The games of October 2011

October 25

Battlefield 3

Platform: PC, 360, PS3
EU: October 28

Each teaser trailer, gameplay demo and playable chunk has built more hype than the last, so now it's time for DICE to pony up the goods with Battlefield 3. Its decidedly Bad Company 2-esque non-sequel to Bad Company 2 may bring the ire of the PC faithful, but there's no denying the Swedish dev knows what it's doing. The multiplayer is a natural evolution of everything we've always loved about this series, and its campaign, as far as we can see from the outside looking in, aims to try something a bit different from most FPSes. Its mission structure is more grounded than your usual git-them-terrorists single-player missions. Classes are refined, maps are bigger, everything's prettier and there are robots and airplanes. If it lives up to half its hype, we'll be ecstatic to play a military shooter that isn't the same old Call of Duty everyone seems to be burning out on.

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
EU: October 28

Honestly, we thought this game came out last year. Or the year before it. These 3D DBZ fighting games all play largely the same, which is to say "not very good," so we don't have high hopes for this one, either. People must buy 'em, though, because they just keep making newer, indistinguishable sequels year over year. Who knows? Maybe this is the good one.

The House of the Dead Overkill: Extended Cut

Platform: PS3
EU: October 28

You missed HOTD Overkill?! What's wrong with you? It was awesome! Fortunately, you're getting a second (better) chance to play the most profane, hilarious zombie game ever. Even better, the rail-shooter won't look like a big ol' pile of rotting flesh – the HD-ified, Move-only version looks really good, and the bonus missions are a great addition we can't wait to explore. This will probably sell miserably with everything else releasing around it, but don't be part of that problem: Buy House of the Dead Overkill.

Kinect Sports Season Two

Platform: 360
EU: October 28

You know, problematic though the hardware is, Kinect Sports wasn't all that bad. Its ping pong and soccer minigames actually worked quite well, and we would be lying if we said we didn't care about Season Two, which is decidedly American. Football! Baseball! Golf! Darts! Tennis! (OK, maybe those last few are a bit more global.) Skiing! (OK, that too.) Darts might be our personal favorite, as lazy fatties who just want to pretend we're doing something physical while fat-assing on the couch and throwing our arm around a little.

Kirby's Return to Dreamland

Platform: Wii
EU: N/A

Kirby's been on a roll for the past year or so. Epic Yarn impressed us last year, and Mass Attack is an ace addition to your DS library. With Return to Dreamland, Kirby...well, you get it. He goes to that one place again. Inhaling enemies and absorbing their abilities is something we've missed. The gimmick is far more than a throwaway novelty, and it's largely what makes playing as the puffy pink guy so damned fun.

Oct 3, 2011