SECTION
by: Justin Clark and Matt Rose
FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS
Bethesda
360, PS3, PC
10/19
MSRP: $59.99, $49.99 PC
My name is Justin. And I cannot beat Fallout 3. It’s nothing against the game itself. The game is amazing, and breathtaking, well realized, well written, and just a testament to what this generation has to offer. But you know that scene in Once Upon A Time In Mexico where Johnny Depp’s going on about the roasted pork being so good that it’s TOO good, and he’s going to shoot the cook after it’s done? That’s my relationship with Fallout 3. It’s so big, and grandiose, with SO much stuff to do that does not advance the main story, and all of it is strong enough to support itself, and somehow, it loses me in that. I’m 58 hours in that game, and I just got the go ahead to pick up a G.E.C.K. And now you tell me there’s a sequel with a Mohave Desert that’s just as big as the Capital Wasteland? It’s probably a beautiful, amazing, well forged masterpiece, and chances are good I will never play it in this life.
DJ HERO 2
Warner Home Video Games
360, PS3, Wii
10/19
MSRP: $59.99
I feel bad that I never gave the first DJ Hero any play. My mostly-hate relationship with Activision has some to do with that, but I’ve been dying for a game that does just about everything this game does, and I didn’t support it. And yet, I blasted the hell out of the often spectacular remixes. DJ Hero 2 might be the time to fix that, but God, this hitting a week before I sell my relatives to the Russian black market for that Rock Band 3 keyboard and the Alien Blu Ray set was a poor choice.
EA SPORTS MMA
EA
360, PS3
10/19
MSRP: $59.99
More or less, the only basis for comparison for this game is UFC: Undisputed, a game which was pretty cool for what it was, but too technical for my own personal taste in fighters. Still, it’s a game I begrudge no one for enjoying the shit out of. EA’s game pretty much brings their Fight Night sensibility to the table for a lot of this, which means this will play a bit differently, but may have the same technicality problem that kept me from Undisputed. It does, however, rely on the right analog stick in a way that might make all the difference on how natural this thing plays, though.
KIRBY’S EPIC YARN
Nintendo
Wii
10/17
MSRP: $49.99
I do love those sporadic weeks when I’m kinda envious of Wii owners. Chances are, you could buy this game when Best Buy or wherever opens and be done with it by the time The Price Is Right came on., but who cares? This is one of those experience games where the world and aesthetic looks like a place you just want to curl up in for hours at a time, no matter how easy it is. It’s the gaming equivalent of a Snuggie.
OOOHHHH: ON THE DLC TIP
NO MAJOR DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT THIS WEEK.
You mean you don’t have enough to do? Greedy bitch.
ROCK BAND TUESDAY
Stone Temple Pilots Pack 01 ($9.99/800 MS pts)
- Big Empty
- Crackerman
- Creep
- Dead & Bloated
- Huckleberry Crumble
- Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Jimmy Eat World Pack 02 ($5.49/440 MS pts)
- Bleed American
- My Best Theory +
- Pain
$1.99/160 MS pts per track
+=Available in Lego Rock Band
Factor in Plush being in Rock Band 3, and I’d say all the truly vital STP tracks are now available for this series. Big Empty, in particular, is a huge grab that will get a ton of play at my house.
I can take or leave Jimmy Eat World. Sweetness is in the game, hence there’s nothing else in their catalog to get my blood pressure up over one way or the other.
Lastly, I would like to take this time to point out that Stan Bush’s The Touch is on the Rock Band Network this week, only in aid of identifying those who likely will not but more importantly should not breed.