As NGamer magazine themselves said, The Smurfs Dance Party has to be the most casual thing ever – a dancing game based on a movie licence. I’m willing to bet my last Jaffa Cake that it uses the same engine as Ubisoft’s own Just Dance, a series which has brought joy to many even though the Just Dance games have been above average at best. The DS version is a mini-game collection with such games as “Dress up Smurfetteâ€. If you have a particular dislike of the Smurfs, you should almost certainly check out the Robot Chicken parodies on YouTube like this one.
From the most casual game ever, to one of the most hardcore. Agarest: Generations of War Zero Collector’s Edition is a PlayStation 3-exclusive RPG. IGN rated it 6.5 – “It’s a tough sell for anyone fresh to the strategy experience, but delivers a solid and lengthy campaign for those who know the territory.” Packed inside the box there are 3 lenticular art-cards, a poster and music CD. It might be a worthwhile investment – the collector’s edition of the last Agarest game is still £49.99 on Amazon.
Seemingly random DS game of the week is Virtual Villagers. It looks and sounds a bit like The Sims 2: Castaway, with the aim being to help a group of shipwrecked citizens set up a new home. The way that the villagers continue to lead their lives after you’ve switched the DS off makes it sound like the developers have put more than a little effort into in. £17.99 on Play, if you’re curious.
It’s highly unlikely that any of the above take your fancy, so here’s something that might – Ubisoft’s God-sim From Dust which hit Xbox Live Arcade and PC this week. It has been billed as a mixture of Populous and Black & White and has been gaining very positive reviews including a 9/10 from Eurogamer. A PSN version is due out soon too.
Next week: just two for DS – Linda Hyde: Vampire Mansion and Mays Mysteries: The Secret Of Dragonville.