"Heroes of Might and Magic" is turning 20 this year. It is the second game in the series developed by Limbic Entertainment and the third installment to be produced by Ubisoft. As in previous installments, the game requires an enormous amount of resource management as players prepare their armies. This game is not for the casual gamer, curious about getting into strategy games. Much of the player's time will be spent in the multiple menus making decisions on what upgrades to give their heroes and what developments towns should make to better assist their army in battle. The medieval, turn-based combat plays out like a game of virtual chess with fantastical, living game pieces. Each attack is played out in a beautiful cinematic. However, the rest of the game's visuals are surprisingly lackluster. Gamers who enjoyed the "Age of Empire" series and are looking to branch out to a more in-depth strategy game will certainly find hours of enjoyment from "Heroes of Might and Magic VII."
This enchanting PC exclusive hits store shelves on Sept. 29.
"NBA Live 16" and "NBA 2K 16" are releasing simultaneously. Though both games claim to have the smoothest controls to date in their respective games, "NBA Live 16," developed by the sports game giant EA Sports, seems to have more content. This is apparent in both customization options and game modes. Players can now use the GameFaceHD feature to take a picture of themselves and paste it directly onto their avatar. While rising to superstar status, players will have the opportunity to play on both indoor and outdoor courts.
Not to leave "NBA 2K 16" hanging, 2K Sport's take on the "be a pro" game mode has been given a substantial twist with a dramatic story detailing the rise to stardom and the people that get hurt along the way. It's refreshing to see a developer try something new in a tired series. If Spike Lee doesn't go over the top and the story arc is believable, this could be a redeeming feature for the less popular of the two professional basketball simulators.
Both franchises will be leaving everything on the court for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on Sept. 29.
"Persona 4: Dancing All Night" is a rhythm spin-off game that picks up with the investigation team after the events of "Persona 4." As an alternative to fighting, the focus of the parent series, characters are tasked with the ridiculous responsibility of dancing to connect with the creatures in the crowd in order to defeat them. Control of the dancer requires only six buttons and three different techniques: tapping, holding, and unison moves (tapping or holding two buttons simultaneously). The game contains a total of 27 tracks pulled from the series, some of which are remixed and appear in the game twice. "Persona 4: Dancing All Night" was developed by Atlus ("Odin sphere Leifthrasir," "The Legend of Legacy," and "The Testament of Sherlock Holmes").
Take control of your favorite characters from the Persona series on PlayStation Vita on Sept. 29.
"Samurai Warriors 4-II" Is a remake intended to bring players the experience originally intended for the 2014 release of the game. Not a full expansion but more than a simple HD update, the revamped game introduces new characters, an improved game system, and new game modes. The new system allows players to upgrade weapons, acquire new skills for their fighters, and even customize their hero's appearance. The new "Challenge" game mode allows players to rack up as high of a body count as possible. For those that couldn't find a friend to play local, split-screen cooperative games, online matchmaking will be made available. Developed by Koei Techmo, famous for having their hand in the "Dead or Alive," "Ninja Gaiden," and "Fist of the North Star" series, bringing their high quality character designs to the battlefields of ancient Japan.
You can check out the updates on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PC on Sept 29.
If gamers didn't find last week's twin stick shooter "Assault Android Cactus" appealing, they can look forward to "Secret Ponchos," instead. Featuring a Spaghetti Western style, the game has a heavy focus on player vs. player action. Controls emphasize accurate, fast-twitch gameplay in order to imitate the skill of an Old West shoot-out. However, players don't necessarily have to fend for themselves. In addition to the eight-player free-for-all mode, "Secret Ponchos" offers deathmatch and domination game modes. Deathmatches run teams of 1vs1, 2vs2 and 4vs4. Domination requires a team to score points by killing other players while staying alive to prevent losing any points when getting killed. The first team to make the differential +5 in their favor wins the game.
"Secret Ponchos" has been available on PlayStation 4 since last Dec. but will be available on Steam early access this Sept. 29.
The Legendary skateboarding series returns with a new art style this week in "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5." After unsuccessful overhauls in the past, the series is attempting to shake things up once more with new games modes including 20-player online skate sessions, 80 unique missions, and the ability to create, upload, and download player-made skate parks. Though the new game only includes eight environments, the ability to download skate parks will provide plenty of terrain to tear up.
Satiate the necessity to shred on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 Sept. 29.
For fans of the recently popular game "#idarb," "Toto Temple Delux" is a fast-paced player vs. player game with one simple concept: grab the goat relic and hold it. First player to 4,000 points wins. This fast-paced arena game offers the use of trap doors and power-ups to help players prevent competitors from getting to the goat or knock it out of the hands of the player holding the goat.
Grab the goat on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and PC on Sept. 29.
The charming 8-bit art and music of Team 17's "The Escapist" is joining with the zombie blockbuster of Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" comic story to bring players "The Escapist The Walking Dead." Players will get to control 8-bit Rick Grimes as he attempts to save characters that will be familiar to fans of the series.
Gamers can get their fix of the Walking Dead while they wait for the new season starting Sept. 29.
Finally, an honorable mention for this week: "Fallout Anthology" is a PC exclusive collection of all games released in the "Fallout" series thus far. The main appeal is the exclusive nuke shell that holds all the included games with a little extra space for the coming "Fallout 4." Though the collection is only available with PC versions of the game, dedicated collectors may want to consider purchasing it as a brag-worthy display piece. At the retail price of only $49.99, it's well worth it.
Happy gaming!