New Game Releases: June 27th-July 3rd, 2014

Lock and load! This week’s itinerary of new releases offers a number of remarkable titles. From the integration of two new levels and bosses in Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition, the retro-inspired charms of Shovel Knight, to Karl Fairburne’s second outing in Sniper Elite III, action abounds. Those looking for a more leisurely pursuit, there’s a trio of notables titles in the Anne’s Doll Studio series, with at least one entry offering the rare lolita-based game that we won’t be reviewing.

PlayStation 3
Sniper Elite III

PlayStation 4
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PSN, $14.99)
Sniper Elite III

Wii U
BrickBlast U! (eShop, $3.99)
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (eShop, $4.99)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (eShop, $14.99)
Monkey Pirates (eShop, $4.99)
My Arctic Farm (eShop, $7.99)
My Jurassic Farm (eShop, $7.99)
Shovel Knight (eShop, $14.99)

Xbox 360
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (XGS, $14.99)
Sniper Elite III

Xbox One
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (XGS, $14.99, Free via Games With Gold)
Sniper Elite III

3DS
Anne’s Doll Studio: Antique Collection (eShop, $4.99)
Anne’s Doll Studio: Lolita Collection (eShop, $4.99)
Anne’s Doll Studio: Princess Collection (eShop, $4.99)
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (eShop, $4.99)
Cocoro – Line Defender (eShop, $4.99)
Hidden Expedition Titanic (eShop, $7.99)
Mysterious Stars: The Samurai (eShop, $4.99)
Plain Video Poker (eShop, $1.99)
Quell Reflect (eShop, $3.99)
Shovel Knight (eShop, $14.99)
Skypeace (eShop, $0.99)

PC
Divinity: Original Sin
Sniper Elite III

Robert’s Pick: Not long ago, I was one of the biggest shooter fans around, but a trend toward corridor-based, thrill ride-like set pieces gradually diminished my appreciation for the genre. As such, 2012’s Sniper Elite V2 lingered in my XBox 360’s drive tray for weeks at a time, as there’s was something sublimely satisfying about executing a headshot at over 400 yards. You won’t find that kind of gratification from twitchy Halo / CoD / Killzone shooting galleries.

This week’s release of Sniper Elite III doesn’t radically alter the formula set up by its predecessor, but the game does require the type of finesse that’s absent from almost all recent shooters. Hopefully, the intermittent linear levels of the 2012 have been eliminated in favor of a North African sandbox full of both primary objectives and an ample amount of targets of opportunity.

Gonçalo’s Pick: There are few series that I hold as much reverence for as the classic Castlevania series. While I still enjoy newer entries, I long for the days when we’ll witness a return to its roots. The Wii-U release of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse brought all of my 8-bit memories back. This isn’t just another great action-platformer everyone should try, no, this in my opinion the series’ epitome and one of the greatest 8-bit games anyone could ever hope to play.

On a technical level, it pushes the NES graphical and sound capabilities to its limits and the level design is not only superb but even offers multiple paths adding to its replay value. The best feature however is the ability to meet new characters and change between them with a press of button, all of which carry a radically different gameplay style. Oh and have I mentioned this is the game that first introduced Alucard? Yeah there’s that too.