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CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of June 11th, 2008. This week we have a handful of good releases that bridge the age gap from onesie-wearing infants to mustachioed, mulleted geezers.


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Multi-Platform

Backyard Baseball '09 Dev. Humongous Entertainment Pub. Atari Systems: PS2, PC, Wii MSRP: $19.99, $39.99
Ship and I have long favored the Backyard franchise as being the best kids sports games available. Of course, we don't actually have kids, but with the arcade style gameplay and fun power-ups, this title reminds me of a Hot Shots type title. There's now a player from every major-league team, and this year's cover features David Ortiz. While these titles haven't always been decent (even for younger audiences), this title is getting okay reviews. The main downfalls are the presentation and the sound. The DS version was supposed to come out in March and seems much more marketable for this age group than the other titles. I'd probably pick that up if you have a tween gamer. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Backyard Baseball '09.

Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Family Video $19.99 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)


Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Dev. Dimps Pub. Atari Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99
Well, you're either going to be just as excited or just as disinterested as you usually are for the latest Dragon Ball Z fighting game. From my limited experience with the series, this seems like a very good update for the current gen systems and all the standard, easy to perform combos and supermoves are intact. There's even an interesting mid-battle cutscene mechanic that activates when you meet certain objectives during the fight, which actually makes the game seem more like the Anime. It's a feature that would annoy me greatly in any other fighting game, but for this source material, it really seems to work and adds a lot of replay value to the single player story. And of course there is multiplayer both online and off and it even supports co-op play. All-in-all, this is great fan-service. Too bad I'm not a fan. - ship

Best Deal:
Circuit City is offering a free $10 gift card with the purchase of Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit. EB/GameStop is offering a free t-shirt and a DVD with seven Dragon Ball Z episodes with your purchase of the game.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $56.48 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At EB Games $59.99 (Free T-Shirt and DVD with the first 7 episodes of the anime)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free $10 gift card)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $56.48 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At EB Games $59.99 (Free T-Shirt and DVD with the first 7 episodes of the anime)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free $10 gift card)


NASCAR 09 Dev. EA Tiburon Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PS2, 360, PS3 MSRP: $39.99, $59.99
Live the Cole Trickle lifestyle as you work your way through an improved career mode that takes you from the Craftsman Truck Series all the way up to the series that NASCAR fans care about. You know, that one with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt's kid, and that girl that played Dawn on Buffy as she searches for love and acceptance. Speaking of Jeff Gordon, he's the game's host so he'll be there to guide you through the game and sell you plenty of Frito's Scoops in his retarded flame suit flame-retardant suit. In addition to driving around in circles, there is a quite extensive "Challenge Mode" where you must achieve preset times or avoid pile-ups. Completing these increases your reputation which allows you to obtain better sponsors which allows you to afford better car parts. But if you aren't satisfied with the product placement that EA was able to secure for the game, they've included a really nice "EA Locker" feature that allows you to edit paint jobs and decals on your computer and then import them back into the game. A perfect feature for those wanting the realism of alcholic beverage logos moving at 200 MPH... or a sweet #51 Mello Yello. Unlockable brain surgeon girlfriend has not been confirmed at this time. - ship

Best Deal:
Circuit City is offering a free $10 gift card with the purchase of NASCAR 09.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free $10 gift card)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free $10 gift card)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $39.99 (Free $10 gift card)


Wii

Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy Dev. Budcat Creations Pub. Majesco Games Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
Blast Works is a truly unique scrolling shooter that incorporates a Katamari-esque accumulation system with a Little Big Planet-esque user created content system. A spin-off of a Tumiki Fighters (a PC game), Blast Works excudes charm with its bright colors and appealing, yet simple geometry. The main game consists of 15 missions where you must master the "sticky shooter" (their naming convention, not mine), by colliding with parts of enemy ships you have destroyed. These parts then add to the shape and abilities of your ship and as your ship grows, so does the scale of the enemies you are battling. That alone is pretty neat, but the campaign is only the beginning in this game as the customization is really amazing. Using the game's built-in editor, you can create ships, enemies, levels, and items and then upload them to BlastWorksDepot.com for others to download onto their Wii. There's even three pre-built customizable levels to get you on the track. Once everyone gets past the genetalia shooting other genetalia set in the land of Genetalia, I'm really looking forward to what people are going to come up with. While we wait for the genetalia to subside, why not try your hand at one of the four unlockable games including the original Tumiki Fighters? - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy.

Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)


DS

Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles Dev. Arc System Works Pub. Aksys Games Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
This game is being hailed as an interactive digital novel. I call it a poor-man's point-and-click adventure. But hey, we're cheap-asses (mostly) because we're poor. Yes, there's interviewing and searching for clues and detective-type stuff, but there's that pesky 53/100 Metacritic score that makes me cautious. What seems to make most previewers hesitant about this title is that it's a budget release that looks like a budget release. The weirdest part is that some of the screen shots feature Jake (who is obviously an animated drawing) in front of real photos of locations. It just looks odd in an old-school Carmen Sandiego sort of way. But, if you're in the market for a budget detective game, then this one looks okay. Just don't expect a Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk caliber game for your $20. Unless you happened to find Hotel Dusk for $20, then just buy that. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)


Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor Dev. Amaze Entertainment Pub. Eidos Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
My last Looney Tunes game was Duck Amuck, which was decent but got boring fairly quickly. Also known as Looney Tunes: Cartoon Concerto, this title is a rhythm-based game by Eidos that claims to offer "simple but addictive gameplay." The screenshots display some of our favorite Looney Tunes characters, but since there's only one actual preview available, I'd buy with caution. The gameplay is similar (but simplified) to that of Elite Beat Agents, but the songs are mostly classics (we're talking Bach and Beethoven) that sometimes don't translate well into the gaming world. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Family Video $19.99 (99 cent shipping)


My Fashion Studio Dev. Pub. Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
I can tell I'm getting old because this game brought back memories of my Barbie Fashion Plates that required a black crayon and lots of imagination. Instead of making rubs with carbon paper, today's hip tween girl prefers to use her DS, or so I'm told. Although there's no Barbie sponsorship here, there's plenty of glitz and glamour. If you know a gamer who firmly believes that the right shade of lipstick can make or break you, this game might be a wise purchase. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for My Fashion Studio.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $28.84 (99 cent shipping)


PlayStation 3

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Dev. Kojima Productions Pub. Konami Systems: PS3 MSRP: $59.99, $84.99
Well, it's finally here - Snake is back and he's ready to do what he does best: sell some Sony hardware. Sure, he's good at grabbing the crotches of statues and rolling around in a barrel until he pukes, but those are merely secondary objectives along the way of getting that PlayStation 3 into your living room. There's probably some more thoroughly confusing underlying plot that accompanies the game along with giant, mechanical beast women, but that would be entirely to complicated to explain here (if I even understood it). In case you haven't heard by now, Snake is old and has a mustache and has plenty of new gadgets like a digital camouflage suit, a remote control scouting robot, and a Rascal scooter. I'd say more about the game, but I'm afraid that if I reveal anything else Kojima would strap me to a chair, prop my eyes open Clockwork Orange style, and force me to watch the game install so it can play romantic-comedy length cutscenes. So to avoid that, I'll just say something along the lines of "Metal Gear Solid 4 oozes with quality and is a fitting tribute both to Solid Snake himself and to his loyal fans". - ship

Best Deal:
Family Video is offering Metal Gear Solid 4 for $56 shipped. Circuit City is giving away the strategy guide with the purchase of the game. Or if you want to go all out, EB/GameStop has an exclusive Limited Edition version that includes exclusive artwork, a Blu-Ray disc with two documentaries and a soundtrack CD for $85.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $54.99 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $59.99 (Free full-size strategy guide)
Purchase At EB Games $84.99


PlayStation 2

Jeep Thrills Dev. Gamesauce Pub. Destination Software Systems: PS2 MSRP: $12.99
Do I spy a titular pun for a cheap racing game based around Jeep vehicles? Choose from eighteen different and customizable Jeep vehicles and race over 35 tracks. (Wow, that's actually quite a few courses.) There's really not any other info available, but the screenshots show a lot of Jeeps racing along a wide variety of brown textures. There's giant-stone texture, there's dirt with lines in it texture, there's blurry dirt texture, and there's apparently a non-pictured frozen Alaskan tundra texture that I suspect... is not brown. With all these different textures, it might be easy to lose focus on your "one main main objective: conquering the terrain and the elements and owning the planet!" That's right, make that planet your bitch. - ship

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

Purchase At Amazon $12.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)


Xbox 360

Don King Presents Prize Fighter Dev. Venom Games Pub. 2K Sports Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
It's hard to believe that it's been nearly two and a half years since Fight Night Round 3 came out for the Xbox 360. It's also hard to believe that nearly two and a half years later, we finally get another boxing game in the form of Don King Presents Prize Fighter... and Fight Night Round 3 is still the prettiest boxing game on the market. That's not necessarily a knock on Prize Fighter, but a testiment to how advanced Fight Night's graphics were. So Prize Fighter doesn't quite match up visually, but it seems to be a winner in the content department by focusing on a very unique documentary style story mode that chronicles your pugilist's rise through the rankings. You not only have to worry about the fights themselves or training for the bouts (aspects of which factored heavily into Venom Games' previous "Rocky" titles from the last gen), but your life outside the ring is also vital as you deal with the business side of boxing and your personal dating life. Hey, you don't get Robin Givens by just bashing people's heads in, there's some wining and dining involved. Speaking of Mike Tyson... there is no Mike Tyson... but there are over twenty-two venues to fight in and over forty current and legendary boxers (Ken Norton and Joe Louis seem to be on the more famous side of the list, so no Muhammed Ali or George Foreman). But with five customizable boxers that you can fight online with, maybe you can create reasonable fascimiles of your ommitted favorites like Ali or even Big Boa. Oh, and of course expect plenty of Don King Don Kinging up the place. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Don King Presents Prize Fighter.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)


On The DL with the Shipwrecks

My Pokemon Ranch Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10
If your ideal social gathering involves seeing how your Pokemon and your Miis interact, then put down the controller immediately and seek help. - mrs. ship

Bio Miracle Bokutte UPA Systems: Wii VC (NES) MSRP: $6
Familiar to some as the bootleg "Baby Mario", this former Japanese exclusive instead makes its official North American debut with its absolutely horrendous name intact. Really, how is that title supposed to convince people that this is actually a very good platformer starring an infant who inflates evil pigs with the shake of his rattle? Taking heavy influence from the original Super Mario Bros. and Dig Dug, this game is a worthy addition to any virtual shelf due to the variety in gameplay and responsive controls. And speaking of Dig Dug... - ship

Dig Dug Systems: Wii VC (NES) MSRP: $6
Dig Dug is a blast, yes. Better with Achievements if you so happen to have a 360 and be an Achievement whore, yes, but a blast none the less on whatever your console of choice may be. So whip out the 600 Rupees Wii points, and fork 'em over. And if you're reading this preview thinking you wished I would have discussed more about the actual gameplay so you would know if you really wanted to buy this title, shut up and buy it already. Trust me. - mrs. ship

Frogger 2 Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
The all-new and third original "Frogger 2" hops onto the freeway that is XBLA and promptly gets flattened by its $10 pricetag. Hey, I'm as big of a Frogger fan as they come (all 200 Achievement points, thank you very much), but no Frogger sequel has ever matched the beautiful simplicity of the original and that one's available for $5. I don't need 15 different levels or boss battles or collectable jewels in my Frogger. What the Hell is Frogger going to due with a jewel anyway? I mean, this isn't even the animorphic Frogger monstrosity that could possibly have use for such a luxury item - this is just plain ol' frog Frogger. That said, for $5 I probably would have still taken the plunge. For $10, Frogger 2 can enjoy being laid out on the freeway, drying in the sun. (Then again I'll probably buy it and show that I'm a sucker for Frogger... and don't know when to turn around and run.) - ship

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
(Deja Preview) Well, how about that, another top-down twin-stick shooter as a downloadable game. Never saw it coming. This one is the follow-up to the classic arcade games and features three-player co-op both locally and online. Much like Assault Heroes, you have the ability to fight on foot or in vehicles as you work through jungle environments that also remind me of Assault Heroes. Just from watching the videos, though, Commando 3 just isn't doing much for me. Maybe once I get some hands-on time with the co-op, I'll change my mind. - ship

Also included with the XBLA version of Commando 3 is a beta for Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, so I'm guessing this will be a big seller. - 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.

Awesome.

Some foreplay before bed...


edit:Great show guys. Twelve days of work straight and doing a podcast? Mrs. ship = hardest working woman in video gaming.

wow, glad i randomly decided to check this forum. I was like why is ther a contest for a game that wasn't talked about. Now I know.....

edit: "What's Opera Doc" was the opera episode, with Kill the Wabbit as part of the lyrics. "The rabbit of sevilee" is the one where Fudd chases bugs into the theatre and he puts him in the barber chair.

The T-Shirt frm gamestop is awesome, but the guy that sold me the pre-order said the Blu-Ray disc that comes with the games preorder is a movie, Dead Zone. o.O

Finished the show. Good show, the drifting off subject was actaully realy interesting, even if you guys seem to think it wasn't. It was really great to have Mrs. Ship back.

Originally Posted by Panther1484 Awesome. Some foreplay before bed...

My thoughts exactly.

Boy, you guys are either in or you are out.

On Pokemon Ranch: people will buy it just so they have a place to store their pokemon. There was a Gamecube game called Pokemon Box that was pretty much the same thing. Plus its got that whole chibi look going for it. Not saying I'm buying it but there are people who will.

Pokemon Box also goes for like $80-$100 on eBay (It did at one point). The only reason to get Pokemon Ranch is to get Mew (The reward for having 1000 Pokemon stored in the game).

The DBZ game was sent to die. I am only getting 1 game this week, and it ain't DBZ. The 40gb PS3 could do software emulation through a firmware upgrade for PS2 games. What Sony wants to do is to sell PS2 games on PSN.

The PS3 coming with MGS4 is actually the 80gb model. There is a 40gb MGS4 model but that's the grey one that you can only get on Konami's site.

Originally Posted by whoknows The PS3 coming with MGS4 is actually the 80gb model. There is a 40gb MGS4 model but that's the grey one that you can only get on Konami's site.

Beat to it!

I actually waited to get a PS3 not for MGS4, but for a 80GB system with a DualShock3. This is the first model to have them, since they stopped selling the 80GB after last holiday system (the Motorstorm bundle) and the Dualshock only came out a couple months ago.

Just wanted to help with next week's PC preview (though I don't know an efficient way to scout prices, so I just went with MSRP):

The release list comes from IGN.com

Format goes as follows:

Date

Title (Publisher)
Description


6/16


1701 AD Gold Edition (Aspyr)
This is a compilation of the original release of 1701 A.D. and its expansion The Sunken Dragon. The game is an empire building sim set during the time period the title is named after. The original 1701 AD was released fall 2006, and the graphics still hold up thanks to a pleasing art style with lush colors and dense-looking towns. The Gold Edition marks the first time that The Sunken Dragon expansion has been released in North America. The expansion adds more scenarios as well as a world editor. I have not played this game, personally, but it scored a 79% on GameRankings with IGN remarking that the game is a surprisingly good historical sim. The game releases for $29.99.

Political Machine 2008 (Stardock)
From the developer that brought Sins of a Solar Empire and the Galactic Civilization series, The Political Machine 2008 is an update to the original Political Machine released in August 2004. The original Political Machine was actually a really fun diversion based on the previous voting year. The original had you select an existing political figure or you could create your own; You would take this character through their campaign trail by building a platform, being interviewed by the news and media, and trying to win over each state by appealing towards their general disposition. The career mode had you climbing up the ladder in head-to-head campaigns starting with the likes of Condoleeza Rice until you reached Bush or Kerry - depending on your political stance. This 2008 version keeps the core elements of the previous version and adds a 3D spit-shine. This is strangely conflicting to me since the original's whimsical charicatures were such a large part of its appeal; Instead, the candidates are replaced with 3D bobbleheads. The key new feature is the implementation of historical and alternate universe campaigns (including a campaign giving a huge nod to the GalCiv series). I insist that those interested pick up the original for $10 or less, and if you're a fan, the new one looks to be pretty fun for under $20.


6/17


Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm (Greenwave)
Based off of the hit TV show, Deadliest Catch is a pretty involved strategy/sim of crab fishing. Yep. Crab fishing. Along with the standard career mode, the game also includes 30 mini-games. Games like grabbing buoys with your boat. Thrilling. Needless to say, this game should only appeal to fans of the TV show. It will run you at the appalling price of $39.99.

Spore Creature Creator (EA)
Easily my most anticipated PC title of 2008, Spore puts you in a "Sim-Everything" type of game with... wait, this is just the creature creator. Designed to allow the player to "shape, paint, and play" their own Spore creatures, this "game" is just a taste of what is to come this September and features the ability to import creatures created with the tool into the final copy of Spore. A demo featuring 25% of the Creature Creator's content will be released day and date with the retail copy. Despite the $9.99 price tag for what is essentially a tool, I'm picking my copy up on day one.

Supreme Ruler 2020 (Paradox Development)
This is a 4X-style strategy game with a world map featuring 185 countries to control and a truckload of menus. The original game Supreme Ruler 2010 got mediocre reviews, and the new version features a slightly more robust game engine. This game releases for $39.99.


6/19


Legends of Norrath: Oathbreaker
Oathbreaker is an online collectible card game based in the Norrath universe. I don't really understand the point of online CCG's since the fun part of CCG's is the holding of the tangible cards. Why even bother with cards anymore? Why not just make it a turn-based small-scale strategy game? Apparently, this is the fourth in the series completeing the four-set arc. Starter decks will release for $9.99 and boosters for $2.99.

I'm getting the Ps3 80gb MGS4 bundle tomorrow Can't wait!

hey shipwrecks, did you guys ever played Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the PSP i don't really remember a opinion from you guys

Shippy, i agree that there are some things in NG1 that is better than II. but i enjoy NOT backtracking even tho it makes the game harder when you can't go back to a store or save point in certain sections. also, they fixed the problem of respawning enemies which i think is MUCH better. i got pissed at certain parts of the game as well but once you take a break and jump back in, i found that i did better. NGII still rawks, imo.

btw mrs. shipwreck, so i guess you'll never return to the Final Fantasy games now?

Originally Posted by ShinAkumA21 I'm getting the Ps3 80gb MGS4 bundle tomorrow Can't wait! hey shipwrecks, did you guys ever played Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the PSP i don't really remember a opinion from you guys

I played through and beat Crisis Core and really enjoyed it. I know I talked about it quite a bit on at least one episode. It's definitely one of the best games available for the PSP.

Originally Posted by whoknows The PS3 coming with MGS4 is actually the 80gb model. There is a 40gb MGS4 model but that's the grey one that you can only get on Konami's site.

Well, that's good to know. Honestly, after you buy a PS3, it gets really hard to keep track of all the versions that they've gone through. At least that's how it is for me.

Originally Posted by Treehouse Gamer Just wanted to help with next week's PC preview (though I don't know an efficient way to scout prices, so I just went with MSRP):

Yeah, the prices take Ship about three or four hours to gather and list all the deals. Thanks for the work on the PC games, it takes a lot off of us!

Originally Posted by LiK btw mrs. shipwreck, so i guess you'll never return to the Final Fantasy games now?

Probably this week I'll return to FFIX, I've been wanting to get back to it!

I honestly forgot I signed up for the Hour of Victory tour so I'm glad I listened to the show today. I already sent my address to the CAG before me.

Is there a reason the first sentence is repeated? Is that explained in this week's show?

I understand your pain with not understanding the PS3 and its backwards compat. I had a regular 60 GB PS3 for a year and sold is since I only used it for PS2 and only a couple games. Now I was thinking about getting one again in the fall since there will be many games but I get confused on what ones can play PS2 games and which ones can't.

Originally Posted by FriskyTanuki Is there a reason the first sentence is repeated? Is that explained in this week's show?

Copy & Paste betrayed me.

Just to clear something up about DBZ, if you Preordered the game ar EB/Gamestop You get Dead Zone on Blu ray for the ps3 version and for the 360 you get the first 7 episodes of the anime.