Releases:
“Just Cause 3” (Dec. 1) — Xbox, PlayStation, PC
December started with “Just Cause 3” by developers Square Enix. A third-person, open-world game, “Just Cause 3” focuses on the adventures of Rico Rodriguez. Play as Rico on a mission to liberate the island republic of Medici. Travel across the map through fast travel, by vehicle or on foot. If running isn’t fast enough, the player can use their grappling hooks to drag themselves forward or upward quickly — or use it to create chaos and destruction. Lastly, take to the sky and fly with Rico’s wingsuit. You can carry up to 3 weapons at a time along with C4 and Grenades. The graphics are much brighter than the previous title in the series making for a more beautiful and colorful world, and it makes the use of the DK pistol all the more hilarious to watch.
“Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” (Dec. 1) – Xbox, PlayStation, PC
The latest in Ubisoft’s first-person shooter series, “Rainbow Six Siege” dropped at the start of last month. “Rainbow Six 6” is a tactical shooter game which focuses on co-op game play. Play as a part of a team as you either defend or infiltrate a secure location. Each position on the team has a unique tech, weapon or ability, such as a drone or grenade dispenser. The environment is destructible, meaning that enemies can be shot through walls, floors and ceilings. There are multiple weapons, along with grapples, shields and barbed wire. Characters are customizable and there are no respawns. Rather than go in guns blazing, “Rainbow Six Siege” encourages planned attacks and teamwork.
“Starwhal” (Dec. 9) – Xbox
Multiplayer game “Starwhal” came to Xbox One last month. This chaotic, neon action game puts 2-4 players in the position of a brightly colored narwhal. There are 4 game modes: Zones, Heart Throb, Classic and Score Attack, as well as more than 25 arena and 30 obstacle and target challenge levels. Each level and mode offers a new challenge. The Narwhals are fully customizable with over 9,000 combinations, from clothing to sword style to rider. However, the two-dimensional narwhals only swim forward, so to go the opposite direction, the player must flip over backwards, exposing their vulnerable heart to their competitors’ swords.
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News:
“Super Mario” Updates (Dec. 21)
A free update launched to Nintendo’s “Super Mario Maker” on the Wii U. This update features a “Fire Koopa Clown Car,” “P Warp Doors” and doughnut-shaped “Bumpers.” Additionally, pages now display the fastest clear time for each course upload along with the ability to access bookmarked levels from the Course World tab.
Steam’s Christmas Error (Dec. 25)
On Christmas day Steam gave its users the gift of those member’s account information! On Dec. 25, many Steam users opened their account to find information other than their own, often in another language. Steam posted a response explaining that the information seen contained sensitive personal information like passwords, billing addresses and more. The cause of this error was a Denial of Service (DoS) attack by hackers. Attacks like this against Steam and other online video game distributors are common, and on this Christmas alone there were threats made against PlayStation Network and Xbox Live as well. Last year, Xbox Live was down for a few days starting on Christmas. Valve is working to track down and contact affected users and can promise that no unauthorized actions were allowed on the accounts that were viewed.
First photos of Michael Fassbender in new “Assassin’s Creed” Movie (Dec. 29)
This month brought the first look at the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. The movie follows Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) as he lives life through the eyes of a 15th century Spanish assassin named Aguiler. Fassbender’s assassin outfit takes many of its traditional aspects straight from the game, while modifying others for film and location. While no one will ever be truly satisfied, he certainly looks like an assassin.