New Releases this week | Sept 9th – Sept 15th 2013

 As the Rockstar behemoth that is GTAV casts its massive shadow over the horizon, new releases cower in fear and stay indoors waiting for the dust to settle before venturing outside. Or at least that’s the impression I get from this week’s meager list of upcoming titles. Those brave enough to release this week are either well established titles such as Kingdom Hearts and The Elder Scrolls or Wii U and PC exclusive offerings. Puppeteer is looking pretty alone out there, hanging by a thread, just waiting for someone to cut it and send it to its death. Hopefully, this new IP will pull through though. I’ll be sad to see such an excellent game struggle to get the attention it deserves amidst all the GTAV hype.

This list was correct at time of publishing. Dates may change at short notice.

The Anticipation Rating is purely based on my own personal anticipation of the game and in no way reflects a game’s actual quality.

 

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix

Released in Japan way back in March, this long awaited Disney adventure finally makes its way to these shores this week. This collection features both Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Chain Of Memories in full HD and of course with Trophy support. Also included in the bundle is an almost three hour ensemble of cinematics known as Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days which can be accessed through the Theatre mode. This mode, which features cutscenes from the original game, is also enhanced with trophy support.

In addition to upgraded graphics and Trophies, the core game gets spruced up a bit with improved facial animations, tweaks to the camera controls, easier to navigate dialogue options and to top it all off, those who beat the game will be rewarded with an exclusive PlayStation Dynamic Theme to Disney-fy your XMB.

Jump on board with Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck when the game releases on Tuesday in North America and Friday in Europe.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
Release Date:
Sept 10th (NA)
Sept 13th (EU)
Developer: Square Enix
Platform: PS3

 

---

 

Puppeteer

 My jesting in the opening paragraph may have been a little unfair. In fact, Puppeteer has generated enough hype of its own to, not topple GTAV of course, but at least come out the other side in one piece. It may be a brand new IP with little to no advertising whatsoever, and yes it could be a niche title that would be more appealing to the younger gamer, but make no mistake, this game is looking really really good.

Puppeteer follows the story of a young boy called Kutaro who gets kidnapped by the evil Moon Bear King and transformed into a puppet. When Kutaro refuses to follow the maleficent King’s orders, the king bites off his head and throws his body aside. The headless hero finds a special pair of magical scissors to help him locate his missing skull and ultimately find his way back home. From the official site:

Set in a magical puppeteer’s theatre, this title will introduce you to a strange and fantastic world, where the environment is constantly changing. Players will enjoy a rich, dark fairytale where surprises lurk around every corner.

Puppeteer releases exclusively to PS3 on Wednesday.

Puppeteer
Release Date:
Sept 11th
Developer: SCE Japan Studio
Platform: PS3
Trailer

 

---

 

 

NHL 14

Take to the ice for some hard-hitting, nose bleeding action in this year’s installment of the ice hockey NHL franchise.

This year, NHL 14 utilises various engines to deliver the most realistic ice hockey experience to date. The Player Impact Engine from FIFA takes care of the collision physics of the players while the Enforcer Engine seen in Fight Night helps deliver even more believable fist fights on the ice. The Be A Pro career mode now has off-the-ice interactions and decision making which greatly affects player development over the course of the season.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the game NHL 14 will also include an updated version of the original NHL 94 simply titled NHL ’94 Anniversary. This mode has updated graphics but keeps the original roster of players from 20 years ago.

NHL 14 releases to North America on Tuesday with a European release due three days later.

NHL 14
Release Date:
Sept 10th (NA)
Sept 13th (EU)
Developer: EA Canada
Platforms: PS3, 360
Trailer

 

---

 

 

The Wonderful 101

In The Wonderful 101, an unlikely group of heroes is called upon to help fend off an imminent attack on Earth from terrorist aliens known as Geathjerk. Unable to deter the aliens alone, our 100 heroes (you are hero 101) must instead work together to stop the invasion. These unique set of heroes can blend together, combining all their strengths into one single powerful weapon to crush the aliens and navigate the environment.

From an isometric view, players must save civilians who then join your gang of heroes. The more heroes you have, the better and stronger you become and the further you can progress through the beautifully rendered landscapes.

The Wonderful 101 releases exclusively to the Wii U this Sunday. 

The Wonderful 101
Release Date:
Sept 15th
Developer: Platinum Games
Platform: Wii U
Trailer

 

---

---

PC/Mac releases

 

The Elder Scrolls: Anthology

The Elder Scrolls Anthology includes all five critically acclaimed PC games accompanied by most of their respective DLC, all nicely packaged alongside all five maps in a collectible boxset. The complete list of contents are:

• The Elder Scrolls Arena
• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls III DLC: Tribunal
• The Elder Scrolls III DLC: Bloodmoon
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls IV DLC: Knights of the Nine
• The Elder Scrolls IV DLC: Shivering Isles
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls V DLC: Dawnguard
• The Elder Scrolls V DLC: Hearthfire
• The Elder Scrolls V DLC: Dragonborn

 

The Elder Scrolls Anthology releases to PC in North America on Tuesday. Europe will see it in stores on the 16th.

The Elder Scrolls: Anthology
Release Date:
Sept 10th (NA)
Sept 16th (EU)
Developer: Bethesda
Platform: PC

---

 

Arma III

An open world, first-person shooter with destructible environments? Where have I seen that before?

Arma 3 puts you in the boots of Captain Scott Miller, a British Special Forces soldier and one of the many of his rank tasked with holding back an Iranian military offensive.

During the single player campaign players will be put under pressure with various objectives including commanding a massive scale armoured operation, of course the usual lone-wolf, get from A to B style gameplay remains amidst it all to give the player a chance to break away from the intense action seen in those larger missions. During the lengthy campaign you will get a chance to take control of artillery support, air support and UAVs.

The game world is massive, spanning roughly 270 km² of vast landscapes realized in photo-realistic graphics. Over 50 villages are scattered across the two main islands and each village is populated with a wide array of buildings, all fully enterable and destrucible.

Arma 3 releases to PC this Thursday.

Arma III
Release Date:
Sept 12th
Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Platform: PC
Trailer

 

 

---

 

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a survival horror game set in the same universe as its predecessor A Dark Decent. As an indirect sequel, Machine for Pigs follows a new cast of characters with a new story set in Victorian London of 1899.

After his return from a disastrous expidition in Mexico, Oswald Mandus becomes bedridden suffering from a dangerous fever and lies unconscious. Every night he has nightmares about a dark machine and when he eventually regains consciousness time has fast forwarded to months later. When he hears the engine roar of a mysterious machine from deep within the house he decides to investigate.

The game features intertwining story lines. A mish-mash of time travelling and alternate realities takes Oswald back to his youth, leaves him in the present or strands him within the confines of his own imagination.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs releases to PC on Tuesday.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
Release Date:
Sept 10th
Developer: The Chinese Room
Platform: PC
Trailer

 

 

---

The following games have already been released in certain parts of the world and thus have been given a full write-up in past New Releases articles. Some are coming to certain regions in the upcoming days while others may be releasing to alternate platforms.

Rayman Legends
Release Date:
Sept 13th (UK)
Developer: Ubisoft
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Vita
Trailer

 

---

Killzone: Mercenary
Release Date:
Sept 10th (NA)
Developer: Guerrilla Cambridge
Platform: PS Vita
Trailer

 

---

Ducktales: Remastered
Release Date:
Sept 11th (360)
Developer: Capcom
Platform: Xbox 360
Click to Watch Trailer

 

 

 

 

---

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection
Release Date:
Sept 12th (EU)
Sept 13th (UK)
Developer: Konami
Platform: PS3
Click to Watch Trailer

 

 

---

That’s it for this week. Come back next week for a new list of releases.

If you see any mistakes in this article or know of a release not listed here feel free to email us or contact me directly on Twitter. @SteveVanEekeren