10 Gaming Recommendations For September 2021 & Beyond
Regardless of whether or not you are still quarantining to any extent, odds are that some of your favorite dining and entertainment spots are still not open like they used to be. In turn, you are likely consuming digital and streaming-based content like you were in mid and late 2020.
Fortunately, video games are still in a “golden age” of sorts. No matter your console of choice, the games these days are amazing, including the music used in them. And even if most of the video game developers were forced to change up how they make their games as of late, there are still plenty of new and exciting things for gamers to be psyched about, no matter how much gaming you do. Below is a look at some recent gaming industry developments which recently hit my radar.
The Tokyo Olympics may seem to be a thing of the past, but in video game form, the Tokyo Olympic Games are here to stay. A party game that anyone can pick up and enjoy, the Tokyo Olympics offers 18 fun-fueled sporting events — including tennis, basketball, football and boxing — which you can play with solo, alongside others, and via network. Competition aside, you also get to create an athlete, customize their skills, and pick their perfect costume. In turn, going for gold maybe has never been this much fun.
In Life Is Strange, Max — empowered by her newfound ability to reverse time — travels with her best friend Chloe and stumbles upon a mystery of a missing girl in the small town of Arcadia Bay. In Life Is Strange: True Colors, a brand-new chapter in the Life Is Strange story, strange powers, family secrets and powerful emotions collide. Fortunately, with Stadia you have the freedom to decide how to play, what to play and where to play, including across laptops, desktops, phones, tablets and TVs through the recently-released Chromecast Ultra. In turn, no more waiting for game downloads, updates, or installs, play Life Is Strange: True Colors instantly.
Streets Of Rage is a series of side-scrolling beat ’em up video games — viewed by many as of the best of the genre — centering on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid a fictional, large American city from a crime syndicate that has corrupted its local government. Streets Of Rage 4 is the latest installment within the series, and its Stadia edition includes the additional character Estel Aguirre for free, in addition to new color palettes for all characters, a new Training mode and a new Mania+ difficulty.
As released last month, Foreclosed is a Stadia Makers title and haunting story-driven action-adventure. Simply put, it is a narrative-driven action-adventure set in a cyberpunk world filled with action, suspense, and experimental augmentations. Players follow the story of Evan Kapnos in this sleek comic book-styled game as he unravels the conspiracy behind his identity foreclosure. Absolutely worthwhile if you are/were a fan of Cyberpunk 2077.
Still the definitive NFL video game series decades later, Madden NFL 22 is the latest offering from the Madden series, as developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts. New features from prior editions include the integration of its Gameday Atmosphere and its Franchise mode. Meanwhile, this game is only the second time the game has had more than 1 athlete on its cover, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes in this case. It is every bit as excellent as you would think this one would be.
Speaking of definitive sports games from EA, FIFA 22 is also now out on Stadia. This one includes groundbreaking HyperMotion gameplay technology not found in previous FIFA video games. The 29th installment in the FIFA series does not include a Champions Edition, but it does have new VOLTA mechanics and features more than 30 officially-licensed leagues, over 700 football clubs and over 17,000 players. It also includes 2 new English-language commentators, Stewart Robson and Alex Scott. Highly-recommended if soccer is your thing.
QB54 is a football toss game built into 2 camping chairs. An ideal tailgating and outdoor pastime, QB54 brings people together for a good time with football year-round as you can play it just about anywhere. The set includes 2 folding game chairs, uprights for each chair, and a QB54 football. In 2020, QB54 sold more than $1 million in game sets, growing 10 times in the process. CNot bad for a game conceptualized by its creators — Mike and Frank Silva — as kids in the 1980’s. I’m especially looking forward to trying this one out on the beach in the Summer 2022 season.
After a successful launch on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC platforms, RiMS Racing is about to launch on October 5, 2021 in North America on the Nintendo Switch. With an unprecedented level of detail and realism, RaceWard has included 8 of the fastest motorbikes in the world that you will have to maintain and upgrade through the innovative gameplay, which blends mechanical precision with the sheer thrill of driving.
To ensure victory, players of RiMS Racing are able to fully disassemble their motorbike and replace every element to achieve the best possible setup by choosing over 500 official components: tyres, discs, callipers, pads, suspension, springs, air filters, exhausts, brake and clutch master cylinders, brake fluids, engine oils, ECUs, fairings… and many more. In turn, RiMS Racing promises complete immersion in the world of competition, where victory depends equally on your driving skills and your motorbike.
Bus Simulator 21 is the latest edition of popular simulation game series within which players get to experience what may be like to operate a bus. With 30 officially-licensed buses by 10 world-famous brands — including Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Scania, BYD, Alexander Dennis, Blue Bird, Grande West, Setra, IVECO BUS and MAN buses — inclusive of city buses, articulated buses, e-buses and a double-decker, this game offers 2 huge, lively maps via the North American-inspired city “Angel Shores” and the European based city “Seaside Valley.” It also enables players to experience the game alone and also in a cooperative multiplayer mode with up to 3 other players.
Another innovation of the 2021 edition of this game is its floating day and night cycle, as inclusive of dynamic weather. Beyond that, players can — for the first time in the series — access convenience comfort functions ,such as fast travel to all important points on the map, an option to fast forward the time to any point, and take-over the buses of their teammates or AI colleagues at any time they want. Bus Simulator 21 is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC consoles.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina is a fighting game reboot and the fifth installment of the Tsukihime fighting game series Melty Blood, as developed by French-Bread with production assistance from Type-Moon and Aniplex, and published by Delightworks. In turn, it is part of a series of 2D fighting games based on TYPE-MOON’s visual romance novel Tsukihime, as kicked off in 2002. There are 2 versions of the game now available: Melty Blood: Type Lumina – Deluxe Edition (the limited digital edition showcasing the full history of Melty Blood) and the standard digital edition Melty Blood: Type Lumina. Now available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.
TweetAbout the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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