SEPTEMBER SENSATIONS

ROUNDING UP THIS MONTH’S HOTTEST RELEASES

AUGUST has slipped seamlessly into September, and for school holidays survivors there’s a flurry of exciting new games to look forward to.

Kicking things off this week is the new Spider-Man game, Lara Croft is back towards the middle of the month and FIFA fans delight, the football giant is back just in time for payday.

1 DESTINY 2: FORSAKEN PS4, Xbox One Release: Out now

IF YOU’VE taken a break from playing Destiny, then you’ve missed quite a bit.

This week’s new expansion comes just after the recent 2.0 patch which saw the weapons system and gears balance significantly overhauled.

Forsaken introduces two new destinations to explore, and a plethora of new weapons, armour and Supers to acquire.

Once you’ve finished the campaign, there’s a new endgame called Gambit – a hybrid 4v4 mode that merges both the Player v Environment and Player v Player experiences into an epic battle.

This is an entirely new way to play Destiny 2, offering those players who may have become a little jaded by the game a completely different way to experience it.

2 MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN PS4 Release: September 7

FORGET everything you think you know about Spider-Man. Prepare for an intense open-world adventure in New York City as you combat crime whilst balancing reality with Peter Parker’s alter ego.

This is a more mature Parker, a better fighter, and more masterful in fighting the villains of New York.

The environments for this game look incredible, with gameplay akin to the Batman Arkham series, where you can hoist baddies into the air, and web them to a building.

There’s even a photo mode, which allows you to make very cool custom comic book covers.

There’s also a trio of DLC coming towards the end of the year, so this really will be the game that keeps on giving.

3SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER PS4, Xbox One, PC Release: September 14

SET two months after Rise of the Tomb Raider, this is the game where Lara Croft evolves into Tomb Raider.

Set in the unforgiving jungles of South America, Lara must find the hidden city of Paititi and stop the Maya apocalypse.

Developers have made lots of lovely little tweaks. The swim system has been overhauled, meaning Lara can now hold her breath for longer, and the addition of air pockets means you can explore further without having to come up for breath.

A new barter system allows players to trade resources, salvage parts and weapons in Paititi, while your stealth skills will play a bigger part than ever.

4FIFA 19 PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch Release: September 25

FANS champing at the bit to get their hands on the latest release can get their FIFA fix early by playing the demo.

Likely to be released on all consoles on September 13, there will be a total of 14 playable teams to choose from – including at least three Premier League sides.

For the first time the game will feature the UEFA club competitions, including the Champions League.

As far as the game goes, The Journey returns for its third and final instalment, The Journey: Champions.

EA has also made some refinements and added new features to the game play – there’s a new “Active Touch System”– an overhaul of player control, “timed finishing”– where the kick button may be pressed a second time to determine the exact moment the ball is actually kicked, “50/50 battles”– a system for determining how likely a player will win or loose balls, and “Dynamic Tactics”– which allows players to configure strategies, and switch between them in real-time during a match.

5MOONLIGHTER PS4 Release: September 28

WITH all the big releases this month, my fear is that this little gem will be overlooked.

Moonlighter is an action RPG with rogue-lite elements following the everyday routines of Will, an adventurous shopkeeper who dreams of becoming a hero.

Manage your shop during the day, and at night, strike out to explore dungeons and confront hordes of enemies, which drop loot upon defeat.

You can then spend your hard-earned wins on upgrading your store, and the town in which you live – maybe even hire a part-time worker for the shop, to give you more time for adventure.