Games of the Month: April 2013

[Guild McCommunist]

April showers bring HAH GAAAAAAAAY flowers.

If I missed a game you really want coverage on then simply send your write up to me (via PM). If it's good enough and follows proper formatting I'll add it here with credit to you! Check the "Other Releases" section at the bottom to see what games I would want write ups for but am not all too qualified to do myself. You can also do write-ups for games I didn't even list. Sometimes things slip my eye.

From now on, I'm going to include a template for submissions. Simply fill in the template below and PM me.

Spoiler

[h]Game Name[/h]
[b]Platform:[/b]
[b]Developed by:[/b]
[b]Published by:[/b]
[b]Release date:[/b]
[b]Genre:[/b]
[b](your name here)'s Hype Level:[/b]
[b]GBAtemp Hype Level:[/b]
 
Insert box art here
 
[P]Write your thoughts on the game here.[/P]

Some rules and stuff.

Spoiler

- No flaming. If I list a game you don't like, too bad. If I don't, too bad.
- This is mainly North American releases, sorry. I'll, on occasion, do a European or Japanese release if it's big enough and not already out in America.
- If a game is already released in English and is being released again for another region, I won't bother adding it. Like say if Half Life 2: Episode 3 was out in America in April (it won't) and it came out in May in Europe, I won't list it for May. I'll also do the same if a game was released in English (aka Europe or America) and is being released in Japan.
- I get my dates from GameFaqs, Wikipedia, and IGN, so if a date is wrong don't blame me. You can, of course, point it out and ask me to fix it if you have the right date.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

Platform: 3DS
Developed by: Atlus
Published by: Atlus
Release date: April 16th (North America)
Genre: RPG
My Hype Level: Flaccid
GBAtemp Hype Level: Halfy

I don't even know what this is just that it's a Shin Megami Tensei game which is usually like the non-retarded JRPG series but still kinda eh. Best you fill in this part.

Soul Sacrifice

Platform: Vita
Developed by: Marvelous Studios, SCE Studios Japan
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: April 30th (North America)
Genre: Action
My Hype Level: Halfy
GBAtemp Hype Level: Halfy

Eh? The game did pretty well in Japan but I'm not really sold. It kinda strikes me as overly grimdark and broody, which I guess is semi-acceptable in certain situations, but they're also trying to fit in like... some sort of morality system or something? Doesn't feel right. It's got Keiji Inafune on it but that name means as much to me as like... any other name so I'm not getting sold on that. I'll wait for reviews I guess.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii U
Developed by: NetherRealm Studios
Published by: Warner Bros. Interactive
Release date: April 16th (North America), April 17th (Australia), April 19th (Europe)
Genre: Fighting
My Hype Level: Halfy
GBAtemp Hype Level: Halfy to full erection?

I really enjoyed Mortal Kombat but I never thought I would. The new game is actually one of the best fighters I played. Really great flow to it, rather well balanced, tons of content. If you haven't played it, do so. This is made by the same team, it kinda feels like the apology letter for Mortal Kombat vs. DC. I'm just not too into the DC library (or comics in general) and it can't sell me on the non-DC cast since it's ONLY DC characters but for a DC fan or a fighting fanatic this should be worth it.

Dead Island: Riptide

Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Developed by: Techland
Published by: Deep Silver
Release date: April 23rd (North America, Australia), April 26th (Europe)
Genre: RPG?
My Hype Level: I WAS IN THE POOL
GBAtemp Hype Level: Flaccid

Hey guys, remember Dead Island? It was that sorta crappy game that had a really emotional trailer to it only to be completely misleading and instead just a retarded action RPG? Well did you know it's getting a sequel? This looks so promising! I didn't even know this was coming out in a month, but it is. Woofuckinghoo.

Star Trek: The Game

Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Developed by: Digital Extremes
Published by: Paramount Digital Interactive, Namco Bandai
Release dates: April 23rd (North America), April 26th (Europe, Australia)
Genre: TPS
My Hype Level: Halfy?
GBAtemp Hype Level: Flaccid

So I'm a pretty big fan of Star Trek and I really liked the last JJ Abrahms movie. The next movie, Into Darkness, is also setting me to stun, so I'm looking forward to it. Then there's also this game coming out. I'm still unsure about it. On one hand it's a licensed game. It's using the JJ Abrahms Star Trek universe but it's a completely different story. It's not your standard movie tie in. It's also been getting decent press. But I just don't feel anything for it. First off, it's Kirk and Spock versus the Gorn, the infamous cornball alien from TOS which they revamped for Star Trek Enterprise and Star Trek Online in the hopes to make them more "viable". Also I just feel an action game isn't the way to go for Star Trek. The franchise is known for its great plots, characters, and themes. In recent years its been more about the sci-fi and action, which I'm fine with, but I definitely enjoy the TNG-era stuff more. It's made by Digital Extremes, who made Bioshock 2, The Darkness II, and a bunch of Unreal Tournament games. So nothing horrifically bad, just kinda "eh". I dunno, maybe when its in the bargain bin.

Other Releases

Most of these are titles I really don't know much about so write-ups are much appreciated

• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Xbox 360/Playstation 3)
• Defiance

Downloadable Content

• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
• Assassin's Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington - The Redemption
• Dishonored: The Knife if Dunwall

 

[Hadrian]

Hey guys, remember Dead Island? It was that sorta crappy game that had a really emotional trailer to it only to be completely misleading and instead just a retarded action RPG? Well did you know it's getting a sequel? This looks so promising! I didn't even know this was coming out in a month, but it is. Woofuckinghoo

Fuck you gobshite.

Sequel looks a bit too "should have been DLC" for me. They could have easily spent the time fixing some issues but it just looks like it's more of the same.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Fuck you gobshite.

Sequel looks a bit too "should have been DLC" for me. They could have easily spent the time fixing some issues but it just looks like it's more of the same.

It's just hard to take a game seriously that goes from this:



To this:

 

[Hadrian]

I liked that there was none of the wank that was in the trailer.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I liked that there was none of the wank that was in the trailer.

Well it's two things to have a trailer showing a very emotional, surreal moment and then have a game with a zombie rap and a comical clown car cast of characters.

It just sends mixed messages and makes the game either deceiving or overly pretentious. It's like having a game like Spec Ops: The Line have the credits roll with Capt. Walker dancing to "Disco Inferno".

 

[Gahars]

Well, if we get some more criken videos out of the next Dead Island, it's worth it.

Injustice looks pretty good, but I think I'm going to wait for the price to go down. Otherwise, April is pretty sparse when it comes to games, but that's not too bad - maybe I'll be able to save some a little bit of money before this year's heavy hitters are out.

 

[Hadrian]

In terms of other games, there is a lot vying for my cash this month.

I'm looking forward to the Star Trek game, I just have to pretend I'm not play Kirk or Spock. It looks like it matches up with the new movie in terms of action and gun toting. I'm not expecting the best game but something that is a solid shooter, the developers have certainly treated it like they would with their own titles and spent a lot of time making sure it's not the standard movie tie in.

Injustice looks great but there's no PC version so I probably won't be playing it until I get a Wii U.

Defiance seems to have a lot of hype behind it but it looks a bit like a bog standard MMO.

Some you've missed:

Evoland for the PC on April 4th. There is a lot of hype for this in the indie circles and it's something I'm very interested in...though I can't say I like the look of the 3D parts.



Age of Empires II: HD Edition out on April 4th. The original was great, all they did was HD the game. I've already got the first one so I won't bother paying £14 for a prettied up version.



God Mode from Atlus for PC/XBLA/PSN is out on April 19th. Looks like mindless fun, I might grab it in a Steam sale.



Don't Starve for PC April 23rd. It's a "wilderness survival" game...kinda like a arty farty Survival Kids. I like the look of it.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I just checked, the only WiiU game coming out in April is InJustice.

Probably not a good sign... at least there's hundreds of hours with Monster Hunter and a lot of hours with Lego City.

 

[GameWinner]

Looks like it's going to be a slow month.

 

[MelodieOctavia]

Looks like it's going to be a slow month.

Summer usually is slow. I, for one welcome it. I really have a huge backlog to take care of. Especially since the PS4 is coming out before the year is over.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Looks like it's going to be a slow month.

March is really huge actually so that should keep you busy.

Although now we're hitting the gaming dry zone, most of the big releases are coming September.