Every week, it feels like there are more games for more platforms than ever. So, every week, we take a look at the five games most worth your time and money. And this week it starts with a venerable series taking a bold shot at new gameplay and ideas.
Pick Of The Week: Madden NFL ’18, Friday ($60, PS4 and Xbox One)
Our own Jason Nawara has been dissecting the latest round of EA’s yearly franchise, especially the Longshot story mode. The short of it is that it’s a compelling entry in the franchise, even if, like me, your interest in football mostly stops at single entendres about balls and making fun of people who call it handegg. And, hey, if you’re a football fan, you probably feel better about playing a digital season at this point than you do about the actual NFL.
ChromaGun, Today ($15, PS4 and Xbox One)
As you can see, ChromaGun is refreshingly shameless in its ripping-off of the aesthetic and humor of the Portal games. But since we’re never getting a Portal 3 (come on, you know it, deep down), we’ll take it, and besides, the mechanics aren’t a rip-off and look like quite a bit of fun. Besides, the first-person puzzle game can always use another entry.
The Escapists 2, Today ($20, PS4, Xbox One and PC)
The prison escape sim is back with more guards, more tools, and more ways to get the hell out of jail than ever before. The original game had a bit of a pacing problem, when we played through it, so it’ll be interesting to see if that’s been tweaked at all. And, of course, we’ll be curious to see how else you can get out of jail.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Today ($40, PS4)
Yes, the Uncharted series is back with a new ga-excuse me, new “standalone DLC” — that costs $40, and that you don’t need the game it is supposedly DLC for to play. You can just admit you made a new game, Sony. People like new games! Especially ones that explain where the heck Chloe was in all this.
SwapQuest, Today ($10, PS4 and Xbox One)
Finally, if you just want something retro and relaxed, there’s this game, mixing classic puzzle mechanics with old-school RPG mechanics. This has been on other platforms, but it’s a surprising amount of fun and if you missed it the first time, it’s worth finding.
Any games we missed? Let us know in the comments!