Wow, here come the games! After polishing off GTA IV and getting the better of the two depressing endings, I’ve been catching up on some older titles; finally getting around to beating Assassin’s Creed
Anyway, the releases this week! We’ve got a ton of potential purchases, including 3 movie tie-ins.
Tuesday, June 3rd
Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360)
Buy it from CHUD here!
Here we go, boy. Time to strap on that sword and take Ryu to town against the demons. This is an obvious buy for anyone who loved the original game (and if you didn’t, Ninja Dog, you don’t deserve it in the first place) and apparently a pretty good sequel. There have been some qualms about the camera and difficulty already, so you know things are pretty similar. Expect to see a sharp increase in controller sales this week…
GRID (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Buy it from CHUD here!
The demo for this one didn’t do much for me, but it sure is pretty. This is the latest installment in the Race Driver series. For racing fans, this might be worth checking out. It’s getting great reviews across the boards due to its varied single player mode and 12 player online. For people who like their racing games more realistic.
Dracula: Origin (PC)
Buy it from CHUD here!
We first told you about this point and click adventure game here. In it, you’ll play as Professor Van Helsing and hunt down his oldest and palest nemesis to presumably put a stake in his heart. There’s a demo available online, so see if it’s up your alley. Only 20 bucks as well!
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360, PS3)
Buy it from CHUD here!
A game based on a movie that inexplicably could worth checking out, if the demo is any indication. If you haven’t played it, definitely grab it- it shows off the game’s frantic sense of action. Pretty fun stuff. This will probably be a rent for most people, but as it’s looking like a 15-20 hour game there could be quite a bit of substance to it.
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PC, PS2, DS)
Buy it from CHUD here!
You know this one’s going to be fun. No one knew that one of the best Star Wars games ever made would come in Lego form, but hell, it did. The fun and silliness continues with Indy and his playable pals and enemies. Each one has their own strengths and you’ll do plenty of hand to hand combat… Indy hardly uses guns, after all. I can’t wait to play as a blocky Thuggee and rip out little Lego hearts. (That’s in the game, right?)
Kung Fu Panda (Xbox 360, PC, PS2, Wii, PS3, DS)
Buy it from CHUD here!
Have to admit, the trailer for this movie made me chuckle. Yes, I feel like less of a man for it… but there’s something about animals performing kung fu that just feels right. Still, platforming games based on kiddie movies never really turn out well. (Just look at Ratatouille, Incredibles, Narnia, Spongebob, etc. etc. etc.) Don’t expect too much from this one.
Summon Night: Twin Age (DS)
Buy it from CHUD here!
The DS sure has become the go-to system for classic JRPGs. This one lets you play as two different people (or rather, one human and one “summon beast”) who are trying to save the world or some such. You know, the usual.
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)
Buy it from CHUD here!
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is still one of the best games for the PSP. No, I’m not joking. I hate golf and still I played that damn game every day for months. Didn’t hurt that an old co-worker of mine used to bring his to work as well and we’d play when we were supposed to be doing other things. But this one looks like a standard sequel- more of the same… more levels, more characters, a few new modes. Maybe not a required purchase for people who own the first, but definitely one a newb should give a whirl.
Thursday, June 5th
The Incredible Hulk (Xbox 360, PS2, WII, PS3, DS)
Buy it from CHUD here!
The last Hulk was a really fun game… can Sega manage to hit that high note again? From the trailers the destruction looks to be spot-on, but there are plenty of games that offer us the opportunity to thrive on wanton destruction these days. Let’s hope this isn’t just a cheap cash-in like the last Sega comic book movie based game….
An old hack and slash Neo Geo game, but not one of the more memorable ones. Can’t remember even seeing this one back in the day. It’s a side scrolling beatmup, where you can choose multiple characters to fight huge bosses with.You’d probably be better off living your Ninja fantasies through Ninja Gaiden.
Wii Ware games-
Protothea (Ubisoft, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points – $10)
A remake of 2005 PC shooter with a bunch of new features. Now you’ll control the ship with the nunchuck and shoot by aiming the remote. It’s got more missions, more worlds, more enemies, more powerups, and is now fully 3D. There sure are a ton of good-looking shooters on the download service already, though…. this is the kind of game that would have benefited immensely from a demo. C’mon, Nintendo!
Toki Tori (Two Tribes, 1 – 2 players, 1,000 Wii Points, – $10)
A remake of a critically acclaimed Game Boy Advance game in which you guide the titular character (who’s a newly hatched chick) to find the eggs of his siblings. The egg hunt won’t be so easy, of course… this is a puzzle game, after all. Now you’ll use the Wii remote to point and tell Toki Tori where to go. Seems interesting…
Aces of the Galaxy (Sierra Online, 2 player, 800 Points – $10)
Another 2 player co-op shooter (online and off) that includes a feature that allows you to slow down time. This is an on-rails shooter, albeit one with multiple paths between missions. That means there’s plenty of incentive to play through it again and again, especially with that multiplayer.
This game was a budget racing title for the 360, now with lots of new features. it’s going to have 8 new tracks, a new master difficulty level that’s harder than hard, and of course the gimmicky SIXAXIS control. Looks like Wipeout, so I know at least one fanboy that’s going to be getting this.
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett
All songs are 2 bucks a shot or in packs of $5.50 for 3. I wonder how Coconut Pete would feel about that last track being included.