The gaming year is coming to a close, but it’s going out with a bang! There are lots of great games available this week for all the major platforms. Assassin’s Creed 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and God of War Collection are just some of the titles you can pick up. Here are this week’s PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS releases…along with some brief commentary. I’ve taken out most of the garbage and kids games (unless I found them funny). As always, let me know if you’re planning to buy any of this week’s new releases.
PlayStation 3
Assassin’s Creed II
God of War: Collection
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues — The adventure will continue…until Indy needs hip surgery.
NCAA Basketball 2010
Planet 51
Scene It: Bright Lights Big Screen — It’s not Buzz.
Tony Hawk: Ride Skateboard
Xbox 360
Assassin’s Creed II
Left 4 Dead 2
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues — You call him Dr. Jones, doll!!!
NCAA Basketball 2010
Planet 51
Scene It: Bright Lights Big Screen
Tony Hawk: Ride
Nintendo Wii
Disney’s The Princess and the Frog
EA Sports Active: More Workouts
Formula One 2009
Just Dance
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
New Super Mario Bros
Planet 51
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Scene It: Bright Lights Big Screen
Tony Hawk: Ride
PlayStation Portable
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodline
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
LittleBigPlanet
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 4
Nintendo DS
Assassin’s Creed 2: Discovery
Disney’s The Princess and the Frog
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Planet 51
SceneIt on PS3?!? Good I was tired of having to have to infared sensor out for my 360 and ppl complaining I was cheating because they didn't know they had to aim it Directly at it. Wait is the PS3 version going to use bluetooth? Hope so.
Is the God of War III demo in the collection going to be the same as the one as with District 9?
I saw a commercial for Tony Hawk ride last night and it looked like there was a projection of the game on the floor. I looked for a disclaimer at the bottom saying it was simulated, but there wasn't one. Does the board have projectors in it?
Did they address the issue of lame boring combat from AC1? How about the way guards just watch you fight their buddies 1vs1?
or the lame ass cut scenes from ac1?
Assassin's Creed is my top priority last week. As a new IP AC was far from perfect but it was very ambitious and although it was super repetitive I played through the whole game and enjoyed it through to the end. I'm pumped to get a shot at the more refined version. I'm always happy when a game developer listens to the fans for the sequel.
I don't think I have time to replay GoW though. maybe I'll get that collection close to the release of 3
Despite the repetitive game flow, and as one of the designers put it, having the game fully mapped out for you in the begining, I really enjoyed AC1. I loved the free-running/parkour aspects (Dream game – Mirror's Edge in 3rd person minus all the stupid gunplay) and the assassinations were awesome.
@Smartguy – I think they did. You should check out some of the game vids and interviews on the G4 site or others (G4 is the only one I can get to at work so that's what I know). The new combat looks amazing, and they completely redid the mission/story structure. Add in a little perk building in the form of the Auditore estate and I think this is going to be one of those must play games.
@Larecenous – exactly, far from perfect but a damn good start if you ask me. I can only be excited they kept the goods and have been working hard on the mistakes
I was pretty hard on AC1. I bought it at full price and played it for about 20 minutes before deciding it was underwhelming. I just plain didn't like the way they did the game. Part of me felt that the game was overhyped based on the fact that a woman was heavily involved in the making of the game. I remember seeing her pic on G4 and the comments were nothing but a bunch of nerds swooning over her. I think the game had a nice face attached to it pre-launch and inflated its sales.
Sorry about the rant.
@smartguy
i agree, there were parts of the game that were great though. The crowd interaction was pretty cool, and the game itself was beautiful…
that being said, i think ac2 may very well be a game of the year contender. I think this is the game that they wanted to release in the first place
@thunder – I agree big time.
@ Smartguy – if you played it for 20 minutes there's no way you could appreciate AC1
@shockwave
The first 20 minutes is all I needed to see that I wouldn't like the game. If you can't hook me in the first 20 minutes, I'm not investing a few hours in your game. That sounds fair to me.
you may be right smartguy. I'm glad I gave Kotor more than 20 minutes though. turned out to be one of my favorite games.
Also oblivion, the first 20 minutes are the worst trapped in that sewer. actually, same with Fallout 3 and childhood
@shockwave
AC wasn't an RPG. RPGs get a little bit more leeway. Not much though.
In the case of Oblivion, I knew what the game would be before I ever played it. I used to play DaggerFall when I was a kid. Those games haven't changed really.
I don't think I'll buy their new one.
I played Fallout 3 for about an hour maybe closer to 2 hours. That's all I could get out of it. I really didn't enjoy it. (i'm in the minority here)
@ Smartguy
If you need some help with that ADD, try some Zanex.
lol
lol, I guess games like Halo and COD are perfect for ADD. 10 seconds and you're right in to the big action
I'm just thankful that my wife didn't get bored with me after 20 minutes.
@N8R
Nothing to do with ADD. I just have expectations for something I paid $60 for. If you can't hook me (either with story or gameplay mechanics) within the first 20 minutes, then you have lost my interest. I see it as an allusion to how the rest of the game will play out.
what's that about judging a book by it's cover :)
I think you're being a bit harsh though smartguy. I mean, movies are only 2 hours long but don't have to be spectacular in the first 20 minutes either. I want the peak of a game to be in the climax. a game should really be at it's peak with story/gameplay at about the 2/3 increment if you ask me
I'm not saying anyone has to keep playing a game they don't like. but for me If I'm playing a game that has gotten great reviews I'll try to complete the whole thing, especially if I've paid for it. I figure there is always a good reason if a game is regarded highly. even if it's not my cup of tea.
I didn't like the Demo for Bioshock much but that turned out to be an awesome game too
@ Smartguy
Fallout 3 is the best example I know of (except for maybe Zelda) for games that break that mold. The first 4 or 5 hours of Fallout 3 are just immersing you in your character. The game really starts once you leave Megaton.
If the majority of gamers had the same outlook you apparently do, I would fear for the future of gaming.
Imagine doing a book like that:
"It was the best of times, and the worst of times."
"Pfft… BORING!"
I see what you mean, I just think that sometimes games transcend that. AC1 is an ok example. I had more fun doing all the parkour stuff and diving off buildings on the run than anything else there.
Left 4 Dead bored the crap out of me really quickly however. I played the demo for L4D2 and felt equally as bored…. and I love co-op about half as much as I love zombies. That game is just super repetitive.
I'm buying AC2 this week.
Craaaaaaaap!
I don't have this much $!!!!
Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2 I'm getting tomorrow. I had no idea New Super Mario Bros Wii and God Of War Collection came out this week too!!!!
And as an afterthought I want the PSP Assassin's Creed too….
Hey everybody. I'm hoping to pick up AC II on Tues, though I don't know if I'll really feel like playing it for a while. I'm not sure I'm ready to get back into a game as brutal/violent as Assassins' Creed after what happened recently in my life. In fact, I'm sure I'll pick it up, just to make sure I get that exclusive pre-order map (I guess I'm kind of a sucker when it comes to pre-order swag).
@Redd – that's just enough personal information to be a little awkward
@N8R
You must have missed where I made the exception to an RPG in an earlier post.
Fallout 3 wasn't very good to me. I didn't like the battle system (if you can call it that). There is absolutely nothing wrong with me disliking it. I'm sure the story was good after awhile. I prefer a narrative to get me somewhere in beginning though and then to keep building. Think Robert Ludlum novel.
@shockwave and N8R
I don't care what the reviews are for a game. If it gets a stellar review fine. Ho-hum review, just as well. That is one person's opinion or many in the media. Fallout 3 just didn't do it for me. VATS was a pain. Mass Effect did a much better job with FPS/RPG elements. ME was a great game btw.
Maybe you two have more free time than I do. I am not going to invest or spend time with something that I am not having fun with. I'm not playing 6 hours into a 10 hour game before I decide if I like it or not. That is way too long for a game to let me know it is good. I'm also not going to read 2/3 of a novel before I decide it is not worth my time. If characters aren't compelling within the first dozen chapters, it isn't worth my time. These are personal preferences though.
Good example of a game doing what I want: Uncharted 2
Bad example: AC1
Good example of RPG: Tales of Vesperia
Bad example of RPG: Fallout 3
@Redd – Have you been assassinating people again?
@N8R
WoW did a much better job of introducing you to something. Bethesda should take some pointers.
I fear for the future of gaming if gamers take your attitude that good storytelling must be drawn out.
I'm getting L4D2 and AC2. Can't wait to play either of them!!
@ smartguy – I think we have very different game taste and so I don't know if we're going to see eye to eye here.
Glad you like ME though. awesome game with a very drawn out story. drawn out over the next 2 installments even
@Shockwave
ME had compelling characters and world right from the beginning. I am a huge game fan, I buy lots of games and like many genres. I just seem to not care for a few examples. I seem to step on toes when I show my disdain for Fallout 3.
@ Smartguy
I didn't say that it NEEDS to be drawn out. You are also completely entitled to your opinion. I think you broke off on a tangent. I was saying I see where your coming from and I tend to agree. I just think there are the rare occasions that transcend the rule.
Honestly, I never would have popped in Fallout 3 if the DLC wasn't Pittsburgh. Being as how it was DLC, I wanted to finish the regular game first no matter what (and I'm glad I did). I generally steer away from RPG's as a whole (with few exceptions). I never liked FF or anything else turn based. That's the kind of combat and can neither call combat OR strategy. It's cracking a code at best.
WoW… I don't have the time to invest in THAT! I lost count of how many people I know who have lost relationships and close friends because they are way too in to that game.
I'd fear for the future of gaming if they were all like Tetris or completely over-saturated with online shooters. The games that drop you in.
Maybe I'm just taking the term "20 minutes" too literally. I doubt you start games with an egg timer beside you, you know?
@Smartguy: I had a real hard time getting inot Fallout 3. I pushed through it very slowly for the first 8 character levels. Not only was I finding it dry, but the color pallet of the game gave me migranes. That orangish browm that permiates everything just drove me crazy. I'm glad I stuck with it though because after I got a ways into it it really opened up and drew me in.
But I can certanly understand your point of veiw on the subject. I had a very similar experieince with Borderlands. It just didn't grab me, so I gave up on it really quick. Mind you, I'd just put well over 100 HRs into Fallout 3 and I think I had some sort of post-apocalypic fatigue….
Forgive my terrible typing today. My right arm is in a sling and I am not left handed.
@smartguy – I don't think Fallout 3 was half as good as Oblivion but that's just me. I did think a lot of things in Fallout 3 were done right. I think a lot of people were confused by fallout 3. When action gamers buy an RPG they can be let down many times. While ME is a great example of an action RPG Bioware strayed pretty far from it's roots with that one
@ Smartguy
I step on toes when i show my disdain for the Beatles. Nobody will bite your head off like a Beatles fanboy.
that's probably the reason many fans of Mass Effect might be confused or disappointed with Dragon Age
@ Shockwave: I'm lovng Dragon Age. I do think that the difficulty balancing could use some work though.
@nightshade – yes. I'll pound a whole swarm of creatures without much effort then a few minutes later I'm in a frantic mode trying to heal everyone and change tactics. just last night I lost a good 20 min of play time because before I knew what was happening 3 of my characters were down.
I think the auto save could use some work too. sometimes it saves every 5 minutes and last night I got screwed in a dungeon after getting spanked by some guys
@nightshade – apparently the PC version was patched for the difficulty roller coaster but Bioware said the consoles already had the patch. if we've already got it then I think all 3 platforms need a new one
Shockwave- Sorry about that, but you're right. I will keep my comments to gaming and the like. Is that your Jeep in your pic? I'm also a jeeper. Got a '95 YJ.
Leyke- No, but thanks for the laugh! I needed that.
Game on, good sirs!
@Redd- I'm just giving you a hard time man. It was just enough information to require a full story but I doubt you want to talk about it.
I am a jeeper, my first Jeep was a 94 in fact. I loved that thing but when it needed a new engine I decided to buy new. Generally I've been pretty happy with the JK even if it's a total different experience from the YJ. my old one was pretty built up but I am impressed with what the Rubicon could do even when it was stock. I'd be ashamed to live in Colorado and not have a Jeep.
@ Nightshade and Shockwave
Just playing Devil's Advocate, I haven't actually played the game:
That difficulty thing sounds kind of realistic though. I mean, in a real war situation, the difficulty doesn't exactly progress to get harder and harder. It's all over the place. No matter what period or fantasy it is, that's how battles are. You never know when you could get your ass handed to you.
The progressive difficulty is a gaming phenomenon and as someone who's not a fan of RPG's… I think it's pretty cool that Bioware is trying to break that mold.
@N8R – I do think you have a point. I certainly know to be on guard all the time after certain situations but sometimes it's as if luck of the dice determined you will die this time and have to try again. I don't mind a game having hard parts but I think there is a balance that isn't achieved.
Take Uncharted 2. what a great example of a game that has parts that are very hard mixed up in different levels. while the game gets progressively harder each level there is one or 2 parts in each level that are much tougher than anything else you face. it's a good challenge
@N8R
Haha, good enough reason for you to buy the DLC. I too am not a Beatles fan. I'm not saying they are bad….just that I don't care for them. Correct, no egg timer.
As a side note, I have now received 3 calls from the Los Angeles area in the past 20 minutes. If I weren't sick, I'd pick up.
@ Shockwave
The "luck of the dice" claims many of real lives all the time. I'm not telling you to watch the sky for meteors, I'm just saying don't work for the post office.
Everybody who plays D&D relies on the luck of the dice for whether or not they live… and that's the RPG of RPG's.
Picking up my pre ordered copy of L4D2 tomorrow, I've been so busy with school that I completely forgot it was even coming out this week.
@ Smartguy
I'm not saying they're bad either. I respect the business mold they formatted greatly. I even think they wrote hella songs. I just think their performances weren't as great as other performers. I loved Wilson Pickett's version of Hey Jude and that's just one example of other people doing Beatles songs that was awesome.
The Grateful Dead however, I have nothing nice to say about them. One of my passions is getting hippies to show their true colors by talking smack on the Dead. A mad hippy is a funny, funny thing.
@N8R – true, a dice roll is the very foundation of the DA combat
My issue with the difficulty balancing is less about from combat to combat and more about from difficulty setting to difficulty setting. Casual is an absolute breeze, but Normal will kick you in the backside…and there's two more difficulty settings above that. There should be a somewhat more gradual incline IMO.
@nightshade – true. but on normal I feel is ok most of the time but then all of the sudden I'll get my shiz kicked.
I think the only reason I'm really complaining is because I got set back so far last night. I hate when that happens. at least in Uncharted 2 when I get a bad roll of the dice I die and 2 seconds later I start where I was. 20 minutes of replay is something I will shut off a game over. probably come back to it tonight.
On the different difficulty settings I will say Uncharted 2 is pretty easy on all of them. Crushing was the only real challenge but sometimes Dragon age on Normal feels a lot harder. lol
I have been waiting for Assassin's Creed II for quite some time. I am VERY happy and can't wait till tomorrow.
@N8R
Yeah, Grateful Dead are horrible in my opinion. I have incited a few arguments with them.
@ Mr. Padilla;
O.K. New idea. I have mentioned before that I think you should have a few reviews on this site to bolster it up a bit and get more publicity. You mentioned that it would be too time consuming as you are very meticulous with your reviews (or something to that extent).
Here's my idea: Why not let the users of the site review the games? Hear me out on this one. I know this may seem a little experimental at first, but I really think the idea has potential and it is simply an evolution of what I have seen on some other sites. All you have to do is make a profile page for each game (or whatever games you want). Next, you have the user pick one of the following options: "Never played game", "Played game a little and stopped", "Played game halfway or more, but did not finish", and "Finished the game." Next, you have them rate the game between one and three stars. One means it sucked, two is average and three means the game is good. Lastly, you give the user 50 words (or 100 if you are feeling generous) to briefly write a little blurb on their experience with the game. You could, of course, set all the rules and let people know what guidelines you want them to follow, etc., etc. If they don't, you simply erase/delete their entry.
If you can pull this off, we'll all know what games each other has played and if they liked/disliked the games. Also, I think it would help drive new traffic to the site if you were to allow ordinary users say their piece about a game (within reason, of course.)
Just throwing it out there. I am, after all, a marketing guy. It’s what I do.
-M
@Ice – I like it and would gladly participate.
Assassin's Creed II is a priority, along with GoW3. I tried my very best not to watch the 40 min live presentation of AC2 on Gamespot last week. I only managed to maybe watch 20 min of the gameplay. Very impressive. I'm loving the not so repetitive game play. I can imagine myself being pretty frustrated with the more "intelligent" guards poking their noses where I hide lol.
Everytime I see the new Tony Hawk skateboard game I die a little inside. How I miss the old TH 1 and 2. Idk, the graphics look sub par for the most part. *shrug*
@Ray
I'm interested in hearing your idea for how game reviews should work if you were to do them. Maybe there is a way for us to help make it reality.
Part of the fun of being able to play a Skateboarding or Snowbarding game…or really any sports game in general is the ability to excel at something you suck at. Making me get on a "skateboard" to play a video game screams of fail and actually will cut their audience signifigantly.
I missed this at the top… Tony Hawk: Ride comes out this week. I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on this, but to me, it seems like this is a game that was made to fail. The price point is huge for something that looks like it could be quite spotty with gameplay. It looks like an awful risk, and I think given the recent failure of DJ Hero in sales, that this may be doomed as well. On top of that, there has been little to no word of mouth about this. This will not end well.
@Iceman That's a fantastic idea. Maybe I'll start with something simple.
@Sandrock323 We shall see. I'm going to play around with Iceman's idea.
I would second Iceman's idea.. or something like it
the idea of iceman is great. It is excellent marketing as it will cover a wide range of gamers.
It will cover beginners, intermediate and advance gamers. You can also incorporate a forum among them to solicit solutions for hard to bit games and how to advance to the next level. Try this approach.
O and the last game I'm buying this year comes out tomorrow, L4D2. Dragon Age is on hold until spring when FFXIII and Mass Effect 2 come out. This should give me enough time to gather as much accurate info on the PC version to decide on which version to buy.
i think iceman's idea is a good one. I doubt that I have played as many games as plenty of the other people on this site, but I'd be glad to review what I have used.
@iceman I'm curious, what do you do with marketing? I'm going to school for advertising and anthropology (double major).
I got a magnet in the mail today. It had a picture on it of some guy, but whoever designed the picture was brilliant!
@bsukenyan;
Right now, not much, to directly answer your question. I graduated from the University of Miami with a major in marketing, and I have to tell you that it's pretty damn useless (even when the economy was "good"). I'm working with my sister and father in a great little family business my dad started back in '87. Thankfully my father is a marketing genius and taught me a lot about how everything that is successful is the result of good marketing. It taught me how to see the world through different eyes.
@ Everyone;
Thanks for your support of my idea. I've already got the 2.0 version of it in my head, but I think the original has to be established and be successful for me to even talk about the 2.0 version. I'll do my part, but the only way this site will thrive is if more people come join in and/or click links to buy stuff… or Mr. Padilla wins the lottery.
Either way.
-M
LOL!@N8R
I'm sure you think the guy who designed it is also a good-looking, virile, sexy chick magnet, too, huh?
-M
P.S.- Our bet is still on. I'll extend it to this site as well (if it’s O.K. with you) in order to ensure your maximum humility in sporting a '72 Dolphins logo Gravatar when we hand Big Ben his last loss of the season.
@N8R That's a sharp looking magnet! I think it should be called CM Pad. (Punk was originally in a tag team called The Chick Magnets, ergo CM.)
@Iceman I like this idea of winning the lottery. I'll go buy a ticket today.
@ Iceman
It's on, I think I referenced that a few weeks ago but apparently you didn't see it. Also, all those adjectives completely apply. I'd also like to add masculine, alluring, and non-bovine.
@ R Pad
I was aware of the CM reference and that's an awesome moniker for the Pad. It could also mean Color Magnet… but we just won't reference that.
i HATE iceman's idea
jk, just wanna be different