TonBlog

Posted on Oct 30th 2008 at 07:50:20 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Rock Band, MTV, The Betales, RIP Guitar Hero

Yup, time to put Guitar Hero to rest because the Wall Street Journal reports that "The Beatles have licensed songs to MTV Networks' Rock Band videogame series."

MTV, Rock Band's publisher, and Apple Corps., the owner of all thing Beatles related, are having a press conference tomorrow "to announce an exclusive agreement to develop a global music project".

This announcement, if true, would be a HUUUUUUGE blow to Activision's Guitar Hero, since The Beatles are the best selling artist of all time. I think those of you expecting this to be a downloadable song pack for $20 or $30 are completely wrong. This is going to be MUCH bigger than that. I expect to see a full-priced game comprised of all the songs off of The Beatles' 1 greatest hits compilation, and possibly album packs as downloadable content.

So, what's your take? Would you buy Rock Band: The Beatles as a full-priced game? I know a lot of people, maybe including myself, sure as hell would. Hopefully this opens the door to The Gray Album being in Rock Band...Nahhh. Sad

Update: Stephen Totilo of MTV's excellent Multiplayer Blog has confirmed that there is a Beatles game in development at Harmonix. It is not a Rock Band expansion, but rather a totally new game built from the ground up. Nothing else is known about the game, other than it will be out next holiday season.



Posted on Oct 27th 2008 at 04:43:18 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2



LITTLEBIGPLANET!!!


That's the only thing of any importance coming out this week. So, I'll see you all next time, provided I'm not playing LittleBigPlanet.



Continue reading RFG Release List: Week of October 26, 2008



Posted on Oct 22nd 2008 at 07:11:45 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

It's a literal gamesplosion this week!

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
Bioshock
•Disney Sing It
Eternal Sonata
Far Cry 2
•The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
•Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition
Rock Band 2 (Game only and as an instrument bundle)
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Dance Dance Revolution: Universe 3 (Game only and bundle. God I'm sucker for DDR)
•Disney Sing It
Fable 2 (Also available as a limited edition)
Far Cry 2
•The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
•Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition
Rock Band 2 (Game only and as an instrument bundle)
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
•Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?: Make the Grade
•Backyard Football 2009
•Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp
•Build a Bear Workshop: Fur Seasons
•Carnival Games: Mini-Golf
•Celebrity Sports Showdown
•Circus Games
•Dancing with the Stars: We Dance
•Disney Sing It
•High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE
•Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009
•The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
•Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition
•Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2
•Penny Racers Party: Turbo Q Speedway
•Petz Rescue Wildlife Vet
•Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
•SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom
•Think Fast
•Wii Music (God this game looks AWFUL. Do not buy this because it says Wii ____.)
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•Crash: Mind Over Mutant
Midnight Club: LA Remix
•Petz Saddle Club
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Star Ocean: First Departure

PC

Bully: Scholarship Edition
•Combat Wings: Battle of Britain
Dead Space
•Deer Hunter Tournament
•Europa Universalis III Collection
Far Cry 2
•Heist
•Littlest Pet Shop    
•NBA 2K9
•NHL 09
•Petz Horsez Club 
•Poker for Dummies
•Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game
•Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
•Shaun White Snowboarding
•Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?: Make the Grade
•Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp
•Back at the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games
•Backyard Football 2009
•Battle of the Giants: Dinosaurs
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
•Dancing with the Stars: We Dance
•Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell
•Ener-G: Dance Squad
•Ener-G: Gym Rockets
•Ener-G: Horse Rider
•High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE
•The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
•Lovely Lisa
•Master of the Monster Lair
•MechanicMaster
•My Baby Girl
•Pass the Pigs
•Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game
•Smart Girls Party Games
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
•SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom
•Tornado
•Touchmaster II
•Transformers Animated
•What's Cooking? Jamie Oliver
•Backyard Football 2009
Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp
•Cake Mania Baker’s Challenge
•Disney Sing It
•The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
•Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition
•Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows


First up: Rock Band 2! This time it's the game only for the PS3 and the bundle edition for the PS3 and 360. Sorry, but PS2 and Wii owners have to wait until next month to rock out with plastic instruments...again. Or until Guitar Hero World Tour next week. But why get that when Harmonix is so much better than Activision? Plus Rock Band 2 has one of my favorite songs of all-time, Teen Age Riot by Sonic Youth.

Next, Fable 2, the latest promise-a-thon from Peter Molyneux...and from the looks of things, it lives up to at least some of the promises he made. I have no experience with this series, so I can't say too much about it.

Far Cry 2 is also out this week. I've always wanted to play the first game, but have never got around to it. It looks pretty awesome and got some great reviews. Any insights here?

This week two former 360 exclusives make the move to PS3.First up is the critically acclaimed Bioshock. I've never played much Bioshock until the PS3 demo a few weeks ago, and it totally blew me away. I won't get this game right away, however, because I want to wait until it reaches the price level that the 360 version is at, which will probably be a month or two after Christmas. The other one is Eternal Sonata, which is actually not half bad for a JRPG (at least based on the demo).

Also coming out this week: Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP (yet another Square remake), Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the DS (even more Castlevania goodness), Midnight Club: Los Angeles on PS3/360/PSP (That OTHER game Rockstar makes!), Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on PS3/360/Wii/PSP/DS/PC/PS2 (The reviews are surprisingly good so far, and the game looks pretty intriguing), DDR Universe 3 for Xbox 360 (probably another shitty 360 installment), and Dead Space on the PC (DO NOT MISS THIS GAME!!!).

Phew. Exhausting list. Check back next week for the next installment of the Holiday 08 release list season.



Posted on Oct 19th 2008 at 04:22:06 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, LittleBigPlanet, Delay, Religion

You all know LittleBigPlanet. It's a PS3 exclusive platformer developed by Media Molecule that was slated to come out next week. Well, not so fast, because one of the songs from the game's soundtrack, Tapha Niang by Toumani Diabaté (listen to the song at his MySpace page), quotes the Qur'an, which has offended some Muslims who have managed to receive an early copy of the game.

Media Molecule responded to this concern by preparing a patch for Sony, but the Sony people decided that it would be best to just do a recall of all printed copies of the game in order to cover people who may not have internet access on their PS3.

According to a post on Sony's Playstation.Blog by Patrick Seybold and a call I received from GameStop, the game will ship to stores the week of October 27, one week later than originally planned.

While I don't want to get into my personal beliefs about religious sensitivity and censorship, I must say that given the circumstances, Sony made the right decision. Yeah, it sucks that we have to wait another week, but it's far better than having the game be attacked by the media (except Fox News) for being offensive. This is not the first time a game has come under fire for religious content. In fact, last year Capcom had a similar situation with Zack and Wiki, and Activision removed some content from Call of Duty 4. Some of you may even remember that Nintendo snipped a lot of Islamic references from the N64 classic, Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

What's your take? Let us know in the comments, but let's keep it clean. Don't get racist or intolerant.

Sources: Media Molecule
Kotaku
Playstation.Blog



Posted on Oct 14th 2008 at 01:54:57 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

There's so many games coming out this week that I had to switch to three (?!) rows instead of the usual two! Granted most of the games this week are shovelware crap, but there's some damned awesome releases!

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
•Blitz: The League II
Dead Space
•FIFA Soccer 2009
•Golden Axe: Beast Rider
•Rock Revolution
Saints Row 2 (Also available as a collector's edition)
SOCOM: Confrontation (Also available as a bundle with the official Sony PS3 Bluetooth headset or as a download on the Playstation Store)
•Blitz, The League II
Dead Space
•FIFA Soccer 2009
•Golden Axe: Beast Rider
•Rock Revolution
Saints Row 2 (Also available as a collector's edition)
•Avatar - The Last Airbender: Into the Inferno
•Boogie Superstar
•Bratz: Girls Really Rock
•Dokapon Kingdom    
•Littlest Pet Shop
•Safecracker
Sam and Max: Season One
•Tak: Guardians of Gross
•Ten Pin Alley 2
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•B-Boy
•Cake Mania Baker’s Challenge
•FIFA Soccer 2009
•Battle of the Giants: Dinosaurs
•Bratz: Girls Really Rock
•Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer
•FIFA Soccer 2009
Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2
•Littlest Pet Shop: Garden
•Littlest Pet Shop: Jungle
•Littlest Pet Shop: Winter
•Lovely Lisa
•My Japanese Coach
•Naruto: Path of Ninja 2
•Smart Girls Party Games 
•Prey the Stars
•Rock Revolution
•Tak: Mojo Mistake
•Avatar - The Last Airbender: Into the Inferno
•Bratz: Girls Really Rock
•Cake Mania Baker’s Challenge
•Dokapon Kingdom
•FIFA Soccer 2009
•Tak: Guardians of Gross
PC

•Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?: Make the Grade
•Avatar Last Air Bender: Path Zuko
•Brain Training for Dummies
•Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer
•Combat Wings: Battle of Britain
•Dark Horizon
•Enchanted Fairy Friends: Secret Fairy
•Etch A Sketch (AGAIN?!)


•FIFA Soccer 2009
•Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Game Only)
•Hot Dish
•Let's Ride: Riding Star
•Littlest Pet Shop
•Paws and Claws: Australian Adventure
•Poker for Dummies
•Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game


•SAS: Secure Tomorrow
•Saints Row 2
•Shaun White Snowboarding
•Sniper: Art of Victory
•SpongeBob Squarepants: Game of Life
•Space Trader
World of Goo


The biggest game of this week is EA's sci-fi scarefest, Dead Space. If this game is not on your radar, it should be. Why? It's supposed to be an effing scary game and the reviews have been excellent so far (high 8s/low 9s). Yes, it is yet another shooter, but it does some very innovative stuff, such as strategic dismemberment. You can't just shoot a baddie in the head and move on because that would waste your ammo and anger them. What you need to do is totally tear them apart. While you are tearing them apart, they will change their approach to killing you. For example, if you take the legs out, they'll crawl towards you with their arms and try to take you out that way. In addition, there's some other cool powers like telekinesis and stasis. Based on all the footage I've seen so far, EA could have a possible game of the year contender with Dead Space.

Also out this week is indie darling child, World of Goo, on both PC (direct from 2D Boy via PayPal, on Steam, Direct2Drive, Beanstalk, Greenhouse, and in regular stores for all you disc fans) and WiiWare. Based on Tower of Goo (download it for free here, this physics-based puzzle game requires you to build structures using different types of goo in order to get balls to the exit. Sounds simple, but judging by the time I've played Tower of Goo, the end result should be a damned addictive game.

If you're a Wii owner looking for a hilarious adventure game should check out Sam and Max: Season One from Telltale Games. As you could probably infer from the title, it's a compilation of the all six episodes from the first season of the game put onto one disc on the Wii. Each episode will give you about two or three hours of gameplay, so you're looking at about 12-18 hours total to complete them all. Totally recommended if you're a Wii owner who liked Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive people and haven't played the PC version of Sam and Max: Season One.

Also out this week is SOCOM Confrontation for the PS3 (the latest installment in the popular online shooter), Saints Row 2 (the next installment in the GTAalike franchise), and Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2 (the sequel to the cult-classic 1984 arcade/NES game).

Oh yeah, Rock Revolution comes out this week too. If you buy it, I will punch you in the face.

Next week, prepare for armageddon.



Posted on Oct 11th 2008 at 04:56:14 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Playstation 3, LittleBigPlanet, Emo Kids, Old Guys

As you probably know by now, I'm very excited for the upcoming PS3 exclusive game, LittleBigPlanet, which comes out in a little over a week. I love the happy-go-lucky atmosphere and the bright colors...however Sony has officially thrown that out the window with a newly announced guest Sackboy character...

SEPHRIOTH

Yeah, that Sephiroth. Everyone's favorite long-haired emo villain from Final Fantasy 7. The same Sephiroth that inspired many awful fanfics, fanart, and especially other games, is now coming with his trendy Hot-Topic dress style into the world of LittleBigPlanet. Along with Sephiroth, expect thousands of 15 year old otakus who think Sephy is kawaii bishie and writes long yaoi fanfics involving him and Cloud to follow.

Also coming to LBP: Old Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4.



Posted on Oct 8th 2008 at 03:27:17 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

This would be the sorry for me being slow, at least it's still the calm before the storm edition. Oh well, here's this week's BALLIN release list:


Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
Fracture
•NBA 09: The Inside
•NBA 2K9
•NBA Live 2009
•Crash: Mind Over Mutant
•Guilty Gear 2: Overture
Fracture
•NBA 09: The Inside
•NBA 2K9
•NBA Live 2009
•Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune
•Crash: Mind Over Mutant
•Game Party II 
•Line Rider 2 Unbound
•NBA Live 2009 All Play
•Ten Pin Alley 2
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•My Spanish Coach
•NBA 09: The Inside
•NBA Live 2009

PC

•Baseball Mogul 2009
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Also available in a limited edition)
•Can You See What I See
•Dark Horizon
•Etch A Sketch
•Exodus from the Earth
•The Guild 2: Venice 
•Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
•SAS: Secure Tomorrow
•Sniper: Art of Victory
•Baseball Mogul 2009
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Also available in a limited edition)
•Can You See What I See
•Dark Horizon
•Etch A Sketch
•Exodus from the Earth
•The Guild 2: Venice 
•Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
•SAS: Secure Tomorrow
•Sniper: Art of Victory
•Crash: Mind Over Mutant 
•NBA 09: The Inside
•NBA 2K9
•NBA Live 2009
•Onimusha: The Essentials


Anyways, the highlight this week is Fracture. In case you don't know, Fracture is a third person shooter like so many others. What sets this one apart from the rest is the ability to manipulate the terrain around you. Neat idea on paper, but the actual games falls victim to the disease affecting so many other games today: more of the same. The actual shooting portion of the game is just not that great. It feels like every other third person from the past two or three years. But that's not my biggest issue with the game. I truly have a problem with how it seems very linear and hand-holding in what you need to do. LucasArts really should have taken this game and made it more into a free roaming style experience with some clever puzzle solving aspects rather than a generic third person shooter that rips borrows something from every big name game over the past couple of years.

It may sound like I didn't like Fracture, but that's not the case at all. The game is pretty fun, but nowhere near $60 fun. Wait for this one to hit $20 or $30 before buying. Or if you're unsure, try out the demo on Playstation Network or Xbox Live.

Also out this week is the latest game based on the Bleach anime series. The only reason I mention it is because one of my favorite developers, Treasure, made it. I didn't highlight in the release list because I hate Bleach and it's wannabe Chuckie main character.

Another big release this week, and a possibly game of the year contender will be released this week: Etch-A-Sketch for the PC. In case you have not been following the massive hype surrounding this game, Etch-A-Sketch is the new prequel to the classic MS Paint which appears to feature a special guest appearance from a silver Pac-Man. Wonder why they decided to bring out a prequel over 20 years after the original, but maybe they can ride the cash wave of casual games. For me, I'll be sticking with Paint.

Finally this week, notice Ten Pin Alley 2 in the Wii's release list? This is the perfect example of how bad the shovelware situation on the Wii has become. Did you ever hear of the first game? It was a mediocre bowling game released in the US in 1996 for the PC and PS1. Yeah. We're digging up mediocre 12 year old franchise and shoehorning in Wiimote controls in hopes of a little money. Nice going Jack of All Games, whoever you are.

Come back next week when the REAL wallet raping begins. Now if you'll excuse me, I just got a LittleBigPlanet beta key in my email. Cheesy



Posted on Sep 30th 2008 at 09:22:40 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

So, I had this written earlier today and wanted to make a few corrections, but then I closed the web browser on accident. Looks like I'mma have to do the commentary section from memory. Cheesy

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
Silent Hill Homecoming•Mobile Ops: The One Year War    
Silent Hill Homecoming
•Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
•We Cheer
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•Cake Mania
•Pipe Mania
•Valhalla Knights 2

PC

•Baseball Mogul 2009
•Dark Horizon
•Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft 
•Mount & Blade
•Pipe Mania
•SAS: Secure Tomorrow
•Sniper: Art of Victory
•Animal Paradise
•Margot's Word Brain
•Pipe Mania 
•Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation
•Princess Debut
Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood
•Unsolved Crimes
•Mortal Kombat Kollection
•Onimusha: The Essentials 
•Pipe Mania 


Looks like the game companies decided to give us a break before completely slaughtering our wallets in October.

First featured game this week is Silent Hill Homecoming for the PS360, the newest installment in the popular survival horror franchise. I must confess that I've never played a Silent Hill game in my life, but I do know that Pyramid Head is badass. Since I've never played Silent Hill, I pose this question to my readers. Is it worth getting into the series? If so, where should I start?

Next up is Sonic Chronicles for the DS. Expecting a fast platformer like Sonic Rush? You're definitely not getting that. Sega decided to take Sonic in a totally different direction with this new game, and hand off development to Bioware, creators of Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Yup, this is an RPG in the Sonic universe. Quite an interesting concept if I must say so. And get this: it's getting strong reviews. Let that sink in. A new game starring Sonic that's actually GOOD. For reals.

Also this week: 360 owners can MUST download Mega Man 9 for 800 Space Bucks (that's $10 for us Earthlings).

Check back next week for a return to game companies raping your wallet.



Posted on Sep 23rd 2008 at 04:41:26 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

Yet another crowded week. It's especially bad for Wii and PS3 owners...

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
•Baja: Edge of Control
Buzz Quiz TV
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Also avaliable as a limited edition)
•Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
LEGO Batman
•Baja: Edge of Control
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Also avaliable as a limited edition)
•Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
LEGO Batman
•Warriors Orochi 2
•Brothers in Arms: Double Time
•Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
de Blob
LEGO Batman
•Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked
•Pitfall: The Big Adventure
•Rebel Raiders
Samba De Amigo
•Sim City Creator
•Twin Strike: Operation Thunder
Wario Land: Shake It
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
Buzz Master Quiz
LEGO Batman
•Pipe Mania

PC

•Battlelord: King’s Bounty
•Command & Conquer 3 Deluxe Edition
•Everlight
•Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition
•Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge
LEGO Batman
•Mount & Blade
•Nostradamus
•The Settlers VI Gold
•Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization 
•Barbie Fashion Show: •Eye for Style
•Brain Quest Grades 3 & 4
•Brain Quest Grades 5 & 6
•Di-Gata Defenders
•Dinosaur King
Disgaea DS
•Drop Cast
•Hi! Hamtaro Ham-Ham Challenge
Kirby: Super Star Ultra
LEGO Batman
•Margot's Word Brain
•My Japanese Coach
•My SAT Coach: Princeton Review
•My Little Pony Pinkie Pie's Party
•Nancy Drew: Hidden Staircase
•Pipe Mania
•Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
•Shaun the Sheep
•Sim City Creator
•Time Hollow
•Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
•Dragon Ball Z Trilogy
LEGO Batman (Also available in a bundle with a PS2 system for all 2 people that don't own one yet)
•Onimusha: The Essentials
•Pipe Mania
SingStar Pop Vol 2
•Warrior's Orochi 2


Because I'm kinda busy, I will keep my rundown fairly short.

So, this week you have a Wiimake of Samba De Amigo (which apparently isn't that great), a Wii adaptation of student project that gathered a lot of attention at the Independent Games Festival, yet another WW2 FPS (but a good looking one), a new Lego game (which usually turn out good), a new Buzz! game (pretty good trivia/party game), Wario Land: Shake It (Nintendo hasn't hyped this game at all. Why?), Kirby Super Star Ultra (Same. Why no love Nintendo?), Disgaea DS (ugly art, but supposedly good game if you like that kind of thing), and of course Mega Man 9! If you own a 360, PS3, or Wii, I expect you to buy MM9. If you don't I seriously doubt your classic gamer cred.

Also out this week on the PSN is Wipeout HD, a steal at just $20.

Sorry for the abridged look at this week's games. Hopefully school doesn't totally screw me over again next week.



Posted on Sep 15th 2008 at 04:19:39 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

I've been hyping it up for a long time now, but this is going to be the trend for the next few months. A fuckton of games. Enjoy!

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
•Armored Core: For Answer
Pure
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
•Armored Core: For Answer
•Battle Fantasia
Pure
Rock Band 2 (360 Exclusive. GAME ONLY! The bundle comes out next month.)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 (Simply because it has LCD Soundsystem Sad )
•Igor
•Kidz Sports: Crazy Golf
•Littlest Pet Shop
•Rebel Raiders
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
•TNA Impact!
•Zoo Hospital
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•B-Boy
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
•Yggdra Union

PC

•Cooking Academy
Crysis: Warhead
•Discovery
•Everlight
•Hell's Kitchen 
Line Rider 2 Unbound
•The Price is Right
Pure
•The Settlers VI: Gold Edition
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky 
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
•Animal Paradise
•Di-Gata Defenders
Dragon Quest IV
•Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition
•Happy Cooking
•Igor
•Imagine: Fashion Designer New York
Line Rider 2 Unbound
•My Secret World by Imagine
•Red Bull BC One
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
•Unsolved Crimes
Dance Dance Revolution: X (Game only and Bundle. However, the game has a craptacular song list, par for the course with DDR these days. Hey Konami, just release a game with the arcade soundtrack for once. You'll make so many people happy.)
Namco Classic Fighter Collection (Includes Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, and Soul Calibur II)
•Naruto Ultimate Collection
•Pac-Man Power Pack
•Speed Racer
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed


So, yeah, this week has quite a few good games coming out. Where do we start?

How about the biggest game of the week, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed? I've played the demo on PS3 and it's pretty damned good. Not $60 good, but a good pickup at $30 or $20. However, if you're a Star Wars fan, you might want to get it right away because it seems like the first great Star Wars game since Battlefront II. In case you don't already know, Force Unleashed is kind of like a God of War or Devil May Cry game set in the Star Wars world. But what makes this game so awesome is that you can play around with the force. For example, grab a Stormtrooper and throw him into other enemies or grab a TIE Fighter and throw it at enemies. There's so much you can do in this game due to the fact that it is running THREE physics engines on the PS3/360 versions. But don't you Wii owners feel left out, you'll get the opportunity of using waggle to throw things. I haven't researched the other versions as much, but I bet they'll be good.

Rock Band 2 comes out this week ONLY FOR XBOX 360. Harmonix has load of cash from Microsoft a contract with Microsoft to have Rock Band 2 on the 360 one month before the other systems. The thing is that the only way you can get the game at the minute is without any of the instruments. The bundle will arrive next month along with the release of Rock Band 2 on the other systems. So, I'll save talking about it until then. However I will say that if you buy RB2 and you already have the first one, you can transfer over all the songs from the frist game for only $5...and any songs you purchased on the first game will work with the new game free of charge. Nice job Harmonix!

Square Enix whores will be happy to know that yet another handheld port of one of their old games is coming out this week. That game is Dragon Quest IV for the DS. Since I don't like Square Enix besides the fact that they published Space Invaders Extreme and Einhander, I won't comment on how good this game is because I obviously hate it. Smiley

Also out this week is Pure, Disney's surprisingly fun arcadey ATV racer; Crysis Warhead, the sequel to the biggest PC game no one bought because they're all cheapskates that would rather pirate games instead of putting food on the developer's tables; S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, a neat looking FPS; Warhammer Online, yet another MMO; and Line Rider 2, a new version of the popular web game.

In case you did not notice there, I started listing PC games. You're very welcome. Let me know what you think of the new format in the comments.



Posted on Sep 8th 2008 at 03:20:06 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

A little bit lighter week this time around, but it sees the release of one of the most anticipated games of the year!

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
•NHL 2K9
•NHL 2009
•TNA Impact!
•NHL 2K9
•NHL 2009
•TNA Impact!
•Zoids Assault
•Cabela's Legendary Adventures
•Hell's Kitchen
•NHL 2K9
The Price is Right (One of my original ideas for the Wii. Read my comments later.)
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•Cabela's Legendary Adventures •Hell's Kitchen
•Lock's Quest
•Mazes of Fate
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (It's a game with no hype from Nintendo. It's gotta be good.)
•The Price is Right
•Spore Creatures
•Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise
•Cabela's Legendary Adventures
•Dragon Ball Z Trilogy
•NHL 2K9
•TNA Impact!
Yakuza 2


This week is one full of possibly great games that are flying under the radar...along with a game that is going to be freaking huge. First up is the new game from Will Wright, the mastermind behind The Sims and SimCity. That game is Spore for Windows and Mac. What is Spore? It's a life simulation game like The Sims, but with a much larger scope. In the game, you design a species and oversee their evolution from single cell organisms to intelligent creatures. During this time you will guide the species through many phases including Tribal, Civilization, and Space. Once you reach the Space Age, you will be able to travel to the planets of other players and interact with their civilzation by trying to make peace or attacking them. I am so very interested in this game due to the fact that it could be the deepest game ever conceived. I just hope my PC is able to run it. Hopefully PC gamers actually buy this game and support EA instead of pirating it and contributing to the downfall of PC gaming.

Anyways, next game I'd like to highlight this week is The Price Is Right for the Wii. Why the hell would I mention this? Back in 2005 or so when the Wii's "innovative" controller scheme was announced, one of the first games I thought would be pretty awesome on the Wii was The Price Is Right. Imagine spinning the big wheel in the Showcase Showdown, punching out holes in Punch a Bunch, or putting in Hole in One (OR TWO!),or dropping a virtual chip in Plinko. I didn't think  much about my idea after that, but it was in the back of my head. Imagine my surprise a few months ago when I found out that UbiSoft was making a game based on The Price is Right. My hopes aren't very high for the game, but I still hope it turns out decently (and has a Barker's Beauties sex minigame).

Other games coming out this week include Yakuza 2 for the PS2, the long-overdue sequel to the original game on the PS2. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir for the Nintendo DS, a new point and click mystery game from Nitnendo that hasn't gotten a lot of hype, so it's gotta at least be decent considering all the other games they've done like this have been good. Finally is the American debut of Masaya's truly fucked up PC Engine shooter Cho Aniki on the Wii Virtual  Console. This game is unlike anything you've ever seen. It's the first in a series of shmups with weird homoerotic overtones and a strange sense of humor going throughout the whole thing. I can't even begin to describe the screwed up goodness that is Cho Aniki, so check out Hardcore Gaming 101's look at the series and prepare to be amazed.



Posted on Sep 1st 2008 at 07:06:43 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

The fall release season marches on this week...if you're a PS3/360 owner. The rest of you get nothing much at all. Here's the lineup:

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
FaceBreaker
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
•NFL Head Coach 2009
•Rapala Fishing Frenzy
•Vampire Rain: Altered Species
FaceBreaker
Infinite Undiscovery
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
•NFL Head Coach 2009
•Rapala Fishing Frenzy
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
•Warhammer: Battle March
•Rapala Fishing Frenzy ($10 more than the PS3/360 version?!)
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
...•Picto ImageMercenaries 2: World in Flames


This is actually a pretty good week considering how early it is in the season. Mercenaries 2 is the sequel to the 2005 PS2/XBox original, and expands on its sandbox style of gameplay. This new installment features enhanced physics (powered by the ever-popular Havok engine), the ability to light things on fire, swimming (along with boats as an added vehicle type), air support, a grappling hook, and more. I haven't played the first game, but the new installment looks pretty neat.

Next up is a game that I have tried, Facebreaker. This is the first game to be published under EA's new label: EA Sports Freestyle. Freestyle, as explained by EA Sports head, Peter Moore, provides "a lighter gaming experience and an easier entry point into EA Sports." Enough with the businessy talk, the game is pretty damned fun based on the demo. It's a simplified version of EA's own Fight Night series but with cartoony characters and a humorous tone, much like Ready 2 Rumble for the Dreamcast. FaceBreaker is nothing outstanding, but it certainly should be worth getting when the price drops to around $20 or $30. If you're interested in the game, give the demo on PSN or Xbox Live a shot.

Next up: Infinite Undiscovery, the much anticipated (Huh) Xbox 360 exclusive RPG from Square-Enix (that's something you don't see every day). I honestly don't care about this game, I only highlighted it for Square fanboys (the most annoying variety) so that they don't totally deride me and rip me to shreds.

Finally, the true follow-up to possibly the greatest game on the 360 comes out this week. That's right, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. The new game includes 30 new species, new areas, and an Eye of Judgment rip-off like feature which allows you to scan cards using a Live Vision camera and get new Piñatas that way. But unlike Eye of Judgment, Rare is actually going to be making these cards free on their website and maybe bundled with promotional partner products.

That's all for this week. Be sure to check back next  time!



Posted on Aug 26th 2008 at 03:22:02 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

Hope you've braced yourself because the onslaught of new games starts to ramp up this week! RPG fans have two great "next-gen" games to look forward to this week, and golf fans get the latest installment of EA's Tiger Wood series. Nintendo fans also get in on the action this week with a new Mario sports game...and a shit ton of shovelware. Think this week is loaded? HA! It's only gonna get worse as we approach the holiday season.

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
•Ferrari Challenge
Tiger Woods 09
•Vampire Rain: Altered Species
Tales of Vesperia
Tiger Woods 09
•Ferrari Challenge
•Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery
Mario Super Sluggers
•Pajama Sam in Don't Fear the Dark
•Rebel Raiders
•Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
Tiger Woods 09
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•Fading Shadows (GameStop Exclusive)
N+
•Tiger Woods 09
•Commando Steel Disaster
•Digimon World Championship
•Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
•From the Abyss
•Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
•My Chinese Coach
N+
•Picto Image
•The Quest Trio
•The Sims 2 Apartment Pets
•Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
Tiger Woods 09


So, highlights this week include Tales of Vesperia, Disgaea 3, Tiger Woods 09, Mario Super Sluggers, and N+. I'm not going to spend a lot of time detailing each title, but I'll give you a brief rundown of them all. Tales of Vesperia, fun JRPG (holy shit, an RPG I like...at least based on the demo), latest in the Tales series, fans start screaming kawaii now. Disgaea 3: latest in the JSRPG (that's Japanese Strategy RPG for short) series, weeaboos rejoice and have a seat, I'm Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC. Tiger Woods 09: You know what this is about, more golf and jesus shots. Mario Super Sluggers: more casual games from Nintendo, thanks Cammie! N+: It's like the original PC/Mac/Linux or Xbox Live Arcade game on the go, you can't go wrong.





Posted on Aug 18th 2008 at 05:38:18 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

The strength of last week carries over into this week as well with the launch of a game that's been in development for 10 years, the first true sequel to Galaga, and a bite-sized follow up to one of the greatest PS3 games.

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
...•Smash Court Tennis 3 
Too Human
...
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
•Fading Shadows (GameStop Exclusive)•Commando Steel Disaster...


Not a big list, but there's a lot of great stuff coming out. First is Too Human, the long in development Action RPG from Silicon Knights and The Canadian Loudmouth, Denis Dyack. In case you don't know, Too Human is an third person action/Dungeon Crawler RPG. I played the demo last week, and my impressions were that it was pretty fun, but chances are that the game could get very boring if it's stretched out to (supposedly) 10 or more hours. Not to mention replaying the game with all the various classes. So, I'd check out some footage or the demo if you're unsure about it. The buzz so far has been very mixed.

Also coming this week is the stunning sequel to Galaga, Galaga Legions. Galaga Legions is like the original game, but with several new features that change up the gameplay. What those features are, nobody really knows outside of a greater emphasis on combos, multidirectional attacks, and some serious bullet hell patterns. The game was made by the same team at Namco-Bandai that did last year's Pac-Man Championship Edition, which is an incredible game. So considering the team and the INCREDIBLE footage released so far, this game should be a winner.

The final highlight this week is Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty for the Playstation 3. This pirate themed downloadable follow-up to last year's installment is a 3-4 hour experience with a heavier emphasis on platforming and puzzle solving than seen in the most recent games in the series. Insomniac has also introduced several new gameplay elements into the game including the ability for Ratchet to pick up and manipulate objects with his wrench, puzzles involving shadows, and more. What's awesome about this game is that it has all the polish and graphics of a $60 game, but as a 2GB download for only $15! I'm sure a lot of you would bitch about the $15 price, but I'm willing to pay that price in order to support Insomnaic and what they are doing. Hopefully this sells well enough to warrant future downloadable episodes.

Have a great week everyone.



Posted on Aug 11th 2008 at 05:26:22 AM by (Tondog)
Posted under Modern Gaming, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playsation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, DS, PS2

This week marks the "unofficial" start of the fall game season. I know it's not fall yet, but in the biz, Madden usually marks the start of the rush to the holiday season. So, get your wallets out and make it rain on this industry!

Playstation 3Xbox 360Nintendo Wii
Madden NFL 09 (Also released in a 20th anniversary edition, detailed after the list.)Madden NFL 09 (Also released in a 20th anniversary edition, detailed after the list.)Madden NFL 09
PSPNintendo DSPlaystation 2
Madden NFL 09 (Also available this week: the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes a limited edition metallic blue PSP system, the Madden NFL 09 game, NFL: In Just One Play on UMD Video, and a coupon to download the game Beats from the Playstation Store on your PC. Retail price is $199.99)Bangai-O Spirits
•The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom
•Imagine: Teacher
Madden NFL 09
Madden NFL 09


As you can tell, the big game this week is of course Madden NFL 09 for all systems (including the ORIGINAL Xbox!). The 20th anniversary installment in EA's long-running franchise promises to be something truly special, boasting upwards of 85 new features and enhancements.  Among the new features include adaptive difficulty (which tests your and tailors the game to your abilities), online leagues, EA Sports Rewind (kind of a mulligan like feature if you screw up a play badly and want to learn from your mistakes), Backtrack (which acts in cooperation with Rewind and breaks down your last plays and tells you what you could have done better), new animations and models, new commentators (and no Madden!), more characters on the sidelines, user controlled celebrations and taunts, and so much more. Who says EA doesn't improve Madden each year? Because they're WRONG. Anyways, for you PS3 and 360 buyers, you also have the choice of buying the 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition for $89.99. This edition of the game includes Madden 09, NFL Head Coach 09 (also coming out separately from this edition next month), a fully playable version of Madden 93, Retro Playbooks, Retro Madden player models, and exclusive video content.  Wii owners get a special version of the game dubbed "All-Play", an EA Sports initiative that aims to make their games easier to learn for players of all types. Features of the Wii version include an arcadey 5 on 5 mode, use of the Wii remote to deliver tackles, single button play calling, and more. Regardless of which version you get, Madden 09 looks to be an awesome update of the long-running series. Also, PS3 owners, the game actually runs as good as the 360 edition this year. Cheesy
Perhaps football isn't your thing and you would rather play a more traditional game. Well, this week has plenty to offer you. First up on the list is Bangai-O Spirits, the latest from fan-favorite developer, Treasure. As you may have guessed, Bangai-O Spirits is a sequel to the cult classic N64/Dreamcast shooter Bangai-O. If you haven't played the original, the game is a free-roaming, multidirectional 2D shooter. The DS version promises to retain the spirit of the original, including the insane number of bullets on screen at once. What's neat about Spirits is that the levels have been designed around co-op, so you can jump in with up to 3 other people and play the game together. However, the coolest feature about the game is that it includes a level editor which allows you to build your own levels and share them with your friends. However, since Treasure is a quirky developer, they had to go about sharing them in the most bizarre way possible. The created level is encoded as a modem-like sound that is played over your DS speakers and transferred to your friend’s system using the microphone. The sound can also be output over the DS headphone jack and recorded on your computer to share with the world in MP3 format or over YouTube. This feature will not only work with levels, but you can also send high scores and replay videos. Pointless? Sure, but at least you don't have to deal with friend codes. Awesome? Totally.
But there's more! This week also sees the release of the long-awaited Bionic Commando Rearmed on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and PC (via Steam, Direct2Drive, and other digital distribution platforms). Rearmed is a remake of the NES classic which features the same great gameplay as the original, but with new 2.5D HD graphics, new areas, online leaderboards, and other features. The game does not have any Nazi references as seen in the original Japanese game, but the voice acting and script of the game does make fun of the fact that it's censored. People buying it on the PS3 will also be able to play the game on their PSP using the remote play feature, and can also look forward to trophy support in a future patch for the game. The game will cost $10 on both XBLA and PSN, while it's going to be $15 on PC.
Finally this week, the latest episodic series from one of my favorite developers, Telltale Games, begins. The series is Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People, based on the popular web toon Homestar Runner. The first episode of the five episode series, Homestar Ruiner, releases on Monday and is about Strong Bad's scheme to win the tri-annual Race to the End of the Race and his attempt to get Homestar out of the house. The game has full creative input from the creators of Homestar Runner, the Brothers Chaps, with original stories written for the game. The game will be released on both WiiWare and on PC via the Telltale Games website. The Wii version will cost 1000 Wii Points ($10) per episode with no option to buy the whole series, bringing the total to $50) for the entire series. The PC edition sells for $8.95 an episode, or you can pre-order the entire season for only $34.95! If you go the PC route, you can download all the episodes as they come out, and you'll be able to get a DVD of all the episodes at the end of the season for the cost of shipping. Not a bad deal at all.


Sorry for the long post, but there's a lot coming out that I wanted to highlight!


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
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