With August just around the corner, I wanted to discuss some long awaited games. The hype train could not be more real, as these games are all highly anticipated. The first up is a personal favorite of mine. I’ve had this game pre-ordered for months. No Man’s Sky was originally scheduled to release at the end of June. It has since been pushed off till August 9th in North America, and August 10th in Europe.
No Man’s Sky is a SciFi survival adventure game, with a focus on exploration. Players are spawned at the edge of the galaxy with a small spaceship. They are then encouraged to explore the world around them. As players explore, they can name and upload their discoveries to terminals. As players explore, gather, and craft, they can upgrade their gear and ship. The game does not stop with one planet though; it continues onward to millions of planets. I am not exaggerating, as there are literally millions of unique planets to discover. Each one has its own weather, terrain, wildlife, and alien species. The game uses procedural generation, which basically means that there will be millions of combinations of items, ships, creatures, and planets to discover. The game also features multiplayer of some sort, but the details have been rather scarce. It has been announced that players will see traces of other players, mostly in the form of named discoveries. With all of the attention this game has been getting, I was surprised to see it delayed. Hopefully the delay pays off, and this game is all it’s cracked up to be. No Man’s Sky is easily my most anticipated game of the year.
The next game on my list is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This cyber-punk RPG is set two years after Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Playing as Adam Jenson, and working for Interpol, players set out to stop an augmented terrorist group. I won’t spoil anything, but the Illuminati are said to have a part in the game. This first person action shooter looks terrific. If it’s anything like its predecessor, it will be an amazing game. One of the best parts of games in this series, is the ability to tackle the game in multiple ways. Players can choose to progress through the game using stealth, social skills, hacking, or combat. As the player gains experience, Adam Jenson can receive upgrades in the form of augmentations. If you haven’t tried any games in this series, then I recommend picking up Human Revolution on Steam. It is currently priced at $19.99 USD, but can be caught on sale for 50% off several times a year.
This final game is not near and dear to my heart. Like most gamer’s, I have dabbled in World of Warcraft. I know the world, I have played through several expansions, and I often venture back to see what’s new. On August 30th, Blizzard is releasing its next expansion. World of Warcraft: Legion will introduce a new story line, allowing players to command the resistance, join the immortal army, and battle their way to level 110. With this new expansion, Blizzard is giving all players an instant boost to level 100. This is pretty cool, because it allows for new and returning players to jump right into the fun. I am not set on purchasing this one yet, but I will be keeping an eye on it.
