The Average Gamer

5 Games Worth Skipping Work For This Autumn

FIFA 16 nyfc walkout
The Autumn season is kicking in, with leaves falling and temperatures dropping, video game publishers around the world are rubbing their hands together, ready to prey upon our wallets for the congested Christmas season. The biggest selling genres all make an appearance; yearly updates (sports simulations), few surprises (first person shooters), multiple open world games, and others staking their claim for the ultimately moth-filled wallet season.

Unsurprisingly, it can be difficult to sift through them all, so many naturally turn to video game journalism for recommendations. Here are five such suggestions that are worth looking out for.

 

September

Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

Released this week, Super Mario Maker is already boasting near perfect reviews, and should it indeed live up to those expectations, it could possibly be the greatest Super Mario video game ever made….by you. Uniquely it changes the dynamic of all Mario platformers that came before it; you can play a few minutes here and there with challenges on offer, or you could potentially make the best Mario platform title of all time, and upload for others to play. Comparisons to Little Big Planet spring to mind, but this is Mario, a video game character with one of the biggest fanbase on the whole planet. Forget all the homebrew creations, this is the official real deal, and the potential levels that may well be created will be crazy.

FIFA 16 and PES 2016 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

Football. The biggest sport in the world, and also potentially the biggest sports release each and every year. As such, expectations are high and both are scrutinised and compared in order to determine which of the two is worth your hard-earned pennies. Trouble is, this year looks to be the closest battle yet. Demo comparisons show that while FIFA is pretty much more of the same gameplay-wise, the addition of the Women’s national teams is a great milestone, and the Ultimate Team Draft mode adds a new dynamic also. In contrast, PES 2016’s first impressions show great improvement in its core gameplay, plus its accomplished Master League mode and Ultimate Team equivalent, so it’s already hard to pick one over the other.

October

Rock Band 4 (PS4/Xbox One)

It’s been 5 years since the music game market saturated itself in seek of dominance, and it’s the original Guitar Hero creators’ turn to strike first on the current gen consoles. Still got old downloaded songs from previous titles? They will work here, from the same console family, and of course expect an extensive new setlist and no doubt loads more purchasable songs. Dust off the old plastic guitars, drums and microphone, party time is back.

November

Fallout 4 (PS4/Xbox One/PC)

For me, this will be the big one. Just its announcement at E3 instantly made me think ‘I’m gonna need time off for this one’, it is that huge of a release. Fallout 3 is one of my all-time favourites and the somewhat broken New Vegas was still a great game. It’s been 7 – yes, SEVEN – years in the making, and already looks to deliver with customisable weapons and armour, a new setting (Boston), and this time your character will be fully voiced. Should it deliver, potentially hundreds of hours could, or should I say will, be lost on what could be the best game of 2015.

December

Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)

Monolith Soft filled a much needed gap with Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, and it was an absolute beauty. So far the Wii U has been suffering – much like the Wii did – with the lack of a JRPG title. So here come Monolith Soft once again with the next Xenoblade instalment, which so far looks fantastic. With a release 3 weeks before Christmas, it certainly looks to be what those who own a Wii U (me included) are waiting for.

What games are you most excited for in the coming months?