This Week’s Games

This week’s biggest release is frequently delayed Mafia II. General opinion seems to be that it looks really nice but the missions are dull – they’re same old guff we’ve seen before. Reviews so far include a 4/10 from Eurogamer and a 6/10 from EDGE. Did 2k Czech learn nothing from EA’s The Godfather II?

Continuing with the 50s theme this week is 505 Games’ Grease for Wii and DS. I’m willing to bet that it’s stinking awful. Thank goodness for Sega’s Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade – also out on Wii this week – to reassure us that not all Wii games nowadays are for fatties and 10 year old girls. Is it good? A “B” review score from 1UP would suggest so.

Also out on Wii and DS:  Konami’s Gormiti, based on those little plastic toys, and Pirates: Adventures of the Black Corsair. I can’t find any review for either but did come across some very blurry looking screenshots for Pirates. Probably best to wait for Sid Meier’s scurvy sim.

A trio of games from Ubisoft round this week off – Rayman Rabbids Trilogy and My Fitness Coach: Dance Workout on Wii and Imagine Dream Resort on DS. Three Rabbids for the price of one? Sold!

Next week: Metroid: Other M, Hawx 2, Puzzle Quest II, WordJong, Valkyria Chronicles II and Tetris Party Deluxe.

This Week’s Games

I’ve been looking at the review scores for Madden NFL 11 – released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this week – and have noticed a pattern. Madden 09 received an average review score of 85%, Madden 10 got an average of 86% and so far Madden NFL 11 clocks in with 87%. If this pattern continues, in 13 years time we’ll have a 100% perfect Madden game. Result!

MCV, who are usually pretty reliable, say that Family Gameshow is out on Wii this week too. However, I just looked on Amazon and they say that it has been out since November 2009. There are even a few pre-owned copies for sale. MCV list Funbox Media as down as the publisher, but the version on Amazon has Zushi, who went bust earlier this year, as the publisher…so it’s all a little confusing. Two games called Family Gameshow, perhaps?

Freddie Flintoff’s Power Play Cricket on DS looks like being the only other game to hit stores. It’s £17.99 on Play if cricket is your thing.

Next week: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Adventures To Go, We Sing Encore, Demon’s Souls and Thomas and Friends: Hero of the Rails. Choo choo!

This Week’s Games

Move along PlayStation and Xbox owners – there’s nothing for you to see here. There isn’t a great deal out for owners of Nintendo’s consoles either though, so there’s no need to be jealous.

THQ’s The Last Airbender for Wii and DS is the biggest game of the week and is based on the upcoming movie that doesn’t look too bad at all. The movie itself is based on the Avatar cartoon, but I’m guessing they weren’t allowed to call the movie Avatar because of that other movie. US magazine Nintendo Power appears to be the only place to review it so far. They gave the Wii version 6/10 and the DS version 7.5/10.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice on DS is another movie tie-in, based on a Disney movie that looks like shameless clone of the Harry Potter saga. Then there’s Art Academy: Painting and Drawing, which is being published by Nintendo themselves.

Chicken Blaster on Wii rounds off this week’s releases. The publisher’s website has been showing a “coming soon” page for months, so they clearly don’t want to world to see what tat they’re planning to publish.

Next week: Madden NFL 11 on PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 and Family Gameshow on Wii.

This Week’s Games

Crackdown 2 has certainly taken its sweet time coming but reviews have been good. Even EDGE liked it, handing out an 8. If anything, the zombie-like enemies will do for target practice until Halo: Reach is released in a few months time.

The only other two games out this week are both on Wii and according to GameRankings nobody has reviewed them yet. PokePark Wii looks like being one for the under 10s – the Japanese trailer shows a string of rather simplistic looking mini-games. Marines: Modern Urban Combat on the other hand is a budget priced first person shooter. There’s a trailer on YouTube that’s good for a giggle – everybody appears to have wooden limbs and soiled pants.

Next week: Toy Story 3: The Video Game and Puzzle Quest II.

This Week’s Games

Despite the cute exterior, 505 Games’ Naughty Bear has been compared to Manhunt and has a 16+ age rating. Why all the violence, you ask? It’s because Naughty Bear wasn’t invited to another bear’s birthday party. It’s by the developers behind sleeper hit WET, so it might be worth a look despite the fact it hasn’t been reviewed yet.

Without a movie to tie-in into, Activision’s Transformers: War For Cybertron has turned out somewhat better than the last two Transformers games. Reviews suggest that it pays a great amount of fan-service and that the banter between robots is brilliant. However, it’s also quite short and the AI is dumber than Metal Mickey. I played the online beta for a bit, which plays a bit like Call of Duty with kill streaks, XP and the like. It’s much easier to get a kill though. While we’re on the subject of licensed games, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is out this week too.

It also looks like Activision are slipping Singularity into stores. This was quite hyped up at one point; I guess the end product isn’t as good as anticipated. Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 3 is certainly good though – it shifted way more copies than expected in the US, no doubt helped by the string of 10/10 review scores it gained.

Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of Osbourne House on DS could be a strong seller – the last one did very well for Ubisoft. Sadly I can’t see Metal Slug XX on PSP selling well – despite a cult following, Metal Slug games tend to drop in price very quickly and then end up in the bargain bin.

Next week: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Tournament of Legends, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, Pro Cycling Tour Manager: Tour De France 2010, Dragon Ball Z: Origins 2 and APB on PC.

This Week’s Games

Dust off your Wii – although some might say it’s an unnecessary sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is reportedly Nintendo at their finest. I haven’t heard a bad word about it, with review scores including a 10/10 from EDGE. If you run quickly to the high street you might be able to bag the metal tin edition. Once you’ve taken the game out of the tin, it can then be used as a money box. Classy.

Great Party Games is also out this week on Wii. I bet it isn’t great. And if you haven’t grown bored of strumming on a plastic guitar yet then Green Day: Rock Band should be of interest. It’s out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

I’m not sure why, but semi-historic war sims tend to be slow but steady sellers that hold their price. 505 Games must have cottoned onto this – after the success of IL2 Sturmovik, they’re this week releasing Naval Assault: The Killing Tide on Xbox 360.

THQ are pushing out two new DS games too – Beat City and Nancy Drew: The Model Mysteries. Beat City is a rhythm action platformer; US reviews were good, and it’s only £11.99 on Play. You don’t really want to know stuff about Nancy Drew: The Model Mysteries, right? Good!

Next week: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Project Runway, Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force: Herbert’s Revenge, Shrek: Forever After, Big Beach Sports 2, U-Sing: Girls Night, Free Running and International Cricket 2010.

This Week’s Games

“You should cut down on your pork pies, mate. Get some exercise!” sang Blur back in 1994. Well, it wasn’t actually Blur that sung that line – it was that chap from Eastenders. Sitting in front of the TV playing Actvision’s new racer Blur certainly won’t give you any exercise but it should put a smile on your face – reviews have been good, including an 8 from Eurogamer. Also: one of the tracks is based on Brighton seafront.

There are two new Wii games out though that might strengthen those limp wrists of yours – No More Heroes 2 and Samurai Warriors 3. I hope No More Heroes 2 sells well, but after seeing the poor sale figures for Sin & Punishment 2 I doubt that it will.

Three new sports games are also arriving in stores this week – Pure Football, Backbreaker and UFC Undisputed 2010. I would approach both Pure Football and Backbreaker with caution – the former hasn’t been reviewed by anybody yet, while the average review score for Backbreaker currently stands at 50%. UFC Undisputed 2010, if you haven’t read our review, is pleasingly brutal and realistic but the career mode is dull and the controls take a while to learn.

Sega’s Alpha Protocol finally sneaks into stores. Again, there are currently no reviews. There was a little bit of hype behind it when it was first announced, and it’s also developed by Obsidian Entertainment who did Star Wars: KoTOR II, but in the last few months Sega has been oddly quiet about it.

And would you believe it? GameRankings show no reviews for the belated movie tie-in Clash Of The Titans either. Amazon are selling it for £23.30, which probably says it all.

Next week: Assassin’s Creed II: Complete Edition, Rooms: The Main Building, SBK X, Dark Star One: Broken Alliance and a load of PSP re-releases.

This Week’s Games

This week’s biggest game is a toss up between Capcom’s Lost Planet 2 – which was actually released on Tuesday – and the long awaited Alan Wake.

Reviews for Remedy’s Xbox 360 thriller have been mostly 7s and 8s; Lost Planet 2 has been getting a few 6s and some 7s. Certainly give Alan Wake a go if you’re a fan of Silent Hill – there’s a limited edition version available or if you get it from Zavvi you get a free copy of Too Human.

3D Dot Game Heroes should be of interest to PlayStation 3 owners looking for something a little different. Even more so if you’re a PlayStation 3 owner that enjoyed LittleBigPlanet. Skate 3 speaks for itself – and reviews have been good – while Miniclips’ Sushi Go Round on Wii and DS is based on a free Flash game. As this YouTube video shows, it doesn’t exactly push the Wii’s hardware.

Next week: Split/Second: Velocity, Red Dead Redemption, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, All Star Karate, ModNation Racers, Jam with the Band and the budget priced Xbox 360 shooter MorphX.

This Week’s Games

If it wasn’t for Sin & Punishment 2 on Wii, this week would be duller than a wet weekend in Weymouth. I was lucky enough to own the original Sin & Punishment – while on holiday in Tokyo a few years ago I found a new copy in a junk shop for about £8, stacked underneath a pile of dusty N64 games. After digging out my N64 and giving it a go it ended up on eBay where it didn’t sell for anywhere near I thought it would. I actually wish I had kept hold of it now. But never mind- Sin & Punishment 2 is reportedly very good, and Nintendo have been kind enough to include a reversible cover featuring Japanese artwork. Chart prediction? Somewhere between #30 and #40. Sadly.

There’s another five games out this week, all for DS – All Star 5-A-Side Football, The Treasures of Montezuma, Classic Games, Runaway: Twist of Fate and Petz Fantasy. We keep being sent press releases for Runaway: Twist of Fate – it’s a cartoon styled adventure game not unlike Broken Sword and looks alright – while The Treasures of Montezuma appears to be some sort of Bejeweled clone. The publisher’s website is full of DS games I’ve never heard of before. Armin van Buuren – In the Mix? Quality.

Next week: Lost Planet 2 (out Tuesday; reviews middling), Alan Wake, Skate 3, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Miniclips’ Sushi Go Round and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3

This Week’s Games

This week sees one of the first, of no doubt many, movie tie-ins of 2010 – Iron Man 2. There isn’t a single review in for it yet, but this could be because Sega hasn’t sent out review copies yet in fear for spoiling the plot. I’d wager that it’s a vast improvement over the dull original though. Out on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and PSP.

2010 FIFA World Cup is pretty much the same game as FIFA 2010 so therefore good. It’s out on all of the above too, but not Nintendo DS it would seem.

Then there’s the less than full price Super Street Fighter IV featuring new characters (T. Hawk, DeeJay, Guy, Cody, Adon and Juri) plus a battle mode and the return of the car crushing bonus stage. The PlayStation 3 exclusive The God of War Collection is also budget priced, available for as little as £17.99 from some online retailers.

Next week: Sin and Punishment 2: Successor of the Skies, What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2, The Treasures Of Montezuma and Runaway: Twist Of Fate.

This Week’s Games

PlayStation 3 owners finally get to play former Xbox 360-exclusives The Ballad Of Gay Tony and The Lost And Damned, via the less-than-full price Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. It’s £24.99 on PlayStation 3 and £14.99 on PC, because that’s the way things work these days.

Speaking of Xbox 360-exclusives, the long time coming Splinter Cell: Conviction appears to have been worth the wait with plenty of 8/10s dished out. Even the usually hard to please EDGE magazine enjoyed it.

Unless you like men with odd shaped balls, there’s nothing out for Wii owners to get excited about – Rugby League 3 is the only game to be released on Nintendo’s popular white block this week.

Next week: Dead to Rights Retribution, Monster Hunter Tri, Nier, Samurai Shodown Sen and LittleBigPlanet Game Of The Year Edition.

This Week’s Games

2010 is supposedly going to be a golden year for gaming. This week, however, is a bit pump. Sega’s Sakura Wars: So Long My Love for Wii is of niche appeal although reviews have been mostly positive. It’s a slightly daft RPG set in a steampunk version of New York in the 1920s and was first released in Japan way back in 2005. It’s the first Sakura Wars game to be released in Europe, despite the number of games in the series running into double figures.

Then there’s the catchily named Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxis Underdome Riot Add-On Pack. It’s £11.99 at Gameplay if you fancy more Borderlands blasting.

Also, sublime 2D brawler BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is out now to buy. We missed it from last week’s new round-up because nobody had it down on their release radars.

Next week: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction, Dead to Rights Retribution, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Rugby League 3 and Samurai Shodown Sen.