New Releases: JUNE 2016
We’re rapidly approaching June, which means we’ve almost hit the halfway point of the video game calendar. That’s certainly a good thing though, because it’s a month filled to the brim with titles you should want to get your hot little hands on.
Kicking things off is the racing simulatorAssetto Corsa(PS4, XBO, PC), bringing over 90 high-performance vehicles along for the ride. It speeds straight onto store shelves fromThursday June 2.
Meanwhile, a day later onFriday June 3,One Piece: Pirate Warriorsfans can continue to get their video game fix withOne Piece: Burning Blood(PS4, XBO, Vita). The fighter pits some of the series’ most popular characters against one another for ultimate victory.
Nintendo 3DS owners will be happy to know that they won’t be left behind either and can boot up their handheld onSaturday June 11withKirby: Planet Robobot. This time the pink puff meets Hulkbuster when he must utilise powerful new armour to restore his home.
Then onSunday June 22, one of the year’s most ambitious games finally lands on PlayStation 4. Yes, there’s a hell of a lot of hype behind Hello Games’No Man’s Skyand its incredibly immense space world, so here’s hoping it can live up to expectations.
Closing out the month isLego Star Wars: The Force Awakens(PS4, XBO, PC, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita) onWednesday June 29. With signs already showing that the series’ humorous approach will be adopted for the blockbuster, thisisthe game you’ve been looking for.
News:
To Infinity No More
In what is the biggest surprise of the month, Disney has announced that it will be cancelling its Disney Infinity line and getting out of the business of self-publishing games altogether. “After a thorough evaluation, we have modified our approach to console gaming and will transition exclusively to a licensing model. This shift in strategy means we will cease production of Disney Infinity, where the lack of growth in the toys-to-life market, coupled with high development costs, has created a challenging business model,” the company told IGN. This follows the previous news that there would not be a Disney Infinity 4.0 title released this year after last year’s inclusion of the Star Wars franchise.
One And Done
Despite previously having a rather large presence at E3 (the gaming world’s most significant annual convention), Nintendo has announced that this year it will only be showcasing a single game on the show floor – none other than The Legend Of Zelda for Wii U. According to a company press release, “The Wii U version of the game will be playable for the first time on the E3 show floor, and it will be the only playable game Nintendo presents at the show, in order to provide attendees a complete immersion.” How exactly this immersion will be created currently remains unknown, but this news follows the announcement that the game itself has been pushed to 2017 and will also be available on the Nintendo NX – expected to hit store shelves sometime in March.
Review:Ratchet & Clank(PS4)
★★★★½
Ratchet & Clank [above]is a strange beast. More reboot than remake, the game takes spoonfuls of inspiration from all over the place. It’s adapted from the upcoming feature film, which itself is based on the original 2002 PS2 title. That means long-time fans can expect to see many of the same elements that shot the series to fame, while much of the plot and characters will be syphoned straight from the silver screen. Still, what isn’t strange is how much fun the end result is to play.
Ratchet himself is a lombax (a bipedal, humanoid species) who works in a garage on the planet Veldin, but spends his days dreaming of the Galactic Rangers – an elite group of interplanetary heroes fronted by Captain Qwark. Naturally Ratchet idolises the Rangers, so the game picks up with him leaving the garage to try his hand at becoming one via a televised audition.
You’ll also meet Clank – your robotic partner in crime who won’t just act as your personal companion by being strapped to your back, but also serves as a great aid in gameplay situations. Whether you’re using him to make larger leaps or taking complete control to solve puzzles with throwable robots, his company is always welcomed.
For most of the game’s duration, though, you’ll be falling in love with Ratchet’s combat and wonderful weaponry. In many ways, Insomniac has crafted a list of its greatest creations, including a number of favourites that didn’t make their way into the series until a few iterations later. For those who like to keep things relatively safe, there’s the fire-spitting Magmabuster or the Peacemaker that fires out multiple rockets. But embrace the developer’s complete ridiculousness and you’ll find the Sheepinator (turning enemies into sheep), the Groovitron (a grenade shaped like a disco ball that forces enemies to dance) or the Pixeliser HD (which shoots pixel blasts and turns targets into retro versions of their character models). Even better is that every weapon can be upgraded with a pretty robust levelling system.
The fact that Ratchet & Clank is as beautiful as it is (which is positively stunning) is almost irrelevant. More important is that whether it’s remake or reboot, the whole experience is supremely enjoyable from start to finish and should be adored by fans and newbies alike.
