Welcome to You Should Play, a series where we highlight all of the video games that you should be playing this week, from big-budget releases through to little-known indie games.
This week will see the release of one of the year’s biggest (both literally and figuratively) games, with Bethesda finally setting sail on the good ship Fallout 4. However, while the majority will likely be spending all their spare time this week retreating into its hostile wasteland, it’s not the only game we’ve marked down on our game release calendar – in fact, there are a couple of other titles that are more than worthy of your attention, too.
Check out what You Should Play this week:
Fallout 4
Bethesda has returned for one of the most highly anticipated sequels in video game history, and early reviews are very positive. While some have claimed that the game is almost too similar to its predecessor, many will not be disappointed if this turns out to be the case, given that Fallout 3 ranks among the greatest games of all time for many of its fans.
Fallout 4 takes the unusual step of allowing you to see what like was like before the Great War that turned the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, before you’re eventually left to wander its landscape in search of supplies, completing quests, forming bonds with companions and generally doing whatever you like within its open-world environment. This time around there’s the addition of crafting, allowing you to customize and create your own weaponry and shelter, while the series’ previously stunted Karma system has been overhauled in order to make it much more reliant upon the relationships you share with your companions.
It’s been hailed as Bethesda’s largest game yet, with players able to spend hundreds of hours in its world becoming a hero (or villain) of the wasteland. Put your social life on hold, because Fallout 4 demands all of your attention.
Why You Should Play It:
- Almost endless amount of replayability.
- It’s Fallout.
- Dramatically improves upon many of Fallout 3‘s most popular features.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Lara Croft has had misfortune of embarking upon her latest adventure on the same day that Fallout 4 is released, a decision which we’ve previously criticized. However, even though this will likely stand to make an unfortunate dent in sales of this sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, the game has still garnered overwhelming critical praise and should attract an audience of people who aren’t wooed by the prospect of wandering around a nuclear wasteland with a dog for 150 hours.
Rise of the Tomb Raider sees Lara struggling to cope with the supernatural events of the first game, having to defend her sanity after the evil organization known as Trinity covers up what took place on Yamatai. A bunch of other plot details later and she winds up in Kitezh, an ancient Siberian city, where she’s back to doing what she does best – traversing steep mountains, making perilous jumps and battling against both man and nature in order to survive.
The end result is a game that stands as one of the best ever entries in the Tomb Raider series, and an experience that shouldn’t be missed even if you do plan to spend the next few weeks of your life slumming it in post-apocalyptic Boston.
Why You Should Play It:
- One of Lara Croft’s best adventures yet.
- Beautiful to look at.
- One of the greatest games to have been released on the Xbox One thus far.
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
With two massive games releasing this week, you could be forgiven for forgetting that the final expansion to one of the most popular games in history is launching, too.
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void is the last standalone expansion pack StarCraft II will receive, and will definitively end the story of StarCraft II. This is huge news for players of the game, and while it likely won’t be the very last StarCraft game, it will certainly be the last expansion until the eventual release of the unannounced StarCraft III.
With a brand new and reportedly highly difficult campaign, StarCraft II concludes the story of one of gaming’s most heavily played releases, along with adding a selection of new features to its competitive multiplayer component including automated tournaments and Archon Mode, which pits two teams of two players against one another.
For StarCraft II players picking this one up will be a no-brainer, but with it being available to purchase without having to also buy vanilla StarCraft II, newcomers who are curious about the series can also jump on board, too.
Why You Should Play It:
- If you’re a frequent StarCraft II player, your decision has likely already been made.
- Brand new Archon Mode.
- Doesn’t require vanilla StarCraft II in order to play it.
