Jorts. Half jeans. Half shorts. Half uncomfortable tightness for the sake of fashion. We’ve all worn them and know of the dangers of getting too excited while sporting a pair. Uncomfortable tightness can become dangerous blood flow constriction in the blink of an eye with the right stimulus. Every month we’ll let you know what games threaten the structural integrity of our collective jorts, feel free to chime in.
November 3rd: Call of Duty WWII (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 7th: Xbox One X
November 7th: Super Lucky’s Tale (Xbox One/PC)
November 7th: Sonic Forces (PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
November 7th: Nioh: Complete Edition (PC)
November 7th: Horizon Zero Dawn:The Frozen Wilds (PS4)
November 7th: Hand of Fate 2 (PC/Xbox One/PS4)
November 10th: DOOM (Switch)
November 10th: Need For Speed Payback (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 10th: Cat Quest (PS4)
November 14th: L.A Noire (PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
November 14th: Road Rage (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 16th: Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 17th: Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon (3DS)
November 17th: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (PSVR/Switch)
November 21st: Final Fantasy XV: Monster of the Deep (PSVR)
November 22nd: The Inpatient (PSVR)
November 28th: Black Mirror (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
If you thought October was crazy wait until you see November’s lineup of jort-tightening games! Okay, it might not be as hectic as October but it’s still got a good spread of AAA and indie titles to keep your backlog piling up. From FPS juggernauts to racing heavyweights to VR spooks and to games featuring cats, November’s got something for everyone. So, what is making the DYEGB teams denim taut this month?
Like most of us I am still trying to recover from the release tsunami that hit during October; suffice to say my jorts lost a few threads last month, making them even tighter than usual. Thankfully November is less hectic and will release some of the tension in my denim-laden nether region. Need for Speed: Payback kicks off this month’s feast of tasty looking titles, and even though the Need for Speed reboot didn’t rev my engine I am still excited to see what Ghost has done with the sequel. The theme of racers and grease-stained jorts continues with Road Rage finally releasing this month after another delay last month. Hopefully this time we finally get the game in our hands. Rounding out the month is Black Mirror, a revamped take on the original Black Mirror video game series. Wait, we can’t forget the launch of the Xbox One X, or can we? Look out for my review soon to find out.
October had some good releases, mind you I only really sunk time into Destiny 2 on PC because…well…November looks to have a couple releases that threaten the structural integrity of my jorts. First up are Nioh: Complete Edition and Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds on PC and PS4, respectively. I was a big fan of Nioh. I totally understood the criticisms and hate it received, but something about it just stuck with me. In saying that, I never actually went back to play the DLC expansions (I burned out after going for the platinum), so the fact that I can play what might be the best version of Nioh possible has me excited to dive back in and play through it all again. Horizon Zero Dawn was a game that took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to quite enjoy it as much as I did, and while I feel that as a whole it is overrated, it was still a spectacle to play so it comes as no surprise that I’m keen to see what else Guerrilla Games have in store for us with The Frozen Wilds expansion. Secondly, DOOM on the Switch. Need I say more? Lastly is Cat Quest. I have no idea what it’s about, what you do or barely even what it is, but cats…
I guess you could say that I’m sort of interested in Star Wars: Battlefront II, but I’m really on the fence on the count of the shitty practices that are being put into it in the form of the loot box-esque microtransaction economy.
Judging by the fact, Wolfenstein II, Assassins Creed: Origins and Super Mario Odyssey all came out in the last few days of October my November already looks really full. However, there are some titles I am keen to get my paws on.
The first is the Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds expansion. I am a huge fan of Guerrilla’s new franchise and any excuse to jump back into that world is good enough for me. New locations? Check. New weapons? Check. New machines? Check, check, check.
The next title is an odd one for me, but Supermassive has continuously surprised me in providing a horror game I enjoyed playing (horror doesn’t interest me usually). However, they nailed Until Dawn and their VR spin-off Rush of Blood expertly. I am hoping they knock it out of the park for a hat-trick with The Inpatient. As a PlayStation VR exclusive, the game has you exploring a mental health facility set in the Until Dawn universe. I had some hands-on time in October and it was incredibly engaging. Lastly I am keen to check out the final version of Skyrim VR after my hands-on session at EB Expo recently.
As if October didn’t already give us one genre-defining platformer this year, here come Super Lucky’s Tale and Sonic Forces to prove that, well, that number is probably going to stay at just one. That’s not to say I’m not keen because you know your boy loves his platformers.
The thing that’s really got my jorts all distressed around the boner area this month however is Monster of the Deep: A Final Fantasy XV VR Adventure In Franchise-Milking. Fishing in video games circa 2017-18 is kind of like the new bows and arrows in video games circa 2013-16, but I’m okay with that when the term ‘fishing’ mostly equates to ‘hanging out with the sexy boys of FFXV in virtual reality’. I am down. For. That.
As far as indies go, Hand of Fate 2 has me pretty keen as the last one was a bit of a surprise hit and especially so for an Australian development team. I’m also super excited about Cat Quest because cats + RPG = great, obviously. I’m holding out hope for Hat in Time to find a release date for consoles within the month, too, but that remains to be seen.
At any rate, chances are none of the above matters and I’ll still be trying to smash out the last few moons in Super Mario Odyssey while also tackling Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Wolfenstein II, because October 27 was the day that my jorts were changed forever.
Remember, remober, the 27th of October.
After all of the October releases it feels a bit overwhelming to even think about the massive titles that are coming this month but in saying that, there are some definite standouts that I cannot wait to get my hands on.
Right off the bat, I’m ready to get my hands dirty with some Call of Duty: WWII action. It’s definitely been a long-time coming, and I’m sure that many of you (much like myself) have been wondering why the developers have left it so long to make a WWII title, but hey I’m not complaining because it’s finally here (and looks amazing)!
Next on my list is Hand of Fate 2. For those unfamiliar with Hand of Fate, in a nutshell, it is basically an action role-playing game that features roguelike and deck-building elements. As someone who plays a lot of digital CCG’s (though quite different to Hand of Fate), I most definitely appreciate the uniqueness and innovation of this game. I’m actually at a loss for words as I write this because I love the original game so much and I just don’t know what to say without using pages upon pages of text, but basically, I’m super excited to jump back into the world and experience new combat styles and companion characters.
Bringing my list to a close, although probably a let down for some, is L.A. Noire. “So, Tegan, why are you excited for a game that released back in 2011?” “Well, I’m glad you asked internal monologue, so let me tell you!” Much like my excitement for Hand of Fate 2, I’m super excited for L.A. Noire, because it’s just one of those games that I absolutely love. What’s more exciting to me than just the re-release however, is that fact that the game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch and HTC Vive, and I don’t know about you, but I think that playing a detective in VR would be pretty darn cool.
It is the game of fate we play. Good luck to you.
October was incredibly busy and taking a week-long holiday from my beloved consoles in the middle of the month means that I’ve got a lot of gaming to catch up on. That being said, there are a few releases this month that have my jorts feeling a few sizes too small.
Proving that the 3DS definitely isn’t dead, Mario Party: The Top 100 looks to be a fun and frantic trip down memory lane, bringing a tonne of classic gems back to tear your friendships apart. Although it’ll be nice to see some old favourites with a fresh coat of paint, I can’t help but think that Nintendo missed a golden opportunity to bring this out on the Switch, y’know their shiny new ‘party console’.
Speaking of the Switch, this month sees the release of Batman: The Telltale Series on this gorgeous little machine and I may think about finally diving into it. Being a huge fan of both Telltale and Batman, I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to try the series out but now seems like the perfect opportunity.
Finally, the biggest release for me in November has to be Star Wars Battlefront 2. Just to keep things confusing, the original Star Wars: Battlefront II was one of my favourite games on the PS2 and playing through the campaign felt unlike any other experience I’d had up until that point. There is just something so different and special about being one of the bad guys and I can’t wait to bring the pain to those filthy Rebel scum. Plus, loot box controversy aside, the multiplayer promises to be as dynamic and engaging as ever and hey, who doesn’t like space battles?
With exam prep and Team Fortress 2’s Jungle Inferno & Halloween updates filling my schedule, late October was full-on to the max. But with the semester wrapping up in November, it’s a good time to get back into the swing of things!
It’s a good month for historical games: The new Cowadooty arrives in a couple of days, which I’ll be historically analysing (stay tuned). But what’s really activating my almonds is Tannenburg, the upcoming title from the Verdun developers. It looks to be the same First World War but set during the brutal Eastern Front campaign. There’s not much stuff depicting this theatre, so I’m keen to see how it squares up. Tannenburg releases on the 16th…right next to Star Wars Battlefront II. Yeowch.
I love Ace Attorney. I really do. It’s a shame, then, that I never got past Apollo Justice, the fourth game in the series. Blasphemy by any other name, but don’t judge me! I’m excited for the upcoming remaster, due to hit on the 21st, so hopefully that put me off your list. I’m torn about the current remaster bandwagon, but I can trust Capcom to not screw this one up…right?
Pokemon? Pokemon! There are two things that make me the happiest dude in the world: A new Pokemon game, and mocha-flavoured milk. Masters milk is the patrician choice. It’s always a blast to get da boiz together – Crobat and Alakazam are my MVPs – smash some in-game children (and some real-life ones) in Poke-Battles, explore a world, and stay up until 4am while I do it! Ultra Sun/Moon hit on the 17th – happy birthday to me!
What games are you looking forward to this November? Did we miss anything important coming out this month? Let us know in the comments below.
