New Game Releases: November 20th-26th, 2014

Magical Battle Festa

With Black Friday looming, the majority of this weeks’ titles are digital rather than physical releases. Naturally, the former present a wide range in both quality and genre, with everything from a reworking of classic mobile game, Snake, Japanese role-playing game for the Wii U, and another sequel in the Geometry Wars franchise. While these downloadable might games are poised to earn the notice of some players, undoubtedly a larger amount of attention will be devoted to this week’s three retail giants: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.

PlayStation 3
Boxing (PSN, PSOne, $5.99)
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions (PSN, $14.99)
Jetpack Joyride Deluxe (PSN, $1.99)

PlayStation 4
Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed (also on PSN, $49.99)
Aqua Kitty — Milk Mine Defender DX (PSN, $8.99, cross-buy)
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions (PSN, $14.99)
Speakeasy (PSN, $9.99)
Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1 – Zero Sum (PSN, $4.99)
Thomas Was Alone (PSN, $9.99, cross-buy)

Wii U
Alphadia Genesis (eShop, $14.99)
DK: King of Swing (eShop, $6.99)
Penguins of Madagascar (also on eShop, $39.99)
Snake Den (eShop, $6.99)
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (also on eShop, $59.99)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Edition

Xbox One
Boom Ball for Kinect (XGS, $9.99)

3DS
Battleminer (eShop, $9.99)
Penguins of Madagascar (also on eShop, $29.99)
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth – The Wild Cards Premium Edition
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (also on eShop, $39.99)
Pokémon Omega Ruby (also on eShop, $39.99)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (eShop, $29.99)
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man 2

PS Vita
Aqua Kitty — Milk Mine Defender DX (PSN, $8.99, cross-buy)
Jetpack Joyride Deluxe (PSN, $1.99)
Pocket RPG (PSN, $14.99)

PC
European Ship Simulator (Steam, $TBA)
Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm Player’s Edition (Steam, $TBA)
If My Heart Had Wings (Steam, $TBA)
Inside the Gear (Steam, $TBA)
Magical Battle Festa (Steam, $TBA)
MotoGP 14 Compact (Steam, $TBA)
Motorama (Steam, $TBA)
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues (Steam, $TBA)
The Good Life (Steam, $TBA)
TOME: Immoral Arena (Steam, free-to-play)

Robert’s Pick: While some equate fan-service with a superfluous amount of skin, I tend to think of the term in a more pragmatic manner: it’s giving the audience exactly what they want. By that benchmark, few games can complete with Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a title which unites key members from the Persona 3 and 4 casts and send them skulking through Etrian Odyssey-esque dungeons. While the game is positioned at an elevated fifty dollar MSRP, for fans the premium is justified by spending a bit more time with beloved characters like Fuuka Yamagishi, Junpei Iori, and Rise Kujikawa.

Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth

 

Jeremy’s Pick: In a release week like this, you really have to make some hard decisions: which game will you love and play and cherish, possibly for years… and which one will dominate your very will through sheer force of compulsion? And so I’ve got to give it to Geometry Wars 3, the first offering from Activision’s revived Sierra label, and sequel to Bizarre Creations’ neon-shapes-based twin stick arena shooters. I went from full skeptic to full junkie in the space of a sitting with Geometry Wars. If this iteration, from a new developer and on new platforms, can fire on the same “one more game” cylinders as previous games in the series, it comes with my greatest recommendation… and my gravest warning.

Geometry Wars 3

Gonçalo’s Pick: Whenever I start thinking of my all-time favorite games, RPGs are usually at the forefront. The genre is largely reason why I love gaming and was instrumental in teaching me the English language. Among others, my love for vast open worlds, stats and story-driven games can be traced back to Richard Garriot’s Ultima.

Although Shroud of the Avatar is not an official Ultima sequel, the many references and callbacks to this now defunct series make it difficult to separate the two. This series pioneered in story-telling, established many rules later used western and Japanese RPGs and was one of the earliest benchmarks in mmo gaming. If Shroud of the Avatar can capture some of its predecessor’s magic we are in for a wild ride.

Shroud of the Avatar

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

19 comments

  1. What’s up with fake Madoka?

  2. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth for me. Sounds, good. I’m on board, Robert.

  3. Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Blue, I choose you!

  4. Probably Nintendo’s biggest week of the year, between SSB and the Pokemans.

  5. Feel the urge for some pew-pew-pew.

    Geometry Wars 3 it is.

  6. Battleminer—-fakeass Minecraft on the 3DS. Why did this take so long?

  7. I want Persona Q, but $50 is a lot for a 3DS game.

  8. Pokemon AS or OR, that is the eternal question!!!!

  9. Persona and Pokemon thanks to a TRU buy and return this week.

  10. Pokémon Omega Ruby for me.