We’re finally heading into the fourth and final quarter of 2016, which means two things: Santa is coming soon, and there’s a wealth of big video games releases coming our way. Here’s 5 of the biggest you can’t afford to miss:
Mafia III
7 October 2016 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
Mafia III has been a long-time coming, but the colossal open-world crime drama is finally arriving in October.
Mafia III tells the story of Lincoln Clay, who has just returned from the Vietnam War. He’s taken in by the “Black Mob”, but just as he starts to believe he’s found somewhere he can belong, the Italian Mob wipes them out. Clay vows to have his revenge – and that’s when the car chases, shady dealings, and bloody gunfights kick off.
The game is looking absolutely spectacular and the 1968 New Orleans setting is a refreshing setting for the chaos that’s to unfold in Mafia III.
Gears of War 4
11 October 2016 (Xbox One)
Just about everything of Gears of War 4 screams something new. A new developer, new characters, and a new setting, Gears 4 is looking to take the franchise into the new generation with some fresh ideas, albeit with the same brutality that made the original a hit.
The sequel will follow protagonist JD Fenix (son of Gears of War‘s Marcus Fenix) and his squad, along with the new enemy that plagues the world post-Gears 3. In addition to the usual chainsawing, cover shooting action, the new entry will also feature new weapons, some giant new enemies, some familiar faces, and some mech segments (yip, that’s right).
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration
11 October 2016 (PS4)
If you need a reminder of your age, Square Enix is set to release Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration this October, which will see the return of everyone’s favourite female treasure hunter. The game, which, as the name suggests, is the PS4 release of the critically-acclaimed Rise of the Tomb Raider (which first released on Xbox One last year), along with a whole bunch of extras.
The new 20 Year Celebration edition features the full game and all content from the Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass, which includes Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch, Cold Darkness Awakened, two new DLC episodes called Blood Ties and Lara’s Nightmare, all DLC outfits, weapons, and Expedition Cards. and a new Extreme Survivor ultra-hard difficulty for the main campaign.
Battlefield 1
21 October 2016 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Arguably the biggest game of the year, Battlefield 1, unleashes on eager gamers in October, and the latest entry takes the series back to World War 1 – an often overlooked period in blockbuster video games. You can expect Battlefield’s usual mix of land, sea and air warfare, but WWI brings its own challenges. This was the most technologically divergent war in history, as rumbling war machines and newly invented automatic weapons came up against horse-mounted cavalry and bayonets.
Epic battles, visceral combat, and gorgeous visuals (thanks to the Frostbite 2.0 engine) await – with hefty multiplayer and single-player portions set to soak up our weekends for the foreseeable future.
Titanfall 2
28 October 2016 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
Titanfall 2 looks to not only fix, but enhance and round-off the experience that the first game touched on. The sequel will deliver a faster, more balanced multiplayer experience, but most importantly, there will also be a fully-fledged single-player campaign for the game (something that should’ve been there in the first place), which will focus on the relationship between Titans and Pilots.
Respawn Entertainment are looking to turn Titanfall from a once-off multiplayer distraction into a fully-realised franchise, and we’re on board.
Article originally published on MenStuff.co.za.
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