Keeping track of all the games arriving each week on PC, handhelds, consoles and mobile is no easy track, but don’t worry, I’m here to help. Every week in Five Games, I separate the wheat from the chaff and pick the titles you need to pay attention to.
We recently freshened up the Five Games format a bit. The Pick of the Week is now listed first, and the rest of the games are filed under headings that will hopefully be more helpful for you. Looking for the latest indie hotness? Check the Steam picks. Want to download something for your Xbox One or PS4 on a Saturday night? Hit up the Console Downloads section. So, without further ado…
Pick of the Week
Pro Evolution Soccer 17 (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 & PS4, Sep. 13)
For years, Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series ruled the pitch, but in recent years it has fallen into second place behind EA’s FIFA series. PES 17 has no shot at topping the FIFA juggernaut in sales, but it could have the winning edge with the critics.
PES 17 is top-notch visually (it uses the same engine as Konami’s Metal Gear Solid games), the on-field play has been made deeper and more strategic, and the single-player Master League mode gives you more managerial options than ever. Definitely give this year’s PES a look before you snap up the latest FIFA.
This Week on Steam
Event[0] (PC, Sep. 14)
Event[0] is, essentially, a playable version of 2001: A Space Odyssey. You find yourself stranded on a space station, and in order to survive and get home, you need to make friends with the station’s lonely computer named Kaizen. Fascinatingly, Kaizen is a real AI capable of organically reacting to your messages with over 2 million times of procedurally-generated dialogue – so be nice, or it’s out the air lock with you. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
This Week in Retail Releases
BioShock: The Collection (Xbox One & PS4, Sep. 13)
The most critically-acclaimed series of the past generation gets the remastering you had to know was coming. BioShock: The Collection includes all three games, which have received a bump in texture quality and lighting and now run at 1080p and a smooth 60fps. You also get all the DLC from all three games, and Imagining BioShock, a new interview series with Ken Levine. Not a bad package for 60 bucks.
ReCore (PC & Xbox One, Sep. 13)
ReCore is a new adventure from Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune and many of the developers behind Metroid Prime. You play as a girl named Joule, who’s trying to build a life on a desert planet named New Eden. She’s helped in her task by a variety of “Corebots,” which can be upgraded and customized by harvesting the cores of enemy bots. If Inafune can deliver the polish some of his recent games have lacked, it looks like ReCore could be a solid action-adventure.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS, Sep. 16)
The PSOne classic Dragon Quest VII gets a full remake for the 3DS. This new version of the name keeps all the classic JRPG goodness, but cuts a lot of the fat (the original DQVII was over 100 hours long) and features some nicely updated graphics. If you like it old-school, this one’s for you.
September is a big month for sports games – expect more in the coming weeks. And hey, if you’re not the sports type, BioShock and Dragon Quest should keep you busy for a good long time.