Games of August 2020
August is upon us and that means another month of gaming and while normally a slower month, it seems that this time around, it is packed with games. We have new titles like Fall Guys and Hyper Scape starting out, but returning series like Wasteland and Project Cars continuing their fun, of course, we have a few returning series in Flight Sim and Battletoads, but enough here, time for games.
Fall Guys is the first game of August and takes the wacky antics of Wipeout, but instead of you against a clock, throws in 59 other players. The game was going to have 100, as was revealed when the game was announced, but in order to provide a better experience, they dropped the number. For those that have PlayStation Plus, the game is debuting as part of the program there as well.
Announced as the one more thing at the 2019 Game Awards, Fast and Furious Crossroads is the next entry in the series and this is not just some racing game, this is a full on adventure. The game has not had a lot of coverage of late, but with each new trailer more details are revealed and given that the game will star the cast of the movies, it could be some real fun.
Ah Battle Royale, the genre that I honestly can’t stand, there is little to be said about it, 100 players enter and only one can win. Ubisoft have now decided to put their hat into the ring with Hyper Scape and while the basics are the same, there are some big changes. Now, weapons that you pick up can be upgraded, meaning if you find another of the gun you have, they merge and your gun becomes more powerful, plus you can hack the world, which can also be upgraded.
Creative Assembly have been pumping out games for the Total War series a lot lately and Troy is not just more of the same, it is set to offer a lot more. Environmental hazards and time will play a part, which is something new to the series, the other is that whilst we know a fair bit about it’s setting, there is still not a lot around the battle itself.
The other thing is, on the day the game is released on the Epic Game Store, it will be free for 24 hours, so there is no reason not to give it a go.
UFC is one of the most popular sports on the planet and the games are just as popular and while it has been just over 2 years since the last game, almost everything has changed. From the fight mechanics, to the career mode and everything else in between, the series has revamped almost every aspect. The only real decision is what type of fighter you want to be?
The Flight Simulator series for a while at least, ruled the skies, pun intended, there was nothing else like it, but then games started to get more accessible and the series didn’t. After a few years away, the game is ready to take flight once again and early reports are praiseworthy across the board, from the visuals to the locations, the planes and all the systems in between. For those who want it, but don’t have a PC capable of playing the game, there has been lots of talk of it coming to Xbox Series X, so that might be your best option to board.
Ah the Battletoads, a game that was punishing long before Dark Souls was a thing and now after two and a half decades, they are back. Sporting an all new look, the game is set to keep the battle action of the original, but with new layers built in, like each of the toads now appearing different and sporting different attacks. The sewer sequence from the original game has been redone entirely, now the hoverbikes race away from the screen, instead of side to side, giving you a new challange.
Golf games were everywhere a few years ago, then they seemed to just stop, not saying it has anything to do with Tiger Woods, but the timing matches. Nonetheless, HB Studios through their club into the ring with The Golf Club and then 2K came on board. This year the two have combined in the best way, taking the core golf experience from HB Studios, with the production quality of 2K and it looks like this might be a solid Par if not better.
Crystal Chronicles was a game that approached the classic Final Fantasy series in an entirely new way and people loved the idea, but getting enough people with GameBoy Advance’s and link cables together was a challenge that back then, was hard to beat. Now with the advent of proper online support and more platforms, the game is back as a remaster. Being able to play with anyone, no matter their platform or place on the planet, is going to give this series the shot it really needs.
DONTNOD exploded onto people’s radar’s with the release of Life is Strange and while not stranger themselves to storytelling in games, their first entry in the series got people’s attention. Now they are back with a new story, new characters and all new choices and as a three episode release, kicking off later in August, with each chapter coming a week after the previous, this won’t take a year to finish. The question remains if Tell Me Why is going to be their next great story, or will it end up as more of the same.
The Captain Tsubasa series has been running in Japan for almost 40 years now and this is just the latest video game adaptation of the series and there have been a lot before it. Focusing more on the players in the sport, rather than the mechanics of the sport, players will build rivalries against other players and clubs, in an attempt to become the number one team in the world. The game will have one drawback for many, it will only be in Japanese for the audio, with subtitles required for those who don’t understand the language.
Madden NFL 21 is this years entry in the popular series, honestly, at this point if you don’t know what Madden is, let me just say, Welcome to Earth. Check out the video below to see what the team have claimed to change, but for everything else, just play the game, it is in it after all.
Slightly Mad Studios came into focus for many gamers with the Need for Speed Pro Street series, the two games took the normal NFS series and made them more realistic racing than street. After splitting from EA, they took to the racing community to make games that were driven by authenticity and player decision and years of work gave us Project CARS, now only a few short years later we are back with the third entry, at this point, if you are a fan of the series you know what you are getting, if you are new, check out the trailer.
Wasteland 3 is a strange game, not because of that weird presentation that we got at E3 2019, but purely its speed of development. The game came so soon after Wasteland 2, which took years after Wasteland to exist, many people were surprised. While the studio is now owned by Microsoft, the game is being published by Deep Silver, meaning it is coming to more platforms and looks to take the core strategy gameplay and give it new functions for more crazy fun.
The last game we are spotlighting is Windbound a rogue-like sailing game, developed here in Australia and honestly, you just need to watch the 20 minute deep dive video, to see what the game is all about. I for one can’t wait for it, it just looks so good, kind of like Wind Waker, but expanded beyond the horizon by a factor of 50.
