Top Releases:

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake (Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• The Division 2: Echoes of Central Park (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 3^rd
• Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 3^rd
• Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Where the Seeds Fall (PC/PS5/Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th

Here we go, folks, it’s time for the big guns to show up. The holiday season is upon us and we’ve got what are, presumably, going to be the biggest and best selling games of the year popping up. Our first major Fall release is Nintendo’s remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; arguably one of the greatest video games ever made. Will these remake satisfy every fan of the original? Probably not, based on the initial reactions to the game’s graphics. Gameplay-wise, things look familiar to those who played the N64 original, but also updated to fit with modern standards (a free moving camera; the ability to jump). I’m optimistic that this will be a worthwhile remake and, in any case, I have it pre-ordered from Amazon, so I’ll find out for myself later this week when it arrives (sorry, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave).

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake (Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th

Developed by: Nintendo EPD
Published by: Nintendo

The Division 2: Echoes of Central Park (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 3^rd

Developed by: Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft Bucharest/Ubisoft Reflections
Published by: Ubisoft

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 3^rd

Developed by: Pipeworks Studios
Published by: Atari

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th

Developed by: Coin Crew Games
Published by: iam8bit Presents

Where the Seeds Fall (PC/PS5/Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th

Developed by: Cygames Edge/ ZEREO Inc.
Published by: Cygames, Inc.

Ports and Expansions:

• Zero Parades: Director’s Cut (PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 3^rd
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Encore Edition (Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Stellar Blade: Complete Edition (Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th

Everything else:

• Let’s Sing 2027 (PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 3^rd
• Outbreak: Dead City (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 4^th
• VOID/BREAKER (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Chivalware (PC/Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• CRYMELIGHT (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Dominus Gladiatus (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th

• Faraway (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• K-Pop Rising – Dream to Shine (PC/PS5/Switch) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Next of Kin: Epiphany (PC/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Shelterra the Skyworld (PC/Switch 2/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th
• Hasbro Games Junior Collection (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Nov. 5^th

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

Games

In this week’s notable releases, 2016 gave is Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which took the “Duty” to space where you could, like, do cool jumps and shit. This was the first PS4 game I owned because it came bundled with the console when I finally picked one up in January of 2017. For all the normies out there, the game featured actor Kit Harrington as the…villain? I don’t know, I stopped playing after Yakuza 0 came out.

2006 saw the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 a game that, arguably, helped make Xbox Live a massive success and led to the proliferation of online multiplayer on consoles. Yes, you can say that Xbox Live was already doing well, getting big numbers on the original Xbox, and even doing very well on the 360 with the Call of Duty titles. However, if there were still ANY holdouts with online multiplayer, Gears of War was what seemed to finally bring them in. Moving forward, just about every major AAA release had some kind of online multiplayer mode, and became an even bigger phenomenon a year later with the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

1996 gave us the game Jet Moto, a futuristic flying motorcycle racer on the PlayStation. Initially, Jet Moto was going to be a dirt dike racing game but, due to technical limitations on the PlayStation, the creation of wheels posed to be a problem for developer SingleTrac. With the wheels removed, the bikes looked like little futuristic flying vehicles and, thus, Jet Moto was born.

Going back to 1986, we have the PC game King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human. While the previous King’s Quest titles featured protagonist Graham, part 3 seemed to feature a brand new character, a 17 year old boy named Gwydion, with seemingly no relation to the now King Graham. Held captive by an evil wizard named Manannan, to which Gwydion is unaware, he begins to explore forbidden areas in and around his home, discovering that he is actually prince named Alexander, son of King Graham and Queen Valanice. Gwydion/Alexander also discovers that he has a sister, Rosella, who he must rescue before she is sacrificed to a dragon.

A massive hit for Sierra, KQ III would go on to sell over half a million copies in less than a year, and was critically acclaimed for its story and noticeably improved gameplay. Some critics felt that some of the puzzles were, perhaps, a bit too obtuse or difficult (such as discovering the location of the magic map), and there were other critics who felt that there was little innovation since the original King’s Quest. These criticisms didn’t do much to stifle the series, though, as it would go on to get eight entries before going on a prolonged hiatus.

Movies & Albums

I’m not going to go over every movie and album, just kind of highlight a few that really stuck with me. In 2016 we got the movie Ouija: Origin of Evil which is, surprisingly, a fantastic horror film, far surpassing its predecessor. Directed with visual flair by modern horror maestro Mike Flanagan, Ouija: Origin of Evil gives the back story on the little girl that terrorizes the teens in the first film, showing how she initially became corrupted by the forces of darkness. I highly recommend the film if you’ve never seen it.

In 2006 we had one of my favorite movies come out, Borat, a movie that made comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and household name, or was Borat the household name? Did people even know they were two different people? That’s the genius of Cohen’s characters, like Ali G and Bruno, they’re so lifelike and believable that you have a hard time distinguishing between the actor and the role.

A massive critical and commercial success, Borat would go on to become one of the highest grossing films of the year and earn one Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay (losing to The Departed). Borat, the character, would be endlessly parodied and imitated across all media for the better part of a year and, still, causes me to say “MY WIFE” in his distinct, over the top accent.

Also in 2006, we had the Deftone album Saturday Night Wrist, one of the band’s best efforts. It was, however, a rough album to record, coming at a time when the band was going through some intense internal strife, particularly between singer Chino Moreno and the rest of the band. Moreno was, also, heavily intoxicated on drugs & alcohol at the time, as well as seeing the dissolution of his marriage happen, mostly at his own hand.

Thankfully, for fans of Deftones, the band was able to weather this storm and continue to put out quality music. Moreno has stated in interviews that the songs on this album are hard to perform because of how much it reminds him of a dark period in his life. That’s understandable, but I’ll be god damned if I don’t think “Hole in the Earth” is one of their all time best songs.

I liked the 1996 Romeo + Juliet, directed by Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, even if my ninth grade English teacher didn’t. I also really love the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, even if hardcore Trekkies didn’t. At the end of the day, you just gotta like what you like and not let too many people influence you. What’s that saying, Taco Bell crunchy tacos hit best when you don’t have some bitch in your ear telling you it tastes like shit. I think I know where I’m going for lunch today.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC/PS4/Xbox One) – Released Nov. 4^th, 2016

Gears of War (Xbox 360) – Released Nov. 7^th, 2006

Jet Moto (PlayStation) – Released Nov. 8^th, 1996

King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human (PC) – Released Nov. 1986

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