I, rather daftly, have just had another child. Well I say ‘I’ did; my wife did all the hard work, but you get what I mean. This has had a serious impact on my gaming (and writing), as anyone with children can imagine. It has though, also lead to some revelations……
Let’s get this out of the way at the start – Cloud Chamber isn’t really a game. You know when people watch a video clip or a trailer and pick apart all the little nuances of the imagery? Or turn the volume up real loud listening for hidden clues in the vague crackle of a badly distorted audio file? Or trying to hit the pause button just when a flash-frame image pops up? And then discuss findings and theories in various forums and social media sites? No, me neither.
But they do exist, and would feel right at home playing this. I, on the other hand, was seriously out of my depth…
Welcome to The Reticule’s definitive roundup of gaming releases throughout December 2013. All release dates stated are for the EU, across all currently available platforms including Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
Still catching up with this months games? November’s release schedule can be found here.
3rd
Rainbow Moon
PSV
Battlefield 4: China Rising
PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, XO
In the China Rising expansion pack, the all-out war of Battlefield 4 is expanded with four massive maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment. Ten new assignments and a new game mode, Air Superiority, are also available.
4th
Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse
PC
Paris in the spring. Shots ring out from a gallery… A robbery – a murder – and the beginning of another epic, original Broken Sword adventure. An adventure that will hurl intrepid lawyer George Stobbart and sassy journalist Nico Collard onto the trail of a murderous conspiracy forged in the cauldron of war-torn Europe. A conspiracy whose roots lie in mysteries older than the written word. Armed only with logic, integrity and a wry sense of humour – can George and Nico outwit evil forces both ancient and modern and save mankind from disaster? From a Curse forged by the Devil himself?
5th
3D Sonic the Hedgehog
3DS
3D Altered Beast
3DS
6th
Bravely Default (First Impressions)
3DS
Gran Turismo 6
PS3
Gran Turismo 6 will introduce new locations where the drama will continue to unfold: the Goodwood Hillclimb course, a very exclusive track that only a few selected guests had experienced until now, is recreated for the first time in a video game; the Silverstone Circuit, the holy ground of the GT Academy that nurtured gamers into professional racing drivers; and the legendary Brands Hatch of UK fame, for a total of 7 new tracks included at launch. No matter if you’re driving alone or if you are challenging rivals, GT6 will set the stage for your new drama.
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Wii U, 3DS
Zumba Fitness World Party
XO
10th
Unity of Command: Black Turn
PC
11th
Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise
PC
Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise is the first expansion for the critically praised empire building game Europa Universalis IV, focusing on exploration of the new world and the Native American nations. The expansion allows you to send your ships off to the west and discover a new world, unlike any you’ve seen before – for the first time in a Paradox Development Studio game, you are given the option to discover a completely randomized American continent.
Angry Birds Go
Android, iOS, PC
12th
Let’s Sing
PC
13th
Wii Fit U
Wii U
17th
Dementium II HD
PC
31st
Flower
PSV
Nostalgia is a strange, bitter-sweet thing. Some say we look at the past through rose-tinted glasses, and when it comes to childhood memories involving computer games – the glasses aren’t so much rose-tinted as blacked-out. Our past-selves simply couldn’t comprehend the leaps and bounds of technology and graphical fidelity has made in the past decade or two.
And so, re-playing our cherished memories can be something of a painful experience. …
I realised today that I am proud to call myself a gamer, and I will happily talk to many people about the industry that I love so much. I am proud to be a gamer because I think that the gaming industry is a key part of how entertainment evolves over the next few years. It is becoming an art form in many ways, the industry has growing links with helping the disabled and games like Starcraft 2 and League of Legends are becoming fully fledged sports. The question I want to ask is…are you proud to call yourself a gamer, and if not, why not?
Even though 82% of people in my age group profess a fondness for polygons, data provided by the most steadfast (anecdotal) evidence from a trusted (personal) source conducted exhaustively and longitudinally (over the past week) leads me to believe that talk of videogames is best kept to a minimum, ‘lest matron tell the housemaster.