Just when you thought it was impossible to get excited over the release of Grand Theft Auto V ever again, along comes the PC version, which bowls over previous releases with incredible specs and a new mode that lets you mod the game, reshaping it to fit your demented dreams. There’s also a new Assassin’s Creed game out, although it’s a side-scrolling platformer reminiscent of the 16-bit era rather than an open-world adventure fans of the series are used to. Those who tote around the 3DS are in for a good week, with new StreetPass games and Etrian Mystery Dungeon fresh on the market.
Reviews by Phil Villarreal. Phil is an author, blogger and Twitterer. Publishers provided review copies.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China
(PS4, Xbox One, $10, Teen)
Set during the 16th century Ming Dynasty, this side-scrolling piece of DLC–available for free to those who bought the game’s season pass–has you stealthily seek out vengeance as a female assassin who returns home as the last living member of her clan. You sneak past guards, set off traps, solve environmental puzzles and platform leap your way out of deadly scenarios. You slink through narrow passages, swing past guards and take down targets with sly misdirection.
With more in common with the DS Assassin’s Creed games from several years ago than the console sagas fans are used to, it’s easy to be initially disappointed by the side-scroller. But taken on its own, the game is a tight, finely honed experience that accomplishes what it sets out to do and is fairly priced at $10. This is what Assassin’s Creed games would have been had they originated in the Super Nintendo era. What little story is there adds some more heft to the Assassin’s Creed mythos.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon
(3DS, $40, Everyone 10+)
After last year’s exquisite pairing with the Persona series in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, the Atlus fantasy RPG blends with the Mystery Dungeon dungeon crawler series for a blend of roguelike treasure hunting and turn-based strategy game. Plundering dungeons with ever-changing maps never gets old, and the chain of beating enemies, upgrading capabilities, claiming loot and starting the cycle over and over again is addicting.
While the Mystery Dungeon team-up lacks the gravitas and depth added with the Persona blend, both franchises bring enough fresh ideas to the table to complement each other well and create an experience that is more than the sum of its parts. If you’re not into the roguelike scene, there’s nothing here for you, but fans of the genre have found their time sink for the months ahead.
Grand Theft Auto V
(PC, $60, Mature)
Rockstar Games’ open-world phenomenon continues to grow and expand, arriving in its strongest form for long-waiting PC players. Depending on the graphics card capabilities, monitor resolution and processing speed of your rig, you can max out resolutions in ultra HD, running at a faster and more consistent framerate than consoles are capable of. It feels as though Rockstar used the previous and current-generation consoles as alpha and beta tests for the release that comes closest to its master vision.
Using the new Editor Mode, which lets you tweak every aspect of the production — including music and visuals — modders are already flexing their creative muscles with the tools in place, creating an array of bewildering tweaks and adjustments to the groundwork the developers have laid in place.
This is the ultimate form of the game for high-end PC-owning geeks wielding all-powerful gaming machines, but everyone else should stick with the Xbox One and PS4 versions.
3DS StreetPass: Battleground Z/Ultimate Angler
(3DS, $8, Everyone)
It had been far too long since Nintendo updated its 3DS StreetPass app with some fresh games, but the wait proves to be worth it thanks to two new titles that hang with the previous slate of four games released. Available alone for $5 and as a bundle for $8 — with a $1 discount if you purchased the previous bundle — the games add tons of value for StreetPass obsessives.
Capitalizing on the neverending zombie craze, Battleground Z pits you against undead hordes, picking up weapons from people you meet to help you complete timed challenges. Fast-paced and fluid, the long-form experience is a refreshing change of pace from quick-hit throwaway StreetPass minigames.
Ultimate Angler manages to spin some life into the unexpectedly exciting pastime of fishing, letting you pick up pieces of bait from people you meet that you can use to snag fish you have your eye on. You can also combine baits to take down bigger fish — including sea monsters — and level up along the way.
