It's the middle of the month, and two new games have made themselves available! For Honor is a medieval combat game which focuses on player skill rather than button mashing. It's one of the better games in the genre, and you'd be mad not to download it. For Honor: Standard Edition is available from August 16th – September 15th. Disney Epic Mickey 2 is a platformer with a difference. Paint and strip your way through the Wasteland world as you take on the role of Mickey Mouse but this time, his friend Oswald is along for the ride. It's available from August 16th – 31st. Lastly, if you're a bit late to the party, don't miss out on Forza 2, an outstanding racer that's not to be missed if you're a fan of the genre. You can read the review here.

For Honor: Standard Edition

Available Aug 16th – Sep 15th

If you haven't heard of For Honor before then where have you been? It's been in the news for various positive and negative reasons, and it's a triple A title that has brought even more players to the Medieval PvP genre.

Taking some cues from Warband, For Honor uses directional combat in which you must choose the correct direction to block an incoming attack, as well as trying to fool your opponent by quickly switching directions in your own attacks to land a hit.

It sounds simple on the surface but this is all happening in a fraction of a second and duels between two highly skilled players can be pretty epic.

There are three different factions that you can choose from – Knight, Vikings, and Samurai – and each faction has four character classes to choose from. Vanguards, Assassins,  Heavies, and Hybrids.

Each class has distinct skills and abilities, and two Assassins from different factions will play differently, although they have a similar role. The Hybrids bring the most flavor to the table with each of the four Hybrids focusing on an element of battle that the others don't.

You'll need to spend some time learning how to master each class because For Honor is not a button-masher, and if a player is better than you, you'll almost always lose in a 1 on 1 fight.

Like any good PvP game you'll improve over time, and seeing your own ability grow can become addictive, so be warned!

There is a surprising amount of customization for your characters too, so it's unlikely you'll meet someone that looks exactly the same as you, although fighters of the same class from the same faction will look reasonably similar.

You'll earn XP and in-game currency as you play, but earning enough to unlock items can become a major grind, which is why you can also pay real money to get there faster. I'm not a fan of micro-transactions but at least For Honor's system isn't pay to win.

There are a few different game modes to choose from, but the most popular ones are Dominion and Duel. In Duel, you'll have teams of 1-4 players who just duke it out, and it can get pretty tense, especially when you're alone fighting one or more opponents. This is also an excellent way to train your skills because you only need to focus on fighting and not on other objectives. There are no bots to get in the way either!

Dominion pits eight players in teams of four against each other, fighting over large areas while trying to capture objectives or prevent the enemy from doing the same. There are hordes of cannon-fodder bots running around to spice things up, and if you've ever seen a trailer of For Honor, you've probably already seen this mode in action.

There's just no reason not to download For Honor if you have any interest in this type of game. It's worth noting that there is a Single Player story but it acts more like a lengthy tutorial than anything else and it's the multiplayer side of the game that should keep you coming back for more!

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Available Aug 16th - 31st

Disney Epic Mickey 2 is the sequel to the original Epic Mickey, where Mickey Mouse inadvertently caused a disaster in Wasteland (the cartoon's world) by messing around with a brush. The brush could create and destroy things, spawning all kinds of problems for the citizens and causing a rift between Mickey and Oswald.

There were some issues with the original game, but many people enjoyed it for the sheer scope of the game.

In Epic Mickey 2, you'll be using the main mechanic of painting or stripping the world away. It can be fun to squirt paint all over the place just to see what happens but you'll be using it mainly to fill in platforms to jump and stand on as well as defeating the many enemies that try to stop you.

The developers have added a lot more in the second game with tons of side quests to pick up and complete. You'll get so many that you might forget to complete some of them, in fact!

The game is now fully voice-acted too which adds to the cartoonish feel. You'll also be presented with some musical scenes that might be a hit or miss, depending upon your preference.

Another of the major changes is the split screen co-op in the game. Oswald is your partner in crime for most of the game and can be controlled by the AI if nobody is home to take over. Playing with a friend is usually preferable, but the reduced screen size can make jumping across chasms even dicier than it often is. Not being able to judge the jump distance is a common problem in 3D platformers like this and Epic Mickey 2 is no exception!

As you play and explore you'll unlock cool costumes (like Mickey's apprentice sorcerer outfit) which are nice to collect and it's worth exploring every nook and cranny to make sure you don't miss any!

If you like Disney and/or platform games then definitely give this a go. If you like the game a lot, then it's probably worth your money picking up the original game too to get the full Epic Mickey experience!