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CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of June 12th, 2007. This week we cover the genre that Wombat invented: M.O.T.S.

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

http://media.libsyn.com/media/foreplay/CAG_Foreplay_Podcast_3.mp3

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree Dev. Nintendo Pub. Nintendo Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
Gamers who have cringed at Nintendo's money-making scheme, er, trend of taking a successful handheld game, slapping a new cover on it, porting it to a console, and calling it a new release can rest easy. First, recent reviews of this game rave about the many original brain teasers unique to the Wii version. Second, the controls are reportedly flawless with the Wii-mote, which can't be said for many ported games that just don't play well without the precision of the DS stylus (i.e. Cooking Mama). Third, there's a multi-player mode similar to Wii Sports where all of us non-athletic types can kick some jock-ass. But wait... could there be a black cloud in this otherwise happy Nintendo sky? The DS Big Brain Academy title was a bargain at $20, only two-thirds of the price of most DS titles. But the Wii version will be released at a whopping $50! That's three-thirds, six-sixths, or eight-eigths of a full-price Wii game! - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
Circuit City is offering Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree for $40 and if they don't have it in stock by 2PM on 6/12, you get a $20 gift card. Fry's is offering the game for $39.

Purchase At Circuit City $39.99
See fidodido's Fry's Ad $38.99


Crash Bandicoot Action Pack Dev. Vivendi Universal Pub. Vivendi Universal Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
The three latest Crash games (Crash Twinsanity, Crash Nitro Kart, and Crash Tag Team Racing) are lovingly shoved into a cardboard box and offered up as a convenient set. Why anyone would want to buy both Crash racing games is a mystery to me, but if you are looking for a 2:1 racing to platformer ratio in your budget compilations then Vivendi is ready to take your $30. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Crash Bandicoot Action Pack.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)


Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Dev. Visual Concepts Pub. 2K Games Systems: DS, PS2, Wii, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99-$59.99
In this game-based-on-a-summer-movie-which-should-be-a-warning-flag title, you can play as Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, the Thing, and of course, the Silver Surfer. Talk about deja-preview! I'm picturing an awesome Marvel game with not five playable characters but dozens, each with four different costumes, a great co-op mode, and lots of replay value. Fortunately for me, this game already sits on my shelf and goes by the name of Marvel Ultimate Alliance. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
Family Video will save you a few dollars on most versions of Fantastic Four.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $34.99 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $48.06 (99 cent shipping)


Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia Dev. Artificial Studios Pub. SouthPeak Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
Four teens working on their homework one night suddenly get attacked by hordes of Zombies. The levels you'll play through are standard fare for most zombies-taking-over-your-town multiplayer melee games: homes, the school gym, etc... Most items in the game are potential weapons, but not all characters like all weapon choices, and this influences potential power attacks. After playing the demo, the game will be entertaining enough, but probably not worth the $60 you'll pay if you buy it new. Pencil this one in as a potential buy once the price drops and you come across a buy two-get-one-free sale. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
Amazon will save you a few dollars on Monster Madness. EB/Gamestop is offering a free beanie hat with purchase.

Purchase At Amazon $56.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At EB Games $59.99 (Free beanie cap)


Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2 Dev. CyberConnect2 Pub. Namco Bandai Systems: PS2 MSRP: $39.99
If I was a ninja, I probably wouldn't have too many orange jumpsuits in my closet. Sure, they'd be invaluable for all those missions involving picking up aluminum cans alongside the highway, but if I was an Ultimate Ninja I'd probably be too busy doing sweet tricks on my neighbor's trampoline. Anyways, if you're the kind to strap on a big metal headband, this looks to be good fan service with plenty of playable characters, lots of missions, familiar story lines, and surely some of the other stuff that they put in the weekly versions of these games. - ship

Best Deal:
Both Amazon and Family Video will save you a couple of bucks on Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2.

Purchase At Amazon $37.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $34.99 (99 cent shipping)


PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 Dev. Now Production Pub. D3 Systems: PSP MSRP: $29.99
This IQ test has you helping a little man escape from a series of rooms by moving boxes and riding conveyor belts. I found the first game to be unbelievably boring so I'm just going to assume I'm either too smart or too stupid to play these games and move on. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for PQ2.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)


Puzzle Scape Dev. Farmind Ltd Pub. Got Game Entertainment Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
This game seems to be the Frankenstein of puzzle games. It starts out like Tetris, with colored blocks falling from the top of the screen. But alas, linking a line of blocks of the same color won't make any of them disappear. Instead, you have to rearrange the blocks by switching the places of two adjacent blocks in a similar fashion to Planet Puzzle League. In order to make the blocks disappear and score points, you have to create a larger block of four (2x2) smaller blocks all of the same color. At this point, the game looks a lot like getting the bonus block in Lumines because all other single blocks of that color touching your larger block also disappear. Sounds not so simple? All in all, the preview videos of this game look good and this could be the next Lumines. Or Tetris. Or Planet Puzzle League. I prefer to call it Telumileague. Or Planetrilumines. Whatever you call it, it looks to be well worth your $20. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Puzzle Scape.

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


Raw Danger Dev. Irem Pub. Agetec Systems: PS2 MSRP: $19.99
What looks like an original title is actually a carefully disguised sequel to 2003's Disaster Report. This time around, instead of surviving an earthquake, you and your female companion must survive a flood. It's sort of like Resident Evil without any zombies, weapons, or budget. - ship

Best Deal:
Family Video is offering Raw Danger for $14 shipped.

Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Family Video $12.99 (99 cent shipping)


Scarface: The World is Yours Dev. Radical Entertainment Pub. Vivendi Universal Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
Everything old is new again on the Wii. Since so many people enjoyed The Godfather on the Wii, Vivendi decided they'd cash in as well. The Wiimote is mainly just used for shooting people in the head (or wherever else you decide to shoot them), but there are some dashes of waggle thrown in. Help Tony Montana rebuild his fallen empire and achieve his ultimate goal of proving that the Wii is not just for the kiddies. - ship

Best Deal:
Amazon is offering Scarface for $48 shipped. Fry's is selling the game for $45.

Purchase At Amazon $47.99 (Free shipping)
See fidodido's Fry's Ad $44.99


The Sims 2: Pets Dev. Electronic Arts Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
Things that I learned while previewing this game:
1. It came out originally as an expansion pack. Then, it was released on the Gamecube. Now it's available on the Wii, but if the Wii-mote makes the game worth playing, why did we buy the GC version???
2. Your pets get jobs.
3. There are werewolves.
4. The soundtrack includes the Simlish version of "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls, which is now playing in my head like a broken record.
5. Your Sims can own up to six pets. According to Wikipedia, the gamer can choose from several animals including cats, dogs, "womrats" (creatures similar to guinea pigs, whose name is a portmanteau of wombat and rat), and birds.
6. A portmanteau is a single word made up of two or more words or word parts to create a new, blended meaning.

The fact that there is a Wikipedia article which mentions Wombats AND taught me a new word makes me happy, but it didn't particularly make me want to buy this game. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
Amazon is offering a free "Purple Pug" code with purchase of The Sims 2: Pets. Fry's is selling the game for $45.

Purchase At Amazon $49.95 (Free shipping & Free "Purple Pug" code)
See fidodido's Fry's Ad $44.99


Tenchu Z Dev. From Software Pub. Microsoft Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
It's Tenchu. You jump around on buildings, jump down, kill someone from behind or runaway like a pansy ninja until the same half-wit enemies from 1998 forget that you were trying to kill them and go back to wearing out the pavement they've been pacing on for nine years. Well there's some hi-res graphics and co-op play this go around, so you and some friends can work together at bravely running away. - ship

Best Deal:
Family Video will save you a few bucks on Tenchu Z. Fry's is selling the game for $55.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $56.24 (99 cent shipping)
See fidodido's Fry's Ad $54.99


Time Ace Dev. Trainwreck Studios Pub. Konami Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Dr. Clock has invented a time machine and it has been stolen by his evil assistant. Your mission: travel through time, fly historic aircraft, destroy stuff, level up your planes, and defeat the baddie before he takes over the world. This 3D aerial shooter for the DS is loosely based on the arcade game Time Pilot. There ends my knowledge of Time Ace. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Time Ace.

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


Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Dev. Ubi Soft Pub. Ubi Soft Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
Add new content and characters all you want, but I can't imagine Vegas working well in portable form. - ship

Best Deal:
Family Video is offering Rainbow Six Vegas for $36 shipped.

Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $34.99 (99 cent shipping)


Zendoku Dev. Zoonami Pub. Eidos Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
See, once you learn a new word, it's good to use it often to commit it to memory. Zendoku is a portmanteau, being a combination of the words Zen and Sudoku. This game for the DS is a spin on traditional Sudoku, but features crazy martial-arts symbols and characters with special abilities. With several modes of gameplay including quest, attack, zen (timed), and classic sudoku, this game looks like a fresh take on what is otherwise MOTS. However, the review scores are all over the place. If you find yourself pining away for a good game of Sudoku, this $20 might be just your thing. I guess if I had to describe it in one word, it would be specterrible. - mrs. ship

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

Purchase At EB Games $19.99



On The DL with the Shipwrecks


Go! Puzzle Systems: PS3 MSRP: $?
A puzzle game where you rotate blocks to match up like colored blocks. There are blocks with happy faces on them if that sweetens the pot at all. - ship

Golden Axe II Systems: Wii MSRP: $8
The classic Genesis scrolling fantasy game hacks and slashes and rides dinosaur things onto the Virtual Console. Watch out, little dwarves are trying to steal your $8 while you sleep! - ship

Lode Runner Systems: Wii MSRP: $5
Lode Runner was a great action-puzzler back in the day. I'm sure the NES version might have been okay when it was released, but there's already a superior Lode Runner on the Virtual Console. - ship

Prince of Persia Classic Systems: 360 MSRP: $10
A whole new generation can experience the frustration of the original Prince of Persia. Like the first time around, the graphics seem to steal the show here and have been completely updated for the hi-def era. - ship

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Systems: Wii MSRP: $8
This game is great. Whether you're a gamer that collected every coin like myself, or you just ran through each level as fast as possible like Ship, you had fun. Like the original Sonic game released for the Genesis, this game used only a single button and the d-pad, but introduced Tails as Sonic's side-kick. The levels are varied in design, and you'll remember why you loved this game as soon as you pick up the controller. But for $8, you'd be better off buying it as part of the Sega Genesis Collection (PS2, PSP ~$20) or the Sonic Mega Collection for the Game Cube (which is backwards compatible for your Wii, $20) and get many, many games rather than just one. - mrs. 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.

Prince of Persia Classic is supposed to be much much easier than the original, according to IGN.

Originally Posted by Roufuss Prince of Persia Classic is supposed to be much much easier than the original, according to IGN.

Well, that's certainly a relief then.

Time Ace...another title I didn't know about until this article. Nice job!

Edit: I'm gonna stick to Tomb Raider for PS2. I don't think a graphics upgrade will be worth the additional $30.

Raw Danger for 15$ at FV is an amazing price, plus 5$ off coupon if it's your first order. (NEWMEM5F)

Got one for 8.98 shipped. Thanks for pointing out that deal, I would have missed it otherwise.

Originally Posted by shipwreck Well, that's certainly a relief then.

Yea, the reviewer said he never finished PoP as a kid, but he's gone through this remake 4 times already.

It's a pretty decent review.

Thanks for keeping the text version as well as the Podcast. The reviews are always great, and I'm not knocking the Podcast, it is just hard to find time to listen to.

I didn't know Prince of Persia Classic and Sonic 2 were coming to the PSP this week too :\

Originally Posted by KingBroly I didn't know Prince of Persia Classic and Sonic 2 were coming to the PSP this week too :\

Doh... I really need to update my macro so it doesn't spit out PSP for everything.

Fixed.

Double Doh... I just realized that I completely forgot to talk about PQ2 on the podcast. The game got ridiculously high scores from EGM (9.5, 9.0, 7.5) which is a shock to me after playing through the first one.

very nice podcast. one thing that drive me crazy was you were pronouncing "Naruto" wrong. It is not "Naru-too", but rather "Naru-toe". just giving you a heads up for the next time so you don't get murdered by Naruto fanatics

Originally Posted by musicnoteless very nice podcast. one thing that drive me crazy was you were pronouncing "Naruto" wrong. It is not "Naru-too", but rather "Naru-toe". just giving you a heads up for the next time so you don't get murdered by Naruto fanatics

Thanks, I even asked Cheapy how to pronounce that earlier and then completely went back to my pronounciation of it when we were recording.

As soon as I said it, I knew it was wrong, but its fun to see what we pronounce wrong every week.

Zendoku has an interesting story behind it. It's made by Zoonami, which was founded in 2000 by an ex-Rare employee who produced Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. After years of speculation on what he was working on, in 2006, Zendoku was finally announced and the gaming world went on about their business.

Originally Posted by radjago Zendoku has an interesting story behind it. It's made by Zoonami, which was founded in 2000 by an ex-Rare employee who produced Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. After years of speculation on what he was working on, in 2006, Zendoku was finally announced and the gaming world went on about their business.

Actually an interesting story. ;-)

If the EU release of DS Browser is anything to go buy, I'm afraid the Flash-lovers are going to be disappointed. It literally supports the HTML variants, and that's pretty much it.

The pages I load are a little awful in load times. It's restricted by it's 11mbps connection through Wifi, otherwise it'd be faster. My home site takes an absolute age, and it's just images.

Honestly, I use it as an IM client (Through eBuddy Mobile), and that's about it. I was kinda pissed about wasting so much on something that is about as fast as my mobile phone.

However, I can't be sure on the load times for US users. I know for fact that the US has much better internet speeds than UK users, so the speeds might be better. But for doing simple stuff like posting on CAG (-PLUGLOL-) works just fine, and the handwriting recognition is definitely useful.

You Forgot Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek.

I always see Disaster Report in Bargin Bins. I will pick it up one day. The cover art scares me away each time. I want to try Raw Danger. Who thinks of these titles and marketing? I would call it "Water Mark".

Originally Posted by lwelyk You Forgot Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek.

We don't typically cover the PC games. I do have all the Nancy Drew games thus far, but I'd like to see one for the DS!

Haven't listened to it yet, but I'm sure it'll be another great episode (going to listen to it in my downtime at work tomorrow). Thanks for doing the show and write-up each week, makes it simpler for me to know what to lust after.

/tk

Everything old is new again on the Wii. Since so many people enjoyed The Godfather on the Wii, Vivendi decided they'd cash in as well. The Wiimote is mainly just used for shooting people in the head (or wherever else you decide to shoot them), but there are some dashes of waggle thrown in. Help Tony Montana rebuild his fallen empire and achieve his ultimate goal of proving that the Wii is not just for the kiddies. - ship

You forgot to mention that you can use the remote to saw limbs and decapitate people with the chainsaw. I'd rent it just for that, but for whatever reason Blockbuster requires credit cards for next-gen rentals now.

Originally Posted by mrs. shipwreck We don't typically cover the PC games. I do have all the Nancy Drew games thus far, but I'd like to see one for the DS!

Nice avatar mrs shipwreck.