Game Room: September Roundup

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Oct 1, 2012

Game Room: September Roundup

NHL 13

NHL 13 is an evolutionary release after last year's substantial improvements. The presentation is, as always, pristine, and the implementation of a new skating engine makes player movements more realistic than ever. Momentum is more important than in years past and, like Madden, there are scads of new player animations and more realistic interactions during collisions. The AI is punishingly difficult, so new players may find themselves challenged even at the easiest level. NHL Moments Live lets gamers take on key game scenarios from recent seasons and from hockey history, though the classic moments typically have stars like Gretzky sharing the ice with modern players rather than their season-appropriate teammates. The number of modes borders on the ludicrous, with the new "GM Connected" option the most prominently featured. This new mode allows up to 750 people to participate in a league, playing every type of role from a front-line player to a manager. Given the NHL's labor woes, this may be the only game in town for hockey fans for a while, but there's plenty here to make them happy. Score: 8 out of 10

FIFA Soccer 13

EA's FIFA returns for another go at the beautiful game. One of the biggest changes this year is "First Touch Control", which adds a layer of unpredictability to ball control. The game uses player ratings and rate of speed to determine the quality of a pass and the ability to control it on the other end. EA has also improved the AI of your teammates, who now do a better job of positioning themselves for an attacking pass by making more aggressive runs into the defense. FIFA 13 features 32 skill games that are fun on their own, but also useful in helping you practice how to move, pass and shoot with greater control and precision. As always FIFA is loaded with single-player and multiplayer options for seasons, careers, ultimate team and tournaments. The new Club Match Day allows players to play real-life fixtures where real-life player performance is reflected in the games. FIFA fans will no doubt appreciate the gameplay improvements, and fans new to the franchise are in for one of the best sports games of the year. Score: 9 out of 10

F1: 2012

CodeMasters knows how to make a realistic racing game, and F1 2012 is no exception. F1 is a very different animal from more mainstream racers like Forza or NASCAR, and the game's excellent, immersive tutorial does an excellent job of bringing novice players into a world where the ability to nail a turn's apex is often more important than raw speed. The game's primary mode starts players on a team as a rookie. You name your rival and start working your way up through the ranks and looking for opportunities to improve your worldwide standings. Beating your rival -- once you're good enough to do it -- gives you additional credibility, and the steady stream of emails and press clippings tracking your progress is surprisingly fun to monitor. The game looks terrific -- though sometimes a little more plasticky than truly photorealistic -- and the training mode, time-rewind Flashback feature and wide variety of assistive options make the huge challenges marginally easier to face. F1 2012 isn't for everyone, and it's not a vast improvement over last year's game, but the niche it serves is likely to love it. Score: 9 out of 10

Wii U Coming

Nintendo's HD gaming console is finally set to debut in North America on November 18. Wii U's biggest point of differentiation from current generation consoles -- like the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- is a larger gamepad controller that integrates touch and motion controls. It also sports a built-in camera, microphone, headphone jack and rumble feedback. The Wii U will also work with current Wii controllers, but many games will feature functionality specifically tailored for the gamepad. Wii U will be sold as two different bundles: a $300 version that includes the unit, one gamepad, 8GB memory, a sensor bar, A/C adapter, and an HDMI cable. The deluxe set for $350 also comes with 32GB memory and a charging cradle for the gamepad. Unfortunately, neither bundle comes with a game. Fortunately, the launch of the Wii U will be well supported with an array of games. More than 20 games are scheduled to release on November 18, highlighted by Assassin's Creed III, Batman Arkham City Armored Edition, Call of Duty: Black OPS II, FIFA Soccer 13, ESPN Sports Connection, New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Ninja Gaiden 3 and ZombiU. Games will retail at $59.

LittleBigPlanet

Despite being the most sophisticated handheld system ever created, the Vita has had a difficult first year for distinctive, unique software releases. Given Sony's investment in the clever Little Big Planet franchise -- with two PS3 games, a PSP release and an upcoming Kart racer -- one would expect nothing less than a top-tier version for Vita, and that's exactly what we've got. LittleBigPlanet PSVita is perhaps the definitive release in the franchise thus far, taking advantage of every aspect of the Vita's hardware with only rarely feeling gimmicky. Front and rear touchscreens, cameras, tilt sensors: every aspect of the handheld is brought to bear to guide the always adorable Sackboy through the razor-sharp, gorgeous levels. Everything that makes the LBP series noteworthy is present, including user generated levels, a humorous and clever story mode and a variety of quick arcade challenges. If you're on the fence about buying a Vita, LBP makes a great argument for the device. If you own one already, this just might be the game you've been waiting for. Score: 10 out of 10

Sony Pulse Headphones

Sony's PULSE Elite Edition headset ($150) is a well-weighted unit that's both sleek and modern. The headset is geared for the PS3, connecting automatically when the included USB dongle is plugged in and the headset turned on. The PULSE also comes with a 3.5mm audio cable which can be used for a wired connection to many mobile devices including the PS Vita and all iPhones. Unfortunately, the PULSE doesn't come with a USB charger. The PULSE headset features very comfortable ear cushions and the frame of it is loaded with buttons to tune your listening experience: including sliders for volume, bass and voice chat, as well as buttons to mute, enable virtual surround mode and change audio modes. Optimized audio modes feature presets for music, movies, games (general), shooters, fighting and racers. A hidden mic picks up voice well for folks that want to use it for online gaming and chatting. The overall audio quality of the headset is very good. The 7.1 virtual surround sound is effective, though there's really no way to perfectly nail directional sound with a pair of cans. Having the ability to adjust bass on the fly is especially impactful. Score: 9 out of 10

Journey Collector's Edition

Journey is the sort of game that's better played than described because it does an amazing job of sucking you to its simple quest premise. It's a platform game at heart, but Journey's amazing visuals, intuitive controls, visual storytelling and lack of dialogue merge together to create a unique gaming experience that manages to make you care about the outcome by providing a sense of purpose most games completely whiff on. Journey was first released on the PlayStation Network as a download-only game, but now it's available as a standalone disc collection. Also included are two other titles from thatgamecompany, Flower and Flow. There's a handful of content about the making of Journey and three mini-games to round out the offering. Journey only takes a few hours to play through, but it's a game you'll want to play more than once. For $30, this offering is a great addition to any gaming collection. Score: 10 out of 10