Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden, Just Dance 2016, Let's Sing 2016, Sweet Release, Tales of Zestiria, The Legend of Zelda Tri-Force Heroes

Sweet Release! Assassin's Creed Syndicate, The Legend of Zelda Tri-Force Heroes, Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden

Published Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:45:54 -0500

by Jared Cornelius

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By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Sweet Release! Bleeding Cool's look at the new games hitting store shelves and digital platforms. Every week I talk about the new releases in gaming, sometimes they're big, sometimes they're small, but you certainly see there's a hierarchy involved. For instance last week we had some great titles like Back To The Future, Dragon Quest Heroes, and Minecraft Story Mode, but I don't think there are a ton of people who see those games as the big "Triple A" releases for the year. This week is one of those weeks when the publishers start putting their cards on the table and revealing another round of those huge tent pole titles that will be selling well into next year, starting with….

Ubi Soft's Assiassin's Creed franchise is a game series with a spotty history. The original showed a lot of promise, but famously received some low scores based on repetitive gameplay. Since then the series bounced back with great entries like Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Unfortunately this also leaves four or five other games that weren't well received like last year's Assassin's Creed Unity. Ubi Soft claims they heard the fans and are promising a return to form with Assassin's Creed Syndicate. The third person action adventure game takes place in Victorian London, (good setting) and revolves around twin Assassins trying to escape the powerful Templar Order in London. It seems like a lot of the gameplay from the series has been kept intact with the addition of new activities like train and carriage robberies. The world has also expanded with London purportedly thirty percent bigger than Paris in Unity. Speaking of Unity, it also had a huge multiplayer focus which was why I was pleased to hear Ubi Soft had eliminated it from Syndicate's release. Unfortunately like the previous versions microtransactions are still a thing with players being charged to unlock high level gear and items. This feels little less gross then some of the full retail game releasing with microtransactions but not by much, however I am pleased Ubi Soft seems to be focusing on a robust single player experience. It's been a while since I played an Assassin's Creed game, and goodness knows I really loved Brotherhood, I've been burned before, (AC III I'm looking at you!) but I've got my fingers crossed this one is good. Assassin's Creed Syndicate releases Friday on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The PlayStation 4 version also includes some extra missions if that matters to you.

A multiplayer Zelda! What is this Four Swords Adventures?! Nope, It's The Legend of Zelda Tri Force Heroes for the Nintendo 3DS. The isometric multiplayer adventure game tasks you and two friends with solving puzzles as a troupe of multi colored Links. With a heavy emphasis on the series legendary puzzle mechanics times three, Tri Force Heroes is an experience to be shared. The game uses the Link Between Worlds art style and looks good, with players being able to give their Link slight levels of customization with different outfits and different abilities. Word on the street is that if you really want to play this it should be played with actual people. Tri Force Heroes does offer the option to play single player, however one player will need to switch between all three Links making the experience less than ideal. The Legend of Zelda Tri Force Heroes releases exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS Friday.

From the over the top anime series that devoured hours of your life on weekday afternoons and sold thousands of silk screen shirts to high school kids and adults who didn't know better, Dragon Ball Z returns to US shores. Yup, the fighting series based on Akira Toriyama's longtime classic comes to 3DS via Bandai Namco and the fighting geniuses of Arc System Works in Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden. If you follow fighting games Arc System Works should be immediately recognizable as they're the minds behind games like Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and Arcana Max. The game plays out much like you'd expect from a traditional 2D fighting game, but adds support characters and super moves not unlike Marvel vs. Capcom 2. With a cast of over 20 playable fighters and over 70 assist characters Arc System didn't scrimp on the fan service. The real star of the game is the beautiful 2D animation which looks even more impressive on the 3DS's small screen. It's fast, it's furious, its 2D fighting from one of Japan's most prolific fighting game studios. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden released Tuesday for Nintendo 3DS with a digital version currently on the Nintendo eShop as well.

Here's some quick hits of smaller titles hitting this week.

Harmonix super popular dance game, Just Dance 2016 releases Tuesday on pretty much everything.

Bandai Namco's long running Tales role playing game series gets a new entry with Tales of Zestiria on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC.

For our European readers Sony's popular karaoke series Let's Sing 2016 comes to the PlayStation 4.

That's all for this week folks! Check out my other regular column, Typing on The Dead, where I review and dissect the latest issue of The Walking Dead.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from the Jersey coast who got to enjoy a nice day on the beach. Tell him about your beach time @John_Laryngitis on Twitter.

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