This Week’s Games

DS carts – tiny in size, but they can hold a lot of information. So why then does Sonic Classic Collection (currently £17.99 on Gameplay) only feature four Sonic games? They could have stuck Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine on there as well I reckon.

Hmm. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition is an odd one – both Play and Amazon are seemingly unaware of its existence. Both Gameplay and Game say it’s out this week though. It’s £24.99 and features some extra missions (Lost in Nightmares, Desperate Escape and The Mercenaries Reunion), a versus mode and four extra costumes. Sounds worth it to me.

PlayStation 3-exclusive Yakuza 3 is worth a look too. GamesRadar gave it an 8 – “It’s GTA Japan, with added golf, suplexes and kung-fu kicks,” they said.

Just one multiformat release this week – BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE Vilgax Attacks, which was actually released in the US late last year. Reviews on GameRankings are around the 70% mark for all four versions, meaning it’s a hell of a lot better than the recent Astro Boy game.

Next week: God of War 3, Metro 2033, Combat of Giants: Mutant Insect, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, Moto GP 09/10 and Fireburst.

This Week’s Games

Expect a load of DS titles to re-enter the chart next week due to the super-sized Nintendo DSi XL hitting stores tomorrow. There are only two new DS games released this week to coincide with it though – the apparently better than you might expect Alice in Wonderland (also out on Wii) and Ubisoft’s Imagine: Journalist, as mocked on UK Resistance.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the only thing arriving on consoles. GameRankings is currently showing an 89% average review score, so yeah, it’s good. I’d imagine that the single player isn’t as good as Call of Duty: MW2 but the multi-player mode has a lot more stuff to get stuck into.

Finally, get your phoenix downs ready for Tuesday 9th as that’s when Final Fantasy XIII is out. The usually reliable PSM3 Magazine only gave it 70% while GamesMaster magazine scored it 76%. These aren’t the kind of scores I was expecting, to be honest.

Next week: Moto GP 09/10, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, Sonic Classic Collection and Yakuza 3.

This Week’s Games

I don’t know if Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing features any music – remixes or original – from Sonic R, but it bloody well should. Even if it doesn’t it’s still worth considering as reviews have been solid including an 8/10 from GamesRadar and 78% from NGamer Magazine. Both said that the track design is decent but the commentary soon gets annoying. It’s out on Wii, DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and, funnily enough, PC, this week. Why no PSP version, Sega?

PSP owners shouldn’t feel too bad though – both Dante’s Inferno and perplexing puzzler Echoshift are out to buy from tomorrow. The curious Heavy Rain, which is rather aptly named given the weather at the moment, is this week’s big PlayStation 3 release. I have no idea if it’ll sell well though. The Wii meanwhile gets the very good Ace Combat-alike Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces and the presumably rubbish Safar’Wii.

Over in the world of Xbox 360 there are two new racers – budget priced Crash Time 3 (£17.99 at Gameplay) and Superstars V8 Racing: The Next Challenge. The first Superstars V8 didn’t review too well. Maybe this will be an improvement?

Another less than full-price title hitting shelves is Way of the Samurai 3 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It sounds like there’s some nice ideas behind it – there’s 15 different endings and you can talk your way out of fights. The first Way of the Samuari game has something of a cult following too.

Another else left? Only a little gem of a game called Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes on DS. This got rave reviews (which is a phrase I haven’t used in a long time, incidentally) around Christmas time but was put back until now to avoid getting lost in the Xmas rush. Imagine a mixture of Advance Wars and Final Fantasy Tactics and you should get the gist.

Next week: Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Sonic Classic Collection, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Infinite Space, Dementium II and the Nintendo DSi XL.

This Week’s Games

Aliens vs Predator, then. Reviews have been incredibly mixed – everything from a 5.5/10 from Gamespot to a 9/10 from the Official Australian PlayStation Magazine. People have been reporting that the face hugger that comes with the deluxe edition has arrived broken too, although Sega have promptly set up a website where people can ask for a replacement.

If AvP doesn’t take your fancy this week then unfortunately there isn’t much else out – just Guitar Hero: Van Halen on the three major formats, Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and Karaoke Revolution on Wii.

The handhelds have some interesting stuff though – Half Minute Hero on PSP is an RPG split into thirty second chunks of gameplay while Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigates on DS is a spin-off from Phoenix Wright. Bizarrely, Ubisoft seems to think releasing a Hello Kitty game (Hello Kitty Puzzle Party) on PSP is a good idea to make some money. I beg to differ. Releasing a game like SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3 – which is also out today – is probably a safer bet.

Next week: Heavy Rain, Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing, Lips: Party Classics, SafarWii, Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, Undead Knights and White Knight Chronicles.

This Week’s Games

The biggest game out this week has been available for a good three days now already – stunning sea-quel Bioshock 2 was released worldwide on Tuesday. Reviews have been glowing – a 10 from GamesRadar, an 8 from Eurogamer and a 9 from 360 Gamer magazine. If you didn’t like the first one though, then you won’t like this.

There’s defiantly a Japanese twist to this week’s releases – no less than five originate from the land of sushi. Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll on Wii uses the balance board, so it’s probably worth getting if you want to loose a few pounds. Phantasy Star Zero on DS features a WiFi mode; if you’re a fan of the Dreamcast version then you’ve almost certainly pre-ordered this already. Also on DS: Animal Kororo and Bleach: The 3rd Phantom. Then there’s Square-Enix RPG Star Ocean: The Last Hope International on PlayStation 3, which should keep you busy until Final Fantasy XIII is released next month.

So, what can western publishers offer us to entice money out of our wallets? Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, Sled Shred: Featuring the Jamaican Bobsled Team and Disney’s Jonas. Ah well, at least we have Bioshock 2.

Next week: Alien vs Predator, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3, Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigates, Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, Think: Train Your Brain, Dragonology, Half Minute Hero and the apparently rubbish Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

This Weeks Games

Typical – you spend ages waiting for a decent Wii game and then two come at once. Deep sea diving sim Endless Ocean 2 and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers are two very different games though. Both got good reviews in NGamer Magazine, and are available on Game’s website for £24.99 each.

Now forget all about fish and gender confused characters – Dante’s Inferno is this week’s big release. Even though it’s from the team behind Dead Space, reviews have been mixed – Eurogamer gave it a 6; GamesRadar a 7. EA have kindly put out a PSP version of it too.

Two other multi-format games are also hitting shelves today – movie tie-in Astro Boy: The Videogame and Mx vs ATV Reflex. Reviews of Astro Boy have been very poor (the Wii version is apparently a conversion of the PSP version, of all things) and the DS iteration in particular has been given a right mauling. THQ’s Mx vs ATV Reflex has fared a lot better – the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions have scored highly, although the PSP and DS version aren’t really worth investigating.

There is something worth a look on PSP though: RPG Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days. The first Disgaea has a very strong cult following, plus this sequel is available for a nice £17.99 on Play.com.

Next week: Bioshock 2, Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll, Star Ocean: The Last Hope – International, Phantasy Star 0, Karaoke Revolution, Half-Minute Hero and Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream.

This Week’s Games

Slim pickings this week chums. Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero on Wii is a mere conversion of the ancient GameCube scare-a-thon. Capcom recently claimed that RE: Darkside Chronicles has only shifted a mere 16,000 copies so far so Lord knows what the sales figures for this will be like. If you’re interested though it’s only £12.99 at Zavvi.

The stupidly named Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 4 on PSP is this week’s only other offering. Is Yu-Gi-Oh still down with ‘da kidz’? I thought they’d moved onto other stuff. Like smoking weed and happy slapping.

Next week is a whole lot more interesting with all three of the big formats receiving an exclusive – Mass Effect 2 on Xbox 360, MAG on PlayStation 3 and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars on Wii. The last is a very pleasing £17.95 to pre-order, again from Zavvi.

This Week’s Games

Not many reviews of Capcom’s Dark Void are up on the internet yet, so the review scores on GameRankings are incredibly sporadic – the PlayStation 3 version is currently at 80%, the Xbox 360 version at 62.5% and the PC version at 53%. If you’re thinking of buying it, it would probably be best to wait until a few more reviews roll in.

After appearing on DS the budget priced Love Is In Bloom: The Flower Shop Garden is out on Wii this week. When the one of the special features is “Unique Wii Remote controls with gameplay specifically designed to take advantage of the extra level of control,” you know that you’re looking at one turd of a game.

Activision’s Winter Sports 2010: The Great Tournament and Sega’s Vancouver 2010: The Official Videogame Of The Olympic Winter Games go head to head this week too. I can’t find any reviews of either but you should know what to expect – plenty of button bashing and analogue stick waggling.

Next week: It looks like there’s just one game out – Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero on Wii

This Week’s Games

EA’s The Saboteur features tits and guns and hasn’t sold very well. Sega’s Bayonetta also features tits and guns, but with 10/10 reviews from just about everybody it’s bound to do well in the chart next week. If you haven’t read any reviews yet, it’s a bit like Devil May Cry only with a far superior combat system and an excellent musical score.

If you like a bit more adventuring in your third person action games then THQ’s Darksiders might be the one to go for instead. Reviews have also been strong, including an 8 from Eurogamer and a 9 from 360 Gamer magazine. The press have described as a mixture of Zelda and God of War, which seems like a fair comparison.

Next week: Army Of Two: The 40th Day, Dark Void, Winter Sports 2010: The Great Tournament and the stupidly elongated Vancouver 2010: The Official Videogame Of The Olympic Winter Games.

This Week’s Games

A lot of people will be doing their Christmas shopping this weekend, so releasing a new game the week before Christmas isn’t an entirely mad thing to do. Only Nintendo and Sony are brave enough to do this though, with just two new releases out this week – Buzz! Quiz World on PSP and Nintendo Presents: Crossword Collection on DS. They’re both probably alright, if quizzes and crosswords “float” your “boat”.

If not, then you should get out into town and try to bag yourself a bargain – Game and GameStation have pre-owned stuff for as little as 98p (I picked up NASCAR 08 on PlayStation 3 for a friend) while Blockbusters, PC World and Currys.digital have started their sales too. If you can’t stand the crowds – and I don’t blame you, people can be twats at Christmas – then there’s some good stuff to be had online such as Brutal Legend at Play.com for £17.99 while Zavvi has Borderlands and Operation Flashpoint 2 for £17.95 a pop.

Next week: Nothing, because it’s Christmas Day, but 8th January sees Bayonetta, the apparently very Zelda-like Darksiders and Winter Games 2010 hitting shelves.

This Week’s Games

It has been a middling year for DS releases but at least The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks helps it go out with a bang. “Spirit Tracks must be the happiest, most heart-warming Zelda to date,” claims Eurogamer who awarded it a 9.

I’ve just had a look at GameRankings to see what the review scores for Tekken 6 on PSP have been like, only to discover that it has scored higher than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. It’s currently at 83%, compared to 80% for the other two. Not a massive difference but slightly interesting nonetheless.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is the only other game out, no doubt destined to be purchased by easily mislead children and clueless parents this Christmas. I can’t find a single review, which is never a good sign.

Next week: Nintendo Presents: Crossword Collection and Buzz! Quiz World look like being the last releases of 2009, unless you count PSP UMD movie releases.

This Week’s Games, in 2D

There was a time when Pandemic could do no wrong, churning out Full Spectrum Warrior, Destroy All Humans and Mercenaries in quick succession. That was before being taken over by EA, where their output suddenly dropped – their Dark Knight game was canned, Mercenaries 2 wasn’t as good as the first and LoTR: Conquest was an insult to the license. EA has now closed the studio down and their final release – The Saboteur – is out today. There’s been next to no marketing and reviews have been barely above average. What a sad way for a once talented developer to go.

Reviews of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game have been appearing on the ‘net this week, including a mediocre 5 from Eurogamer and a more positive 7 from GamesRadar. A quote from the Eurogamer review: “Did it really take him 10 years to come up with a blue horse?” The Wii version is different from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions and received a not too bad 67% from NGamer Magazine. The PSP version isn’t out until next week, according to online retailers.

The multiformat Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! seems to be the only other game worth mentioning. The previous games in the series, which were Xbox 360 exclusives, were pretty good and because it’s less than full price (£24.99 at Play) I’d say it would make a nice Christmas present for any movie buffs you may know. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than a handful of cheap DVDs from Tesco, but nobody likes a cheapskate.

Next week: Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (ho ho!) and Tekken 6 on PSP.