Posted in: Games, Movies, Video Games | Tagged: Elder Scrolls Online, entertainment, Gradius, Ian Malcom, lego, lego jurassic world, Operation Abyss, video games

Sweet Release! Lego Jurassic World, The Elder Scrolls Online, Operation Abyss, Arcade Archives: Gradius

By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Sweet Release! Bleeding Cool's look at the new video games hitting store shelves and digital platforms this week.  Just like last week, the looming specter of gaming's biggest convention has left the release calendar slightly barren.  With most companies in a last minute mad dash to prepare, don't expect an unexpected avalanche of big triple A games.  It's not all awash though as we start with the exciting prospect of Lego Jeff Goldblum!
It was brought to my attention recently that the Traveler's Tales Lego games have become something of an institution in gaming.  Around for over ten years now, they've taken iconic franchises and added an extra level of charm and sophistication to series like Batman, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars.  Now they get to put their stamp on the Jurassic Park franchise with Lego Jurassic World.  The 3rd person action puzzle game plays out across sections from all four movies, with various diversions including chase sequences, puzzle sections, and platforming.  In traditional Lego game fashion you'll be able to play as a variety of different characters, build your own dinosaurs, and collect hidden unlockables all over the world.  It's also got Lego Ian Malcom, I mean how much better could it get!  Who cares about dinosaurs when you have a Lego Jeff Goldblum.Lego Jurassic World releases Friday for every major home and handheld console.

Bethesda Softworks has been in the news recently with the announcement of the long awaited Fallout 4, and speaking of long awaited and Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls Online finally comes to home consoles this week.  Taking place in the world of Tamriel you can explore the series massive continents looking for adventure.  Elder Scrolls Online doesn't really break the mold, following the typical path of choose a race, class, and skillset now go kill rats on your way to level 2.  It's a shame Bethesda spent so much time and money on this title, after languishing on the PC for almost a year, going free to play, and missing a supposed console launch window of last June, the massive multi-player online game is coming out at possibly the worst time possible on consoles.  Almost everyone is in agreement that The Witcher 3 is the better substitute on consoles, and MMO players still hungry for the traditional experience are playing World of Warcraft.  The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited released Tuesday for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Traditional computer role playing meets anime clichés in Operation Abyss: Tokyo Legacy from NIS America.  The first person dungeon crawler takes place a private school that's secretly the base of operations for a group of psychic child soldiers who protect a not too distant future Tokyo from inter-dimensional monsters.  The first person role playing game features a purported forty hours of gameplay, English voice acting, and designs by noted manga artists Tetsu Kurosawa  and  Oxijiyen.   Operation Abyss falls under that very specific blanket of, "you know if you like this or not" but for interested parties, it is being advertised with a collector's box and CD soundtrack if you can get your hands on the launch edition.  Operation Abyss: Tokyo Legacy is available Tuesday on the PlayStation Vita.

Finally this week, Konami has seen fit to grace us with one of its legacy games in the form of Arcade Archives: Gradius.  One of the earliest examples of the shoot'em-up genre or "Shump" as it's commonly referred to, players control the Super Dimensional fighter ship, Vic Viper.  The 2D side scrolling shooter is slightly primitive compared to games like R-Type or Solider Blade, but helped establish the genre as a solid and challenging time waster.  Arcade Archives: Gradius released Tuesday on PlayStation 4.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from the Jersey coast who's really busy.  To help him with time management, contact him on Twitter @John_Laryngitis.

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