Guns, guitars and lightsabers—the month of October is offering up some big-name titles. Check out a handful of video games that warrant major attention this month.
Medal of Honor—Oct. 12
The classic first-person shooter franchise is crossing over into the modern era on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the PC. Taking a page from the new, more popular, “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield” franchises, “Medal of Honor” is trading in the antique World War II genre for modern conflict.
Its story focuses on “First Tier Operators,” a group of take-no-prisoners warrior elites. “Medal of Honor” also features a multiplayer mode designed by the creators of “Battlefield,” promising character customization, vehicle combat and plenty of carnage.
Fallout: New Vegas—Oct. 19
The landscape of the United States has been scarred by nuclear war, leaving the last remnants of the republic scrambling and struggling to eke out an existence.
“Fallout: New Vegas” is the latest installment in the role-playing game series that takes players out into the wasteland to fight super mutants, slavers traders, militia groups, unsavory business people and gigantic, irradiated insects, among other foes.
This time your character is in the sprawling desert and glitzy (as glitzy as postapocalyptic America can get) New Vegas.
Expect tons of action, firearms, explosives and an open-world environments to explore for hours on end.
And, yes, you can gamble in the game’s casinos.
Look for “New Vegas” on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
Rock Band 3—Oct. 26
Music games may have been the big craze a few years back, but Harmonix Music Systems is doing a lot of work to keep its “Rock Band” franchise alive.
The new game features 80 tracks to choose from, plus old “Rock Band” songs on top of a 2,000 tune library with extra content set to be added weekly, according to gamestop.com.
Supplementing the drums, guitar, bass and vocals, a keyboard has been added too—perfect for 80s riffs and ballads.
Artists such as Devo, Slipknot, Amy Winehouse, The Flaming Lips and Rammstein are represented.
“Rock Band 3” can be purchased for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II—Oct. 26
This sequel continues the story of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice who can wield the fabled force and lightsabers along with the best.
The original game boasted entertaining physics to experiment with. It was possible to knock over large structures with the force, so imagine hurling storm troopers through the air.
In one of the original game’s levels, the protagonist crashes a star ship with the might of the force—a task that makes the “Star Wars” movies look pathetic.
There is a lot of potential in this sequel.
The story continues to be dark and gloomy, as the main character fights against his evil master and the Empire. In this variation, the apprentice can now dual wield lightsabers and has increased powers.
Hopfully this installment, appearing on all platforms minus the Sony PSP, addresses the glitchy problems of its predecessor.
