This Week in Gaming (Week 38)

[TheLostSwede]

To call this coming week jam packed with new game releases would be an understatement, as pretty much every day next week will see a big release or two. They may not all be AAA releases, but they're at least AA releases. As such, get ready for a crazy busy week with everything from driving games and parties, to lies and kombat.

The Crew: Motorfest / This week's AAA title / Monday 18 September
The Crew Motorfest features more vehicles than ever before in the franchise, including new brands, new car categories, and dozens of new models. Drive the most exclusive hypercars, such as the Lamborghini Revuelto, discover two generations of Toyota Supra, go electric with the Lotus Evija... and much more!




Lies of P / This week's first AA title / Monday 18 September
You are a puppet created by Geppetto who's caught in a web of lies with unimaginable monsters and untrustworthy figures standing between you and the events that have befallen the world of Lies of P.



Mortal Kombat 1 / This week's second AA title / Tuesday 19 September
Discover a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe created by the Fire God Liu Kang. Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and fatalities!



Party Animals / Wednesday 20 September
Fight your friends as puppies, kittens and other fuzzy creatures in Party Animals! Paw it out with your friends both online and offline. Interact with the world under our realistic physics engine. Did I mention Puppies?



Payday 3 / This week's third AA title / Thursday 21 September
Payday 3 is the much anticipated sequel to one of the most popular co-op shooters ever. Since its release, Payday-players have been reveling in the thrill of a perfectly planned and executed heist. That's what makes Payday a high-octane, co-op FPS experience without equal.



Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance / Friday 22 September
Team Avatar is back! Relive the epic adventure of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, as you play as Aang and his 8 friends to explore the most unique locations from the series, solve challenging puzzles and experience the most heart touching moments of Aang's story

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[EatingDirt]

I think listing the base versions price of the games would maybe be useful information to add to these articles, at least for me. I know this could be a bit complicated if there's PC & console versions(Lies of P is $59.99 on PC & $69.99 on console).

Quick Breakdown on Prices:

• The Crew: Motorfest: $70 on all platforms.
• Lies of P: $60 on PC, $70 on consoles.
• Mortal Kombat 1: $70 on all platforms.
• Party Animals: $20 on PC & Xbox.
• Payday 3: $40 on all platforms.
• The Avatar: hasn't listed it's price on steam but it's $50 on consoles, so I'd assume it'll be $40-50 on PC.

My opinions:

• The Crew: Motorfest is an awful value. Knockoff lower-budget Forza Horizons for more money than Forza Horizons 5 currently sells for. I think it's price should be at most $50.
• Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game, fighting game franchise people will (probably) buy it regardless. I'm not a fan.
• Party Animals is a great price to get friends to pull the trigger. Looks a lot like Gang Beasts, probably pretty fun with friends.
• Payday 3 is also a great price to get friends to pull the trigger if they played 1 or 2 and enjoyed it. Great price in my opinion and I'll probably end up picking it up sometime within the next year after I go through a bit of my backlog. Heard they switched they keybind for grenades and interact in and it has had... explosive consequences.
• Avatar is a game that exists.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I think listing the base versions price of the games would maybe be useful information to add to these articles, at least for me. I know this could be a bit complicated if there's PC & console versions(Lies of P is $59.99 on PC & $69.99 on console).

Quick Breakdown on Prices:

• The Crew: Motorfest: $70 on all platforms.
• Lies of P: $60 on PC, $70 on consoles.
• Mortal Kombat 1: $70 on all platforms.
• Party Animals: $20 on PC & Xbox.
• Payday 3: $40 on all platforms.
• The Avatar: hasn't listed it's price on steam but it's $50 on consoles, so I'd assume it'll be $40-50 on PC.

My opinions:

• The Crew: Motorfest is an awful value. Knockoff lower-budget Forza Horizons for more money than Forza Horizons 5 currently sells for. I think it's price should be at most $50.
• Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game, fighting game franchise people will (probably) buy it regardless. I'm not a fan.
• Party Animals is a great price to get friends to pull the trigger. Looks a lot like Gang Beasts, probably pretty fun with friends.
• Payday 3 is also a great price to get friends to pull the trigger if they played 1 or 2 and enjoyed it. Great price in my opinion and I'll probably end up picking it up sometime within the next year after I go through a bit of my backlog. Heard they switched they keybind for grenades and interact in and it has had... explosive consequences.
• Avatar is a game that exists.

Sorry, that won't happen, since TPU has a global readership and US pricing means nothing.
You're free to compile this info if you want though.

 

[ZoneDymo]

I think listing the base versions price of the games would maybe be useful information to add to these articles, at least for me. I know this could be a bit complicated if there's PC & console versions(Lies of P is $59.99 on PC & $69.99 on console).

Quick Breakdown on Prices:

• The Crew: Motorfest: $70 on all platforms.
• Lies of P: $60 on PC, $70 on consoles.
• Mortal Kombat 1: $70 on all platforms.
• Party Animals: $20 on PC & Xbox.
• Payday 3: $40 on all platforms.
• The Avatar: hasn't listed it's price on steam but it's $50 on consoles, so I'd assume it'll be $40-50 on PC.

My opinions:

• The Crew: Motorfest is an awful value. Knockoff lower-budget Forza Horizons for more money than Forza Horizons 5 currently sells for. I think it's price should be at most $50.
• Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game, fighting game franchise people will (probably) buy it regardless. I'm not a fan.
• Party Animals is a great price to get friends to pull the trigger. Looks a lot like Gang Beasts, probably pretty fun with friends.
• Payday 3 is also a great price to get friends to pull the trigger if they played 1 or 2 and enjoyed it. Great price in my opinion and I'll probably end up picking it up sometime within the next year after I go through a bit of my backlog. Heard they switched they keybind for grenades and interact in and it has had... explosive consequences.
• Avatar is a game that exists.

Explain your crew opinion, what makes it awful value? knockoff forza horizon? as if forza is so innovative... and can you drive all kinds of different vehicles in that game? no? then how is it a knockoff or awful value?

Payday 3 is just payday 2, I see zero reason to buy it, nothing seems to have been improved at all, it will be very interesting to watch the DLC's run out though, its borderline unprecedented, an identical game that will probably get identical DLC over the years... I mean what are they suppose to do, not release the payday 2 maps and characters for 3?

 

[TheLostSwede]

@EatingDirt for example, Lies of P costs anywhere from US$34.34 to US$73.53 on steam, according to SteamDB.
The US is the 7th most expensive country.

https://steamdb.info/app/1627720/

Even better example maybe, Party Animals is cheaper than in the US everywhere else.

https://steamdb.info/app/1260320/

@ZoneDymo amazingly, Payday 3 is wishlisted by almost 163k people on Steam...

 

[ZoneDymo]

@EatingDirt for example, Lies of P costs anywhere from US$34.34 to US$73.53 on steam, according to SteamDB.
The US is the 7th most expensive country.

https://steamdb.info/app/1627720/

Even better example maybe, Party Animals is cheaper than in the US everywhere else.

https://steamdb.info/app/1260320/

@ZoneDymo amazingly, Payday 3 is wishlisted by almost 163k people on Steam...

yeah well you should see my wishlist, I got probably over 100 games on there, many of which have been on sale for years now, heck right now, the surge 80% off and thus 3 bucks, battlefleed cothic armada, 3 bucks, transient extended 3.90, do I buy any of them now or before or in the future? probably not, who cares, more games....more of the same, got enough to play as is and I dont even care about those either....

So yeah, wishlists dont say much, you could have wishlisted that game as soon as they announced it, before you really knew anything about it, its like soft pre-ordering.

So I dont hold wishlisting as some sort of indicator of anything.

EDIT: heck I just checked, even I have it wishlisted lol

 

[TheLostSwede]

yeah well you should see my wishlist, I got probably over 100 games on there, many of which have been on sale for years now, heck right now, the surge 80% off and thus 3 bucks, battlefleed cothic armada, 3 bucks, transient extended 3.90, do I buy any of them now or before or in the future? probably not, who cares, more games....more of the same, got enough to play as is and I dont even care about those either....

So yeah, wishlists dont say much, you could have wishlisted that game as soon as they announced it, before you really knew anything about it, its like soft pre-ordering.

So I dont hold wishlisting as some sort of indicator of anything.

EDIT: heck I just checked, even I have it wishlisted lol

It was more of a surprise that it was that many and it is something of an indicator for me when I put together the weekly game releases.
I obviously don't take it as an indication of how many units will be sold, but it's at least an indicator of how many might be interested at least.

 

[trsttte]

Lies of P seems like an amazing reinvention of a classic childrens story, i hope it does well

 

[EatingDirt]

Sorry, that won't happen, since TPU has a global readership and US pricing means nothing.
You're free to compile this info if you want though.

Fair enough.

Explain your crew opinion, what makes it awful value? knockoff forza horizon? as if forza is so innovative... and can you drive all kinds of different vehicles in that game? no? then how is it a knockoff or awful value?

Payday 3 is just payday 2, I see zero reason to buy it, nothing seems to have been improved at all, it will be very interesting to watch the DLC's run out though, its borderline unprecedented, an identical game that will probably get identical DLC over the years... I mean what are they suppose to do, not release the payday 2 maps and characters for 3?

Motorfest has less production value, less actual content, worse physics, worse graphics than Forza Motorsport 5. The 'all kinds of vehicles' are ~10 planes & ~10 boats. Better off playing The Crew 1 & 2 that have both been $5 fairly recently. I've played both, and planes are a poorly implemented gimmick in 2 and they continue to be in Motorfest, looking at reviews. I've also played Forza Horizons 5, it's better than both and undoubtedly better than Motorfest. TLDR: It's not a AAA game, but has an AAA game price.

As someone that hasn't bought loads of Payday 2 DLC, Payday 3 looks good at $40. Newer engine(projected to be updated to UE5). I'm not sure where you're seeing 'nothing improved at all'. It looks like they've updated, tweaked and improved just about everything. It's a $40 game, they don't need to innovate, they needed to improve on the sequel, which it appears they have.

 

[Chaitanya]

Sorry, that won't happen, since TPU has a global readership and US pricing means nothing.
You're free to compile this info if you want though.

Certainly true, most indie games here in India get quite decent discounts compared to US prices. Just for example Pyschonauts is sold at approxnimately 40% of US price here in India.

Edit: currently 1USD = 83INR

 

[Tomgang]

Oh ho. There is a good haul this weeks of games.

The crew motorfest
Mortal Kombat
Payday 3

Is the ones i have my eyes on. But will see reviews and others reactions to the games. Because a little to many games releases these days with to many bugs and problems. I will not support developers who releasing what more are like beta versions of a game.

 

[mechtech]

I was just scrolling through the MK pics then this came up.................nice to see some new characters added to MK.

 

[ymdhis]

Which supercars are on those photos for the car racing game? I spot the Lamborghini Countach (overrated IMO, the Diablo is much smoother), but I don't recognize the car next to it (I wanted to say a 1990s Bugatti, but there's too much space between the headlights). The other pics look like they have a modern Ferrari and a Porsche (is it a 911?).

 

[BMfan80]

1st - Lamborghini Sian(I think)
2nd Countach and Diablo GT
3rd - Ferrari SF90(I think) and 308

 

[ymdhis]

1st - Lamborghini Sian(I think)
2nd Countach and Diablo GT
3rd - Ferrari SF90(I think) and 308

1. doesn't look like it, the open space around the headlight is too big and the hood shape is different. It does have a similar looking headlight shape, though.
2. oh crap that was the Diablo? Me and my big mouth. It's hard to tell from the front, I always saw the card from 3/4 angle only (I have a model)
3. SF90 looks dead on, the 308 looks a bit different but has a lot of variants so it could be one of those for sure.

Thanks! These are all beautiful cars.

Does the game have the iconic 1982 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am?

 

[ZoneDymo]

1. doesn't look like it, the open space around the headlight is too big and the hood shape is different. It does have a similar looking headlight shape, though.
2. oh crap that was the Diablo? Me and my big mouth. It's hard to tell from the front, I always saw the card from 3/4 angle only (I have a model)
3. SF90 looks dead on, the 308 looks a bit different but has a lot of variants so it could be one of those for sure.

Thanks! These are all beautiful cars.

Does the game have the iconic 1982 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am?

the other is Revuelto, replacement of the Aventador

and yes the 1982 trans am is in it.

 

[wolf]

Played the Motorfest Beta.... big meh. I haven't played the other crew games but the other vehicles types feel like a gimmicky/afterthought, and while the cars sound and look good, the arcade handling they've gone with doesn't gel with me much. The unskippable introduction sequence also didn't gel with me, a bit woke and awkward for my taste.

 

[PLAfiller]

Always liked Tekken over MK since PS2 era, but I gotta say the new MK looks fantastic. Bodies look natural, unlike some previous iterations where the game was attacked for female clothing and general

character design. The fatalities are making me uncomfortable though, I am mean, they really are brutal. I guess this was what's MK about, but still.....I could do with less graphic finishing moves.

 

[big_glasses]

Man, I've been looking forward to Party Animals. Now to find a weekend and alcohol to play it


After testing the beta + what they've said. It's certainly not much interesting in PD3 over PD2. It looks close to PD2, but with UE lights and runs way worse (which might be fixed) + always online (unless they've gone back on that too) and their general anti-consumer makes it a at-best "on-sale" purchase for me.

As someone that hasn't bought loads of Payday 2 DLC, Payday 3 looks good at $40.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Always liked Tekken over MK since PS2 era, but I gotta say the new MK looks fantastic. Bodies look natural, unlike some previous iterations where the game was attacked for female clothing and general

character design. The fatalities are making me uncomfortable though, I am mean, they really are brutal. I guess this was what's MK about, but still.....I could do with less graphic finishing moves.

Hence why I didn't include any of the screenshots.

 

[theouto]

I am excitedly waiting for reviews for MK1.

Always loved MK, I really can't play any other fighting game as they don't feel nearly as good. Tried games like GGST, it doesn't feel a fraction as good as mk, clunky, slow and unresponsive, and honestly that's how I feel regarding any fighting game that doesn't replace every C for a K.

Hoping this one is a good one, but mortal kombat usually is,

 

[THU31]

I played The Crew Motorfest trial for 5 hours. Surprisingly enjoyable. One of the better handling models I've seen in games like this, but not as intuitive as Forza, where it's pretty much perfect imo.

I really like the "career mode". Managed to complete 3 out of 15 playlists and they were very neatly designed. Then I played some pvp, which was horrible, but I hate pvp.
What I found a bit weird is that you get your own car, but you never get to use it in events. You basically get a loaned car for every event, which is fine, I like the variety, but it's a bit weird. You get some upgrade parts as rewards, but I didn't see any use for them during the trial.

Graphics are nice (similar to Far Cry 6), but not as good as Forza. Optimization is decent, but again, not as good as Forza. Managed to get locked 4K60 Ultra with 0.75x resolution scale on my 4070, which means 1620p. No DLSS or FSR. FH5 runs at native 4K60.

No crashes, no stutter, no major bugs. I had a problem in a boat race, where I couldn't use nitro and I finished last, I could never get close to anyone ahead.

The biggest problem is the price. $70 on PC is crazy. I just want to complete the campaign, end game doesn't look interesting (it's basically repeating existing events with a specific car selection).
I'll wait to see if AC Mirage is good. If it is, I might get one month of Ubisoft+ to play through both titles.

 

[EatingDirt]

I played The Crew Motorfest trial for 5 hours. Surprisingly enjoyable. One of the better handling models I've seen in games like this, but not as intuitive as Forza, where it's pretty much perfect imo.

I really like the "career mode". Managed to complete 3 out of 15 playlists and they were very neatly designed. Then I played some pvp, which was horrible, but I hate pvp.
What I found a bit weird is that you get your own car, but you never get to use it in events. You basically get a loaned car for every event, which is fine, I like the variety, but it's a bit weird. You get some upgrade parts as rewards, but I didn't see any use for them during the trial.

Graphics are nice (similar to Far Cry 6), but not as good as Forza. Optimization is decent, but again, not as good as Forza. Managed to get locked 4K60 Ultra with 0.75x resolution scale on my 4070, which means 1620p. No DLSS or FSR. FH5 runs at native 4K60.

No crashes, no stutter, no major bugs. I had a problem in a boat race, where I couldn't use nitro and I finished last, I could never get close to anyone ahead.

The biggest problem is the price. $70 on PC is crazy. I just want to complete the campaign, end game doesn't look interesting (it's basically repeating existing events with a specific car selection).
I'll wait to see if AC Mirage is good. If it is, I might get one month of Ubisoft+ to play through both titles.

Indeed. It's a B tier game. I haven't played it, but I expect it's a lot like the other Crew games, probably not bad, but shouldn't be a dime over $50. I'd be surprised if it stays at $70 for more than a month.

 

[TechHalp]

I played The Crew Motorfest trial for 5 hours. Surprisingly enjoyable. One of the better handling models I've seen in games like this, but not as intuitive as Forza, where it's pretty much perfect imo.

I really like the "career mode". Managed to complete 3 out of 15 playlists and they were very neatly designed. Then I played some pvp, which was horrible, but I hate pvp.
What I found a bit weird is that you get your own car, but you never get to use it in events. You basically get a loaned car for every event, which is fine, I like the variety, but it's a bit weird. You get some upgrade parts as rewards, but I didn't see any use for them during the trial.

Graphics are nice (similar to Far Cry 6), but not as good as Forza. Optimization is decent, but again, not as good as Forza. Managed to get locked 4K60 Ultra with 0.75x resolution scale on my 4070, which means 1620p. No DLSS or FSR. FH5 runs at native 4K60.

No crashes, no stutter, no major bugs. I had a problem in a boat race, where I couldn't use nitro and I finished last, I could never get close to anyone ahead.

The biggest problem is the price. $70 on PC is crazy. I just want to complete the campaign, end game doesn't look interesting (it's basically repeating existing events with a specific car selection).
I'll wait to see if AC Mirage is good. If it is, I might get one month of Ubisoft+ to play through both titles.

I really want to buy this but after ubisoft deleted my account for inactivity (because they haven't dropped a game worth playing in years), I'm extremely hesitant to buy anything that will vanish