark Souls 2 Is Rated T
http://www.destructoid.com/dark-souls-ii-earns-a-t-rating-from-the-esrb-270295.phtml

Unless T stands for TerriblyFrustrating, I don't see how this can be true. Due to the extremely dark and maddening aspects of the game, I would rate it CB for Chris Benoit... because it's so difficult you'll kill yourself and your family.

Too soon.

Remember That Flappy Bird Game I Talked About... Above?
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/11/flappy-bird-creator-explains-why-he-pulled-the-game

Basically, people are assholes and addicts and he didn't want to be a part. Well played dude, even if the game sucks.


Murasaki Baby -- The Trailer Is Weird, But... Strangely Alluring (Like Your Mom)
http://ca.ign.com/videos/2014/02/11/murasaki-baby-vitas-weirdest-game

If you'd ignore the fact that I made a "your mom" joke for a second and go to that link and watch the trailer for this new promising Vita game, you'll understand what I mean when I post this:

Goat Simulator
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/goat-simulator-is-a-real-game-that-s-really-happening/1100-6417672/


It's not very often that a random game shoots up my "Most Anticipated Games" list, but this one did. I'm not even joking. There is no joke here. I don't have to make one because the video will make you laugh.


Sons of Anarchy Game Is Still In Production
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sons-of-anarchy-game-back-on-will-be-f-ing-awesome/1100-6417670/

Kurt Sutter, the creator of SoA, says that the game is in production and it's going to be "fucking awesome." Straight to the point, I like it.

In all seriousness I might play the game if Rockstar makes it -- even though the idea of an SoA game doesn't overly appeal to me (despite being a huge fan of the show) -- because they made The Warriors and that was fantastic. They also made uh, Grand Train Audio or whatever, so it might be okay.


PS4 100+ games
Microsoft 25 bucks for usage of head phones


But Enough About That Shit, Let's Hear What EA Has To Say

In the first ever EA Corner, we got the stuff that EA says, except for the things they say in private to their wives and husbands because that's probably creepy. Whenever EA says something I will be here to make the same jokes about it that I do every week. Without EA I wouldn't even have a weekly news round-up.

It's important to note that it's what EA says, not Respawn (hence Titanfall news being above). I don't want to confuse all three of my readers, you know. Let's get on it.


EA CFO (Certified Fork Operator) Blake Jorgensen stated that Titanfall is going to be a series that is around for a long, long time. Yeah, well at least a year because that's how long it's going to take to hammer out the bugs to make it work because you force it out early. Ba dum tsss.

EA CFO (Cranky Fish Omnipotent) Blake Jorgensen said that mobile games won't kill consoles. That's right, because EA will. Zing!

EA chief creative officer Rich Hilleman... wait where's Blake? Dammit, I had something going there. Anyway, Rich Hillerman went all Tower Defense and defended the crappy launch of Battlefield 4 basically stating that he won't accept that people think it's a bad product and doesn't think customers will say that anyway. He also said that they will learn from their past mistakes. Just like with Sim City. OH SNAP!

Well that concludes The EA Corner for now. Let's move onto other news.


Like The Nintendo Direct That Was Held This Week

Every Nintendo fan gets excited for Nintendo Direct. I'm no different. We shouldn't have gotten our hopes up too much because Nintendo said it was focused on games releasing this Spring (despite a couple games being shown that have later release dates).

But there's always that hope that BANG, NEW ZELDA! Or Metroid. Or Star Fox. Or Earthbound. Whatever. We didn't get it, spoiler tags.

We now know that Little Mac is in Smash Bros, which is awesome. We finally saw a little more of THE GREATEST RPG EVER -- X. We saw some more Bayonetta 2, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Yoshi's New Island, etc.

We saw some games that are coming for the eShop, and admittedly some of them look cool.

We saw the tears of all Nintendo fanboys.

We saw more about games we already know about. It was about par for the course with Nintendo Direct, and yet I keep getting hyped. I was going to make a hype train picture but it turns out there's already a bunch of them. Well played, Internet.


Steam Going To Have Tags
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/12/valve-introduces-user-generated-steam-tags

Now you can categorize stuff! Yay! FINALLY!

...

In all seriousness I like how the article makes sure to mention that swear words will be censored. Dang.


Farting Will Feel Authentic in the South Park RPG
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/south-park-rpg-will-make-farting-feel-authentic/1100-6417695/

In what is surely the most important news of the week, Trey Parker said that the farting will feel authentic, and I quote, "It was really important that you didn't just press a button to fart. You need to feel it go out of your asshole."

I agree! 100%. This is wonderful news, and it's nice that we're finally getting realism in our games. I think this game was meant for the Oculus Rift... if it was... on your... ass.


Square Enix Says FFXV Is Far Into Development
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/13/final-fantasy-15-quite-far-into-development

In some reassuring news, especially considering the news before that they weren't sure when the game would be released, Square Enix says that FFXV -- the latest entry in the most final series of all time -- is far into development.

I also learned that there are direct sequels coming. Do you remember the days when Final Fantasy games would just be standalones? Because Square doesn't.

Now, just get The World Ends With You 2 underway and we'll be good.


Hideo Kojima Loves the PS4 The Mostest Forever <3
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/13/hideo-kojima-praises-the-power-of-the-ps4

The article states, however, that the Xbone hasn't been released in Japan yet so Kojima may not have included it in his statement.


Xbox One Patch To Fix The Controller Input
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/13/xbox-one-patch-to-fix-controller-input-for-titanfall

Titanfall apparently runs roughshod over everything, but it's good because now the Xbox One update that is coming later this month will fix the controller input because now it's "overly twitchy."

CandySwipe Developer Published An Open Letter to King
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/12/candyswipe-dev-publishes-open-letter-to-candy-crush-publisher

As the title states, Albert Ransom -- who developed CandySwipe -- published an open letter on King.com which basically states that King are assholes and that they win, just in nicer terms.

If you aren't aware of King, they tried to mess things up for The Banner Saga too because Saga is in the title so they don't want the Viking epic to be confused with Candy Crush Saga.

Meanwhile, in a dark alley way, King are hanging out with EA. True story.


The Evil Within Gets A Release Date
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/14/the-evil-within-release-date-announced

The Evil Within, the documentary about this blog, gets a release date... and it's right now. Nah it's August 26. Prepare to piss yourself at the end of summer.


Xbox Live Gold Is Free Right Now
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-live-gold-free-for-all-this-weekend-on-xbox-360/1100-6417715/

If you're one of the few people who don't have Xbox Live Gold, then it's actually free this weekend. I don't have any jokes here, I've just realized that I don't often put positive Microsoft news. #microsoftsux


Bungie Reveals One Of The Mounts In Destiny
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/13/destiny-bungie-unveils-the-shrike-vehicle

PETA be damned.

The mount is called the Shrike.


Why Not Release a Hitman Game That Isn't Like Other Hitman Games?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hitman-getting-a-turn-based-strategy-game-for-real/1100-6417725/

Square Enix Montreal apparently agrees with that sentiment because they are developing a Hitman game for tablets and mobile that is a turn-based strategy game.

I'm just going to go ahead and ignore every Hitman game from now on until they literally come out and say, "Hey. We are done experimenting with a franchise that shouldn't be experimented with, we've decided Absolution pissed on everything and we're going back to what made the games so good from the beginning to Blood Money."

What is the over-under on that happening?


In Much Better News, The Arma 3 DLC Is Kind Of Like Dungeons and Dragons
http://www.destructoid.com/arma-3-s-zeus-dlc-introduces-a-new-role-game-master-270495.phtml

Oh shit.

The Zeus Game Master DLC will allow players to basically be Dungeon Masters and control objectives, spawn units, etc. I don't know how this is going to work in a game like Arma, but that's a damn cool idea and Square Enix Montreal should listen to the developers of this.


Gearbox Not Working On Borderlands 3 Now, I Repeat, Gearbox NOT Working On Borderlands 3 Now

I don't even know what to do. I don't know where to go, who to talk to. I don't know who to blame. I am so lost.

Oh you bet your ass I can. And I do.


Halo 5 Coming To Xbox In 2015... Maybe?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-5-coming-to-xbox-in-2015-according-to-master-chief-voice-actor-update/1100-6417742/

Nobody really knows except for the developers. But we like to just latch onto stuff one individual says. That's what we do.


DayZ May Come To PS4 and Xbone
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-and-ps4-could-get-open-world-zombie-game-dayz/1100-6417765/

This is great news to anybody who doesn't have a PC that can run DayZ. Mind you, it'll probably be better on PC but it's nice when more people are able to get killed by other, better geared players and rage quit. Console gamers should be thankful for this potential awesomeness.


Video Games May Help With Dyslexia
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/video-games-are-good-for-you-may-help-manage-dyslexia/1100-6417764/

May also help you with boredom.

It's always nice when articles like this come out because there are always going to be critics of video games who still see them as useless and a waste of time. Now however, instead of just praising this discovery and using it to better our lives, we can slap it in the face of hatas.

VIDEO GAMED.

And so there you have it -- some of the most important news of the week. Make sure to tune in next week when I make fun of more news and quietly lament Ellen Page being gay because now there's even less chance than there was before.