May 2016 New PC Games To Watch For

Yet another quiet month this time. Only 5 games to chose from, and once again have some heavy shots included among them.

Battleborn

Battleborn is an online first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Labelled as a "hero shooter", the game also features multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) elements. The game was released worldwide on May 3, 2016.





Doom

Doom (stylized as DOOM) is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is a reboot of the Doom series and is the first major installment in the series since the release of Doom 3 in 2004 and the fourth title in the main series of games. The game was released worldwide on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 13, 2016.


Salt and Sanctuary

Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D action role-playing video game developed and published by Ska Studios. The game is heavily inspired by the Souls series by Japanese developer FromSoftware. The game was released on March 17, 2016, for Microsoft Window.




Total War: Warhammer

Total War: Warhammer is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game developed by the Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The game features the gameplay of the Total War series with factions of Games Workshop's Warhammer series. It is the 10th title in the Total War series and is the first title to be released in the Total War: Warhammer trilogy. It was published on May 24, 2016, for Microsoft Windows.


Overwatch

Overwatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Unveiled at BlizzCon 2014, the game emphasizes cooperative gameplay using a cast of various "heroes", each with their own abilities and roles within a team. The game was released on May 24, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.



['Doom' and Total War: Warhammer' seems very promising, yet for me the main star of this month seems to be 'Overwatch', which might turn out to be the game of the year for many people.]

Promising Sci-fi, horror & Fantasy - April 2016

Wow, I am so damn late this time. But at least I made time to do the list. Here goes nothing -

"In The Labyrinth of Drakes" by Marie Brennan

The thrilling new book in the acclaimed fantasy series from Marie Brennan, as the glamorous Lady Trent takes her adventurous explorations to the deserts of Akhia.

Even those who take no interest in the field of dragon naturalism have heard of Lady Trent's expedition to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia. Her discoveries there are the stuff of romantic legend, catapulting her from scholarly obscurity to worldwide fame. The details of her personal life during that time are hardly less private, having provided fodder for gossips in several countries.

As is so often the case in the career of this illustrious woman, the public story is far from complete. In this, the fourth volume of her memoirs, Lady Trent relates how she acquired her position with the Royal Scirling Army; how foreign saboteurs imperiled both her work and her well-being; and how her determined pursuit of knowledge took her into the deepest reaches of the Labyrinth of Drakes, where the chance action of a dragon set the stage for her greatest achievement yet.

[The fourth book in yet another series I have yet to start, and this one is quite different and seems so much like my kind of interesting.]

"Every Heart A Doorway" by Seanan McGuire

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.  

[Another tor.com released novella from a well known author, should be quite good.]

"The Emperor's Railroad" by Guy Haley

Global war devastated the environment, a zombie-like plague wiped out much of humanity, and civilization as we once understood it came to a standstill. But that was a thousand years ago, and the world is now a very different place.

Conflict between city states is constant, superstition is rife, and machine relics, mutant creatures and resurrected prehistoric beasts trouble the land. Watching over all are the silent Dreaming Cities. Homes of the angels, bastion outposts of heaven on Earth. Or so the church claims. Very few go in, and nobody ever comes out.

Until now…

[The setting is so very interesting and Guy Haley is already a writer I expect much from since his involvement with Black Library.]




"Illidan: World of Warcraft" by William King

Behind the legend stands a being hungry for justice and vengeance as the adventure, intrigue, and heroism of World of Warcraft, the global phenomenon, rise to a new level.

You are not prepared.

Illidan Stormrage is one of the most powerful beings ever to walk the lands of Azeroth. He is also one of the least understood. Behind his legend, beneath his enigmatic mission, lies a brilliant mind whose machinations are comprehended by few—and trusted by even fewer. Illidan’s righteous reign of justice and vengeance has begun.

Long ago, the night elf sorcerer Illidan infiltrated the demonic Burning Legion to ward off its invasion of Azeroth. Instead of hailing him as a hero, his own kind branded him the Betrayer, questioning his intentions after he appeared to aid the demon lords. For ten thousand years, he languished in prison—vilified, isolated, but never forgetting his purpose.

Now the Legion has returned, and there is only one champion who can truly stand against it. Released from his bonds, Illidan prepares for the final confrontation in the alien realm of Outland, gathering an army of grotesque fel orcs, serpentine naga, cunning blood elves, and twisted demon hunters to his side. He alone knows what deeply hidden motives guide his hand; he alone understands the price that must be paid to defeat the enemies of creation. Yet as before, he is assailed by those who see his schemes as a cynical quest for power, including the night elf Maiev Shadowsong, his former jailor. Warden Shadowsong and her Watchers have pursued the Betrayer to Outland to exact retribution for his crimes, and she will not rest until Illidan is in her custody . . . or in his grave.

[Will William King deliver again, and this time he has got such a bad-ass character to write on. Can't wait to dig this one.]

"Throneworld" by Guy Haley

A new threat arises on Holy Terra – the eldar, attacking the Imperial Palace from beneath. And in the depths of space, an unlikely alliance discovers a secret that might save the Imperium from the marauding orks. But can they survive long enough to tell anyone?

The Imperium’s situation has never been more grim – an ork attack moon hangs over Terra, and ork armadas ravage human space. To make matters even worse, eldar strike at the heart of the Imperial Palace, forcing humanity’s defenders to fight on two fronts at once. Though it seems nothing can stop the orks – neither brute force, science, nor faith – an unlikely alliance in the furthest reaches of space uncovers the first clue how to defeat the greenskins. The Adeptus Astartes now face an almost impossible task - taking news of this discovery back to Terra through a galaxy teeming with orks.

Mysteries abound as the eldar make their presence felt in the midst of humanity's war for survival. And fans of the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors will be thrilled – or appalled – to see rivalries (sort of) put aside as loyalists and traitors work together against their common foe... 

[Second entry on this list from Guy Haley, this time from Black Library, and part of a very well executed series, need I say more?] 

"Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar" by David Annadale

Roboute Guilliman, the Battle King of Macragge, leads his Legion, the mighty Ultramarines, in conquest of the galaxy as part of his father's Great Crusade. Faced with an alien empire, all his dreams of a shining galaxy of peace threaten to fall into ruin...

Long before the coming of the Imperium, the realm of Ultramar was ruled by Roboute Guilliman, the last Battle King of Macragge. Even after learning of his true heritage as a primarch son of the Emperor of Mankind, he strove to expand his domain as efficiently and benevolently as possible, with the XIII Legion Ultramarines as his alone to command. Now, facing a rival empire on the ork-held world of Thoas, Guilliman must choose his weapons carefully – otherwise his dream of a brighter future could be lost forever.

It's the start of a brand new series of 18 books focusing on the greatest of heroes, the primarchs themselves. This volume kicks it all off with a tale of Roboute Guilliman at the height of his powers, leading his legion into battle at the apex of the Great Crusade.  

[Wow, yet another promising new series from Black Library, and the first book is from one of my favorite authors from their line-up, this does seem a great year for the publication.]

This month has quite a short list, and really seems quite dull compared to the previous months of this year.  

April 2016 New PC Games To Watch For

Like March, April also has been a quiet month. So, my April list also features 5 titles. But this time some of these are very highly anticipated and should be on the end of the year list as well.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break is an action-adventure science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. Directed by Sam Lake and Mikael Kasurinen, the game features Jack Joyce, the main protagonist, trying to stop Paul Serene, a close friend and Monarch Solutions CEO, from enforcing the End of Time after a failed time-machine experiment, which gives Jack time manipulation powers. Quantum Break is mostly a third-person shooter, but includes elements of a platform game in less action-oriented segments, and "junction points" that interact with the game's outcome, much like a gamebook, with episodes of an integrated live-action television show, featuring the actual actors of the characters, interacting with the player's choices, displaying the outcome of the choices made. The game was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on 5 April 2016.

Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The fourth entry in the Souls series, Dark Souls III was released in Japan in March 2016, and worldwide in April 2016.


Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square. Originally released in 2000, it is the ninth title in the Final Fantasy series and last to debut on the original PlayStation console.Final Fantasy IX's plot centers on a war between nations. Players follow a young thief named Zidane Tribal, who joins with others to defeat Queen Brahne of Alexandria, the one responsible for starting the war. The plot shifts, however, when the characters realise that Brahne is working with an even more threatening person called Kuja. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in 14 April 2016.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Spike Chunsoft. It is the second installment in the Danganronpa series, and a direct sequel to the 2010 game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. It was first released in Japan for the PlayStation Portable on July 26, 2012. The story follows a group of high school students who are trapped on an island by their high school's headmaster Monokuma, a sentient stuffed bear. In order to leave the island, a student must kill one of their peers, and not be caught in the subsequent investigation and trial. A port for Microsoft Windows was released on April 18, 2016.



The Banner Saga 2

The Banner Saga 2 is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic and published by Versus Evil. It is a sequel to The Banner Saga. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X on April 19, 2016, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions due later.





[The real hotshots of this list are 'Dark Souls II' and 'The Banner Saga 2', these two happens to be among the most anticipated games of the year and the responses all around the web does make them seem to be contenders on the end of year lists too.]