Posted Sat Aug 30, 2014 at 11:30 PM PDT by Brian Hoss
Some weeks, the consoles are red hot, and other weeks, the PC flexes its muscle. This is one of those latter weeks.
For the fourth official installment, (take that 'The Sims Online,' 'Socities,' etc.), Electronic Arts and The Sims Studio have one real halo feature that is broken down into some lesser ones. That's right, the true new feature underpinning 'The Sims 4' is an engine that's five years newer. As much as it may sound like an eHarmony commercial, the game boasts of a much bigger per Sim personality matrix (set of characteristics), which should make for much more varied behavior. The game also has an all-new Create A Sim and a revamped Build Mode, for a deeper level of customization and grander base variety. (Check out the Create A Sim demo here.) There's also now a Gallery where the community can share their creations.
'The Sims 4' requires an initial online connection at install (and Origin), but should work offline from then on. Veterans of the 'The Sims 3' and its expansions can register their 'The Sims 3' games for special Sim affecting items for use in 'The Sims 4.' (Access the loyalty reward system .)
After a massive Kickstarter and Early Access campaign, 'Planetary Annihilation' is ready for prime time. Developed by many of the developers behind 'Total Annihilation' and 'Supreme Commander,' 'Planetary Annihilation' looks to once again raise the stakes while tempting players to overextend amid the game's massive scale.
'Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair' is the sequel to the excellent 'Danganronpa.' (Check out the review of the first game here.) This time the investigative struggle to survive moves to Jabberwock Island, which likely looks stunning on the Vita. Don't want to spoil anything, but fans of just about any kind of Japanese or adventure game owe it to themselves to check out 'Danganronpa,' and can even just jump in with the new sequel. Just be ready for the story to repeatedly kick it up a notch.
(A review of ' Danganronpa 2' should be ready later this week.)
'Velocity 2X' is the free PS Plus game for September, and it supports cross save for the PS4 and Vita. The game mixes platforming action with top down shoot 'em up play- all at a serious pace. With a game (and a half) having already struck gold in the franchise, it seems that FuturLab has already nailed what makes their game fun.
In their way, Nordic Games keeps the adventure game candle burning, but with 'The Vanishing of Ethan Carter,' the subject matter appears to have taken a dark and brutal turn. Can't wait to see how it all plays out.
The Turtle Beach Ear Force Z60 Surround Sound PC Gaming Headset is finally being released this week, and as I covered in the review, it's an excellent option for those looking for a new wired PC gaming headset. The combination of DTS Headphones:X 7.1, bass-heavy tuning, and no nonsense construction makes for an excellent gaming headset.
You can find the latest info on all of these releases and more linked from our Video Game Release Schedule.
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