Games Corner - May 2017
News Blitz
Far Cry 5 gets officially announced
The new Far Cry game is a mainline one for the series, set in America’s Montana in fictional Hope County. The game will have you joining up with locals such as a bartender, a crop-duster and a priest against an off-the-rails extremist cult that has taken over the area to prepare for the end of days. Particularly intriguing, considering the current political climate in the US. Release date is set for Feb 2018.
Square Enix Posts record profits, so is selling off the creators of Hitman
In a surprise move, Square Enix has decided to part ways with IO Interactive, the creators of the beloved but apparently more niche than it appeared Hitman franchise. After a surprise hit in 2016’s Hitman game with it’s episodic style release, things seemed to be looking up for the franchise, though this announcement has caused people to wonder if the game didn’t sell as well as it needed. There was a season 2 of content planned for the murder simulator, but what is happening with that is now up in the air. Square Enix is reportedly open to passing the Hitman franchise along, likely at the right price. No doubt we will learn what is to become of the franchise and the developer over the coming months.
Game Releases
Prey - PS4, PC, Xbox One
An immersive sim in the vein of Dishonored and Deus Ex, but set on a space station with aliens. Super cool if you’re into that type of thing.
Strafe - PS4, PC, Xbox One
A callback to 90s shooters, this procedurally generated rogue-like FPS moves and feels like old school Quake. Very stylised to that era of game.
Farpoint - PSVR
Sony’s big VR joint, this shooter comes with a large gun-like controller designed for VR experiences. Pretty standard shooter otherwise.
Injustice 2 - PS4, PC, Xbox One
The new fighting game from the team that made Mortal Kombat X. A fighting game with unlockable equipables. If you’re a DC fan, this will be brilliant.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - 3DS
A remake of the Japan only Fire Emblem Giaden from the SNES era, this new FE tones down the relationship/child breeding of recent games in favour of solid strategy. Has a few quirky variations from the main series, including 3D dungeons with free roaming.
Rime - PS4, PC, Xbox One
A 3rd person puzzler that looks like The Witness and pulls inspiration from Journey and ICO.
Star Trek Bridge Crew - PSVR, PC
A VR fan service experience from Ubisoft. If you’ve ever wanted to pretend to be on the starship enterprise, this is it.
Worth Watching
The cancelled Prey 2 had an incredible plot twist - Here’s A Thing
Eurogamer’s Here’s A Thing series consists of some great videos, but this Prey 2 could-have-been is really fascinating. I haven’t played either Prey, but the cancelled sequel sounded like it could have been a serious competitor to the Fallout franchise.
NieR Automata - Story Analysis [Narrative & Philosophy]
NieR Automata - Story Analysis PART 2 [Deeper Meanings]
I searched for quite a while to find good videos on Nier Automata for in depth theorising and discussion, and during my searches Lana Rain’s 2 parter was definitely the best of what I came across. Spoilers: only watch if you’ve finished Nier Automata, or don’t care about it being spoiled (you really should care though, the game is amazing.)
PS4 External Storage Loading Time Tests - Upgrade Options Compared!
As always, Digital Foundry is the best place to go for the technical side of gaming hardware. I’ve been looking into external options when it comes to PS4 space, and Tom does a fantastic job of translating the jargon into meaningful info to figure out what the best option is for you.
Note: Instead of reiterating what I’ve played this month in Games Corner, you can read all about my exploits in fantasy lands in my #Shamelog series.