August is coming to an end which means the end of summer, the start of school, and the early beginnings of cold weather. However, with the end of summer comes the start of non-stop video game releases for the rest of the year. There are over 100 games coming out over the final quarter of this year, but there are ten that I believe are worth your time and money to check out. So, without further adieu, let's count down the top 10 games I'm looking forward to this fall!
10. Fallout 76 (11/14/2018)
This game is a brand new take on the classic Fallout model that we have all come to know over the past 10 years. Unlike the previous games, you create a base, a character, and explore a massively open world with other players in real time. While I have confidence that the game itself will be fun, I am not sure how interacting in an open world with other unknown Fallout players will end, but Bethesda is emphasizing cooperation and that players need to work together to survive. This game is certainly an interesting experiment in melding an open world RPG like in The Elder Scrolls: Online and a traditionally single player experience like Fallout.
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (10/12/2018)
Every year Call of Duty is heralded as the premiere first person shooter on the market. This year should be no different as the Black Ops series is considered the best among the three rotating Call of Duty series. Treyarch has been the consistent developer for Call of Duty since the first Black Ops and is heralded as the best developer of the three rotating ones as well. In addition to being a top tier shooter, this is the first year that Call of Duty is implementing their own version of Battle Royale called Blackout Mode which brings back the best maps from Old Black Ops games and combines them together in order to create a massive Battle Royale Map. This idea seems fascinating because we will finally be seeing what a Battle Royale genre game looks like on a AAA scale. With the budget of Activision behind it, there is no reason to think that this mode will be anything but amazing. Finally, the only disappointing thing about this game is that there is no single player campaign, which in my opinion, have been my favorite parts about Call of Duty in the past. Treyarch has spoken publicly about this decision and stated that their Zombie mode has a more fleshed out story this year to make up for it, but there are some rumors that because of the Battle Royale mode, Treyarch had neither the time nor the resources to finish the campaign. Despite missing out on a campaign, Call of Duty still provides the best first person shooter experience on the market making it a can't miss game this year.
8. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (09/14/2018)
When the first reboot of the Tomb Raider released in 2013, it surprised fans and critics everywhere by being one of the best games of the year. Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 followed the same pattern by improving on gameplay mechanics and once again receiving incredible reviews, even being nominated for some game of the year awards. Since then, the Tomb Raider movie was released to mixed reviews, rumors have swirled about Alicia Vikander not being on board for the sequel and the title of Shadow was leaked via a Square Enix employee's laptop. This has caused the franchise to take some PR hits, but this game still promises to be the darkest in the franchise as well as provide the best gameplay. On top of that, this game looks absolutely gorgeous and will have some massive, exciting set pieces.
7. Lego DC Super Villains (10/16/2018)
Lego DC Super Villains looks to be an incredibly fun game with a great twist on the classic Lego video games we have all come to love over the years. The premise of this game is that you get to create your own Villain and fight along side other famous villains and finally defeat these pesky super heroes. Introducing some new gameplay elements, beautiful new visuals, and the original voice cast of from the Justice League animated series, this game looks to be not only a love letter to DC heroes, but a wildly entertaining ride. As long as this game doesn't make you switch sides and fight along the super heroes, this game will be the most fun Lego game since Lego Marvel Heroes. In a game like this, I really want to play with the villains and get into some serious shenanigans.
6. NBA 2K19 (09/07/2018)
This game is heralded as far and away the best basketball game released every year. With new visuals and gameplay mechanics, 2K will continue its dominance this year and is a must have for any basketball fan. Besides gameplay improvements, Lebron James is on the cover of the Legend Edition this year which (as a Lakers fan) has me almost as excited as I was 10 years ago when Kobe Bryant was on the cover.
5. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu! / Pokemon Let's Go Eevee! (11/16/2018)
Finally! The Pokemon Yellow remakes we have been asking for! This game looks exactly like how I remember these games looking the first time I played through them which means that I am stoked to play through these again as soon as they come out. The only holdups I have are about the catching mechanics and level up system. The game uses the same mechanics as Pokemon Go which has both positives and benefits to it. The first, is that allowing for Nice, Great, and Excellent catches means that throwing a Pokeball won't solely rely on luck and repeatedly tapping the B button hoping that does something. The problem, is that Pokemon Go has no combat system for wild Pokemon which worries me because I am not sure how they will implement combat into these wild encounters while still using the Pokemon Go catching system. The other concern I have is about leveling up. This ties into the battle problem because the traditional way of making Pokemon stronger is by battling with others. If you are unable to do that in this game, or it is altered in a negative way by the Pokemon Go stardust system, how much will that effect the overall gameplay experience. Either way this is the first step towards a true RPG console Pokemon experience which I am certain will only be improved upon next year when the new Pokemon RPG releases, which promises to be a whole new generation in the series.
4. Assassin's Creed Odyssey (10/05/2018)
After taking a year off two years ago and coming back strong last year with AC: Origins, AC: Odyssey looks to build upon its success. Setting the game in Greece and focusing much of story on Greek mythology/Spartan culture is a great decision by the developers. The environments look amazing in this game and the areas of ancient Greece have been faithfully recreated as well. When I was little, I played Age of Mythology nonstop and this game reminds me of all of the elements of Greek Mythology, military history, and environmental scenes that I loved so much. This game also promises to have a great story. It also comes out at a good time too as its release window is far enough away from Spider-Man and Red Dead Redemption 2, two other massively hyped open world games.
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (12/07/2018)
Challenger Approaching! A new foe has appeared and it promises to be the biggest and best yet. From the largest roster ever, to the most stages ever, to the most music ever, to the most hype ever, this game will be the Super Smash Bros. game to end all games. There's not much more I can add. There are currently 70 characters on the roster with rumors of even more approaching. Many of them are clones of others, but the fact that there is this much variety means that there will be a character for everyone to play with. Besides Mario Kart, this game is the best couch competitive game Nintendo has to offer. Also did I mention there are 103 stages as well? Not only will there be a character for everyone, but also a stage for everyone. Like the characters, the stages will be from every Smash Bros. game. There is also one more gameplay mode yet to be revealed later this fall meaning that there is even more to discover.
2. Red Dead Redemption II (10/26/2018)
A living breathing world, where every interaction you have has consequences. We have been sold this promise before, but Rockstar seems to truly be ambitious enough to make this happen. The story of this game is a prequel to the first Red Dead Redemption which means that the story itself will lose some drama because we sort of already know were a lot of these characters end up. The most interesting part about the story will be fleshing out the details of Dutch's gang and figuring out his relationship with John Marston while they are young, not just when they are old and John is forced to chase down his old gang. However, the long lasting appeal of this game will not be the story, but the online component as Rockstar takes their successful model of GTA 5 online and applies it to the Red Dead universe. GTA 5's online is still played by over 89,000 people as of 24 hours ago. Not bad for a game released in 2013. The online universe of GTA has created an endless amount of money for Rockstar and Take-Two. If Red Dead Redemption 2 is anywhere in the ballpark of success as GTA 5, then it will be one of the best selling games of all time. This game is sure to provide hundreds of hours of entertainment for all types of gamers.
1. Marvel's Spider-Man (09/07/2018)
If it wasn't Red Dead Redemption 2, then it was going to be Spider-Man. Both of these games have a case to be number one, but simply put, I love Spider-man more. Spider-Man 2 for the Playstation 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and having the feeling of swinging through the streets of New York is something I cannot wait to do again. Even mediocre Spider-Man games (Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Web of Shadows) were still enjoyable to me because of these elements. Insomniac is the perfect developer for this game because they understand how to make action games that play and feel smooth. Their last major release Sunset Overdrive was critically acclaimed, but suffered from poor sales due to being an Xbox exclusive at the launch of the Xbox One. At the time the Xbox One has stumbled out of the gate with their marketing and as a result had terrible sales which led to Sunset Overdrive doing poorly financially. The game was credited with having fun, frantic, and chaotic gameplay. If Insomniac can bring these same elements to Spider-Man it will be the most fun game of this entire gaming generation.
Honorable Mentions:
These games are ones that I am interested in, but did not make the cut. Think of them as eleven through fifteen in any order you want.
Super Mario Party (10/05/2018)
Destiny 2: Foresaken DLC (09/04/2018)
FIFA 19 (09/28/2019)
Battlefield V (10/19/2018)
Hitman 2 (11/13/2018)
#games #videogames #reddeadredemption2 #list #Supersmashbros #spiderman #ps4 #xbox #destiny #callofduty #battleroyale #hitman #pokemon #fallout #playstation #fifa #2k #gta #rdr2 #rdr #battlefield #hitman
photo credits:
Fallout 76: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9FGaan35s0
Black Ops 4: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/05/23/treyarch-call-of-duty-black-ops-4-blackout-map-size-confirmed/
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider
Lego DC Super Villains: https://chaos-is-coming.wbgames.com/
NBA 2K19: https://nba.2k.com/2k19/buy/
Pokemon Let's Go: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-video-games/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu-and-pokemon-lets-go-eevee/
Odyssey: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/e3-2018-assassins-creed-odyssey-takes-the-series-to-new-heights
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: https://www.smashbros.com/en_GB/
Red Dead Redemption II: https://www.cnet.com/news/red-dead-redemption-2-everything-we-know-trailers-gameplay-prices-release-date-october-26/
Spiderman: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-spider-man-ps4/?emcid=pa-ph-137586
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