The Weekly Wrap With DC

Hi Gamers, DC here … welcome to the second installment of “The Weekly Wrap” – the best place to find everything that’s happened in the wonderful world of gaming over the past seven days!

Well, it’s been a VERY busy week in that gaming world so, without further ado, let’s get stuck into it.

In case you missed it

Over the past week a couple of big games arrived in both retail and digital stores. The first being Need for Speed, which has been received with lackluster reviews and eclipsed by Treyarch releasing Call of Duty: Black Ops III on November 6. The latest entry to the COD family has received warm reviews and looks to be on track to breaking some franchise sales records.

The Big Guns

Today two very big AAA games are releasing … yes I’m referring to Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. The hype-train has been full steam ahead for both games, however the former has managed to cast a very large shadow over anything brave enough to share its’ release date. Fans of the Tomb Raider franchise will be pleased to hear that the new game doesn’t disappoint. I spent the better part of this past weekend exchanging gunfire and solving puzzles in the Siberian wilderness. You can find my impressions of the game, along with the review here.

Over the past few weeks there’s been plenty of discussion regarding some leaked videos and images showing a wasteland not so easy on the eye. Well with some individuals receiving their copies of Fallout 4 early (jealously level infinity) video footage of frame rates dropping, specific to the console version are popping up. If you want to avoid seeing anything negative about your beloved Bethesda RPG, be warned, do not click here.

Microsoft have had a busy fortnight, starting with the highly-anticipated release of Halo 5: Guardians, which smashed records with the biggest Halo launch in history, driving more than $400 million in global sales. Followed today by Rise of the Tomb Raider, their ‘timed’ exclusive. Microsoft didn’t stop with just exciting exclusive game releases, they also released the Elite controller and Elite console bundle – which combines the RRP$200 controller with a beefed up 1TB Hybrid-SSD.

Xbox owners will be pleased to know that the good times don’t stop there, with the list of the first 104 backwards compatible 360 games has been announced, ahead of the program officially starting on November 12. To make today’s release of Fallout 4 even more exciting, the Xbox One version of the game comes with a digital version of Fallout 3! Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management for Xbox had the following to say:

“Today, I’m happy to unveil to you the first 104 Xbox One Backward Compatibly games. Some of my favorites are included, like the complete Gears of War catalog, Assassin’s Creed II, Fallout 3, Borderlands, and Castle Crashers. The full list of the first 104 games is below and can be found at the Backward Compatibility page at Xbox.com. And, as I said at gamescom, going forward, all Xbox 360 games available through Games With Gold after Nov. 12 will be playable on Xbox One.”

For people involved in the ‘Xbox One Preview Program’ the news of a new ‘user experience’ for Xbox One rolling out on the same day won’t come as a surprise. For a summary of the basic changes you’ll notice from November 12, check out my article here.

In PlayStation news, Sony revealed their brand new campaign for PS4, the video showcases the various games available and takes viewers on a tour of ‘The Wonderful Life’ of a player.

Perhaps the opposing side of the coin, the ‘not-so-wonderful life’ of a player was demonstrated by a pervert who was caught pleasuring himself over a PlayStation console. A link to the now viral video can be found here.

On a serious note, Shahid Kamal, the man arguably responsible for bringing a focus on Indie-titles to PlayStation will be leaving his beloved company. So with all the progress he’s driven over the past 10 years, why is he leaving now?

“I want to make games again. I stopped being a developer around a quarter of a century ago and have seen so many changes since then, with most of the exciting ones happening in the last few years. I want to be part of that. It’s that simple. The team at PlayStation, while sad to see me go, completely understands my desire. I am privileged to enjoy their support.”

Sony also unveiled a Darth Vader – inspired standalone DualShock 4 controller which will be available from November 19, just in time for a little game you may have heard of releases … BATTLEFRONT!

­Games released last week

Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers  (PS4) – November 3
Anno 2205 (PC) – November 3
Need for Speed (Xbox One, PS4, PC) – November 3
Peanuts: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure (Xbox One, 360, PS4, Wii U, 3DS) – November 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, PC) – November 6
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut (PC) – November 6
Yo-Kai Watch (3DS) – November 6
Alekhine’s Gun (Xbox One, PS4, PC) – November 10
Fallout 4 (Xbox One, PS4, PC) – November 10
Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One, Xbox 360) – November 10
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void (PC, Mac) – November 10
Rodea The Sky Soldier (Wii U, 3DS) – November 10
Superbeat: Xonic (Vita) – November 10