Hello and welcome to another edition of "This Week In Games," a weekly feature where every Sunday or Monday I give a quick preview of some of the games releasing this week that are of interest to me in a good or bad way.
June 30
Divinity: Original Sin
Coming Out For: Windows, Linux
Genre: Role-playing
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDaYWfqJD3g
This is the big release of the week for me, and it's strange because I didn't know anything about it and I only played Divine Divinity briefly years ago... so I'm not a series fan. However, this prequel to that looks incredible.
It looks like a dense (as the gameplay video says) RPG, with a neat robbery system that actually affects your reputation if you get caught. You can cause a distraction with one character by talking to somebody and then use another to steal. The crafting seems simplistic but it appears that there are a lot of things you can craft. The combat is turn-based but I like the idea of your action points carrying over to the next turn so you can have a big turn. It looks like there's a lot of variety in your attacks.
The leveling system looks like it has depth, with the different perks you can put points into and all the other things that you can level up, and there's a lot of story to read and things to do. My only complaint from what I know is that there isn't a marker telling you where to go so questing will be extremely difficult. NPCs will tell you, but then you have to remember. There is a dialogue diary but it looks like it's hard to filter through.
If you're playing co-op, you can make decisions together and depending on how you interact with your partner your stats will be affected.
There's also an RPG kit to make your own adventures! The game isn't even full-priced but looks huge. $40 on Steam.
July 1
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
Coming Out For: PS4 (July 1), Xbox 360 (July 2), Xbone (July 2), Wii U (July 2)
Genre: Platformer
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVQbAtAQzj8
Guacamelee! sees its debut on the systems listed above in an enhanced edition. I'm not really sure why I never played the game because I love luchador wrestling, and the game is zany and colourful. I reckon now is probably a good time to try it out, and if you have Xbox Live Gold it is the free Games With Gold for July, so pick it up.
Child Of Light
Coming Out For: PS Vita
Genre: Role-playing
Gameplay: http://ca.ign.com/videos/2014/05/20/child-of-light-psvita-trailer
I really enjoyed Child of Light because JRPGs are where my heart is. They're my roots.
You can fly around in this game, which is different, and the turn-based combat has a spin on it with the fact you can use your companion to slow down enemies and just generally interact with things. The story is told entirely in rhyme, and the visual style is gorgeous. It looks like the Vita version hasn't suffered so if you haven't played Child of Light, here is another chance to do so.
Sniper Elite 3
Coming Out For: PS3, PS4, X360, XboneGenre: Third-Person Shooter
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yg9jffjxI
It's already out on PC, but it sees its console release. Here's what I said about the PC version.
This one doesn't interest me at all, and since I don't get paid to do reviews I'm not sure if I'll get around to this one or not. It's not that it looks terrible, but it doesn't look like it brings anything to the table that we can't get a million other places. The kill-cam idea doesn't really make me feel like I'm seeing the damage I'm doing, it just seems annoying, and the action looks okay but there are so many shooters it just doesn't stand out.
