New ‘South Park,’ ‘Pokemon,’ ‘Skyrim’ role-playing games
While many associate the holiday season with hot cocoa and curling up next to a fire, I associate it with role-playing games. Growing up, nothing was better than being wrapped in a blanket, controller in hand, and running through the latest “Final Fantasy” title.
For this holiday season, players will find offerings that epitomize the so-so year for RPGs. It’s one headlined by a great game and several solid remakes. Here are the engrossing RPGs that will keep players busy during the cold days of winter.
“SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE ”»
With this sequel being helmed by Ubisoft San Francisco instead of Obsidian Entertainment, I had doubts that it would be successful. Worries were further stoked by delays.
Thankfully, I was wrong about “Fractured but Whole.” The followup to “South Park: The Stick of Truth” trades a fantasy adventure for one involving comic book characters. Cartman, Stan, Kyle and the gang decide to play superheroes bent on fighting crime and scoring a movie deal in line with the Marvel franchises.
Of course, nothing is as it seems as the players once again step into the role of the New Kid. Gamers have a chance to create their own hero with a backstory provided by Cartman. Although the narrative isn’t as focused as the original, “Fractured but Whole” has deeper gameplay elements, including a reworked combat system.
Now, positioning matters in battles. This opens up the turn-based combat as players have to move their heroes in the right position to attack and evade enemy retaliations. This feature also creates a more diverse cast of characters that players befriend in this raunchy but hysterical sequel.
“POKEMONULTRASUN” AND“POKEMONULTRA MOON” »
Fans have a chance to go back to Alola in this revamped version of “Pokemon Sun” and “Pokemon Moon.” It follows a similar path to the original game, but the big differences are in the gameplay tweaks, ad- ditional Pokemon and new story content, including the return of Team Rainbow Rocket.
This is the perfect version of the game for those who skipped the original. It’s an entry that’s more fleshed out with an expanded photo mode, more abilities for the Rotom Dex and more Z-moves to customize Pokemon.
For hardcore fans, the chance to catch more new pocket monsters and take on Team Rainbow Rocket should be enough to keep “Ultra Sun” and “Ultra Moon” on their radar. As for the casual players who beat the original game, they can skip this and wait for the next chapter in the series. “THE ELDER SCROLLSV: SKYRIM” » A common joke among gamers is how Bethesda Softworks has managed to squeeze every dollar out of this chapter of the legendary RPG game by releasing it in every form imaginable.
Now “Skyrim” has been released as a remastered game on the current generation of consoles. It has a virtual reality port for PlayStation VR, but the entry that will make many fans happy is the one on the Nintendo Switch.
The portable console is, perhaps, the perfect way to explore the enormous amount of content. Having “Skyrim” in the palms of your hands is remarkable, as the Switch version faithfully renders every pixel of the original game.
Despite being nearly 6 years old, “Skyrim” holds up. It still has the ability to enthrall fans, but the portability of Switch enhances the magic. The fact that players can take the game anywhere means they can spend more free time exploring every cave and dungeon. They don’t have to block out gaming sessions for the game; instead, they can take a break and climb a mountain to reach dragon priest shrine.
The portability of “Skyrim” comes with a price though. Players need to bring along an extra battery like the Nyko Power Pak or find a way to quickly charge the Switch because the RPG drains the console power quickly.