New Game Releases: NCAA 14, Civ V Expansion And More

It’s a pretty common complaint among gamers that nothing good comes out during the summer. Well kill that noise mister (or miss, as the case may be)! New releases might come slower during the hot, thunderstorm-filled part of the year, but there’s still quality stuff making its way to your consoles and PCs. Heck, Time even came up with a list of 25 games to look forward to this summer alone.

This week isn’t particularly jam packed, but with representatives from the sports, strategy and action genres plus a walk down memory lane with the biggest “Pacific Rim” fan out there, it’s not too shabby either. Here’s what’s new for July 9:

“NCAA Football 14” (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

College football is getting the Heisman pose from EA Sports when it comes to next gen consoles this year (and timing may have something to do with that), so it’s back to the PS3 and 360 for “NCAA.” New features this season include the addition of Ultimate Team, enhanced physics, even more presentation tweaks, and a dumbed down recruiting system. Okay, that last one isn’t really a feature.

“Civilization V: Brave New World” (PC) 

One of the most consistent time sinks in gaming gets its second expansion, adding nine new civilizations like Poland, Indonesia and the Zulus. For those who’d rather not conquer to win, “Brave New World” also has a heavy focus on improving the Culture and Diplomacy aspects of the game, giving players legitimate new ways to win. Build new wonders, manipulate the World Congress, and generally find new excuses to play just one more turn.

“Dark” (Xbox 360) 

With this title, it would be great if this game touted advanced lighting effects. That’s not actually the case, but it does bring stealth action to the world of vampires. The main character has to drink the blood of the vampire who turned him or face a fate worth than death, but he also has to drink other folks’ blood to refill the pool of points that powers his nifty stealth abilities. Sounds like he may need a straw.

“Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection” (PlayStation 3)

The glass half empty way to look at this is as Konami attempting to sell you some games you already own. Ah, but the glass half full view says you may not have all of these games, and certainly not all in one place like this. There’s also a cool 100-page art book and motion comic versions of the MGS graphic novels, and the whole package carries a price that’s (slightly) less than one new game. It’s Kojima-rific.