Videogame Releases: Week of June 2nd, 2013

Videogame Releases: Week of June 2nd, 2013

Forget sequels, forget re-releases and forget ‘StarCraft’. This week belongs to ‘Remember Me’. Well, it belongs to ‘Remember Me’ and the PC, which bags the best of this June week’s new videogame releases with ease.

Remember Me (360, PS3, PC)

Despite being published by Capcom, I think it’s fair to classify ‘Remember Me‘ as piece of French media and therefore subject to indulging style over substance. In playing the game, you’ll steal memories, watch memories and remix memories – all with the full intention of manipulating the non-playable characters. Of course, along the way you’ll level up your combat abilities, which are useful for navigating the Neo-Paris of 2084 and for delving deep into the conflicting psyches of the target NPCs.

‘Remember Me’ is the all-too-rare new IP. Much of its development occurred before the game had anything to do with memories, so the combat and atmosphere may make or break the gameplay for most. As a third-person action title, the game takes a lot of cues from the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ and ‘Arkham Asylum/City’ games, but without the polish. What’s frustrating is that I want this game to be good, for people to like it and support it. Yet I expect that most people will write it off. In the end, the game may be destined to become a cult classic.

Marvel Heroes (PC)

There are two ways to look at ‘Marvel Heroes’. It’s either an unnecessary “me-too” MMO, or it’s the best replacement for games like ‘X-Men Legends’ and ‘Marvel Ultimate Alliance’. You can team-up with friends and tackle some signature Marvel situations, and you can even spend some money for customization. Personally, I find the dungeon crawler style of the game and its free aspects appealing. The question is when to jump in and play. Having already skipped the beta (along with some other people interested in the game), is launch week really the best time? Perhaps it would be better to wait until the game nears shutting down next year or so… (Just kidding.)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition (360, PS3, PC)

After a year and half of ‘Skyrim’ and its three expansions, the game’s development has finally come to a close. Bethesda is officially moving on, and promises no more content. That means it’s time for ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition‘, which includes all content released at its best price yet.

And what can I say about ‘Skyrim’? The game suffers a few fundamental flaws that have plagued the series. Floaty, disinteresting combat, mind-numbing crafting and cookie-cutter dungeon/enemy/quest/item design populate what is otherwise an incredible game. The open world and its lore are massive – so massive that even 100 hours of gameplay won’t complete the quests. I recall dropping some twenty hours roaming for side-quests before bothering to learn how to use dragon shouts.

My own issues with series aside, I recommend trying the game. Supposedly, the PS3 version is no longer crippled, but beware, some fans get so addicted that 300 hours might not be enough to quell the sickness.

Planetary Annihilation (PC)

The ghosts of the RTS genre have gone to Kickstarter and returned in the form of ‘Planetary Annihilation’. A full release isn’t due until September, but the beta will be released this week. That alone should make it evident that this crowd-funded effort from the leads behind ‘Total Annihilation’ and ‘Supreme Commander’ is something exciting. We’re talking ambitions of million-unit armies spanning multiple planets and sub satellites, plus matches of upwards of forty players.

https://youtu.be/He0NCeSxnAU

3 comments

  1. Received a review copy of ‘The Last of Us’ today. Beautiful packaging! Square box with fake bullet hole, booklet with mission statement by Naughty Dog, game disc, set of matches, QR-code and … the soundtrack on cassette! Yes, cassette! Great stuff!

      • I don’t know anything about “Remember Me”. In fact, your mention of it in this blog post was the first thing I ever read about it 🙂

        I don’t dislike anything French 🙂 I’m a big lover of the language of Verlaine. I love the music, the arts, the movies and the country.

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