CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of July 31st, 2008. Hooray for 50 episodes! We'd like to thank the video games that come out each week for making this all possible. Take a bow video games, you've earned it.

Don't forget to enter our contest for Shipwreck's E3 Swag.

Special thanks to GoDaddy.com for providing CAG Foreplay listeners with a code for domain names for only $6.95 a year. Just enter code "GAMER1" when you check out to get your savings.



Download - 55 minutes, 25MB


You can now subscribe to Foreplay on iTunes by clicking this link: CAG Foreplay on iTunes

You can also contact us with any questions or comments at shipwrecks@cheapassgamer.com or foreplay@cheapassgamer.com.


Multi-Platform

Ford Racing Off Road Dev. Razorworks Pub. Crave Entertainment Systems: PS2, PSP, Wii MSRP: $14.99-$29.99
Anybody remember Test Drive Off-Road for the original PlayStation? (Yeah, I actually thought that game was pretty amazing in its day.) Well, Ford Racing Off Road hopes you still have a soft spot for racing SUVs through barren desert, swamp, and ice tracks while looking for shortcuts hidden carefully amongst the budget graphics. Not content with just driving around Escapes, Explorers, and Rangers? Well, you can also get behind the wheel of concept vehicles and several different Land Rovers such as the 2005 Defender 90 Station Wagon. Alright, station wagons, now we’re talking. Now if only we can get confirmation on that unlockable Family Truckster. - ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Ford Racing Off Road.

Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)

MLB Power Pros 2008 Dev. Konami Pub. 2K Games Systems: PS2, Wii MSRP: $19.99, $39.99
Ever wondered what your favorite baseball players would look like if they were all Tony Gwynn-shaped? Well, MLB Power Pros is back for its second season Stateside and not too much has changed with the adorable take on America’s Pastime, but the rosters have been updated and an even larger RPG type mode has been included in the form of "MLB Life". This mode allows you to follow the path of either a created character or an actual Major Leaguer over the course of twenty years starting in the minor leagues and continuing all the way through retirement. The RPG elements are played outside the lines, where you must manage your characters finances, buy houses, and even try to land that trophy wife. And this is all in addition to the returning "Success Mode" that follows a younger, school days scenario. It's a steal to get this amount of content for such a low price, especially if you go with the $20 PlayStation 2 version, since doubling the price only provides you with Wii-specific controls that are limited to exhibition games and the Home Run Derby. Hey, that extra $20 could get me a dog and a brew the next time I go see the Reds lose. - ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for MLB Power Pros 2008.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)

Puzzler Collection Dev. Pub. Destination Software Systems: DS, Wii MSRP: $14.99, $19.99
I love previewing collection games because they're like the fill-in-the-blank questions of preview-writing. This game's blanks get filled with the following: Crossword, Sudoku, Word Search, and Fitword. There could also be descriptors like Quick Play mode and three difficulty levels. You know that when one of the game's bullet points is "Stop & Save function" it's going to be a budget title, but at least the style of gameplay fits well with the DS and could be a potentially entertaining train-ride/lunch break filler. - mrs. ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Puzzler Collection.

Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)

SoulCalibur IV Dev. Project Soul Pub. Namco Bandai Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99 ($79.99 for Premium Edition)
The souls are still burning brightly and the breasts are jiggling perkier than ever in the latest installation of the go-to weapons-based fighter. There's a ridiculous amount of content packed into this game including over 30 characters, but if you want to make a dominatrix that suits your specific tastes, you can certainly do that as well with the included create-a-character. In fact, the more you fight, the more moves, abilities, outfits, weapons, and armor unlock so, much like Super Smash Bros., you are always being rewarded. As far as changes to gameplay, SoulCalibur IV introduces tag team abilities, fatalities critical finishes, breakable armor, and the all-important online play. And of course the main difference between the two versions is that the PlayStation 3 gets Darth Vader while the Xbox 360 has Yoda. Well, that's the difference until the inevitable ability to download those characters costs you some extra cash down the road. - ship

Best Deal: Best Buy is offering the Premium Edition of SoulCalibur IV for $10 cheaper than Amazon. Circuit City is offering a free mini-guide with the purchase of either version.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free mini-strategy guide)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free mini-strategy guide)
Purchase At Amazon $79.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Best Buy $69.99
Purchase At Amazon $79.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Best Buy $69.99

Summer Athletics: The Ultimate Challenge Dev. 49Games Pub. Conspiracy Systems: PS2, Wii, 360 MSRP: $14.99, $29.99
Not to be confused with the mediocrely-reviewed "Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge"... Conspiracy has managed to completely misconstrue the meaning of the word "ultimate" on multiple levels. If you somehow haven't noticed, we've been previewing Olympics based games on a weekly basis for far too long now, but if you're excited to have another way to get your track/cycling/swimming/archery fix, then you've certainly had a thrilling summer haven't you?! - ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Summer Athletics: The Ultimate Challenge.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)


Wii

Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery Dev. Humongous Pub. Majesco Systems: Wii MSRP: $19.99
Also known as Freddi Fish: The Case of The Missing Kelp Seeds, this game features a well-known PC character who appeals to the youngins. I remember playing these PC titles when I was babysitting over and over and over again. They have a simplistic mix of point-and-click exploring and puzzles, and with the $20 price tag, are perfect for the family gamer. Also look for the new Pajama Sam and Spy Fox titles coming soon. - mrs. ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)

King of Clubs Dev. Oxygen Games Pub. Crave Entertainment Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
Mini golf. Extreme mini-golf. While this is a well-explored area for Wii game developers, this title deserves a special look if only for it's weird gameplay modes. First, there's money to collect throughout the game that you can use to buy stuff. Not just prize money, but actual money that is found on the course itself while you play. Second, there are special modes and balls that cause the strategery of the game to be a bit different from what you'd expect: glue ball and the like. In the multiplayer mode, you can distract your oppenent with your Wii-mote, something you can do at home via local multiplayer anytime you want. All that being said, the controls suck. I could go into more detail, but you'll want to wait until the price drops from $30 before you give this one a chance. - mrs. ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for King of Clubs.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)


PlayStation 2

Women's Volleyball Championship Dev. Spike Pub. Agetec Systems: PS2 MSRP: $9.99
Finally, a version of women's volleyball that doesn't objectify them as skimpily-clad, large-knockered divas playing on the beach. That's right, this is the world of competitive indoor volleyball where you can choose from one of six different countries and really gain an appreciation of all that hard work and fundamentals the legions of fans so dearly love. Now if only we can get that Women's Field Hockey game we've all been clamoring for. Surely someone's ready to green light that as well. - ship

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Women's Volleyball Championship.

Purchase At Amazon $9.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)


Xbox 360

Spectral Force 3 Dev. Idea Factory Pub. Atlus Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
So maybe Atlus' last Xbox 360 strategy effort showcasing vampire Nazis was a little too out there for you to sink your teeth into. Well, Spectral Force 3 offers up a more traditional fantasy setting with a familiar overhead three-quarters view and anime-style characters that will make Final Fantasy Tactics fans feel right at home. Build your mercenary squad from forty different characters ranging from humans to demons to ogres as you tactically work your way through over 150 missions. The innovative radial menu simplifies the controls by eliminating scrolling through menus as all actions are mapped to the face and shoulder buttons and contextually change to only show relevant choices, so maneuvering your squad around the grid-based maps may be less daunting to beginners in the genre. Of course, your characters increase their stats and abilities as you progress through the game and this allows for greater combat assists through the "Friend Gauge" and even more devastating team formation attacks based upon a "Rage Gauge". Add in even more depth with the ability to craft weapons, armor, and accessories and Spectral Force 3 seems strategically placed to consume many hours in your near future. It's just too bad they couldn't have included multiplayer of some sort. - ship

Best Deal: Fry's is offering Spectral Force 3 for $53.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Fry's $52.99


PC

Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan Dev. I-Play Pub. I-Play Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
This is a pseudo-wedding planner simulation. With an adventure game interface, your job is to make sure that the two different weddings featured in the game go without a hitch. There are several unlockables including some honeymoon levels and mini-games. - Treehouse Gamer

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan.

Purchase At Big Fish Games $19.99

Fate: Undiscovered Realms Dev. WildStudios Pub. Encore Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
Fate was a pretty awesome Diablo clone. You took the role of a kid and his dog in a hack and slash adventure through a 100-floor dungeon. It features many of the same caveats of the Blizzard series such as the random dungeon generator and loot system, however it did not have multiplayer content. It is not apparent whether or not this is remedied by the upcoming Undiscovered Realms version. Undiscovered Realms does include the original Fate, so there's no worry about trying to scrounge up a copy of Fate. Added to this version are the standard expansion fare, but this still looks like an enjoyable game. - Treehouse Gamer

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Fate: Undiscovered Realms.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)

Ubersoldier 2 Dev. Burut Pub. Strategy First Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
As a genetically-engineered super-soldier - an "Ubersoldier", if you will - your job is to use your supernatural abilities and normal World War II weapons to take out the leaders of the Third Reich. Of course, this isn't just any World War II game! Your adventure takes you into deep underground lairs of the Tibet mountains fighting off Nazi zombies! The first Ubersoldier title has a metacritic score of 57, and this game looks like nothing more than amateur hour with the Half-Life 2 SDK. So far, the screen shots (located at www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/UberSoldier2) are so laughably bad it's on the verge of awesome. My personal favorites are the ones with the enemies looking every which way but in your direction. - Treehouse Gamer

Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Ubersoldier 2.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)

On The DL with the Shipwrecks

Art of Fighting 2 Systems: Wii VC (NEOGEO) MSRP: $9
If you really need to have a mediocre fighting game, just buy them all at once in the Art of Fighting Anthology for the PS2 which you should be able to find for around $10. - ship

Chase HQ Systems: Wii VC (TG-16) MSRP: $6
If you’re of the belief that every good police officer wears a purple t-shirt and a white sport coat with the sleeves rolled up, then this driving game is for you. Yes, it’s a driving game, but the package says it’s much more. Apparently not much more, as the game can be beaten in as little as ten minutes. The game play focuses on chasing criminals in your police car and is similar to OutRun from Sega. - mrs. ship

Frat Party Games: Pong Toss Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $8
Having been to a frat party or two, I know that playing this game while at a fraternity party sounds like a bad idea unless you want a Wii-mote through your TV screen. So, ironically, you should reserve this WiiWare compilation for more sober times when you want to play beer pong without being bothered by the actual drinking of beer. - mrs. ship

Parappa the Rapper (Last Week) Systems: PSN (PSP) MSRP: $22.99
You gotta believe that Sony may have taken a few too many punches and kicks to their beanie-wearing heads when they decided on a $23 price point to download this PS1 turned PSP title when you can buy the UMD version for $20 (or less than $10 in a few stores' clearance bins). - ship

PixelJunk Eden Systems: PSN (PS3) MSRP: $9.99
Swing your "Grimp" by a gossamer thread as you collect pollen to fertilize flowers so that you can continue swinging your "Grimp" higher and higher. Invite a couple friends over and hand them controllers to share in the "WTF are we doing" experience that so many of these artistic PSN games cling to. Definitely worth checking out the demo to see if it grows on you. - ship

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
Everyone's hatred for shapes can be rekindled this week with the follow-up to the original XBLA darling. This time around they've packed in more content with six different game types, new enemies, and local co-op. The graphics have also been notched up, so get those eyeball tourniquets on stand-by. - ship

Feedback:
Did we miss a good sale on a game? Did we miss previewing a game completely? Well, the only way that everyone can know a better deal is out there is to let us know about it. Post deals you've found or games that we missed in the thread so that CAGs can make sure they are getting the absolute best prices on new releases.

Downloading now. Tagged.

boo for dissing Chase HQ. Though the graphics haven't aged that well, the game play is still there and a whole lot of fun. One of the few TG-16 games that I've refused to sell over the years (plays better than the Genny version)

Awesome stuff, thanks for posting it now, really helping me get through my all-nighter tonight for work!

You guys enjoy your vacation, you both totally deserve it! Can't wait though until the next cag foreplay when you both return.

I'm having a lot of deja vu moments listening to this podcast.


edit: After another deja vu moment I stopped the podcast and checked what was up. Clicking the play button directly on the front page loads the 49th podcast. You have to click download to listen to the 50th.

Downloaded and I'll listen to it at work tomorrow. Hope that you guys have a great vacation...you deserve one after 50 episodes.

Also, honky lips.

Congrats on 50 episodes guys!

ship, u linked the last episode.

hopefully people realize it b4 they go off to work and start listening to something they already heard.

EDIT: here is the real link for those of you that need your fix now...

http://media.libsyn.com/media/forepl...foreplay50.mp3

What is the opening song? So familiar but it just isn't clicking right now.

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Originally Posted by CouRageouS What is the opening song? So familiar but it just isn't clicking right now.

It's the song that was used in one of the Samba de Amigo Wii trailers.

"Adequately Sized"

Story of my life.

Whoops... built-in player now points to the right episode. Was a case of me editing in two different windows last night without realizing it until I saved. Thought I had caught everything, but obviously missed that.

Nice 50th episode despite another slow week of releases. Thanks for the show.

Originally Posted by shipwreck Whoops... built-in player now points to the right episode. Was a case of me editing in two different windows last night without realizing it until I saved. Thought I had caught everything, but obviously missed that.

The front page still is on podcast #49.

Just snapped some pics of the E3 swag. I'll probably find some more stuff once I go through my bag some more.

Here's the stuff I think we covered on the show. Regulation size Tecmo Bowl foam finger, Gamecock socks with high quality thread count, Gamecock button, Ninjatown button of adorable baby Ninja, and multi-tool from The Agency. The multi-tool actually has some branding on it and says "The Agency" on one arm and has the U.N.I.T.E. logo on the other arm.

We forgot to mention this print from South Peak's X-Blades. Will look great framed above any home's mantle. Makes a great discussion piece and as an added bonus, you can time how long it takes for your friends to find her face. My best time: 6.34 seconds.

Originally Posted by Clarke The front page still is on podcast #49.

Should be fixed now.

Originally Posted by Cao Cao It's the song that was used in one of the Samba de Amigo Wii trailers.

Know the title? I never played any of the Samba games but the song is triggering a memory of playing that song in some rhythm game. Specifically the trumpet part. Hmm..

Okay nevermind I found it. Its called Samba de Janeiro and it is in fact also in DDR and Beatmania. I just played some Beatmania a couple weeks ago so that must be where I'm remembering it.

Pretty boring show when it came to the games department, they weren't even fun to make fun off. The non-releases of the week parts were definitely the high light. Poor cat :(

Whoops! Wrong thread

-Stephen

The reason you get burned is because of your ha... a forget it, that joke is to easy.