Grimlock's Must or Bust for the Week of August 12th - 18th, 2018
Phantom Doctrine
Releasing on 8/14 PS4, Xbox, PC
Phantom Doctrine is a strategic turn-based espionage thriller set at the peak of the Cold War. Drawing on a wide variety of influences and capturing the subtle intrigue of classic spy films, the game thrust the player into a mysterious world of covert operations, counterintelligence, conspiracy and paranoia.
As leader of a secret organization known only as The Cabal, you are charged with preventing a global conspiracy that seeks to pit leader against leader, and nation against nation. By carrying out secret missions, investigating classified files, and interrogating enemy agents, a sinister plot is uncovered. With the clock ticking, it must be thwarted in order to save the world from an unthinkable fate.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Bust - I am not a very big fan of strategic turn-based games. Overall, the game looks interesting; if you like this time period and style of game, I would give Phantom Doctrine a look.
The Walking Dead: The Final Season
Releasing on 8/14 for NSW, PS4, Xbox, PC
Clementine, now a fierce and capable survivor, has reached the final chapter in her journey. After years on the road facing threats both living and dead, a secluded school might finally be her chance for a home. But protecting it will mean sacrifice. Clem must build a life and become a leader while still watching over AJ, an orphaned boy and the closest thing to family she has left. In this gripping and emotional final season, you will define your relationships, fight the undead, and determine how Clementine’s story ends.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Bust - I am sick and tired of Tell Tale Games. The concept has been played out across so many franchises, at this point I don't care if something new comes out of this developer. The Walking Dead is played out and is another franchise I am tired of; actually the whole zombie genre needs to go away for 3-5 years as it is oversaturated and played out. Mix that with an ancient game engine that is buggy and needs to be retired, Tell Tale needs some new ideas and a fresh game engine ASAP!
World of Warcraft: Battle of Azeroth
Releasing on 8/14 for PC
Azeroth paid a terrible price to end the apocalyptic march of the Legion's crusade—but even as the world's wounds are tended, it is the shattered trust between the Alliance and Horde that may prove the hardest to mend. In Battle for Azeroth, the fall of the Burning Legion sets off a series of disastrous incidents that reignites the conflict at the heart of the Warcraft saga. As a new age of warfare begins, Azeroth's heroes must set out on a journey to recruit new allies, race to claim the world's mightiest resources, and fight on several fronts to determine whether the Horde or Alliance will lead Azeroth into its uncertain future.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Bust - I CANNOT play World of Warcraft! I will lose my job, house, wife, sanity, and health. MMOs are very dangerous, as normally there is never an end to the game. Every so often, I find myself tempted to join the fight and jump into WoW, but I know the time commitment and my personal drive to wanting to be an elite player means I will sink 100s of hours into this game. This new expansion had me closer than ever to making the plunge, but once again I have reasoned with my addictive side and found a way to sidestep this game one more time. If you are a WoW player, or plan to join, this is a good time to be excited for what looks like a very awesome expansion to an already amazing world.
Wailing Heights
Releasing on 8/14 for PS4, Xbox, PC
A coffin-rocking, body-hopping, musical adventure game, set in a horrific hamlet of monsters.
Set in a peaceful, blood-curdling village blessed with gorgeous panoramic mountaintop views and the blissful stench of rotting corpses, Wailing Heights is home to the likes of vegan werewolves, hipster vampires, soulful zombies and all manner of well-adjusted supernatural taxpaying home-owners.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Must - I have been very negative on this week's Must or Bust, so I will take a chance at what looks like a super goofy musical adventure game. Wailing Heights characters are the first thing that grabs my attention and the trailer below shows enough strange yet enjoyable gameplay that I will be giving this game a try.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Releasing on 8/16 for NSW
Also Available on: PS4 (PSVR), Xbox, PC
In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, one player is trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb they must defuse. The other players are the “Experts” who must give the instructions to defuse the bomb by deciphering the information found in the Bomb Defusal Manual. But there’s a catch: the Experts can’t see the bomb, so everyone will need to talk it out – fast!
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Must - If you are looking for a fun and unique party game, then Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is definitely a game to try. I have enjoyed this game, both on PSVR and Oculus, but we now have the game playable without VR required. The tension builds as one player sees the bomb and describes it, helping another player figure out what bomb defuse instructions they need, all while not being able to see what the other person has in front of them. It can be a stressful mess, but it also is a great communication exercise, all wrapped up into a fun video game.
Coffee Crisis
Releasing on 8/15 for Xbox
Also Available on: PC
Save the Metal, Save the World, Save the Coffee!
Coffee Crisis is a neo-rogue brawler that puts you in the shoes of the only baristas on Earth with enough heavy metal in their veins to fend off an alien assault. Play solo or join up with a friend to fight across eight unique locations ranging from your Coffee House HQ to the far reaches of outer space. Go up against an army of wild alien enemies, and the humans they have brainwashed with a variety of weapons, special moves, suplexes, and coffee!
The Smurglian race has come to Earth and they're not leaving until they steal our three most prized commodities: heavy metal, free Wifi, and our coffee. Crunch through fistfuls of alien meat as you stop their invasion, and enjoy random modifiers to the enemies and action on each playthrough. It's a totally unique cup of beat 'em up action every time you play!
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Must - I got to play Coffee Crisis at PAX East this year and had a blast. Mega Cat Studios is a Michigan-based developer that has been on our GameZilla Alpha podcast to talk about the new retro games they were developing. The game plays like Streets of Rage or Battletoads; it's a well-designed brawler that has plenty of humor mixed in. I was able to play the PC version, which had an extra setting for Twitch interactive; this allowed viewers of the stream to vote in the Twitch chat to either help us or spawn enemies if they want to be trolls. I found this extra mode to be a lot of fun and really added a sense of viewers being truly part of the streaming experience.
State of Mind
Releasing on 8/15 for NSW, PS4, Xbox, PC
State of Mind is a futuristic thriller game delving into transhumanism. The game explores themes of separation, disjuncture and reunification, in a world that is torn between a dystopian material reality and a utopian virtual future.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Must - State of Mind is another game I will be giving a chance because of art style and what sounds like a very interesting setting. The art style of the game is a low poly cell shading that looks very cool, mixed with a conspiracy theory you unravel. You play as a man that wakes up in the hospital, only to find out that your wife and son have gone missing, and you have to jump into the rabbit hole to find out what is happening in this 2048 Berlin Sci-Fi thriller that takes parts of The Matrix and Blade Runner and creates its own fun and suspenseful adventure.
Cosmic Star Heroine
Releasing on 8/14 for NSW
Also Available on: PS4, Xbox, PC
3 exotic planets to explore. Aliens. Robots. Magic. Forbidden technology. Ruined Worlds. Ghosts. Long-lost secrets. Conspiracies. A galactic threat. And one brave heroine to make things right. Cosmic Star Heroine is an exciting new RPG from the creators of Cthulhu Saves the World.
Grimlock's Must or Bust:
Must - Cosmic Star Heroine is an underrated RPG that tells the story of Alyssa L'Salle who is a top secret agent that discovers a conspiracy and has to go rogue to save the galaxy. Yes, this is a turn-based game, and yes I know I just said, "I am not a fan of turn based games," during my Phantom Doctrine Bust review, but Comic Star Heroine has a very compelling story that makes me want to give it a try. I will play turn-based games, but only when the story and art style outweigh the mechanics, and I believe this game has both an interesting story and a 16-bit art style that I am a sucker for.
What games are you picking up this week?
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By: Jay Parks (GrimlockTheDino)