Welcome to You Should Play, a series where we highlight all of the video games that you should be playing this week, from big-budget releases through to little-known indie games.
This week marks the release of an expansion MMO players have been impatiently waiting for, with Legion being one of the more robust additions to World of Warcraft in quite some time. On top of this highly anticipated release, fans of Japanese games will be pleased to learn that both Koei Tecmo’s Attack on Titan and God Eater 2: Rage Burst both live up to expectations, offering quite a few options for those who want something to play before we head into a packed September.
Here are all the games You Should Play this week:
World of Warcraft: Legion
World of Warcraft: Legion could be one of the MMO’s best ever expansions, introducing a wonderful and unique setting along with meaningful new classes and top-notch character designs, all while enjoying an uncharacteristically stable launch.
With the game continuing to suffer from dips in its number of subscribers Legion could not have come at a better time, with it debuting oft-requested features such as PvP-only abilities, the long-awaited spirit realm The Emerald Dream and improved garrison-esque bases in the form of Class Halls. You can also expect a greater degree of player choice in regards to how you embark upon your adventure in the expansion, with Legion introducing level scaling to each of its four leveling zones, allowing you to choose the order in which you tackle them.
The Demon Hunter class is also a worthy addition to the MMO. Though its focus upon melee combat may be off-putting to those who are already fed up with the over-saturation of melee classes in the game, this DPS class is fun to play as from the get-go and contributes a great deal towards making the expansion feel like such a breath of fresh air.
Why You Should Play It:
- New Demon Hunter class is fun to control.
- Improved bases in the form of Class Halls.
- Makes a lot of crowd-pleasing changes to the WoW formula.
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan fans have been waiting for an authentic video game adaptation of the popular manga/anime series for a while now, and this might just be it. Koei Tecmo have taken the reins on what is a faithful recreation of the fast-paced action depicted in the hugely popular animated series, complete with a robust multiplayer co-op mode and a varied roster of characters ripped straight from the show.
Attack on Titan presents a simple yet intuitive control scheme that allows for fluid movement and, most importantly, exciting combat, allowing players to easily navigate its sprawling open areas and fell seemingly insurmountable Titans. Although successfully killing a Titan still takes practice, developer Omega Force has done a good job of making what could have been a complicated system pretty easy to get to grips with, though still challenging enough that bringing down its larger enemies is a satisfying accomplishment.
The game’s single-player Attack Mode may be where you’ll spend most of your time, but its multiplayer Expedition Mode is also more than worthy of your time. Allowing you and up to three friends to link up and tackle various objectives together, in this co-op mode you’ll be able to earn upgrades for your chosen character (along with acquiring a sweet horse) and ultimately whiz around like a true member of the Survey Corps alongside your buddies. For fans of the series, there’s nothing quite like assuming the role of Misaka, Eren or Levi and successfully bringing down an Abnormal in unison with your friends.
Even for those who may struggle to enjoy Koei Tecmo’s divisive Musou games, Attack on Titan manages to maintain interest despite the inherently repetitive nature of its combat by virtue of tons of fan service, beautifully animated cutscenes which take you through the series’ engrossing story and an abundance of collectible upgrades/unlockables.
Why You Should Play It:
- Plenty of fan service.
- Accomplished combat that’s easy to get to grips with.
- Co-op multiplayer.
God Eater 2: Rage Burst
God Eater 2: Rage Burst serves as a hefty expansion to the original God Eater 2, providing hours upon hours of content for JRPG fans who are looking for a game in the vein of the Monster Hunter series.
God Eater has taken a long time to launch in the west, though the growing success of Capcom’s Monster Hunter has resulted in publisher Bandai Namco finally taking a chance with what is an established franchise in Japan. Much like the aforementioned Attack on Titan, God Eater 2 shares similarities with Musou games though with much greater enemies to topple, tasking players with taking down the monstrous Aragami and navigating a deep, if a little unwieldy, progression system. With there being a loud audience of Monster Hunter fans who want the series to launch on a home console other than the Wii U, God Eater 2: Rage Burst could effectively fill that void now it’s been given the chance.
Why You Should Play It:
- A good home console alternative to Monster Hunter.
- Deep progressions system.
- Hours upon hours of content.
