This Week in Gaming: “Tropico 5” & More

Get the scoop on all the best video game releases for the week of May 19.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC

Wolfenstein: The New Order asks the important questions – like, what if the 1960s weren’t about free love but saluting Nazis and learning to appreciate kraut? Yeah, we didn’t ask that question either, but we did enjoy the alternate reality of blowing up Mount Rushmore, even if it was all just a flimsy excuse to kill some Nazi robot foot soldiers. The Wolfenstein series has been kicking around since the ‘80s (no bullshit), but it’s really fans of the 2009 reboot or gamers looking for an excuse to fire up their PS4 or Xbox One because of a shiny new game who are gonna want to look closely here. The New Order’s sci-fi slanted story, noir-ish style, comically grandiose villains, and first-person shooting bloodbaths make for a fun weekend (or longer, if you’re a bonus scavenger. You know who you are). 

Titanfall DLC “Expedition”

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC

Titanfall is easily the most compelling next-gen experience to date, so it’s hard not to be excited about an expansion to the game, even if that expansion is a $10 map pack that includes three new maps. Good news is that the three new maps make for interesting and diverse additions to the existing set with the forest wilderness of Swamplands, platformed levels of Runoff, and the massive training ground of Wargames. If you’ve already committed to the grind of working through the generations of the game, you’ll probably want to invest in the season pass right now instead of buying each expansion pack à la carte. If the Expedition pack is any sign of things to come, Titanfall’s season pass might be one of the better video game investments you’ll make this year.

Tropico 5

Platforms: PC

After the debacle that was SimCity last year (thanks to EA’s initial requirement of always-on internet), there’s something about Tropico 5 that has us heartened. A game where you get to be a dictator instead of the mayor embodies the “Damn The Man” sentiment that we hope to find in our video game sessions. Those familiar with the series will welcome back the game’s focus on building, trading, and expanding cities, but Tropico 5 also adds an entirely new competitive mode, allowing up to four players to develop a single island and choose whether to work cooperatively or destroy the opposing overlords. The game also boasts other refinements, like four eras of history to play through, implementation of a Dynasty system so El Jefe can live forever through his niños, and, of course, an expansion of the available buildings you can add to your city. It’s good to be the king dictator.