New Releases: Aug 2014
For many, after all the joy and announcements of this year’s E3 came the sad realisation that in terms of new games to play, options were slightly limited. Thankfully, however, August sees things returning back to normal with some heavy hitters to sink your teeth into before the truly ridiculous October overload.
First up on August 7 is Ultra Street Fighter IV for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The evolved iteration of the popular fighter features five new characters, six new stages and rebalanced gameplay.
Moving on to August 19 and you’ll be able to loot like never before with Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360). This extra special version includes all of the content from the original Diablo III, as well as new features and updates from the critically acclaimed Reaper Of Souls expansion. It also marks the game’s debut on the new-generation consoles.
Jump ahead just a few more days to August 21 and PS4/PS3 owners can nab Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. Previously only available on Xbox consoles, the game takes the popular iPhone title and transforms it into a completely 3D, third-person action battleground. It’s also a lot of unexpected fun.
Finally, August 28 sees two games dropping onto shelves: Metro Redux (PS4, Xbox One) and Madden NFL 15 (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360). Metro features the definitive versions of both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, each rebuilt with an insanely pretty graphics engine for new-gen consoles, while NFL 15 is the latest iteration in the popular American football series.
Yes, there’s a little something for everyone this month, but don’t go too crazy, because remember: October is coming.
Awesome Foursome Smashes World Record
Four Warrnambool teenagers have entered the video game history books by setting a brand new world record for the longest video game marathon playing a racing game. James Hickman, Josh Alexander, Harry Twyford and Matt Smith racked up an absolutely outstanding 35 hours and 46 minutes in one session. Their game of choice: Mario Kart.
The previous record was actually set by two German teenagers who played for about 33 hours, but the Aussie foursome have since cemented themselves as the new victors. Despite a failed training session not really going to plan, everything ran smoothly when the moment counted as the boys followed numerous strict guidelines.
Thankfully, those guidelines allowed for a ten-minute break for every hour of playtime, meaning the group could stack up the time and indulge in a brief nap during the late hours.
Aside from the record, the students also raised about $500 for cancer charity Peter’s Project, and are considering taking on another challenge next year.
Pete Hines Comes Down Under
In exciting news for gamers preparing to attend this year’s PAX, it has been announced that industry heavyweight Pete Hines (vice president of PR and marketing at Bethesda Softworks) will be providing the opening ‘storytime’ keynote for the event.
Hines has helped bring extremely popular franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Wolfenstein into the modern era of video games and has also played an integral role in bringing successful new ones – like 2012’s Dishonored and the upcoming The Evil Within – to market. He is set to join a slew of other international guests for the show, including musical acts Paul & Storm, Freezepop and MC Frontalot. PAX Australia will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 31 to November 2.
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