Video game season is here
‘NBA 2K20,’ remake of ‘Legend of Zelda’ on tap.
It’s no secret many of the year’s biggest video games debut around the holidays – to capitalize on the all-important gift-giving season, perhaps – but you might be surprised what’s new this fall.
In fact, September is shaping up to be an unusually big month, with a handful of big-name releases making their bow – a pair of sequels in beloved sci-fi action series, the latest in a bestselling basketball franchise, and the remake of a Nintendo Game Boy classic.
NBA 2K20 (Sept. 6)
Landing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC, “NBA 2K20” (2K/ Take-Two Interactive; $59.99, rated Everyone for all ages) is the latest in the celebrated basketball simulation series, which fuses several solo and multiplayer game modes with near-photorealistic graphics.
The first thing players will notice is revamped controls and new animations, including improvements to dribbling and shooting, collisions – and new signature moves from all your favorite NBA players.
And for the first time, all 12 WNBA teams (and more than 140 players) are in the game.
The series’ long-running singleplayer career mode, MyCareer, gets a cinematic makeover. Led by up-andcoming director Sheldon Candis, NBA stars from today and yesteryear add to the story, which stars the likes of Idris Elba and Rosario Dawson. Speaking of past greats, “NBA 2K20” lets you play as or against more than 10 new legendary teams, including past champs such as the 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs and 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers and 200203 Phoenix Suns, bolstered by thenrookie Amar’e Stoudemire.
Other features include additions to the MyGM/MyLeague management modes and new audio, including plenty of songs and 60,000 new lines of playby-play and color commentary.
Gears 5 (Sept. 10)
Available exclusively for Xbox One and Windows 10 (Xbox Game Studios; $59.99, rated Mature for ages 17-up), the latest in the Gears of War franchise (now dropping “of War” in the title) is said to be the biggest game to date, with an epic campaign mode and new ways to play with friends.
The third-person tactical shooter stars Kait Diaz, who breaks from the pack to uncover the origins of the alien Locust race and a mystery surrounding her family. Other returning characters include “Gears of War 4” protagonist JD Fenix, Delmont Walker, and JD’s father, Marcus Fenix.
Multiplayer modes include Escape (a new cooperative mode featuring a three-player squads); Versus (team games with several ways to play on new and classic maps); Horde (face 50 waves of increasingly challenging enemies); and Map Builder (create, share and play on custom maps).
Borderlands 3 (Sept. 13)
If it’s visceral first-person action you want, “Borderlands 3” (2K Games; $59.99; ages 17-up) will be playable for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and on the Epic Games Store for PC (followed by the Steam platform next April).
The popular shooter-looter game introduces a fresh story – you aim to stop the Calypso Twins, Tyreen and Troy, from banding with an army of psychos, mutants, mechs, and monsters – along with four new playable and customizable Vault Hunters, new enemies and a cache of never-before-seen weapons
Whether you play solo or with friends online, the goal is to blast away at relentless baddies, collect loads of loot and protect your home from the galaxy’s most ruthless cult leaders.
Along with attractive graphics, “Borderlands 3” features deep skill trees, new environments, online or splitscreen co-op (cooperative) play and plenty of personalization.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Sept. 20)
An iconic 1991 adventure is getting a makeover.
Originally released for the Game Boy handheld, “The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening” for Nintendo Switch (Nintendo, $59.99; all ages) is a modernized – yet still portable – version of the classic video game, which begins with our young hero, Link, washing ashore on the mysterious Koholint island. In order to make it back home, Link must collect magical instruments to awaken the Wind Fish, battle enemies, interact with locals, solve puzzles and play minigames.
The refreshed art style will no doubt please fans of the game, along with allnew content, such as the ability to earn Chambers (Dungeon Rooms) and arrange them to complete objectives in a new mode.