New Game Releases: May 12th-18th, 2016

Remasters, re-makes, and returns of beloved properties continue to dominate this week’s schedule of new game releases. With familiar titles like Doom, Homefront: The Revolution, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, Wild Arms 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass showing up on store shelves and digital distribution systems, familiarity reigns. For those seeking fresh experiences, all-female fighter Koihime Enbu and bullet-hell STG RefRain -prism memories- are poised to attract PC players.

Header image: Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, PS4

PlayStation 3
Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice (PlayStation Network, $14.99)
Rugby League Live 3 (PlayStation Network, $39.99)

PlayStation 4
Doom (retail and PlayStation Network, $59.99)
Homefront: The Revolution (retail and PlayStation Network, $59.99)
Kinetica (PlayStation Network, PS2 Classic, $9.99)
Letter Quest Remastered (PlayStation Network, $9.99, Cross-Buy)
Life Goes On: Done To Death (PlayStation Network, $12.99)
My Night Job (PlayStation Network, $7.99)
Perfect Universe (PlayStation Network, $9.99)
Rugby League Live 3 (PlayStation Network, $59.99)
Shadow Of The Beast (PlayStation Network, $19.99)
Shadwen (PlayStation Network, $16.99)
Soft Body (PlayStation Network, $12.99)
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (retail and PlayStation Network, $29.99)
VEV: Viva Ex Vivo (PlayStation Network, $4.99)
Wild Arms 3 (PlayStation Network, $14.99)

Wii U
8Bit Hero (eShop, $4.99)
Color Symphony 2 (eShop, $9.99)
Queen’s Garden (eShop, $6.99)
Super Meat Boy (eShop, $11.20)
Tachyon Project (eShop, $9.99)
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (eShop, Virtual Console, $9.99)

Xbox One
Doom (retail and XGS, $59.99)
Homefront: The Revolution (retail and XGS, $59.99)

3DS
Disney Art Academy (retail or eShop, $29.99)
WordsUp! Academy (eShop, $2.99)

PS Vita
Letter Quest Remastered (PlayStation Network, $9.99, Cross-Buy)

PC (via Steam unless noted)
Ace Of Words ($4.99)
Ad Exitum (VR, $TBA)
Crush Crush (free to play)
Doom ($59.99)
Dyna Bomb ($TBA)
Fatal Fight ($TBA)
FleetCOMM ($TBA)
Goliath ($15.99)
Heroes of Loot 2 ($9.99)
Innoquous 5 ($2.99)
Koihime Enbu ($31.99)
Madness Cubed ($8.49)
Moonstone Tavern – A Fantasy Tavern Sim! ($7.19)
Murasaki ($4.49)
Neon Drive ($TBA)
PixBit ($TBA)
Project G ($9.99)
Race & Destroy ($TBA)
RefRain -prism memories- ($11.99)
Riff Racer ($TBA)
Rogue System ($TBA)
She Wants Me Dead ($TBA)
Smashing the Battle ($TBA)
The House in Fata Morgana ($TBA)
Trawl ($5.94)
Vrse (free to play)

Robert’s Pick: Let’s face it, first-person shooters have hit a slump. While some chased simulation, more approachable genre-entries haven’t innovated pushing the genre into atrophy. While Doom isn’t drastically pushing boundaries, the combination of the id-Tech 6 engine and a design decision that shirks cover-based combat for fast, frantic, run-and-gun demon slaying. PC players, just make sure your rig is up to contemporary standards. I had to dial back the resolution, textural quality, and graphical trimmings to get a near-sixty frame-per-second output on my 950m-powered notebook.

Gonçalo’s Pick: For the past two generation, we’ve witnessed an increasing trend of re-releasing old games as remasters. Generally they feature slightly better graphics and little to no new content. Needless to say, this is a divisive topic as some gamers welcome the chance to play enhanced version of past releases whereas others would just rather have a backwards compatible system. I’ll admit I generally fall towards the latter group, but occasionally, but occasionally a title sparks my interest enough to warrant a second purchase and Valkyria Chronicles is most definitely one of them. Originally released in 2008 for the PS3, this promising series delivered consistent quality but enjoyed little popularity in western shores. Thankfully, it grew a cult following over the years and I can only hope this remastered version sparks future releases.