http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/arts/video-games/reviews-sunset-overdrive-this-war-of-mine-super-smash-bros-and-civilization.html 2014-11-26 22:58:34 Sunset Overdrive, This War of Mine, Super Smash Bros. and Civilization New video games include a Nintendo franchise showdown episode, a shooting-parkour combination and one inspired by the siege of Sarajevo. === SUNSET OVERDRIVE Released on Oct. 28 Developed by Insomniac Games For the Xbox One Rated M (Mature) for violence, strong language, drug references and sexual themes Think of Your character is called Player. Your world is full of video game clichés. And everyone’s got attitude. This colorful and optionally profane game (you can dial back the ruder content through a setting) does everything with a wink. It’s not meant to be taken seriously. You’re expected to appreciate that, so you can ease into the zany bombast. But Sunset Overdrive is just not that funny. Nevertheless, playing the game is fun, and substance wins over style. Touch the ground of the monster-infested Sunset City, and you’re in trouble. Dance through your fights from above. To combat citizens turned murderous creatures, you’ll glide across power lines, jump from rooftop to rooftop and use an arsenal of cartoonish weapons. Increasingly frenzied battles are set in a bleached-out dreamscape so ornately twisted that you’ll feel like an acrobat with a shotgun. Overdrive’s humor grates, but the gameplay carves a deep, particular groove that is tricky to learn and ultimately rewarding. THIS WAR OF MINE Released on Nov. 14 Developed by 11 bit studios For PCs Not rated You’re not a soldier in The characters are also prey to sadness and depression, moods denoted in the game’s interface. There are ways to stave off these states, though they almost always come at a cost. For example, having a drink of moonshine means you won’t have it to trade for something else. This War of Mine can be stressful and morally vexing. Soldiers come to the house, looking for a neighbor who took food from an airdrop. Food is property of the government, and they offer cigarettes, canned goods and fresh water in exchange for information. You’re responsible for three people who are either in “hungry” or “very hungry” condition. What do you do? Why play a game like this? Perhaps because it lets you safely explore wretched realities of the human condition. It’s a nightmare, but one you shouldn’t miss. SUPER SMASH BROS. FOR WII U Released last Friday Developed by Sora Ltd., Bandai Namco and Nintendo For the Wii U Rated E10+ (Players 10 and older) for cartoon violence and comic mischief Smash Bros. is a Instead of merely hitting an opponent until its health bar depletes, in Smash you have to knock it off the stage. The more characters are hit, the lighter they are and the more easily they can be smashed off the playing field. Smash matches usually involve four characters and up to four players, but in this version, the fights can support up to eight combatants. The game is still generally more fun with four. It’s less cluttered, if a bit less amusingly chaotic. Nintendo has also tied this release to its Smash’s new stages are fun, and the updated character roster is welcome. But the game is more or less a high-definition upgrade of a proven offering. CIVILIZATION Beyond Earth Released on Oct. 24 Developed by Firaxis For PCs (Mac and Linux forthcoming) Rated E10+ (Players 10 and older) for alcohol references, fantasy violence and language Instead of developing our world’s most successful society, in the The biggest change is that the series’s tech tree — the flowchart that lets you decide how to advance your civilization — has become a tech web. You begin in the center and can spread out as far and as fast as you want. A big change from the Civilization formula is the concept of affinities: Purity, Supremacy or Harmony. They are ideologies that describe how you’re interacting with your strange new world. You can become one with your environment or conquer it. You can build a novel kind of civilization or try to transplant the glories of Earth. The game falters in following too many of the tropes of a previous installment, Civilization V, and in not being exotic enough. Take its presentation of aliens: We’re on a new planet, rich with potential for interaction with other organisms, but all that those beings are good for is fighting. Beyond Earth is closer to home than it might at first seem.