Happy Tuesday, folks! We’ve got some huge games releasing this week, just in time for the holidays. I’m dying to play a few of these, so let’s hope they get a Black Friday price drop in a couple weeks. LOL, can you imagine paying full price and then seeing a price drop two weeks later? That’s never happened to me, nope, never, EVER…except with Balan Wonderworld…why did I buy that game?

Enough of that, come join me on the mean streets of downtown Kamurocho…I mean San Diego, as I go on a quest to find meaning in…something…

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 9^th

Developed by: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Published by: Sega

Our top game this week is the latest entry in Sega’s long running Yakuza franchise, which they have renamed Like A Dragon, subtitled The Man Who Erased His Name. It’s a spinoff of the main series and goes back to the series’ original brawling format, leaving the RPG elements to mainline entries, like next year’s Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. If you’ve been a longtime fan of the series then you know that main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu faked his death at the end of Yakuza 6 and opted to live a solitary life in order to keep his loved ones safe. Of course things don’t quite go to plan and Kiryu must come out of the shadows in order to protect someone, which could expose his ruse and bring unwanted attention to his family of orphans.

Initially, The Man Who Erased His Name was going to be DLC for the upcoming Infinite Wealth, but Sega has opted to turn it into a full fledged entry in the series, adding “Gaiden” to the name to indicate that it was a brawler, not an RPG. While the game is receiving a physical release in Japan, North America will only get digital versions of the game, in a blow to game preservation, though I suppose we should be happy we got it at all. This is one of my most anticipated games of the year, let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 10^th

Developed by: Sledgehammer Games
Published by: Activision

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 7^th

Developed by: Fair Play Games
Published by: GameMill Entertainment

Like a Dragon Gaiden might be my top game of the week, however the rest of the world is probably far more interested in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the latest entry in the rebooted Modern Warfare sub-series. I probably don’t need to say much about this game, you either know if you want it or don’t want it. There is a zombie mode in this entry, which is the first in the rebooted sub-series to have one. Does that do anything for you?

If shooting people isn’t your thing, but seeing April O’Neal beat the shit out of Garfield is, then be sure to check out Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. I didn’t really care for the first All-Star Brawl, it was sloppy, generic, and hastily produced. However, this new entry is supposed to be better, with updated move sets, higher quality graphics, and full voice acting on day one (as opposed to the months later update the first game got). Despite the updates, I can’t imagine this is still a great game, but it’ll be fun enough for a holiday gathering, letting you, your kid, and your brother who wore the SpongeBob t-shirt to Thanksgiving dinner, get together and have a little fun before Uncle Steve says something about Palestinians and Israelis.

Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 7^th

Developed by: Pendulo Studios
Published by: Microids

Remember when Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson were both supposed to direct entries in a Tintin film series? I do. While that next film will probably never happen, we do have a new video game featuring France’s most famous teenage detective, with the bestest, goodest boy in the whole wide world, Snowy.

Risk of Rain Returns (PC/Switch) – Releases Nov. 8^th

Developed by: Hopoo Games
Published by: Gearbox Publishing

Berzerk: Recharged (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S/Atari VCS) – Releases Nov. 9^th

Developed by: SneakyBox
Published by: Atari

We’ve got a double header of insanely difficult, yet incredibly fun shooters to play this week, with Risk of Rain Returns and Berzerk: Recharged. While Risk of Rain Returns is more of a remaster for modern consoles, Berzerk: Recharged is a complete overhaul of the original game with modern graphics and gameplay. Atari has been putting out these “Recharged” versions of their older titles to pretty successful results, I’m excited to see what their new version of Berzerk brings to the table.

Air Twister (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 10^th

Developed by: YS Net
Published by: YS Net

Our last big release is Air Twister, a new game from Yu Suzki’s studio YS Net. If you’re wondering why Yu Suzuki might sound familiar, that is because he is behind the games Shenmue, Out Run, Virtua Fighter, and Space Harrier, which is the direct inspiration for Air Twister. This actually released on Apple Arcade in 2022, so it’s not really NEW, but I hadn’t heard of it and I’m guessing a lot of you hadn’t either, so now we can all check it out together.

Ports and Re-releases:

Double Dragon Collection (Switch…maybe others?) – Releases Nov. 9^th
Double Dragon Advance & Super Double Dragon (PC/PS4/Switch/Xbox One) – Releases Nov. 9^th

The big port of the week is the modern release of two classic brawlers, Double Dragon Advance and Super Double Dragon. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance and the Super Nintendo, both games have been locked away to those respective devices. While both of these titles will be available as separate, digital downloads, Switch owners can purchase a physical copy that contains both games, as well as the three NES Double Dragon games, as well as 2017’s Double Dragon IV.

Expansions:

Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 8^th
Crusader Kings III: Legacy of Persia (PC) – Releases Nov. 9^th

This week’s expansions are sure to be big hits with fans of their respective series. First we have Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn, which continues the story of the base game, and tasks players with helping a young girl named Nazamil, who is destined to fall under the curse of the mask. New quests, new dungeons, new party member specific adventures, new costumes, and so much more await you.

If you like your swordplay a little more realistic, Crusader Kings III: Legacy of Persia brings even more content and strategy to the already sprawling epic. Having (probably) already conquered Europe, players can now make their way East and take over the lands in and around Persia. The events of the game are inspired by the real life collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century, which should really excite everyone who reads the Historical Thread, right here on The Avocado.

Everything else:

I wonder if they have any Huey Lewis songs?

• Let’s Sing 2024 (PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 7^th
• GUNHEAD (PC/PS5) – Releases Nov. 8^th
• Spells & Secrets (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 9^th

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 (and sometimes 40) years ago:

Welcome back to Notable Releases, the article within the article! Today we’re going to discuss three extraordinary games that are all, I am happy to say, still available to play today. Put on a comfy sweater, cozy up with a cup of hot cocoa, and light a pumpkin spice candle; shit’s about to get crazy.

We’ll start things off with our 2013 title, Risk of Rain. This rouge-like action game was the first title developed by the indie studio, Hopoo Games. Co-founded by college students Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, Risk of Rain, Hopoo Games was started as a place where the two men could make the kinds of games that they loved and wanted to see on the market. While rogue-like’s were nothing new, and were well established in the modern gaming marketplace, the hook, so to speak, in Risk of Rain was that the game ramped up in difficulty the longer you played.

The goal of each stage in Risk of Rain is to find the teleporter to the next area. Once the teleporter is found, players must activate it, causing a countdown timer to begin (90 seconds for easy, 120 seconds for hard). As the timer winds down the level is filled with an increasing number of enemies. Once the countdown is complete, players must then eliminate every enemy in the stage and then get back to the teleporter. It is brutally difficult, but incredibly rewarding. A sequel would release in 2020, while the remastered version of the game was released this past week, just in time for its 10th anniversary. Oh, and if you wondered why it was called Risk of Rain, Morse and Duncan explained that it is a commentary on people who are afraid to take risks going outside because they think it will rain, but mostly because it would be easy to find in search engines.

Moving to 2003, we have a game that is considered one of the greatest of all-time; Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil. Released first for the PlayStation 2, before coming to Xbox and GameCube a few weeks later, Beyond Good & Evil is a 3d action/adventure platformer set in the far future, 2435, on the mining planet of Hillys. The game opens on the protagonist, Jade, as she meditates with one of the orphan children she takes care of. Her meditation is soon interrupted by attacking aliens called the DomZ. Attempting to keep the aliens away, Jade activates a shield that covers her small island home.

Jade discovers that her account with the electric company is past due, so they shut off her power and the aliens land, kidnapping some of the orphans. Jade, along with her partner, the anthropomorphic pig, Pey’j, is able to defeat them and save the children. Afterwards, Jade is hired to take a photo of a special DomZ for a mysterious, wealthy character. Broke, and unable to continue paying her bills, Jade set off on an adventure to take photos, beat up monsters, and tell Pey’j to break open chain link fences with his wrench.

Beyond Good & Evil is the brainchild of Michel Ancel, who was best known as the creator of the Rayman series. With a desire to do something drastically different to Rayman, Ancel decided to make a sprawling epic, with the idea of putting an entire world on a single CD-ROM, an…open world. The planet of Hillys is made up of a series of disconnected islands, with players traveling from location to location in a hovercraft. As players defeat boss enemies, they will receive pearls that they can trade in for upgrades to their hovercraft, among other items.

Initially, Beyond Good & Evil had a more artistic tone, being closer in style to something like Ico, but the public reception to this at E3 in 2002 was overwhelmingly negative, so Ancel went back to the studio and basically tore the game down to its studs. The team was demoralized, but pressed on, changing Jade from a teenager to a young adult, shortening the distance between islands (a direct result of Ancel’s displeasure at the sailing sections in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker), and making various, generalized changes to bring the game more in line with mass market sensibilities.

The change paid off with critics, who hailed it as one of the best games at E3 in 2003, making it a highly anticipated holiday release, or so they thought. Beyond Good & Evil was a huge commercial disappointment when it released, failing to make any waves with the gaming public. While critics heaped tons of praise on the game, the market appeared to be oversaturated with crummy, 3d action/adventure games and the genre was starting to fall out of favor. Ancel attributed the disinterest in the game to players moving towards already established franchises and games based on popular licenses. Ubisoft didn’t do much to help, either, as they devoted the vast majority of their marketing budget to the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Despite the commercial failure, Beyond Good & Evil developed a strong cult following and was named one of the best games of the year by several gaming outlets. As the years went by, players would continue to find the game through word of mouth, and it would gain a reputation as one of those titles that every gamer needed to play. An HD remaster would release in 2011, featuring updated graphics and sound, and is playable today on Xbox One & Series X|S through backwards compatibility.

A sequel and/or prequel was announced in 2008, then again in 2009, then again in 2016, then again in 2017. With the departure of Michel Ancel from Ubisoft in 2020, the future of this new entry was put into question, with some saying it’s still coming, while others believe it is now nothing but vaporware, breaking Duke Nukem Forever’s record for the longest development for a video game. For now, let’s just forget about the sequel and focus on what we have, a fantastic game that is still underappreciated. If you’ve never played Beyond Good & Evil I strongly suggest checking it out and experiencing it for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Our third notable release is 1993’s Aladdin for the Sega Genesis. After the release of the animated film Aladdin in 1992, both Sega and Capcom purchased licensing rights to the film and got to work on entries for both the Genesis and SNES. Sega, unable to make the game themselves, farmed it out to developer Blue Sky, though Sega was far more interested in another licensed property, Jurassic Park, and told Blue Sky to focus on that game instead of Aladdin.

While Capcom’s SNES Aladdin game was progressing nicely, pleasing Disney, they were far from pleased with Blue Sky’s progress on the Genesis Aladdin Feeling that Blue Sky wasn’t devoting enough time & resources to the project, Disney pulled the game from them and gave to another developer, Virgin Interactive. Disney was particularly unhappy with the graphics of the game and felt it didn’t capture the vibrant animation of the film. Virgin was keen on making Aladdin as good looking as possible and, in an unprecedented move, used digitized hand drawings to bring the characters to life.

Working closely with Disney animators, the developers at Virgin were able to take those drawings, scan them into their computers, and animate them as digital sprites. The resulting effect was a gorgeous blend of the physical and the digital, making Aladdin look unlike anything else on the market. Sega, meanwhile, were relegated to marketing, with Disney demanding that Aladdin receive a marketing budget and push equal to that of Sega’s other major titles, that the game would ship an initial one million units to retailers, and that Disney’s Jeffrey Katzenberg would get final word on all marketing materials. While Sega would receive significant exposure due to their partnership with Disney, in a shrewd bit of accounting, they would receive none of the game’s profits, as Disney had set the deal up so that each entity would deduct their costs from the total revenue and then divide the profits equally, which basically only covered their marketing costs. It didn’t really matter, though, as Sega wanted Aladdin to drive their hardware sales, which it did.

Aladdin was a massive financial success for Disney and Virgin, and was the third best selling Genesis game of all-time, behind Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Despite the financial success, Disney was not interested in making a sequel, despite a prototype that Virgin mocked up using pre-rendered 3d graphics, which would have pre-dated Donkey Kong Country. For over 25 years, Aladdin was locked to the Genesis, but in 2019 it would get a re-release on modern consoles, alongside another Disney game, The Lion King. Aladdin is a fantastic game and one of the best that the Sega Genesis had to offer, give it try!

Rounding out the notable releases this week is 1983’s NATO Commander, a strategy game from one of the pioneers of the genre, Sid Meier. Prior to NATO Commander, Meier was most well known for the flight simulator’s Hellcat Ace and Spitfire Ace. With NATO Commander, however, Meier found his calling, intricate strategy games that make you think hard about your decisions, all while eating up your free time.

The conflict in NATO Commander revolves around the Soviet Union advancing into West Germany in an attempt to re-unify the country under Communist rule. Players take control of NATO armies and must repel the invading Soviet army. To achieve victory, players can take the armies head-on, mount a counter offensive, or buy time until a diplomatic solution can be achieved.

Critics were mixed on the game and felt that the balance of power was sifted too far towards the NATO armies, making the game easier than it should have been. Despite this, critics still felt that NATO Commander was a superb PC game that took full advantage of the incredible computational power of modern computers in a strategy game. Don’t bother trying to play this game today, it’s nearly impossible without some kind of emulation, remaining an interesting relic of a bygone era.

Quickly talking about our notable films, 2013 gave us 12 Years a Slave, making white people VERY uncomfortable in theatres across America. 2003 gave us the modern holiday classic Elf and solidified Will Ferrell as a mega star, while 1993 saw the release of The Beverly Hillbillies, a film based on the TV show of the same name, introducing us all to the goofy antics of comedian Diedrich Bader. The biggest movie, though, was 1983’s A Christmas Story, from director Bob Clark. While Elf is a classic in its own right, A Christmas Story is the father of ALL Christmas movies, being a holiday staple for 40 years, even getting its own 24 hour marathon every Christmas on TBS & TNT.

Our notable albums are all eclectic and interesting in their own way. Lady Gaga put out Artpop, a disjointed album that didn’t quite mesh with critics and listeners, though it still sold over 2 million copies worldwide. It’s lead single was “Applause”, which I’m sure you’ve heard a billion times. Going back to 2003 we have another pop album, Britney Spears’ In the Zone, an autobiographical album that appears to have been about the dissolution of her relationship with fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. The album and her relationship have been under renewed interest after the release of her new book The Woman in Me. While the second single “Toxic” is the clear standout, it’s her third single, “Everytime” that is getting more attention due to its supposed connection to an abortion Timberlake allegedly forced her to have.

Our 1993 album is, perhaps, one of the greatest of all-time, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by the Wu-Tang Clan. Prior to the release of the album, the Wu-Tang Clan weren’t very well known outside of their core group of fans in Staten Island and the surrounding NYC boroughs. Finding success with the single “Protect Ya Neck”, the group gained an underground following and signed a deal with RCA subsidiary Loud Records for, on the condition that each each individual member be allowed to sign deals with other labels.

With a raw, dirty sound, thanks to producer RZA, Enter the Wu-Tang felt scary, unfamiliar, and harsh. It captured the feeling and tone of late 1980’s, early 1990’s New York City, particularly those of the African American youth, and kicked the doors wide open, letting the rest of the world see what life was like for each of the nine rappers. The look and mystique of the group was inspired by RZA’s love of Kung Fu films and comic books. With their faces obscured by stockings on the album’s cover it just made their legend grow. Who the fuck were these guys?

Following the release of Enter the Wu-Tang, the group gained notoriety in underground hip-hop circles and were able to parlay that into mainstream success, with word of mouth spreading the album like wildfire. Soon enough, these nine unknown rappers, RZA, GZA, U-God, Inspecta Deck, Method Man, Ghostface Killa, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, would be seen in heavy rotation on MTV and take the hip-hop world by storm. The standout track, for me is “Shame on a N****”, but the most well known is probably “C.R.E.A.M.”, a fucking brilliant song.

Ending our notable releases section we have 1983’s Rebel Yell by Billy Idol. While the title track is the most well known, my favorite song is “Eyes Without a Face”, a haunting, melancholy song that speaks directly to my tortured, black, soul. A massive commercial and critical success, the album solidified Idol as one of the biggest musical acts of the 1980’s, forever tying him to the decade, for better or worse.

Risk of Rain (PC) – Released Nov. 8^th, 2013: Wiki Link

Beyond Good & Evil (PS2) – Released Nov. 11^th, 2003: Wiki Link

Aladdin (Genesis) – Released Nov. 11^th, 1993: Wiki Link

NATO Commander (PC/Atari 8-Bit/Commodore 64) – Released Nov. 1983: Wiki Link

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