Science-Fiction Weekly – The Movies Of 2017, Osiris: New Dawn

Destiny: Rise of Iron is this week's big science-fiction release. If you are looking for a verdict on it, you'll have to wait a few days; we've just gotten our hands on it, and Matt Miller is currently putting it through its paces for his review. However, if you want to know more about it right now, you can read our extensive cover story content from a couple of months ago, or better yet, watch us play through all of Rise of Iron in a live stream, starting today at 4 p.m. CT.

Rise of Iron delves into the history of the mysterious Iron Lords – the legendary heroes who have been hinted at for the last two years of the game's release – and sets players on the path to inheriting that legacy. Along the way, Guardians can expect to encounter a new raid, quests, and tons weapons, armor, and artifacts to collect, along with new competitive gameplay, ranging from newly available private matches to the arrival of Supremacy mode.

I know Forza Horizon 3 is as far removed from science fiction as can be, but Mass Effect fans are making me feel at home with this review. Here's my newest ride, courtesy of a talented artist who uploaded this N7 decal. The Forza marketplace is already loaded with cool sci-fi rides.

On September 28 (in just eight days) PC players can check out Osiris: New Dawn (in Early Access), a multiplayer-driven colony-building game that I've had my eye on for the last couple of months. The game is set in the year 2046, and through the technology of fold-engine propulsion takes players to the Gliese 581 system, where mankind is trying to establish a new homeworld. The habitable planet of note just happens to be the home of numerous alien species and is subject to meteor showers. Other online players can also attack your colony. This Fenix Fire-developed title can be played in first- or third-person, and looks to have expansive crafting and survival systems. I'll hopefully have more on this title in the weeks ahead.

Remember Star Citizen? The ambitious player-backed game is still deep in development, thanks to the $124 million its earned through various crowdfunding campaigns. We still don't have a release date or window, but we do have new footage of the game's first-person gunplay (which you can see below). Jump to roughly the two-minute mark for a look at the current state of combat.

Outside of games, the slate of science-fiction films on the horizon looks promising. In December we get Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (there's your one Star Wars mention), and two films that I can't wait to see: A deep-space mystery that unfolds in Passengers, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, and the human side of space travel in The Space Between Us, featuring Gary Oldman and Asa Butterfield. I love the look of the technology in Passengers (which you can see in the trailer below). The Space Between Us opens on December 16 (the same day as Star Wars), and Passengers is a week later on December 23.

The year to come also looks great. Pratt returns as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5, 2017. Kurt Russell is joining the cast as Ego the Living Planet, a role that Pratt recommended go to Russell. I wonder if we'll get another Howard the Duck cameo in this one.

The following month welcomes what I believe will be the best comedy of the year: Transformers: The Last Knight. Releasing on June 23, the fifth Transformers film is rumored to connect to Camelot and King Arthur. Apparently, a Transformer crash landed in Arthur's realm with an artifact in hand. That artifact is supposedly Excalibur. Merlin gained his magical powers from it. No, I'm not joking around. Leaked set photos confirm the casting of both Merlin and Arthur. The concept for this story is loosely based on an old Transformers G1 cartoon. I like that they are pulling inspiration from the old show, but that's one episode that should have been left in the vault.

Ridley Scott's Prometheus was a polarizing film. I enjoyed it, but people who expected a solid Alien connection were obviously left with little to chew on. Alien: Covenant appears to bridge the gap between Ridley's work in this series. Prometheus' synthetic David (Michael Fassbender) returns, but is joined by an entirely new crew aboard the colony ship Covenant, which stumbles upon a world filled with eggs, face-huggers, chest-bursters, and xenomorphs.

The year concludes with Blade Runner 2 on October 6, which once again stars Harrison Ford, Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, and Star Wars: Episode VIII on December 15. Other films that show potential in 2017 are The Dark Tower (February 17), Guardians (February 23), Power Rangers (March 24), war of the Planet of the Apes (July 14), and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (July 21). Sci-fi fans are going to be spoiled next year, especially with Mass Effect: Andromeda hitting. More on that exciting game soon!