Team Picks: Most Anticipated Games of September

Welcome to the September edition of Team Picks!

Team Picks is Press-Start Australia’s monthly feature where members of the team get together to tell you about their most anticipated games of the upcoming month.

Why not join in? Let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments, or better yet, what you plan on picking up from this busy month!

TeamPicksSeptember-JakeADestiny: The Taken King – I lived for Destiny when it first arrived, gathering up my fire team and tackling the weekly Nightfall and raids. Eventually after a few months my interest dropped off and other games took priority. I’ve found myself only recently returning to the game to find how much it has changed in its two expansions and from what I’ve heard is set to arrive in The Taken King. Destiny year one was basically nothing but a big beta test. Taken King is set to overhaul just about everything and add some worth while content to the experience. I simply cannot wait to see what lies ahead in the new expansionTeamPicksSeptember-KevinSOMA – It was a tough call between this or Mad Max for September, but I just can’t resist a unique indie horror experience from the creators of one of the most famous and acclaimed indie horror games made: Amnesia The Dark Descent. I’ve purposely avoided any gameplay or story videos whatsoever to enjoy a terrifyingly blind experience, but I have a lot of hopes and expectations that SOMA will provide an immersive, dark, disturbing and memorably scary time.

TeamPicksSeptember-DanielForza Motorsport 6 – Every installment into the Forza series that’s come out I’ve promptly bought and enjoyed so of course my pick for the month has got to be Forza Motorsport 6. Having had a chance to play it at this year’s E3 I’m most excited for its newest gameplay additions: night and wet racing. Rain in Forza Motorsport 6 is particularly impressive as it not only makes for some fancy looking graphical effects but also results in full 3D puddles which while sounding like your standard back-of-the-box bullet point really does affect vehicle handling, changing races completely. Forza 6 will no doubt be eating into my free time more than any other game in September.TeamPicksSeptember-EwanDisney Infinity 3.0: Star Wars – September’s a big month in what’s gonna be a BIG end to the year. Whilst I’m dead keen on MGS V, as a Metal Gear virgin, my excitement is relatively subdued. I have however, grown up with Star Wars.

The charm of the previous Disney Infinity games and figures already piqued my interest, but slapping the ‘Star Wars’ logo on anything guarantees my pockets will develop holes. Even if the game wasn’t any good, I’d likely be splurging money on these figures in a J.J. Abrams induced daze.

But rather annoying, the game is good, very good in fact according to Shannon’s review! I too really enjoyed my time with it in a preview session. So, it looks like I want just be eagerly picking up the characters, but also the Starter Pack too!

Looks like MGS V may have to wait a little bit, the force attracting me to Disney Infinity is simply too strong.
TeamPicksSeptember-JakeBTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 – Man…Lego Dimensions, Tony Hawk, Super Mario Maker, Mad Max…what a month for reminiscing! But I must pick one.

If you saw me on the street and asked me what was one of my favourite games as a kid, Tony Hawk Pro Skater would be ollie-ing out of my mouth. Not only was it a franchise which had me spending hours upon hours skating the streets of LA, dropping through the roofs of abandoned houses or pulling my go to combo of double kick flip, manual to darkslide, but it was one that introduced me to a plethora of awesome music, bands and an edgy culture (just in time for my moody teenage years).

Absolutely excited to have this franchise back on the shelves and eager to see what they’ve brought forward from the old games and how they have melded these with modern and new features. While I wait for its release, I’ll just continue to design my custom skate park on paper so it’s ready to go for day one.
TeamPicksSeptember-JamesMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – This was a tough month to pick from especially since everything coming out varies so wildly in terms of tone, atmosphere and experience. But at the end of the day, I definitely cannot look any further than Metal Gear Solid V.

I first tried out the franchise when I was twelve years old and even though I had absolutely not idea what was going on, I was in love with the stealth mechanics. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the series more for it’s zany story and the political themes incorporated throughout the series. But one thing always remained a mystery to me – the story of the legendary soldier Big Boss. He’s literally been talked about since the first ever Metal Gear game and I’ve been dying to see his story told.

While it’s been told through Metal Gear Solids previously, this looks to be the one that’ll truly document Big Boss’s fall from grace. And I’m interested to see if Kojima can pull off an open world that is fun to play in, not repetitive and still manages to keep some of the trademark Metal Gear Solid DNA. It’s been a long three years, but I can’t wait to get into and finish the series I stared nearly two decades ago.
TeamPicksSeptember-Matthew MAD MAX – This is the beginning of the prime-time period of game releases, and it was hard to choose a winner, but my choice has got to be Mad Max. Since the release of Mad Max: Fury Road earlier in the year, and coupled with the history that is the Mad Max series, the game has been hotly anticipated in my eyes for a long time now.

The ability to cross the sprawling post-apocalyptic landscape, coupled with building your ‘magnum opus’ ultimate battle machine, and finally stepping back into the shoes of a Max Rockatansky that actually has the Aussie accent we know and love, Mad Max is surely set to appeal to the rev-head at heart. Maybe it’s the petrol in my veins, or the roaring engine sounds that linger in my ears long after the beasts have silenced, but this is a game I don’t think I’ll be leaving alone anytime soon.
TeamPicksSeptember-Mehdi Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – With Konami going absolutely crazy in the past few months, the future of the Metal Gear franchise is uncertain at best. But Kojima’s latest and possibly last entry into the series is shaping up to be one of the most involved and amazing yet. With a crisp new graphics overhaul for new generation consoles and a complex and structured narrative that is sure to keep players involved to the very end, The Phantom Pain could very well be a big contender for GOTY.TeamPicksSeptember-ShannonLEGO Dimensions – LEGO Dimensions is my most anticipated game of September for a few reasons. Toys-to-life has really come to life over the last few years and I’ve been a massive supporter/collectors. LEGO Dimensions takes a brand that that been with me since I was a baby and brings it into the 21st century. The only thing that has me sceptical currently is the price-point and overall variety of gameplay. The figures will be incredibly good detail-wise but the gameplay has a lot to prove before it can be guaranteed the success of Skylanders and Disney Infinity.