Gameception will soon be upon us…
Mondays and Wednesdays are designated gamer’s haven days in my life. One of my best buddies and I get together once or twice a week to simply relax and, currently, love/hate Uncharted 4 multiplayer. After a long week of work or stress, my Mondays and/or Wednesdays shine with the promises of a good time. Gaming with a buddy – regardless of whether you’re playing the same game or two separate games – is one of the best ways to game. I’ve accidentally rediscovered games I never knew I’d ever be able to love (I’m looking at you Arc Rise Fantasia).
Excusing my digression, the reason I bring up my gamer nights is that, recently, my buddy and I began to think about what games we had pre-ordered or were planning to purchase. In doing so, we came to the realization that we’re in the quiet before the storm of gaming in 2016. July and August are relatively uneventful months, seeing few major releases outside of No Man’s Sky, Deus Ex, and Madden (and Monster Hunter if you consider that a major release). Even choosing between those three or four titles is a difficult or costly decision. But that’s not even the worst of it.
In September, we’ve got the alleged release of the decade-in-the-making Final Fantasy XV, a game that I’ve waited ten years to purchase. I personally have the super collector’s edition pre-ordered, which will cost me a bit over $260. Yikes, right? But my Final Fantasy shrine wouldn’t be complete without it. The sequel to one of my favorite RPGs, Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, releases mid-September for the PS3 and PS Vita. X-Com 2, the Bioshock Collection, Re-Core, FIFA 17, and Forza Horizon 3 are some of the heavy hitting titles releasing in September, too. Knowing that I’ll purchase Final Fantasy XV and Trails of Cold Steel II, I have to grit my teeth and wait to purchase the Bioshock Collection.
Looking ahead to October hurts in equal parts. Mafia 3, Gears of War 4, Battlefield 1, The Last Guardian, World of Final Fantasy, Titanfall 2, that Skyrim re-release, and Dragon Quest Builders are just SOME of the games releasing in October. Oh, and let’s not forget that Sony launches its PlayStation VR (virtual reality) peripherals and gear mid-October. Let’s also not forget that, allegedly according to an accidental posting via Amazon, that the PlayStation NEO launches around October 13th, too. Why do I bother? I would like a PlayStation NEO for the fact that it runs 4k and VR, both of which I have and will purchase when stock becomes available. Still, if I buy the PS4 NEO by itself, I’ll be spending $400 (after theoretically dropping nearly $300 on Final Fantasy XV). When I put it in that perspective, perhaps I’ll wait for the PS4 NEO. I simply can’t afford to indulge my gamer habits at this point in my life.
I’m choosing to not include any November or holiday releases, as I’ll be too inundated by the hailing of video games to notice. In fact, so many of these upcoming titles will have to be amended to my Christmas list (yes, I’m still required to make them). As I’ve said before, however, the wide array of quality games available for gamers to choose from (assuming any given gamer can’t afford to choose them all) puts us in a relatively unique and assuredly wonderful position. And with the internet as our ally, we can now research upcoming titles and indulge in previews/reviews in order to safely judge whether we want to spent our hard earned money on a game. This is aided by Amazon’s (in the US) dedication to offering 20% off new or pre-ordered video games. So if your review isn’t up until the day an interesting game releases, you’ll be entitled to that 20% off (if you’re a Prime member) for about two weeks after the release. Pretty nifty, eh?
As I continue to think about the incoming hurricane of video games, I acknowledge my gratefulness of GameFly. My hope is that they send me one-three video games near the top of my queue in order to cut down my anxiety for not having purchased them separately. To conclude, I’m curious as to what games any of you are looking forward to and if you feel as overwhelmed as I.