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October 10
Worms: Revolution
Much like a real-life annelid severed into pieces, the Worms franchise keeps chugging along, dropping a new entry or remake seemingly every several months or so. Worms: Revolution is seen as something of a return to form for the much-loved artillery franchise, swapping the perspective back to a 2D plane while utilizing a new graphics engine. It's modeled after the classic entries, but includes some new features, like dynamic water as a hazard and a class system for the worms; plus there's a documentary-esque single-player campaign in addition to multiplayer. And a classic mode is in there for the purist die-hards, of course.
October 16
Dance Central 3
Platform: Xbox 360 (Kinect)
EU: October 19
How do you take a great Kinect dance game and make it even better? According to Harmonix, you simply add time travel! Dance Central 3 does just that, keeping the rock solid fundamentals that have powered the first two excellent entries while spinning the experience out in some new directions – including the time-bending narrative campaign mode, which ties in well with the game's bigger focus on classic tracks and dances amidst the more modern sensations. Dance Central 3 also adds a four-player Crew Throwdown mode, Make Your Move and Keep the Beat mini-games, and even a beginner's mode for total, got-no-rhythm-whatsoever newbies.
007 Legends
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
EU: October 19
Bond is back in action this month in 007 Legends, a new first-person shooter designed in the mold of the earlier GoldenEye 007 reboot, albeit with a focus that stretches even further back in the cinematic spy's lineage. 007 Legends assembles its narrative from the sights and sounds of five older Bond films: Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldfinger, License to Kill, and Die Another Day. The entire campaign now stars Daniel Craig, though, and it'll be capped off shortly after release by an epilogue mission based on Skyfall, the Bond flick that hits theaters in November. Activision's GoldenEye bet panned out; perhaps this one will too.
Doom 3: BFG Edition
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
EU: October 19
Many of us might have expected Doom 4 to be rolling out by now, but with that long-in-the-works sequel seemingly lingering in development limbo, id Software and Bethesda are rolling out a newly refreshed version of the excellent Doom 3. The BFG Edition brings the full original game, Resurrection of Evil expansion, and Lost Mission running at 60fps with 5.1 surround sound, enhanced lighting and rendering, Achievements/Trophies, and 3D support – and it's sure to be a far better console port than the commendable original Xbox one. At $40 on consoles (and $30 on PC), it may be well worth the return trip, even during an overstuffed October.
Rocksmith Guitar & Bass
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
EU: TBD
Rocksmith Guitar & Bass isn't a full-fledged sequel to last year's use-any-real-guitar music game; in fact, it's just an all-in-one-bundle of the original game and the recently released bass guitar DLC, which sells for $30 on its lonesome. Still, if you don't have the original and you're intrigued by the prospect of playing any of the on-disc or downloadable tracks on either guitar or bass, this updated package seems to be the way to go. In addition to the standard game and connector cable, which sell together for $80, there's a new bundle with an Epiphone Les Paul Jr. guitar packed in for a grand total of $200.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories
Platform: PlayStation Vita
EU: TBD
Originally slated to launch with this year's other Silent Hill games in March (and then again in May), Book of Memories swaps the typical series survival horror approach for something a bit more action-oriented, with an overhead view and the series' first attempt at multiplayer gameplay. We likened it to "Diablo by way of Resident Evil" when we first caught a glimpse of Book of Memories last fall, with the game taking place in a dream world made of random levels. Will the dungeon crawling approach work, and more importantly, will it still feel like Silent Hill? We'll perhaps finally find out later this month if the genre shift works for the long-established franchise.
Ragnarok Odyssey
Platform: PlayStation Vita
EU: TBD
Most gamers have probably at least heard of Ragnarok Online, one of the oldest online role-playing sensations, but Ragnarok Odyssey explores some very different terrain. As detailed in our hands-on preview, the PlayStation Vita game is "basically Monster Hunter in the Ragnarok universe," which we find pretty appealing. One big perk that the Game Arts-developed title has in store is the vivid aesthetic, which punches up the hack-and-slash action and should make it easier to stay interested as it unfolds – though the online four-player is what'll really keep folks powering through the myriad monsters and bosses.
Mugen Souls
Platform: PlayStation 3
EU: TBD
Looking for a cute and colorful Japanese role-playing game to eat up your hours? NIS America's Mugen Souls may be just such a game, as the PlayStation 3 exclusive delivers a wealth of wide-eyed and adorably adorned characters to interact with as you guide Chou-Chou Infinite – a pink-haired "undisputed god" – as she tries to conquer seven elemental worlds. As you'll see in our recent Quickplay video, her city-ship is used as a hub to transport her to the disparate other locations, while the turn-based fights let her and other characters utilize the large battlefields and even pair together to execute big, bold team-up attacks.
Zumba Fitness Core
Platform: Xbox 360 (Kinect), Wii
EU: November 9
Zumba has become a fitness juggernaut over the last couple years, and the video game adaptations are no exception, racking up more than eight million copies sold across platforms during that time. For its latest release, Majesco is refocusing the experience on working your core, with 40 fresh songs and routines (including licensed songs from Enrique Iglesias and Bob Marley) and 33 dance styles – such as burlesque, which we're guessing may be an eye-opening experience for some of you out there. And if you're not sure whether Zumba is right for you, a demo of the Kinect version is already available on Xbox Live.
October 17
Ravaged
Platform: PC
EU: October 17
Completed in part via a successful Kickstarter campaign (though it's now being properly published by Reverb Communications), Ravaged is a vehicle-centric online shooter that looks like an absolute blast; it's something of a hybrid of Battlefield, Borderlands, and Twisted Metal. 2 Dawn Games claims some ex-Battlefield devs on its team, though despite the notable influences, this Unreal Engine 3-powered affair looks like its own unique beast – and totally chaotic at that. Priced at $24.99, the game supports 32 online players, and those who pre-order the game earn instant access to the ongoing closed beta test.
October 21
Skylanders Giants
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS
EU: October 19
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure revived the beleaguered purple dragon's franchise in spectacular fashion, so it's little surprise that Activision has an even larger quest for all returning platforms this month (with a Wii U version due at launch). As with the original, Skylanders Giants utilizes little plastic figures with built-in RFID chips, and you'll be able to buy it either with or without the portal this time around (for returning players). The titular Giants are much larger figures that also yield sizable in-game counterparts, though other new standard-sized characters are also coming with light-up features. Otherwise, it's simply more Skylanders, which should appease fans.
