September 27

X-Men Destiny

Platform: 360, PS3, Wii, DS
EU: September 30

We've heard sweet F-A about Silicon Knights' X-Men RPG since its announcement, at least in terms of marketing. It didn't impress a lot of people at Comic-Con, but we're still hopeful. We're big ol' X-Men nerds, and even if the combat doesn't look the greatest, we're super into the idea of exploring the Marvel universe and interacting with the X-Men as an up-and-coming badass mutant. Still, don't be surprised to see this slip out of the Holiday season -- unless this is another case of Activision feeding another licensed game to the wolves.

(If this game actually makes it out for its intended release date I'll personally eat my shoes. Actually, they're brand new, so I'd better not, but I stand by the gesture's meaning.)

FIFA Soccer 2012

Platform: PC, 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PSP, PS2
EU: September 30

FIFA 12 gets an animation and physics overhaul that is positively astounding. The physics stuff that's made Fight Night and NHL so beautiful in recent years gloms its way onto FIFA's traditionally stellar animation system, and the effect is the uncanny valley in motion. Deeper, more specific ball control and a bolstered defense system also make their way into the quintessential footy franchise this time around. If that doesn't tickle you, well, in the least it should be the greatest soccer game yet made. So there's that.

PES 2012

Platform: 360, PS3
EU: October 14

PES releases a suicidal couple weeks late, lagging behind its often superior competition in both time and quality, we reckon. This is mostly a tech upgrade, from the looks and sounds of it. Konami's touting its look and feel as being "improved," which is to say, "not totally garbage like they've been the last few years," as well as a similar A.I. boost. The PES series used to shine, but it's recently been content to float by on being just acceptable, while FIFA makes huge strides toward soccer superstardom. Here's hoping the PES faithful find what they're looking for.

Serious Sam: BFE

Platform: PC, 360, PS3
EU: September 27

Don't expect any depth here -- just violence and yelling. BFE is a lot like the other Serious Sams, with guts and explosions and endless racket that sets off your entire set of old-school PC gaming nerves in all the right ways. It also has 16 player co-op, which is just incomprehensible and awesome.

The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection

Platform: PS3
EU: September 30

While we wait for Team Ico to get off their lazy--sorry, we mean super-busy--asses and finish The Last Guardian, we'll sink a weekend or two into replaying its past masterpieces. The games in this collection share an eerie atmosphere throughout, and it's a strong link between these worlds. Ico is about a boy rescuing a girl -- simple enough, but the puzzles and constant fending-off of shadowy figures keeps the lad on his toes. Our main man in Shadow of the Colossus is doing a bit of fighting for a lady, too, but he's climbing (and killing) massive creatures instead of structures. These PS2 games have aged well in terms of everything but their dated yet still engrossing gameplay. If you missed out, no questions about it: Buy this thing.

Air Conflicts: Secret Wars

Platform: Xbox 360, PSe
EU: July 8

Airplanes. Bullets. Skies. PlayStation Move. 3D. Bargain price. Some description assembly required.

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD

Platform: Xbox 360 PS3
EU: September 27

Remember when we said we wouldn't pay $20 for a lot of HD remakes, because a lot of older games just don't hold up, or are, in fact, worse in HD regardless of how great our memories are? Yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter

Platform: DS
EU: July 1

Forget that Solatorobo has furry fantasy written all over it. Red the Hunter faired well critically when it hit the UK a couple months back, and with good reason. This is a game about a bounty-hunting dog who flies around on a robot dragon. Conceptually, we're rock solid. One of the pooch's pals is named Chocolat Gelato. OK, some ridiculous. We're down. Oh, and it looks like a rad little exploration-heavy adventure game with puzzly bits and air combat. Cool, yeah, count us in. It's been too long since we've played a rock solid action/adventure game on our DSs.

MDK2 HD

Platform: PC
EU: September 27

"Sci-Fi Janitor and His Six-Legged Dog" didn't have a ring to it then, and it doesn't have a ring to it now, which is why BioWare's MDK2 is getting re-released simply as MDK2 HD. The graphical overhaul goes beyond your usual smoothing of edges -- this game looks fantastic compared to the original version. The shooter/platformer isn't one of BioWare's most well-known, but it's an exciting action game nonetheless, with plenty of goofy humor to go around. It's a PC remake we're hoping ignites yet another cult following for the memorable game, even if the gameplay is rougher around the edges than the new character models.

Sep 1, 2011