![Gameplay in "Need for Speed" will focus on five core street-racing elements: high speed, customization, stylish driving, building a crew of drivers and outlaw behavior. [Contributed image.]](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/timesfreepress/img/photos/2015/09/20/1442609746092115e01videogamesneedforspeed2t800h4f16683505177_t800.jpg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077d)
The first day of fall is Wednesday, which obviously means it's time to start thinking about the holidays.
At least, that's how the video game industry seem to interpret the arrival of autumn. Even though Christmas is still three months off, some of the year's most-anticipated titles will be hitting store shelves in the coming weeks as publishers seek to lay claim to a slice of the holiday spending pie.
Naturally, there will be the expected annual additions to the "Assassin's Creed" and "Call of Duty" series, but this year's holiday game glut also will include new entries into several long-dormant franchises, such as "Fallout," "Guitar Hero" and "Tony Hawk Pro Skater."
Here's a guide to what's to come. Start your budgeting.
'TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 5'
' Release date: Sept. 29
' Summary: For the first time in eight years, a mainline entry in the pre-eminent arcade skating series will once again see professional and player-created skaters comboing tricks and completing objectives in a wide variety of environments.
' Why it's hot: After the disastrous flop that was 2009's "Tony Hawk: Ride," Activision is taking the Tony Hawk series back to its roots by removing gimmicky add-on skateboard controllers and focusing on the over-the-top trick combos and clever levels that established the series as a classic in 1999. New this time is a Create-A-Park mode that lets players customize their own skate-able landscape and share it online. Multiplayer will allow up to 20 skaters to shred at the same time.
' Price: $60 Playstation 4/Xbox One; $40 Playstation 3/Xbox 360
' Rating: Pending
'ROCK BAND 4'
' Release date: Oct. 6
' Summary: Live out your rock-star dreams by forming a band with computer-controlled or flesh-and-blood bandmates and working your way through digital performances of a massive repertoire of songs.
' Why it's hot: After five years of dominating parties and dorm rooms, the music game genre fizzled out a few years ago, but "Rock Band 4" brings the main contender to the "Guitar Hero" franchise back with a few significant tweaks, including custom performance sections (drum fills, guitar solos, vocal freestyle) and updated controller/instruments. The game includes a base library of 60 tracks but players can buy more from an online catalog of more than 1,500 songs. The game also supports controllers and song purchases from previous entries in the series.
* Price: "Band in a box" game/instrument bundles are $250, game/guitar bundles are $130; game is $60 on Playstation 4/Xbox One
* Rating: T for teen
'GUITAR HERO LIVE'
* Release date: Oct. 20
* Summary: The series that set off the craze for music-based video games returns with a radically new design that puts players behind the eyes and hands of bands as they perform.
* Why it's hot: The "Guitar Hero" franchise - and music video games, in general - has been unplugged since 2010. With "Live," developer FreeStyleGames are bringing the series back and shifting the viewpoint into an immersive first-person perspective. As players perform in GH LIVE mode, recorded videos will react dynamically to show how the crowd and the band are responding to the music. In GHTV mode, various channels will cycle through an ever-growing library of playable music videos. The game also features a guitar controller that has been redesigned to look more realistic and that simulates the need to switch between strings.
* Price: $100 game/guitar controller bundle, $150 bundle with two guitar controllers, Playstation 3/Playstation 4/Xbox 360/Xbox One/Wii U
* Rating: T for teen
'ASSASSIN'S CREED SYNDICATE'
* Release date: Oct. 23
* Summary: In the midst of the Industrial Revolution, 19th century London is embroiled in a class war between the wealthy and legions of downtrodden, poor factory workers. Meanwhile, twins and assassin's Jacob and Evie Frye build up the strength of London's criminal underground on a quest to overthrow the ruling class and seize control of the city.
* Why it's hot: For the last eight years, "Assassin's Creed" has been one of the flagship series in video gaming with annual releases that broaden the story of the behind-the-scenes battle between the anarchy-loving Assassin Brotherhood and the domineering Templars. "Syndicate" introduces a new gameplay element by letting players switch between two playable characters tailored to different styles of gameplay. Navigating the massive London sprawl - which is 30 percent larger than Paris in 2014's "Unity" - will be easier, too, thanks to carriages, trains and a new rope launcher that can quickly take players from the streets to the rooftops.
* Price: $60 PC/Playstation 4/Xbox One
* Rating: Rating pending
'HALO 5: GUARDIANS'
* Release date: Oct. 27
* Summary: With a looming unstoppable force threatening the galaxy, a newly minted super soldier must lead a team charged with tracking down Blue Team, an AWOL group of older Spartan warriors lead by Master Chief, the hero of the Covenant War.
* Why it's hot: Well, because it's "Halo," and fans of Microsoft's flagship first-person-shooter series have been waiting three years for a new mainline entry in the series. Although they'll also look out through Master Chief's gold visor, "Guardians" marks the first time since "Halo 2" that players can control another character in a numbered "Halo" game. Throughout the campaign, players will be accompanied by three teammates, either computer-controlled or other players. The beloved multiplayer gameplay has been expanded to include the new, objective-based Warzone mode that supports up to 24 simultaneous players.
* Price: $60 Xbox One
* Rating: T for teen
'CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III'
* Release date: Nov. 6
* Summary: In 2065, advanced defense systems have made traditional military conflicts all but impossible, and most combat missions are carried out by technologically enhanced covert operatives enhanced with advanced robotic weaponry. The general populace, however, is beginning to feel mistrustful of the increasingly blurred line between man and machine.
* Why it's hot: Pushing the "Black Ops" storyline even further into the future, "III" introduces a host of new weapons and abilities for players - online and offline - including enhanced mobility via "Titanfall"-like wall running and thrust jumps. The campaign features four-player cooperative support and online its best-in-class multiplayer experience has been revised to take advantage of players' navigation options to offer new approaches. Players can also choose from nine unlockable "specialist" classes with guns and abilities that unlock as matches progress. Oh yeah, and the zombies mode has returned with two parallel stories for players to work through together.
* Price: $60 PC/Playstation 3/Playstation 4/Xbox 360/Xbox One
* Rating: Rating pending
'FALLOUT 4'
* Release date: Nov. 10
* Summary: Two centuries after a nuclear exchange left the Earth forever changed, a lone soul emerges from the safety of an underground bunker into the wasteland of former Boston, where they must contend with mutants, scavengers, barbarians and robots all scrambling to survive.
* Why it's hot: Fans of the post-apocalyptic role-playing-game series have been frantic to receive a new entry in the five years since "Fallout: New Vegas." When it was announced at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the fourth entry in the series won numerous Game of Show awards from critics who lauded its improved graphics and new gameplay elements, such as a deeper crafting system, enhanced weapon customization and player-created settlements.
* Price: $60 PC/Playstation 4/Xbox One
* Rating: M for mature
'RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER'
* Release date: Nov. 10
* Summary: As she seeks to find a legendary city rumored to hold the secret to immortality, a decidedly more confident Lara Croft is showing hints that she's graduated from a blushing amateur into the self-assured adventurer she's destined to become.
* Why it's hot: The 2013 reboot of the long-running action-adventure series was the high point of the franchise in many fans' eyes, making its central character more believably vulnerable and realistic than ever. The sequel - which initially will be exclusive to Microsoft consoles - shows the evolution of the character while opening up new gameplay through a refined combat system and a more dynamic environment for players to explore.
* Price: $60 Xbox 360/Xbox One
* Rating: Rating pending
'STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT'
* Release date: Nov. 17
* Summary: Take up a blaster rifle - or lightsaber, if you're lucky - and relive some of the most memorable battles from the original Star Wars film trilogy through the eyes of the soldiers and heroes whose actions decided the fate of an entire galaxy.
* Why it's hot: With the imminent release of "The Force Awakens" in December, excitement for all things "Star Wars" is at a fever pitch, and "Battlefront" offers fans a chance to get a different perspective on the conflicts they know and love, as well as some that never made it to the big screen. In addition to running around on foot, multiplayer battles with up to 40 players will include a variety of controllable vehicles, from X-wing and Tie Fighter spacecraft to speeder bikes and AT-AT troop carriers. Thanks to developer DICE's graphics, every weapon, vehicle and environment is rendered in stunning detail.
* Price: $60 PC/Playstation 4/Xbox One
* Rating: Rating pending
'TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX: SIEGE'
* Release date: Dec. 1
* Summary: In response to a mysterious group known as the White Masks who are engaged in terrorist activities around the world, the Rainbow Six counter-terrorist group has been reactivated.
* Why it's hot: The "Rainbow Six" tactical first-person-shooter series stands alongside "Splinter Cell" as one of the pillar franchises derived from Tom Clancy's military/political works. "Siege" lets players tackle missions as either a custom character or named operators with various special abilities and equipment, such as drones, detrimental gas attacks and enhanced breaching. The game's multiplayer splits players between defenders and attackers, allowing the former to fortify their position, including hostages, by setting up traps while attackers scope out the scene and devise a mission plan. The game heavily emphasizes close-quarters combat and environmental destruction, allowing gunfire dynamically to tear apart walls and floors. In addition to competitive matches, players also can team up for cooperative play in the single-player campaign or in matches against waves of computer-controlled enemies.
* Price: $60 PC/Playstation 4/Xbox One
* Rating: M for mature
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.