July is traditionally a slow month for gaming. And it must be said that 2017 is no different, at least when compared to the months gone by. But there are still a fair few new Xbox titles arriving on store shelves throughout the month of July 2017. Want to know more about them?
Aven Colony
After a break from the forefront of gaming for a decade or so, it is quickly becoming apparent that the city-sim genre is coming back with a bang! Obviously, the classic SimCity comes to mind when the words city-sim are uttered, but recently Cities Skylines, and now Aven Colony, are vying for your attention. The difference? Aven Colony is set on a completely new planet recently inhabited by humans.
It is your job to manage life on the alien planet Aven Prime, across tundras, deserts and jungles by building structures, bringing in new residents and exploring this mysterious planet with expedition teams. As well as managing crops, water, electricity and even crime (to name a few), you will also have to overcome alien species that may want to kill off your village members!
But that’s not all as the day/night and seasonal cycle will see Aven Prime freeze over in winter, with your supplies reacting. Expect less electricity to be generated and crops to not grow in winter – forward thinking and planning is key to sustaining life on this harsh landscape.
Rugby League Live 4
If you happen to be a fan of egg-chasing, and own an Xbox One, then unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a lot of choice in terms of rugby experiences on the market.
Rugby League Live 4 is the next title based around the sport to drop onto store shelves. New features from the previous installments of the series include custom logos and stadium creations to satisfy everyone’s creative side – as well as improvements in terms of tactics and gameplay, which promise to bring more depth to the game’s career mode.
Rugby League Live 4 should appeal to all fans of the sport.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Playing as an unlikely band of killers in the Edo Period of Japan (that’s a couple hundred years ago), Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is going to have you firing out some serious tactical thinking in terms of how to approach your mission in the towering castles, snowy mountains and forest camps of Japan.
Ultimately, the best Shadow Tactics players will want to get in by using a number of traps or distractions, before completing their mission and getting the hell out, preferably without being seen. But it is up to you how you play, and each of the six members of your gang will contribute to the challenge in different ways – Hayato the ninja will silently dispose of foes, Mugen will use his samurai skills to take down a number of enemies at once, Aiko will distract enemies by disguising as a Geisha, Yuki is the master of traps and Takuma will pick off enemies from long range with his trusty sniper rifle.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun will have you preying from the shadows and above, carefully choosing how to utilise each character’s skills, before executing your plan meticulously… and it’ll all be played out via a story that will see the group bond and form friendships.
Syndrome
Originally set to release in June but delayed until July – if you prefer more of an old-school survival horror to take up your gaming time, then Syndrome will be right up your street.
You see, Syndrome is old-school survival horror at its simplest.
Trapped on a drifting spaceship, you have awoken from cryosleep to see all your co-workers gone, with terrifying monsters left in their place. Expect to have just a few weapons to use and even less ammunition to ward off any enemies. There is the option to fight the enemies, but with their superior speed and ability to kill, you should probably stick to the shadows and avoiding the monstrosities altogether.
With claustrophobic dark rooms, a lack of firepower, and a more powerful evil – Syndrome is what you need to quench your first for survival horror.
Don’t Starve Mega Pack
Another delayed title, this time May was the month missing out, the Don’t Starve Mega Pack is now set to drop this month. There is no doubt that there are many survival titles out there, all designed to use extreme difficulty to test those skills acquired over years of gaming – just to see if you are the ultimate survivalist. But not many, if any in fact, do it like Don’t Starve does, with its unique viewpoint and art-style.
With regards to the latter, Don’t Starve doesn’t strive to look super realistic to match its gameplay, instead favouring dark and gloomy cartoon visuals, all shown from a far away viewpoint to see much of the world around your character.
As with most in the genre, Don’t Starve will be pretty brutal, throwing you in the deep end with little to no hand-holding, leaving you there to gather resources and craft weapons and the like to survive.
The Don’t Starve Mega Pack allows gamers to be treated to a whole host of content to test themselves with, being able to bring a local co-op buddy along for the hellish ride, encouraging teamwork to make the most of the little you will have.
Demons Age
June was the destination for Demons Age but with yet another delay taking hold, the RPG will now appear on Xbox One this month.
Some RPG fun is to be had with Demons Age on Xbox One – a classic RPG with various weapons available so you can dispose of your foes in turn-based combat.
The option to create a party is there, however, don’t get too attached to your new friends, as they have the ability to betray you at any stage of the game. Once your character crashes ashore the coasts of Moragon, beginning their adventure, Demons Age allows you to explore the dungeons of Moragon, start side quests and level up your characters will new skills and/or spells, all the while being attacked by enemies in a random encounter system.
With interesting characters to get to know and fight alongside, a whole world to explore and an array of weapons to equip, Demons Age looks quite expansive and could well have you captivated for hours.
Cars 3: Driven to Win
I will admit it, film tie-ins are usually pretty disappointing, especially considering some of the stellar films that they are based around. But Cars 3: Driven to Win, the game created to accompany the upcoming Cars 3 film, is looking to overturn that stereotype with the racing and stunting fun that it brings to the table – that’s gonna be a tough job…
Starting where the film left off, players will be found racing around 20 unique tracks and across 13 environments, as they take control of instantly recognisable characters like Lightning Mcqueen. There will also be some new cars to check out and customize, and when you combine this with stunts, drifting, driving backwards and side-bashes, Cars 3: Driven to Win seems like it’ll be pretty crazy.
If you or your child is a fan of the Cars film franchise and want to experience what it would be like to drift through Radiator Springs yourself, then Cars 3: Driven to Win is the game to pick up.
Fortnite
The fact that Borderlands creators Gearbox have partnered up with Fortnite developers Epic Games to bring a retail version of the new third-person builder and loot-em-up should give some insight into the mood of Fortnite.
All the crafting, fighting and looting you will be doing in Fortnite will be wrapped up by bright colours and well detailed characters that Epic Games have dreamed up. With the Constructor, Soldier, Outlander and Ninja, you’ll be left using weapons that you have scavenged in the environment. If you want to survive in this monster infested apocalypse then you will be wanting to find the best resources and loot, before heading to your fort, and building it how you want with your friends – the stronger the materials, the better the fort and the easier it will be to take out the monsters with minimal damage to your new home.
In a nutshell, Fortnite has the colour of Sunset Overdrive mixed with that amazing Borderlands loot system and an in depth character customizer to make your unique hero. Play how you want and defend your home from the monsters… or else.
8-Bit Armies Collector’s Edition
While it may look a little bit like Minecraft, 8-Bit Armies Collector’s Edition is as far as you can get from the famed sandbox. It is in fact a RTS base-builder that can be played with up to eight online buddies, with the name of the game being to build up your armies by gathering resources and ultimately crushing your enemy.
With a variety of single player and co-op missions to test your skills at, through a wealth of buildings and units to deploy, 8-Bit Armies is simple to understand, but may take you a bit of time to get your head around – especially when you take into account all the units and when it is best to unleash them.
If you’re into your real time strategy, and want a retro look to your base-buildings, then grab a few friends and build up the ultimate army!
So, there we have it, the full Xbox One retail releases for July 2017. What will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments below or via the usual social channels.
Don’t forget, you can pick up each of these titles in digital form too. Should that be your purchasing preference then make sure you hit up CDKeys and grab some of their super cheap Xbox Live Credit first. It’ll ensure your money goes just that little bit further.
Syndrome looks awesome, also excited for Don’t Starve Together