The Fall Video Game Rundown

Unlike other forms of entertainment (movies, television, music), video game releases are year-round, so blockbusters aren’t saved for summer and critically-acclaimed titles aren’t held out until awards season and the shitty games aren’t dumped in February. The fall season video game guide is packed with big-name sequels, classic re-issues and highly-anticipated new releases so clear out some space in the calendar and fire up postmates because your thumbs are gonna be busy.

BioShock: The Collection
Release Date: 9/13
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Chances are you own all three BioShock games already, but diehard gamers will still want this collector’s edition of the seminal single-player title that set the bar for video game storytelling. Think of this fully remastered bundle of BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite as a sort of Criterion edition of a favorite movie that you want to dive deeper into to fully appreciate its greatness all over again. In addition to upgraded graphics to fit current console standards, Bioshock: The Collection will have a behind-the-scenes documentary, hosted by The Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley, with interviews from the game’s lead animator Shawn Robertson and creative director Ken Levine.

NBA 2K17
Release date: 9/20
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC
Yeah, we’re pretty psyched for 2K17 too, and after a couple subpar seasons, it seems to have returned to form as one of, if not the, most authentic game out there. This latest edition features all the current NBA rosters (including KD on the Warriors), 21 EuroLeague teams, the 2016 United States men's Olympic basketball team and the 1992 Dream Team. Game controller drop. If that wasn’t enough, the banging soundtrack was curated by Grimes, Imagine Dragons and Noah Shebib and features 50 songs including Drake's "Pop Style,” "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" by Jay-Z and OutKast's "Rosa Parks.” Yeah, like we said, we’re excited.

Forza Horizon 3
Release Date: 9/27
Platforms: X-Box One, Windows 10 PC
Video gearheads know that the Forza Horizon series is the leader for racing addicts who have the need for speed. The third edition of the popular series allows you to be in charge of the fictitious Horizon Festival, a wild and crazy, open-road Gumball Rally-type race across real-life Australia from Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay. Personalization is what really sets this racing series apart from the pack because it allows you to choose and customize over 350 cars. The realistic gameplay features four-player cross platform play so you can hire and fire your friends and take on racers in any part of the world as the game is part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program. Suck it Vin Diesel.

Mafia 3
Release Date: 10/7
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, OS X
Mafia has always been the Fredo to Grand Theft Auto’s Michael Corleone in terms of popularity and original gameplay. This third edition seems like a bit of reboot as it is set in 1968 in the city of New Bordeaux, a fictional recreation of New Orleans. The crime saga revolves around Lincoln Clay, a disenfranchised Vietnam War vet, who is on a violent quest to build a new crime organization to confront the Italian mob. That premise already sounds like an upgrade as it doesn’t play up to the standard mob cliches and the deep South setting in one of the most tumultuous years in American history is ripe for fresh first-person video game take.

Battlefield 1
Release Date: 10/21
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Despite its title, this is the fourteenth installment in the best-selling Battlefield franchise. The game looks fresh despite being inspired by historical events in the period of World War I. Players can battle through the sky with biplanes over the scenic Italian coast or make saber calvary charges on horseback across the badlands of the Arabian deserts, while fighting with bolt-action rifles, flamethrowers and mustard gas. Although it’s more of a traditional first-person shooter, the divide-and-conquer gameplay gives the game a great teamwork element as well.

The Last Guardian
Release date: 10/25
Platforms: PS4
You will see three Star Wars movies in the span of time it’s taken Team Ico to make this epic adventure story about an ordinary boy and his mystical best friend and protector, Trico, a giant dog-cat-bird hybrid. A sibling to the fan favorite, Shadow of the Colossus and Ico on Playstation 3, The Last Guardian is a game almost ten years in the making, so the expectations are high, especially after they released an amazing trailer that looks about as cinematic as any big budget animation movie.