the fall release calendar

1. I keep waffling on how personal I can allow myself to get on this blog.  But since other social media avenues are closed to me at the present moment, and since it’s been at least a week since I last posted, I might as well explain – I’m on some new head meds, and even though it’s only been a week, I seem to be doing rather well.  So that’s good!  It’s not necessarily an easy thing to admit, but I don’t want to create the impression that I am somehow ashamed of taking prescription medication for depression or anxiety; the quality of my life was not good, for a long time, and it seems to be getting better, and that’s the most important thing.

2.  I am nearly halfway through Nathan Hill’s “The Nix”, and it is amazing.  I’d read reviews that compared the author to both DFW, DeLillo and Pynchon, and so I bought the book almost immediately, like some sort of reflex had just been triggered.  I suppose I can see a bit of that comparison – there are occasional passages in which Hill articulates a particularly neurotic train of thought that covers every conceivable base, in much the same way that Wallace did in “Infinite Jest”, but beyond that the book is very much its own thing.  And while I’m only halfway through, it’s certainly one of the best books I’ve read this year.

3.  I found myself listening to Jane’s Addiction’s “Up The Beach” not too long ago, and I decided to declare it the best opening song on an album post-1985.  (Why 1985?  I don’t know, but I knew that going back farther would make any discussion impossible to reconcile.)  I started a thread on Facebook about it, and got some other very worthwhile candidates, and so I’ve created a Spotify playlist with most of the suggestions that cropped up.  This is by no means definitive (nor is it sequenced in any particular order beyond where they appeared in the original discussion thread), and it is obviously a bit too white-guy heavy, and so if you’ve got further recommendations, by all means send ’em my way.

 

4. I’ve been trying to finish most of the games I play this year, but I decided to give up on finishing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.  This is mostly due to the fact that I was right near the end of the game and I was suddenly asked to make a choice, and I realized that not only did I not care about either of the options presented to me, but that I had literally no idea what the hell was going on.  I’d been content to find sneaky and non-lethal ways to infiltrate buildings and do whatever task needed to be done, and had stopped paying attention to the why at some arbitrary point that was, I realized, too far back to return from.  There are a lot of interesting critical analyses of why DE:MD’s story is fucked up and/or irresponsible and/or bad and/or misses an opportunity to take current political issues and do something interesting with them, but I never got anywhere close to seeing the game’s story in that sort of detail.  I instead found myself focused on the mechanics, because that was the thing that was enjoyable; the story was never particularly engaging, and then by the time I realized that the story mattered, it was too late.

5.  We are about to enter the fall release schedule, which means shit’s gonna start getting real.  I’d already bought the ultimate edition of Forza Horizon 3, which means I get to start playing it tomorrow.  (Possibly tonight at midnight?  If I’m awake?)  But I’m not sure there are any must-plays that are grabbing my attention more forcefully than others.  I mean, I’ve got a bunch of these upcoming games in my rental queue, and I did pre-order Gears 4, but I’m not quivering with anticipation.  Maybe it’s the meds?

I did stop myself from ordering the Bioshock remasters; I still might get them, but I’m waiting for a Digital Foundry verdict first.  I’m currently replaying Batman: Arkham Knight on Xbox One, because (a) cheevos and (b) procrastination.  That game still holds up, though I can say definitively that the PS4 version looks better.  If that matters.

Anyway, as far as the schedule is concerned, Kotaku posted a release calendar; my personal picks are in bold.

September 23

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided System Rift | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Story DLC

September 27

• FIFA 17 | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Sports

• X-COM 2 | PS4, Xbox One | Strategy
• Forza Horizon 3 | PC, Xbox One | Driving
• Dead Rising 2 HD | PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure
• Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice | 3DS | Platformer
• LEGO Dimensions Wave 6 | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U | Action Adventure
• Darkest Dungeon | PS4, Vita | Dungeon Crawler

September 30

• Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits | 3DS | RPG
• Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls | 3DS | RPG

October 4

• Warhammer End Times: Vermintide | PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure

October 7

• Paper Mario: Color Splash | Wii U | Action Adventure
• Mafia III | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure
• Five Nights At Freddy’s: Sister Location | PC | Horror

October 10

• 100ft Robot Golf | PS4, PS4 VR | Robot Sports

October 11

• Gears of War 4 | PC, Xbox One | Third-Person Shooter
• Dragon Quest Builders | PS4 | Action RPG, Sandbox
• WWE 2K17 | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Sports
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience | PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure
• Rise of the Tomb Raider | PS4 | Action Adventure
• Rise of the Tomb Raider Blood Ties/Lara’s Nightmare | PC, Xbox One | DLC
• Duke Nukem 3D 30th Anniversary World Tour | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Memories

October 13

• PlayStation VR | PS4 | Hardware  [I will obviously need to read some reviews and/or determine if I need to upgrade my OG PS4 to the Slim or the Pro before plunking down any money on this.  People appear to be having cathartic, out-of-body experiences with Rez Infinite, though, and who am I to say no to something like that?]
• Batman: Arkham VR | PS4 VR | Action Adventure
• PlayStation VR Worlds | PS4 VR | Action
• Battlezone | PS4 VR | Action
• Harmonix Music VR | PS4 VR | Music
• Hustle Kings | PS4 VR | Pool
• Rez Infinite | PS4 VR | Music Action
• Shadow Warrior 2 | PC | First-Person Shooter

October 16

• Skylanders Imaginators | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U | Action Adventure

October 18

• Batman: Return To Arkham | PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure
• Lego Harry Potter Collection | PS4 | Action Adventure

October 21

• Battlefield 1 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Horse Simulator
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VI | PC | Strategy

October 25

• Dark Souls III: Ashes Of Ariandel | PC, PS4, Xbox One | DLC

October 27

• Just Dance 2017 | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U | Dancing
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Fighting
• World of Final Fantasy | PS4, Vita | RPG
• Harvest Moon: Skytree Village | 3DS | Simulation

October 28

• Titanfall 2 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Third-Person Shooter
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | PC, PS4, Xbox One | RPG

November 1

• Shantae: Half-Genie Hero | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, Vita | 2D Platformer

November 4

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | PC, PS4, Xbox One | First-Person Shooter
• Mario Party Star Rush | 3DS | Party

November 7

• Lego Dimensions Wave 7 | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U | Action Adventure

November 10

• PlayStation 4 Pro | PS4 | Hardware

November 11

• NES Mini | Nintendo | Retro Console
• Dishonored 2 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure

November 15

• Watch Dogs 2 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure
• Road Rage | PS4, Xbox One | Racing
• Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection | PS4, Xbox One | Action Adventure

November 18

• Pokémon Sun | 3DS | RPG
• Pokémon Moon | 3DS | RPG
• Killing Floor 2 | PC, PS4 | Survival Shooter

November 29

• Final Fantasy XV | PS4, Xbox One | RPG
• Star Trek Bridge Crew VR | Oculus, Vive | Simulation

December 1

• Syberia 3 | PC | Adventure

December 2

• Gravity Rush 2 | PS4 | Action Adventure
• Steep | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Extreme Sports
• Super Mario Maker 3DS | 3DS | Mario Maker

December 6

• The Last Guardian | PS4 | Action Adventure
• Star Trek Bridge Crew VR | PS4 VR | Simulation
• Dead Rising 4 | Xbox One | Action Adventure