Game of the Month: September 2013

It’s all systems go as the games industry enters yet another lucrative fall/holiday season, though this year is particularly significant due to the arrival of Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, respectively. Still, there's plenty of life left in current machines, and we’ve still got a couple of months to go until the new hardware arrives -- an ideal opportunity to snap up some of the blockbuster titles currently competing for your hard-earned cash on PS3 and PS Vita.

September proved to be a gargantuan month on the back of Grand Theft Auto V alone, with Rockstar’s crime caper generating a whopping $800 million in its first 24 hours on sale. With three playable characters, new gameplay additions, the biggest game world in Rockstar history and a full multiplayer companion to boot, GTA V really needs little introduction. It’s GTA, and it’s bigger, badder and more violent than ever.

You’d be forgiven for overlooking some of the other games on offer during the past 30 days though, so we should probably remind you just in case. For starters, PS Vita received what is probably its most defining experience yet in Guerrilla Cambridge’s Killzone: Mercenary, delivering a console-quality shooter in the palm of your hand. Meanwhile, retro-flavoured platformer Castle of Illusion: Starring Micky Mouse resurrected one of the most beloved Genesis titles with a HD makeover.

Over on the sports front, the annual kick-about between Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA continued with the latest installments in Konami and EA’s yearly footie titles, with both games offering their own unique spin on The Beautiful Game. This time however, it seems that Konami may actually be on the path to supplanting the EA juggernaut after years of playing the underdog.

SCE Studio Japan also had a double dose of helpings in the form of quirky titles Puppeteer and Rain, while Square Enix polished off the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, proving that the ravages of time has no effect on a JRPG classic -- and Kingdom Hearts continues to endure after more than a decade.

Turn the page to see what game we picked for September's Game of the Month award.