Wowsers – there’s a lot to get through this week. EA’s Shadows of the Damned and Warner Bros. F.E.A.R 3 are the two big hitters. General opinion on Shadows of the Damned is that it’s good but slightly lacking polish, with scores including a 7 from Eurogamer and an 8 from 360 Gamer magazine.
F.E.A.R 3 was delayed for extra pizzazz; that time seems to have paid off with the co-op mode getting praise. The average Metacritic score currently stands at a decent 78%.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is another lacking polish. This was released in the US last week; those that have finished it claim it only takes around 5 hours and feels rushed out. There are no reviews in yet for the Wii, DS or 3DS versions; the last few Wii Transformers games were terrible but the DS ones were actually alright. The DS versions for this year’s tie-in come with a free toy but 3DS owners have to make do with without.
Two other 3DS titles are out to tempt you away from Zelda too – trippy but apparently mediocre shooter Dream Trigger 3D and Cubic Ninja, which NGamer Magazine quite liked.
The PlayStation Move compatible Ape Escape has a cheap price tag, available for £17.91 on Amazon or £17.99 on Play. As much as we like the Ape Escape series, the lack of reviews is off putting. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition also costs slightly less than a full price release but don’t get too excited – it’s just Super Street Fighter IV with the extra DLC thrown in.
There’s also Wii Play: Motion which Nintendo believes will set Wii Remote sales skyrocketing. The mini-games on this don’t sound too shabby, coming from a variety of outside studios. That said, anything has to be better than that stupid Pose Mii mini-game from the original Wii Play.
The rest of the week’s releases are a real odd bunch. There’s Tour De France 2011 (PS3, Xbox 360), Let’s Dance With Mel B (PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii), National Geographic Challenge (PS3 and Wii) and three DS titles: Bandz Mania, Jewel Legends: Tree of Life and survival horror romp Theresia. That last one doesn’t sound too bad – IGN dished out a 7.1 review score and it’s not like mature DS titles are in abundance these days.
Next week: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, Solatorobo: The Red Hunter, UFC Personal Trainer, Max and the Magic Marker, Arcana Heart 3, Air Conflicts – Secret Wars and the presumibly rubbish Street Cleaning Simulator on PC.