VIDEO GAMES
SECTION

by: Justin Clark and Matt Rose

EPIC MICKEY
Disney Interactive
Wii
11/30
MSRP: $49.99

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Basically, this game sets out to fulfill the promise of Mickey Mania so many years ago, with a touch of the grim for good measure. It’s got the pedigree (Disney plus Warren Spector), it seems to have the mechanics down, and it seems to use old school Disney to grand, mature effect. And this is genuine maturity we’re talking here, not Kingdom Hearts Oh-Sephiroth’s-Back-To-Vague-Up-The-Joint-Again maturity. Once again, this is a good month to own a Wii. This is an effort that deserves rewarding.

GOLDEN SUN: DARK DAWN
Nintendo
DS
11/30
MSRP: $34.99

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Golden Sun is one of those series that’s just never clicked with me, despite objectively enjoying the puzzles, and a few of the more innovative gameplay mechanics. It’s still a really standard RPG at the end of the day, though, and the fact that this new one leans more on dialogue than the previous ones is a bit worrisome. On the flip side, I’m a sucker for cel-shading, and I’ve been looking for a decent RPG to fill the void beating Chrono Trigger on DS has left.

OOOHHHH: ON THE DLC TIP

DEAD NATION
Sony Computer Entertainment of America
Playstation Network
12/1
$14.99

Yet Another God Damn Zombie Game. This one looks like a simplified Left 4 Dead, but belies the fact that the on-screen zombie count rivals Dead Rising 2, and with an absolutely stellar presentation for what sounds like a standard run-n-gun shooter on paper. When zombies stop being played the fuck out, this sounds like it’ll be fun, creepy times.

UNBOUND SAGA
Vogster
XBox Live Arcade
12/1
800 MS pts

Anyone who’s owned or kept up with the PSP has already gone and gotten their heart broken by this game, which has all the makings of being Comix Zone 2 in all but name, but comes off as interesting and compelling as sloth porn. This release adding co-op gameplay may help stave off the boredom factor, but in a year that had both Scott Pilgrim and Shank, this thing is a non-entity.

ROCK BAND TUESDAY

Lynyrd Skynyrd Pack 01 ($6.99/560 MS pts)

  • Saturday Night Special X
  • Sweet Home Alabama (Live) X
  • Tuesday’s Gone
  • What’s Your Name? X


.38 Special – Hold On Loosely X
Bad Company – Can’t Get Enough X

$1.99/160 MS pts per track
X-Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansion available for 99 cents/80 MS pts

All Southern rock all the time this week. I’m actually surprised it took this long for a full fledged Skynyrd pack to happen, but more surprised we’re stealing with substandard live tracks at this stage of the game. The .38 Special and Bad Company tracks kinda make up for it, but there’s got to be a wicked facial hair requirement for daring to pick up a mic on any of these tracks.