Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: everybody's gone to the rapture, Goat Simulator, Gunnheim, prototype, Prototype 2, Sweet Release, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Toy Soldiers War Chest

Sweet Release! Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, Toy Soldiers: War Chest, Goat Simulator, Prototype 1 & 2, Gunnheim

Published Tue, 11 Aug 2015 23:45:22 -0500

by Jared Cornelius

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By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Sweet Release! Bleeding Cool's look at the newest games hitting store shelves and digital platforms. After a lackluster July, August is already shaping up to be an interesting month. Last week's entry of Sweet Release! was one of my favorite in a long time, with a ton of great value driven content and a genuine console exclusive too boot, It's easily gotten a head start as the best month of summer gaming. This week isn't bad either, but it's not everyday you get a Manos "The Hands of Fate" video game. What we do have is an entry into the first person puzzle genre, a PC indie darling, and of course an HD re-master. But before we get started just a quick correction from last week.

My beloved Manos "The Hands of Fate" was developed by FreakZone Games, not Game Freak, the makers of Pokémon and Tembo The Badass Elephant. Chock it up to similar name syndrome.

First person has been getting weird for a long time, and that's a good thing. Shooting is fine, but the series of more open ended puzzle adventures that have been coming out for the last few years have really been a breath of fresh air. So if I asked you where everybody went, maybe you could reply Everybody's Gone To The Rapture. (Every time I say it I hear it announced like a game show.) The exploration based first person game is from developer The Chinese Room, who you might remember from Dear Ester and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. There's not much information out about this game, but really how much information do you want on a game that's principal mechanic is story? The bare bones information is you play as six different characters with an interwoven story taking place immediately after what they presume is the rapture. The Chinese Room have been pretty successful with this formula and with the rising popularity of games like Gone Home and an increased buzz around Firewatch, this could be a great way to dip your toe into a less violent first person game style. Everybody's Gone To The Rapture releases exclusively on PlayStation 4 on Tuesday.

Want to recapture the love of pitting toy's from two different fictions together but you don't want to creep out friends and loved ones? Why not try Toy Soldiers: War Chest from developer Signal Studio. Originally released by Microsoft back in 2010 as one of their high profile digital games, Toy Soldiers became a surprise hit and somewhere along the line, Signal was picked up by Ubi Soft. Now on their third iteration of the series, War Chest expands on everything that made the toy-centric strategy game great, including actual toys! The series is a little bit strategy and a little bit tower defense, relying on players to manage resources to take out the opposing player's toy box. Upgrades to War Chest include a greater level of micromanagement and customization to go along with the eight unique armies at your command. My real excitement for this game lies with its licensed armies, G.I.Joe and Masters of The Universe toy lines, this being Ubi Soft, they've also included an Assassin's Creed army, because apparently anything with Assassin's Creed on it makes money. (Side note Ubi Soft you guys are pushing the limits with that one, please back off before everyone hates it.) Toy Soldiers: War Chest releases Tuesday on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Boy that new Tony Hawk game is sure shaping up to be disappointing, so why not try an old Sweet Release! favorite, Goat Simulator from Coffee Stain Studios. The third person (goat) game is closer in scope and spirit to the THUG (Tony Hawks Underground) series with the goal being to create as much chaos and destruction in the environments with chained combos. Also you can make your own goat! What other create-a-player systems can boast that other than NBA 2K15. Goat Simulator released Tuesday on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, but is also available on I0S, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

The week never seems complete without a high definition re-master so let Activision take it away with Prototype and Prototype 2 on PlayStation 4. The third person open world games feature a couple of infected anti-heroes out to find the secrets surrounding their illnesses and a mysterious virus gripping the nation. Neither game is great despite both being from Radical Entertainment, makers of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. There's nothing aggressively wrong with either game but you may have seen a bit of hoopla over the games not looking very good and not running well upon their Xbox One launch last month. I hope Activision did the work to fix them, but I'm not optimistic. Prototype and Prototype 2 released on PlayStation 4 on Tuesday.

I feel like I haven't been paying enough attention to the PC, so let's check out a game hitting Steam Early Access this week, Gunnheim from SIEIDI Ltd. The four player top down shooter proudly proclaims "VIKINGS!" in the trailer to this twin stick shooter. When death takes a holiday, hell gets out of control and it's up to "The unholy siblings of Gunnheim" to restore order. With a low fi cartoon art style and an emphasis on old school tough as nails co-op, Gunnheim could be the harbinger of a twin-stick revival. Gunnheim releases on Steam Early Access on Tuesday.

That's it 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 need's a drinking break. Take a break with him @John_Laryngitis on Twitter.

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