Games you can play this week – wastelands and warriors

Gaming fans would have had this particular week circled on their calenders for quite some time, as two colossal games, Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, see their releases, while offroad fans get a dose of dirt with MX vs ATV: Supercross Encore.

Fallout 4

Release date: 10 November 2015 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

Fallout 4 is undoubtedly one of the biggest games this year, and the post-apocalyptic franchise is taking things to new heights, with Bethesda claiming they are out to reinvent the open world genre.

More weapons, refined gameplay mechanics, greater quests, and a more detailed world to discover,Fallout 4 should prove to fans and newcomers to the series that the long wait has all been worth it.

The colossal map in the game will be around 48 square kilometres, allegedly, which is double that of Skyrim’s 23.5 square kilometres, and with a new engine under the hood, there’s going to be a lot more open terrain to explore, as opposed to some blocked-off areas. This is going to be a biggie.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Release date: 13 November 2015 (Xbox One, Xbox 360)

Eidos Montreal got the green light to develop the sequel to 2013’s Tomb Raider after its initial success of properly modernising the historic franchise. Gone are the days of pixel-perfect two and a half-step jumps and cheat codes for RPGs to blow up pesky velociraptors.

The Tomb Raider reboot was a refreshing take on the life and antics of a young Lara Croft, and injected some new blood into a somewhat dying franchise.

We saw Lara go from scared 20-something to becoming an artifact-hunting heroine in the first game, and Rise of the Tomb Raider will continue that journey.

Lara must now explore the most treacherous and remote regions of Siberia to find the secret of immortality before a ruthless organisation known as Trinity. There’s a host of new survival skills, weapons, abilities, and things to explore, as Lara embraces her destiny to become the Tomb Raider.