The summer season for games is not as expansive as the winter releases, but the August game releases include some of the biggest games coming out for the summer season: a new Mario game on the horizon, a sequel to the popular Transformers game, and an introduction to the next Square Enix game Sleeping Dogs. The August game releases show much promise to some exciting games.

Action

8/7 Persona 4 Arena (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/14 Darksiders II (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/14 Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/19 New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo 3DS)

8/21 Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/28 Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/28 Ratchet & Clank Collection (PS3)

8/28 Journey Collector’s Edition (PS3)

Persona 4 Arena is a new take on ATLUS’ most popular game franchise. ATLUS is taking the characters from Persona 4 and putting them into a fighting game. Each character will have special moves and combos based on their focal traits from the RPG, and there will be various levels that will showcase some of the scenes from the RPG. Persona 4 Arena was actually a Japanese Arcade game, but due to the dying arcade franchises in the US, the Arcade game was never released in the States, but instead has been turned into a console game.

Sleeping Dogs is a new game by Square Enix, and with the financial success of Deus Ex and Final Fantasy 13-2, Square Enix is looking to further success with a new franchise. The game focuses on the player playing as an undercover cop in Hong Kong to take on the Triads in a Grand Theft Auto style open-world city. The style garnered high appeal at E3.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the continuation of the revamped side-scrolling Mario adventure. This is the 3DS version of the New Super Mario Bros. series, with the console New Super Mario Bros. game to come out for the Wii U later this year. The game  is all about collecting coins, with new powers and game modes which focus entirely on collecting coins. So instead of just going around to collect the most 1-Ups you could possibly get, players must now compete to see who can collect the most coins.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the sequel to the successful Transformers: War for Cybertron. The game brings in more expansive levels for the game missions and multiplayer maps and also introduces a few new features to the game. The online mode customization is back and more expansive with new transforming abilities and weapons to pick and choose from, and the game also features the ability for players to transform into dinobots.

RPG

8/14 The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)

8/28 Guild Wars 2 (PC)

Guild Wars 2 brings back the popular MMO to the forefront in this new installment. With the human race in decline, different species have starting coming out to the forefront to strive and take over humanity. Guild Wars 2 introduces an in-depth story being told through the game in which every action the player takes leads to changes in future events. The game also includes a new action-oriented combat system to change the combat flow from your typical RPG to a more faced paced combat feel.

With the addition of a Player Vs. Player mode, Guild Wars 2 also has a World Vs. World mode, in which hundreds of players compete for domination over various expansive maps in one large scale battle. The game also does not have a subscription fee in-order to play the game, so once the game has been purchased, the player can jump right in without having to pay for a subscription in order to play the game, as most MMOs require now.

Sports

8/28 Madden NFL 13 (Nintendo Wii, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360)

Madden NFL 13 truly seems to be the next generation in sports games. The game features a new physics engine powered by the infinity engine, a massive connected Career network, and Madden Social which adds a more unique experience with challenging against your friends. The game also introduces the Madden Ultimate Team, which allows players to build their own team by using both NFL and fantasy players.

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