This is it folks, week one of our two week entrance into the next generation of console gaming. With both consoles needing day one patches for various levels of functionality, it’s going to be a rough go of things. I think we can take that as a given. That being said, keep calm, keep in mind that all consoles have launch problems and threadbare lineups and for God’s sake, if someone wants to buy a new console at launch (like me) and they’re not taking your games and/or money to do so then by all means, let them have their fun.
The first console out of the gate is Sony’s PS4
, which also happens to be the one I’m starting out with. I’ll get an Xbox One eventually, just not at lunch. The PS4 is launching with a bunch of games, too many to list out individually but follow that link and you can stuff yourself with super hi-def goodies. Me, I’m going with Skylanders, AC IV and Killzone. Yeah, two of them are already available on other systems but if I can push more pixels, why not do it? The third is because Killzone is gloriously stupid and sometimes you have to sit back and marvel at Teh Stoopid.
In non-PS4 news, there are still plenty of new games to enjoy on your busted ass, last generation consoles. First on my list is Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
. The Ratchet and Clank series is very high on my list of favorite game series so there’s no way I’d miss this one. XCOM gets the Enemy Within
expansion which looks to bring a whole load of stuff to XCOM. Todd is worried about balance but Todd worries about everything. If you didn’t get your fill of beating up superheroes earlier in the year, the Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
comes out this week with a whole bunch of new content and skins and missions and dumb reasons why Harley Quinn could beat up Superman. I don’t know why LEGO had to come out with a line of toys specifically for girls as building isn’t gender specific but they did and now there’s a LEGO Friends
game for the DS and 3DS. Oy vey.
Let’s see, the list goes on. Sim City gets the Cities of Tomorrow
expansion so that you can make futuristic garbage collection services. Deadfall Adventures
hits the PC and the 360. Company of Heroes 2 gets a whole mess of new content, PixelJunk Shooter hits the PC, Contrast releases for the PC with the PS4 version one of the first free games for the PS4 for PlayStation Plus subscribers, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare gets the Deadliest Warrior expansion and Blood Knights releases for the PC.
Deals
Toys R Us – Free $15 gift card with purchase of any two games $59.99 and up, $50 gift card with purchase of three. Free $20 gift card with purchase of WIi U Mario Deluxe Set and Wii U Party or Wii U Just Dance 2014. Buy one, get one 40% off all Wii U, DS and 3DS games. Buy one, get one 40% off all Skylanders figures. Two for $30 on all games priced $19.99 and below. Two for $20 on all Disney Infinity figures. Get the Disney Infinity starter pack for $59.99.
Target – Buy two, get one free on all games. The free game is the cheapest one, in case you were wondering. Some Targets are selling some PS4 games already. Some PS4 games like Skylanders: Swap Force and AC IV come out on Tuesday, many come out on Friday. Amazon is going to price match this deal for four hours on Tuesday (9AM PSt – 1PM PST) so you can always beat the rush and just go that route.
Best Buy – Get $25 in reward zone certificates with purchase of three PS4 games. You can try price matching the Target deal at BB, but BB isn’t supposed to match it so YMMV.
And X: Rebirth comes out for the PC on November 15th (Friday). Easily my most expected game of the whole year.
Don’t be shy about posting your impressions of X: Rebirth once you have it. I’ve gone through periods of infatuation with that series, and I’d love to hear how the latest one turns out.
I’ve picked up copies of CoD: Ghosts, Knack, and Killzone: Shadow Fall thanks to the Target sale Brandon mentioned. Lego Marvel Super Heroes would have been in the mix too, except the PC version is half the price and will play identically with my wired 360 controller.
The early reviews for XCOM: Enemy Within have been stellar, so I plan to buy that this week as well. I’d love to grab it alongside the new Ratchet & Clank game for another B2G1 bundle, but if Target doesn’t stock up in time, I’ll just pick it up digitally.
Two new consoles releasing a week apart, right in the thick of the autumn game rush, and with a flurry of game discounts from every retailer in the business. It’s a hell of a time to be a video game fan!
Quick Brakke Service Announcement: Green Man Gaming has a 25%-off code for XCOM: Enemy Within which stacks nicely with the existing 10%-off deal…but apparently a lot of folks are discovering that their keys aren’t unlocking properly and might have to wait until Friday for the European release. The Steam forums have a 20 page thread about it.
Personally, I think the savings are worth the wait, but YMMV.
Enemy Within is getting seriously great reviews.
I have nothing driving me to next gen, and it feels very weird. Maybe next year?
Phoenix Wright still going strong for me. Also trying out Dead Space 3 and DmC. DmC might be the most overlooked game I have played in a while. How did people not love that? And I haaaate the original DMC series.
DmC was a great game. I thoroughly enjoyed that one.
Those people have no idea what’s good. DmC rocks, can’t wait to play it again on higher difficulty. And I’ll probably play it at least one more time after that, when and if it comes to PS Plus (got it on PC when it came out).
Also, how far are you in the game?