Posted in: Games, Movies, Recent Updates, Video Games | Tagged: Blackguards II, Citizens of Earth, entertainment, Punch Out!!, Resident Evil: Remaster, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected & Gat Out of Hell, The Next Penelope, video games

Sweet Release! Saints Row IV: Re-Elected & Gat Out Of Hell, Citizens Of Earth, Resident Evil: Remaster, Blackguards II, Punch Out!!, The Next Penelope

By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Sweet Release! Bleeding Cool's look at the brand new video games hitting shelves and digital platforms this week.  After a lethargic month we're finally starting to see some movement in games again.  No doubt to give all those titles released over the holiday season some room to breathe, but none the less looks like 2015 has finally shifted into gear.  Starting off this month we have our lone retail boxed copy, but it's one of my favorites of 2013 with a fresh HD upgrade.

Since 2008, the Saint's Row franchise has been one of my favorite series.  Gleeful in its wanton disregard for the self-serious open world games that came before it, the franchise has evolved from a Grand Theft Auto clone into its own unique entity.  With it's over the top nature and good humored mayhem no entry in the series shows more of that spirit than Saint's Row IV.  This week the series gets its first entry on new generation consoles with the HD upgraded Saint's Row IV: Re-Elected Edition.  After their triumph in Saint's Row III, the international gang of hooligans have become such popular international celebrities, that the player created leader has been elected President.

During a normal day at the White House, the world is invaded by Zinak and his hordes of Zin Soldiers, who ultimately overtake your forces and imprison you in a Matrix style virtual reality world.  Not content to be trapped, it's up to the President and the 3rd Street Saints/Presidential Cabinet to wrestle control from Zinak and fight back…with superpowers.  The Re-Elected Edition includes the downloadable content, The Saint's Save Christmas, Enter The Dominatrix as well as every piece of individually released content, including weapons and costumes.  Saint's Row IV has an excellent soundtrack, a great sense of humor, and even takes a few existential detours along the way.  It's easily one of my favorite games ever and well worth a look, especially when it's connected to another all new expansion.

If super powered President fights aliens in the Matrix sounded weird, developer Volition went even deeper down the rabbit hole for the new expansion.  Saint's Row: Gat Out of Hell, is the first official piece of brand new Saint's Row content to hit the new consoles, and features Saint's members Johnny Gat and Kinzie going to hell to rescue the President from Satan who wants him to marry his daughter.  Taking place in an entirely new area, (hell) with 5 individual districts you control either character, decked out with hellish superpowers, sin themed weapons, and pro-wrestling moves to take on Satan's forces.  It also features two player online co-op, so you can tell your friends to go to hell.  Saint's Row: Gat Out of Hell released Tuesday for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC at retail and is also available for download as a standalone game.  Saint's Row Re-Elected & Gat Out of Hell also released Tuesday, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in a combined pack.

Speaking of political figures saving the planet, this week Eden Industries is releasing Citizens of Earth.  The through-back roleplaying game is taking cues from Nintendo's beloved classic  Earthbound by offering a quirky western take on 16-bit era Japanese role-playing games.  Play as the Vice-President of the United States on a quest to figure out what's wrong with the world.  Along the way players will encounter seemingly ordinary citizens with extraordinary abilities who can be recruited into your party and do battle for you.  Characters like Cat-Lady, Handy-Man, and Photographer will help you combat foes like Angry Jogger in a classically Dragon Quest styled battle system.  With a ton of charm, retro sensibilities, and a sense of humor, Citizens of Earth looks like a winner.  Citizens of Earth releases Tuesday for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and PC with a Wii U and e-Shop release Thursday.

Nothing says horror like January, so Capcom thought this would be the appropriate time to re-release Resident Evil.  The Resident Evil/Biohazard HD Remaster is everything you ever wanted out of the 1996 horror classic, including a visual overhaul, new unlockable modes, and best of all an updated control scheme that throws those awful tank controls out the window.  Capcom even went the extra mile and removed the laughable live action scenes and rewrote some of the dialog, so you may or may not be the "master of unlocking".  If you really want to get Meta with this game, I'm pretty sure this is a remake of the 2004 GameCube exclusive remake, so start placing your bets on the next remake of a remake.  Resident Evil/Biohazard HD Remaster is available to download Tuesday on PlayStation 4 and PC, with an Xbox One release Wednesday.

Fresh off its Nintendo Direct from a week or so ago, we're already seeing Wii titles hit the Virtual Console, including this week's release, Punch Out!!.  The sequel to NES and Super NES classic's  Punch Out and Super Punch Out, play as Little Mac as he fights his way through an increasingly difficult list of vaguely racist fighters on your way to the championship.  The pattern based fighting game takes the, "If it's not broke" approach and basically keeps the classic gameplay intact but adds new hooks like opponents in armor.  Punch Out!! features a cool cartoon look and was easily one of the best games on the Wii, if you don't own it, you can download it of Thursday exclusively on the Wii U.

Last year was one of the best I can remember for strategy role playing games.  Releases like Divinity: Original Sin, Shadowrun Dragonfall, and Wasteland 2, made for a busy year even without mentioning one of the dark horse titles, like Blackguards from Daedalic Entertainment.  Fans didn't have to wait long as the sequel Blackguards II releases this week.  Taking place in a fantasy universe, users create a character, choose a class, and defend the world as one of the Blackguard, an order similar to Game of Throne's Knights Watch.  The series also offers players moral choice options A 'la Mass Effect or Dragon Age that includes decisions on what to do with prisoners as well as how the storyline plays out.  Blackguards II has reportedly made a number of improvements from the last title, including improved rulesets and skill management.  Blackguards II released Tuesday on Steam.

It's been a weird kind of week so why not finish out with a truly bizarre concept.  What do you get when you cross Greek mythology, overhead racing, and classic "shmup" style shooters?  You get developer Aurelien Regard's The Next Penelope: Race To Odysseus.  The game seems to be a crazy mix of overhead racing akin to Death Rally or the NES Micromachines game mixed in with interludes of Gradius style shooting.  The game's big hook is a risk reward system that allows players to gamble with different weapons at the cost of this ships vital energy.  The Next Penelope: Race To Odysseus releases Thursday on Steam Early Access so keep in mind all features aren't complete.

That's all for this week kids, don't forget to check out my Walking Dead recap, Typing on The Dead.  While you're at it go check out Live From The Comic Shop, by our own Christine Marie who makes it fresh every Wednesday at my local shop, Conquest Comics in Bayville New Jersey.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from the Jersey coast who's stoked to watch the Venture Bros tonight. Tell him your favorite Venture character @John_Laryngitis on Twitter.

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