October Gaming - What's in store this month?

10/12/2013

By Reece Merryweather-Brown

Well, it’s October. The month of Halloween. But, up until that time most would prefer to stay within the bright and warm insides of their homes, as oppose to battling the biting winds and darkness that now plagues the world. And so, as the chill sets in and the nights grow longer, I take a look at this month’s most promising games.

5. LEGO Marvel Superheroes (PS4, PS3 XBox 360, PC)

Now personally, I’m not a gigantic fan of the LEGO games. However, that’s not to say I don’t appreciate them. Since the first LEGO Star Wars I’ve loved these little bricks (up yours Megablox) and even as a child I would build structures (and never listened to health and safety regulations when I did it.) So imagine my joy when I realised I could do that, in a game, at the press of a button. And now, combining it with the massively diverse Marvel Universe (which was literally my entire childhood) I look forward to having a look at what this new game will have in store for us.

Release date: Tuesday 22nd October

4. Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3, XBox 360, WiiU, PC)

Yes, Bats returns to our consoles and PCs in yet another instalment of Rocksteady’s stellar Arkham series. This time, players will be taken back (that’s the ‘origins’ bit) to 5 years before the events of the first game, Arkham Asylum, to a younger and less expert Batman. Notorious crime boss, Black Mask, has put a bounty on ol’ Bats’ head and it’s up to the caped crusader to fight off the eight bounty hunters that come a-callin’. Gameplay is looking similar to its predecessors and not many notable changes jump out to a player. Gadgets seem to be again similar, save for new ones such as the Remote Claw, a device which allows the player to grapple two objects at once (much like Rico Rodriguez’s grappling hook in Just Cause 2) and Shock Gloves which allow for all kinds of static fun. For the first time ever multiplayer also rears its abuse-filled head round the corner, so we’ll see how this all plays out.

Release date: Friday 25th October

3. Battlefield 4 (PS3, XBox 360, PC, PS4, XBox One)

The massive first person multiplayer phenomenon returns yet again. From producers EA and creators DICE this tactical shooter’s been battling with CoD for ages (and winning I think). With all new weapons, an improved environment destruction system (which allows you to take entire structures down), and realistic zoom capabilities this looks very promising. Now, after giving it such a good little intro there you may be wondering why it’s only number 3. The controls my friends. The controls. Well, having played the beta recently I realised a little nagging annoyance. It feels like COD. Yes, now, instead of your usual right analog press to switch positions it’s now the circle button. Sound familiar? And that’s mainly because the knifing has been switched to fill that empty button. But what about R2? That’s now the command selection. Combine this with battlefeed being everywhere (even though no-one uses it) and driving being controlled almost solely with the left analogue stick, well you can see why I’ve begun to doubt it.

Release date: Tuesday 29th October

2. Assassin's Creed IV (PS3, XBox 360, PC, PS4, XBox One)

While we over here in our fair isle won’t be receiving it until early next month our friends over in the Americas will be getting it for October. Assassin's Creed IV, if you didn’t already know, is the sixth main game in the series and instead of going forward through time (and turning into Assassin’s Redemption along the way) we take a step back. Two generations back to be precise, into the sea-salty boots of the previous protagonist’s grandfather, Edward Kenway. Kenway is a pirate through-and-through, who, somewhere down the line, becomes an Assassin. Most likely we’ll start seeing our faithful hero visiting many a brothel, but in the end be fighting the good fight. Or visiting more brothels. It’s unclear yet how a scurvy sea dog could become a member of the Assassin’s. But we’ll soon see. With an improved combat system that allows Edward to wield two swords and four (yes four) flintlock pistols, an even better climbing system and proper good ol’ naval battles, this next instalment is looking very interesting.

Release date: Tuesday 29th October (US)

1. Beyond: Two Souls (PS3, PS4)

Oh yes indeedy, Quantic Dream’s latest masterpiece was not difficult to place up high on this list of games I’m most excited about this month. Beyond: Two Souls focuses on the life of one very important individual named Jodie Foster. Jodie Foster (portrayed by Ellen Page, a real actress!) has a paranormal ability to connect telepathically with an entity named Aiden. With his help, Jodie is able to inhabit other’s minds as well as interact with objects around her. From there she seeks help from Dr. Nathan Dawkins (Willem DaFoe. It just gets better) and Cole Freeman (Kadeem Hardison. I don’t know you). As Jodie becomes more able to control her powers and influence Aiden to be more productive and less 'murdery' her adventure blossoms as she sets about helping with problems across the globe. Much like the developer’s previous game, Heavy Rain (another masterpiece) the game will be played by walking/running around and interacting with objects using a movement command, entered via the right analogue stick. Along with these come quick time events, so the action is not dropped and is kept just as frantic. Many people have compared it to playing a movie and I completely agree. With heavy emphasis on storytelling and character development this game looks like it will be fun, clever and lengthy all rolled into one. Now if that’s not your money’s worth, I don’t know what is.

Release date: Friday 11th October

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