Coming up in Gaming – September
September is set to be a busy month for gamers with some of the year’s most anticipated games set to release in the upcoming weeks. We take a look at all of those as well as some of the smaller releases and all of the games you will be able to get for free with Games With Gold and PlayStation Plus.
Big Releases
Arguably the biggest launch in September is the latest entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Keeping the stealth-action gameplay that we saw in Ground Zeroes, the latest title will continue the story from its predecessor as players take control of Snake as he transitions into the role of Big Boss. It will available from the first day of the month on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Another highly anticipated title is Mad Max, the first time the film series has seen a video game adaptation in more than 25 years. While it doesn’t take any direct inspiration from the latest film release and isn’t supposed to tie-in with it, it does feature some similarities and will task players with hunting down his lost car in the barren post-apocalyptic world. The third-person action title will release on September 1 and be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
With sports seasons kicking off all around the world, September traditionally sees the release of a variety of sports games, in particular it generally is the time that players can get their hands on the hugely popular FIFA series. This year is no different and both FIFA 16 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 will hit store shelves in the next four weeks. PES 2016 will release on September 15 and features exclusive rights to both the Champions League and the Europa League. On the other hand, FIFA 16 seems to be continuing the slow evolution of gameplay, with the standout new feature this year being the inclusion of twelve Women’s National Teams that can be used in some of the game modes. It will be available from September 22.
Another two big releases this month that have been anticipated by fans for some time come in the form of Forza Motorsport 6 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. Microsoft’s racing title is exclusive to the Xbox One and features brand new features, wet weather racing and a host of new tracks and vehicles that have never been included before. Meanwhile Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 will release on the Xbox One and PlayStation and will be the first time the franchise has appeared on this generation of consoles, and will feature gameplay that players came to expect from older Tony Hawk’s games.
Finally, the last game that is set to launch in September that will make waves is Destiny, The Taken King. It is essentially the third expansion for Bungie’s sci-fi shooter though it is set to have significantly more content and will introduce a brand new story to the game as well as new locations and a further raid. It will also bring some new subsclasses, multiplayer maps and Strike missions. You can also expect to see a host of new weapons and armor.
Other Games
September 1
- Armello – PC / PS4 / Mac
- Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls – PS Vita
- Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – PC / PS4 / PS3
- Red Goddess: Inner World – PC
- The Deer God – Xbox One
September 2
- Renowned Explorers: International Society – PC
September 4
- Rampage Knights – PC / Mac
September 8
- Armikrog – PC / Wii U / Mac / Linux
- Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX – 3DS
- Tearaway Unfolded – PS4
September 15
- Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson – 3DS
- Teslagrad – PS4 / PS3 / PS Vita
- NHL 16 – Xbox One / Xbox 360 / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 3
September 20
- Skylanders SuperChargers – PS4 / PS3 / Xbox One / 360 / Wii U / Wii / 3DS
September 22
- Blood Bowl II – PS4 / Xbox One
- SOMA – PC
- Transformers: Devastation – PS4 / PS3 / 360
September 25
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer – 3DS
September 27
- LEGO Dimensions – PS4 / PS3 / Xbox One / 360 / Wii U
September 29
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night – PS Vita
- Samurai Warriors 4-II – PS4 / PS3 / PS Vita
- NBA 2K16 – PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One / Xbox 360 / PC
Free Games
Continuing the tradition of giving away free games to download for paying subscribers, both Microsoft and Sony are offering a variety of titles throughout September for members of Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus respectively.
Just a few days ago, Major Nelson revealed the games that would be free over Xbox Live over the coming 30 days. The Xbox One offerings include Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and The Deer God. The Lara Croft remastering is essentially the same game that rebooted the series on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with updated visuals and better performance and seems like a strange inclusion considering that Tomb Raider was given away free just a few months ago on the Xbox 360. The Deer God meanwhile is a survival platformer that has not yet released, continuing a trend of giving away brand new releases with the program that began with Pool Nation FX.
For those with an Xbox 360, two more games will be available to download. The first is Crysis 3, the last entry in the Crysis franchise. Developed by Crytek, the game is a first-person shooter that focuses on having hugely impressive visuals and non-stop action. The final game is Battlestations: Pacific, a ship combat game that lets players take controls of huge battleships as they battle on the open sea during World War II. It acted as a sequel to the successful Battlestations: Midway.
PlayStation users will get the normal two games for each of the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, though many of those titles are cross-buy meaning that they can be played on more than one of the platforms. The first title is Grow Home, a platformer that harks back to games like Super Mario 63 and Banjo-Kazooie. It has garnered good reviews with its PC version and this will be the first time is it available on home consoles when it makes its way onto the PlayStation 4.
Another offering is Super Time Force on both the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. The game has previously been given away through the Games With Gold program and sees players control time and play as a variety of characters with different skills or abilities. Another title that will be free to download on both of these platforms is Xeodrifter, a platformer that takes inspiration from games such as Metroid and Castlevania.
PlayStation 3 owners will get the chance to try out Twisted Metal at no cost. The car combat game is a reboot of the original PlayStation franchise though the visuals may be slightly dated as it was released in 2012. The last two free games are the side-scrolling platformer Teslagrad and the incredibly difficult La Mulana EX that has been widely successful on PC.