Another work week has come and passed and now it’s time to trade in your coffee for a beer and relax with some quality games! This past week has been great for gaming, I spent most of my time playing WoW: Legion (Gotta make that 15 bucks count) and the Battlefield 1 beta. Both of which I’ve written about, but I’m sure you’ve read those already (Because you’re a fabulous person!). This week we see some free to play weekends, some major updates to existing games and this week I’m throwing in a board game! Let the games BEGIN!

Destiny: The Taken King has undergone a transformation and is now Destiny: Rise of Iron. This past week we saw Destiny get a massive 12 GB update, of course that means that the data for Rise of Iron is on our Xbox Ones and PS4’s (Sorry 360 and PS3, it’s time to go). Included with the update is new menu music, a new title screen and a ton of new updates. Guns, perks, talents and supers have all been touched on, altered or changed in some way to prepare for September 20th, when Rise of Iron officially launches. This weekend is going to be a lot of people readjusting to their favorite guns. Maybe, just maybe, I can finally just win a damn Trials of Osiris match this weekend (Probably not). If you don’t plan on playing Destiny until Rise of Iron launches, make sure to at least boot it up to start the update, just so you’re not keeping your clan waiting on the 20th,

Overwatch, it was on the list last week and it is again this week, for a whole different reason however. This weekend, Overwatch is free to play. Grab your friends and find out about the sensation that is sweeping the nation! Overwatch is not your typical shooter, it’s a team based strategy shooter where team composition and communication will make or break your experience. Blizzard’s first FPS is a testament to what a company can do when they create a game for the players rather than the dollars (Although they made more money the day this game launched than I will ever see!) The micro-transactions are all cosmetic with absolutely no effect on gameplay.

I attended PAX East back in April and My friend helped kickstart a game called Drinking Quest. Five long months later after we forgot about it, it came in the mail. If you played Munchkin and created drinking rules, you’d have Drinking Quest down to a tee. The maximum amount of players you can have is 4 and the objective is to finish all 4 “Quests”. Quests were piles that consisted of cards, draw a card, do the task. Once all the cards were drawn from the pile, you completed the quest. The rules of this game are very punishing. If you die, chug your drink. You die a lot if you’re not smart about it. By the end of the game, a total of 26 drinks had been chugged and no one was allowed to drive for about 12 hours (We started playing at 1 pm). If you need a reason to get drunk with your buddies, pick up a 12 pack (Or 3) and try your hand a Drinking Quest.

If you live in New England, like I do, that means the arcades on the piers will be closing soon. This weekend may be your last chance to win that giant stuffed animal that your girlfriend saw or it may be the last weekend to take the kids there again like your promised back in late June. Get some fresh air, smell the beach that one last time before the cold settles in for the season. I know that I plan on finally winning a 4 ft. tall Bulbasaur for my nephew (nah, he can live without it, it’s gonna be mine!). We often associate gaming with dark rooms and junk food and while that sums up my personal weekend schedule, it’s not always that way. The beach is a great place to find those old arcade games you played with your parents way back when and now you can play them with your kids.

So we got a board game, 2 FPS’s and an arcade, that’s kinda funny isn’t it? It’s different. And notice that I left WoW: Legion off the list, that’s because I’ve already mentioned it in every single weekend feature I’ve done. I really wanted to put it on the list again, believe you me, but I won’t. Alright at least I tried not to, go play some World of Warcraft: Legion. (I really did try guys, it’s hard). It’s the perfect game for any group of friends to pick up and play together. I’ve just released an eight page review of Legion on Monday, check it out if you need more convincing. https://thenerdstemplar.com/2016/09/05/world-of-warcraft-legion-demons-dungeons-and-one-mans-journey-through-it-all/

That’s all I got for you this week guys. Remember that the sun is good and there is no reason to fear it. Didn’t see a game you like on the list? Then there is no pleasing you! (Just kidding, don’t leave, please!). If you didn’t see anything you like, Steam, Xbox and Playstation all have free to play options available at the moment, give some of them a try, I’m sure there will be one to your liking. Have a fun, safe weekend everyone, remember to move around at least twice a day!