Run DMC HD

We’re running this week’s new release round-up a little earlier than usual because this week’s biggest games are already out.

We can understand why Microsoft wanted to give Kinect Star Wars a simultaneous US and European release seeing as it’s the first big Kinect game since… well, in a very long time. Quite why Capcom thought Devil May Cry HD Collection should be released on a Tuesday though is quite a mystery.

Reviews for Kinect Star Wars haven’t been good but they haven’t been bad either. They’ve been predictably mediocre.

“Kinect Star Wars is an incoherent and clumsy compilation,” said Eurogamer in their 5/10 review while IGN gave it 5.5 and said that kids might enjoy it but it has very little appeal for adults. We aren’t surprised that there’s a lack of consistency – apparently ten different developers were involved including Terminal Reality (Ghostbusters: The Video Game), Frontier Developments (Kinectimals) and rumour has it Spark Unlimited (Legendary, Turning Point).

Devil May Cry HD Collection has fared better than last week’s Silent Hill HD Collection, thankfully. A decent appetiser for Ninja Theory’s reboot, said Eurogamer, who gave it an 8. They noted that the menus and FMV are still in “blur-o-vision” but the rest of the game looks “crisp, colourful, and has no screen-tear or frame drops ruining the view”.

The Official Xbox Magazine pretty much echoed what Eurogamer said, although they felt that Devil May Cry 2 is now even worse with age.

Dancing game Alvin & The Chipmunks – Chipwrecked is also hitting Kinect this week. Even though it was released in the US back in November there are only two reviews of it on Metacritic. Both, surprisingly, are quite positive.

Another musical game? Oh go on then. Sega’s Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure hasn’t had much press coverage, which is a shame as it seems rather good going by the demo on the 3DS eShop. Fans of Space Channel 5 and similar games would do well to at least give it a try.

We’ve had a little wait on our hands for Warriors Orochi 3 – it was first released in Japan back in December. Worth the wait? Kind of. “There are many things to like about Warriors Orochi 3. The over-the-top madness, enormous scale battles, and – bizarrely enough – gibberish storyline all have varying levels of charm. Sadly the overly familiar mechanics and uninspired level design somewhat undermine all of this,” said The Official PlayStation Magazine who gave it a 6.

Destructoid’s Jim Sterling – the guy who gave Kid Icarus a 5/10 – enjoyed it a lot more however, awarding it an 8.5.

Finally, there’s Top Gun: Hard Lock. Is there a new Top Gun film out? No. Is Top Gun being re-released for one reason or another? No. This leads us to conclude that 505 Games only bought the license because it was dirt cheap. The Official Xbox Magazine confirms our suspicions that it’s to be approached with caution by giving it a 4.0. It has easy achievements? Oh, we’d never have guessed.

Next week: Pandora’s Tower (Wii), Little Charlie Bear (DS) and apparently a budget re-release of Bleach: Soul Resurrección on PS3 which we can’t find any online retailer stocking.