Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Box Art

Leifthrasir is a HD remake of the 2007 side-scrolling action RPG Odin Sphere, developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and the Vita. The story is set in a fantasy world called Erion and features five protagonists, each representing a different warring nation.

The original game was praised for its hand-drawn art style, and players will now be able to experience it in 1080p and 60 FPS. Leifthrasir is also said to bring refined controls and gameplay mechanics, additional stages and enemies, and both Japanese and English voiceovers.

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Hearts of Iron IV Box Art
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    Jun 6, 2016

Hearts of Iron IV is war strategy game made by Paradox Development Studio, well known for their grand strategy franchises like Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings. Like its predecessors, the upcoming game is set in World War II and allows the player to lead any nation during the conflict.

The intricate gameplay involves elements like waging war, managing production, espionage, and negotiation. Compared to the previous installments, Hearts of Iron IV is also said to be more accessible, have better AI, and feature a less rigid, sandbox-style gameplay.

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Madden NFL 17 Box Art

Madden NFL 17 is the latest installment in the popular football game franchise, made by the usual developers, EA Tiburon, for current and last-gen consoles. The upcoming title is said to offer the most balanced gameplay to date, bringing new ball carrier feedback cues, defender fake out mechanics, and an authentic defensive AI system based on modern NFL strategies.

There is also a bigger focus on Franchise mode, which some players found underwhelming in the game’s predecessor Madden NFL 16. Finally, there is a new feature called Madden 365 which will presumably provide daily updates to the game.

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Grand Kingdom Box Art

Grand Kingdom is a tactical turn-based JRPG developed by studio MonoChro and published by NIS America in the US. The game is set in a medieval fantasy world where four major nations are battling for dominance. It offers an expansive single-player campaign as well as online war mode where players fight for one of the Four Great Nations. Cross-play, but not cross-save, is supported between PS4 and the Vita.

Grand Kingdom has been out in Japan since November 2015, and a number of paid DLC was released so far. The good news is that the Western release will include all this content free of charge. This brings the total number of character classes up to 17, and story chapters from 12 to 48, resulting in more than 40 hours of offline gameplay.

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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Box Art

Infinite Warfare is the thirteenth main installment in the first-person shooter series Call of Duty. It is developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows.

The upcoming game is a lot more futuristic than its predecessors: it takes place in a distant future where humans have colonized the solar system, and centers around a conflict between Earth-based United Nations Space Alliance and the Settlement Defense Front, insurgents who seek to control the off-world outposts. Players will step into the shoes of Captain Reyes and take command of Retribution, a massive warship which serves as base-of-operations while journeying through the solar system.

New gameplay mechanics in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare include aerial warfare with a space-capable jet-fighter Jackal, and zero-gravity environments which require the use of grappling hooks and thrusters to navigate. In addition to the campaign, which promises “unforgettable characters and rich emotional arcs”, Infinite Warfare will offer several competitive multiplayer modes and a co-op Zombie mode with its own story. Despite the obvious sci-fi themes, the developers claim they’re going for a “realistic, plausible near-future story” (source).

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Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness Box Art

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is the fifth main installment in the Star Ocean action RPG franchise by tri-Ace. The sci-fi themed game features character designs by akiman (Akira Yasuda), notable for his work on Street Fighter and other successful series. It is published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4 consoles in the West (only Japan gets a PS3 release).

Chronologically, the upcoming title takes place between the second and the third installments (Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.) New features include seamless transitions into battles and events, and an increase to party size which can now have up to 7 characters. Familiar mechanics such as Private Actions or Item Creation will also be making a return, with some changes.

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Battlefield 1 Box Art

Battlefield 1 is a first-person shooter set in World War I. It is developed by EA DICE and runs on their proprietary Frostbite engine, which supports DX12. The game’s campaign is said to feature larger and more open environments, and offer more choice and variety to the players compared to the previous Battlefield installments. It includes a diverse set of locations, from Western front with its typical trench warfare, to Italian Alps and Arabian deserts.

The multiplayer aspect of Battlefield 1 is something fans of the franchise are especially looking forward to. Much like its predecessors, the upcoming game allows for up to 64 players on a server, and features a class system. There is a server browser, and an option for joining the matchmaking together as a five-player squad. Players can fight on foot and control vehicles used during WW1, such as tanks, bikes, biplanes, and battleships.

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