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The time has come for the major game releases to start wading onto store shelves, thus putting an end to the traditional summer drought. The industry’s major publishers will start sharing wares — some already have — in an effort to gain the glory that is holiday sales.

There’s going be much to choose from between the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC over the course of these final two months of the year. Chief among these are three big releases that will be clamoring for the attention of your wallet and various disk drives. Fans of the Wii U dont have much to look forward to aside from "Xenoblade Chronicles X" and "Mario Tennis Ultra Smash." A very interesting 2016 is on the horizon, however.

Thus, instead of bogging you with another list of general information, we should take a different approach. There are two sides to each of these titles: What they’ll give you in terms of sheer joy, and what sacrifices you might need to make for that joy. Incoming now are the good and bad of fall 2015's biggest releases.

"Need for Speed" 
Developer: Ghost Games 
Publisher: EA 
Release date: Nov. 3 (Xbox One, PS4), 2016 (PC)

Pros: With 21 games in its history, this is probably a series that actually could benefit from a reboot. After a two year hiatus “Need for Speed” returns, bringing a roster of 51 cars to its arcade style racing domain. It’ll take cues from previous entry “Underground,” providing what Ghost Games calls an “immersive narrative,” while also taking the new step of making it open-world with a day and night cycle. Additionally, online players will be able to inhabit your story as well.

Surprisingly, EA announced that the game will be supported through free downloadable content packs that go beyond simple “car-packs.” What these will be haven’t yet been elaborated on, but the publisher has been stressing that they will be free, all of them, and without microtransactions.

Cons: Of course, all this comes at a cost that could make or break the game in the future: it requires a persistent online connection. Translation: if you don’t have Internet, you can’t play it. In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine (via GameSpot), executive producer Marcus Nilsson explained that many features of the game require a consistent online connection. These include an updated version of EA’s social platform Autolog, and in-game currency gained by taking screenshots.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops 3"

Developers: Treyarch, Beenox 
Publisher: Activision
Release date: Nov. 6 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC)

Pros: “Black Ops 3” brings the series to the year 2065 with some major changes — chief among these being the introduction of a four-player online campaign (with two player split screen offline). Additionally, players will now have the option to roll as either a male or female lead character. The soldiers, biologically and cybernetically enhanced as they are, can mind control drones and nanomachines (which set enemies on fire, apparently) and are connected to a direct neural interface, making them aware of the battlefield. In an interview with Polygon’s Michael McWhertor, Treyarch said that “Black Ops 3" will go “off the rails,” citing bigger battle areas meant to open up combat tactics.

The ever-popular multiplayer is getting some drastic changes as well. IGN has a rundown of some of the new specialists, each having different weapons and abilities. For example, the Reaper is a robot that wields a scythe and minigun, with a teleportation ability that sends him back to where he was a few seconds prior. These aren’t replacing the common soldiers, however, and their abilities must be charged before use.

Additionally, it was recently announced that the PC versions of the game will have mod support.

Cons: Those on last generation consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) might want to stave some of that anticipation — those versions of the games will only have multiplayer. That’s right — no story or campaign mode or single-player mode of any kind. Treyarch cited this as a memory issue with the older consoles which, given the scope of the campaign, is understandable. But for those that can’t afford one of the new consoles, this is still a bummer.

"Star Wars Battlefront"
Developer: EA DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts 
Release Date: Nov. 17 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)

Pros: Another reboot of an older series (and just in time for this), “Battlefront” will travel to planets of the "Star Wars" universe such as Tatooine and the newly revealed Jakku to duke it out in eight to 40-player contests across multiple modes. Said modes are looking pretty good so far; for example, Fighter Squadron gives you a ship such as a TIE fighter or X-Wing to fight in the skies, while Hero Hunt tasks you with tracking down one of the series’ main characters on a seven-man team.

For the "Star Wars" fan, there’s a ton to like here. The game appears to keep with the original trilogy quite well, and if trailers and gameplay videos are anything to go by there’s quite a bit of fan love poured in. Additionally, the beta was considered a success across platforms, which could reduce any suspicious about the game’s launch and server strain (given EA’s track record with that sort of thing).

Cons: No campaign. There will be offline co-op missions to partake in, but that might be rough selling point for some without stable (or any) Internet connections. Additionally, future downloadable content has already been announced with a $50 dollar season pass to boot. Say what you will about season passes, but we’re talking about $110 dollars to get the whole “Battlefront” experience, with map packs that can divide the game’s community between those that have them and those that don’t. Lastly, PC folks will have to use their, and I quote, "favorite third-party communication software" to talk to your team, as the game will have no in-game chat.

Related Links:

Celebrating the end of the 'Summer Video Game Drought' with 'Mad Max,' 'Mario' and more

Skitching and reverts: Looking back on the mastery that was 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'


Reach the reporter at damionjrohman@gmail.com or follow @legendpenguin on Twitter

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