CAG Foreplay #59: Totem Pole Grabbing

[preview][img-l=1]2[/img-l]CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of January 14th, 2009. Well, it looks like this year's first true batch of new releases is fresh out of the oven and we take a peak to see what might be consumable.

Don't forget to enter our contest for WarioWare Touched! (DS) courtesy of CAG Robjus.

Special thanks to GoDaddy.com for providing CAG Foreplay listeners with a code for domain names for only $7.49 a year. Just enter code "GAMER1" when you check out to get your savings.


[podcast]48[/podcast]
Download - 58 minutes, 26MB
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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 [email protected] or [email protected].

Multi-Platform

[IMG-L=4890]4439[/IMG-L]The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Dev. Pandemic Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: DS, PC, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99-$59.99
I honestly think Electronic Arts has done an epically bad job in the naming and marketing of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Contrary to what a lot of people may think, this is not another real-time strategy game, but rather a “Star Wars Battlefront” style game from Pandemic. Replace Stormtroopers with Orcs, Darth Vader with Sauron, and Tatooine with the Shire and you know exactly what to expect in this sixteen player class-based game of capturing command posts. - ship

Purchase At Amazon $56.99 (Free Shipping)
Purchase At GameStop $59.99 (Free miniature replica sword)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)
Purchase At GameStop $29.99 (Free miniature replica sword)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At GameStop $49.99 (Free miniature replica sword)
Purchase At Amazon $56.99 (Free Shipping)
Purchase At GameStop $59.99 (Free miniature replica sword)



Wii

[IMG-L=4890]4436[/IMG-L]Deal or No Deal Dev. Black Lantern Studios Pub. Zoo Games Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
You came here with nothing, and, by damn, you’re going to do your best to insure you leave here with nothing. Recreate the thrill of finding out you are a greedy moron who is terrible at math without all the remorse that accompanies being a greedy moron who is terrible at math. Plus, the “At Home Edition” features absolutely no chance to win real money! - ship

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)




[IMG-L=4890]4201[/IMG-L]Fishing Master World Tour (Last Week) Dev. Hudson Entertainment Pub. Konami Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
I’ve played the hell out of River King on my DS, so I supposed that makes me somewhat of a fishing game aficionado. With controls that utilize both the wii-mote and the nunchuck for a life-like fishing experience, new deep-sea fishing, and over 200 species of fish to catch, this game is THE fishing experience to be had on the Wii. - mrs. ship

Purchase At Amazon $28.99 (Free Shipping)





[IMG-L=4890]4441[/IMG-L]Neighborhood Games Dev. THQ Pub. THQ Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
Sometimes, there are game descriptions written so well that a preview is not needed. This is one of those times. “Take a walk down memory lane to the days when you played with your friends until dark. Imagine a place where you can play all those games, where the level of competition is matched only by the sheer amount of fun. Neighborhood Games is that place, offering 24 unique twists on those popular games.” Something tells me that squirt guns isn’t as fun on a videogame console as in real life. - mrs. ship

Purchase At Amazon $27.99 (Free Shipping)




[IMG-L=4890]4205[/IMG-L]Paws & Claws: Pet Resort (Last Week) Dev. THQ Pub. THQ Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
What’s on that bunny’s head? - ship

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)






DS

[IMG-L=4890]4200[/IMG-L]Elebits: The Adventures of Kai & Zero (Last Week) Dev. Konami Pub. Konami Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Instead of relying on the novelty of the Wii-mote, the new DS Elebits title is an adventure game that expands on the original ideas of the franchise. The overall goal of the game is unchanged: Elebits are still collected for their energy, which is used to progress the storyline and power-up weapons. But the world is more Zelda-ish, with puzzles and challenges along the way. Overall, it seems like an adventure-lite title, but the solid animation and gameplay make this title worth picking up at $30. - ship

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)



[IMG-L=4890]4438[/IMG-L]Inkheart Dev. Dreamcatcher Pub. Dreamcatcher Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Another fanciful DS game based upon another fanciful movie starring Brendan Fraser. I know, you’re sold already, so I won’t need to say much else on this one. Fortunately, I don't know much else besides that it is an adventure game that you hold "book-style" and Mr. Fraser can bring fairy tales to life just by reading them. Really, what can't that guy do? - ship

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)



[IMG-L=4890]4202[/IMG-L]Jumble Madness Dev. Destineer Pub. Destineer Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Features five different takes on word jumbles. Insanity, or should I say ysiinant? - ship

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free Shipping on Orders over $25)






[IMG-L=4890]4203[/IMG-L]Moon Dev. Renegade Kid Pub. Mastiff Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
The developers behind Dementium: The Ward return with another platform pushing first-person experience. Set fifty years in the future, something has gone awry on the moon and guess who gets to deal with it? With it’s Metroid Prime Hunters style of controls, Moon is either going to be exactly what you are looking for, or exactly what you are trying to avoid on the DS. Thankfully, it takes a more adventure-like approach, relying on its atmosphere and puzzle solving rather than going the guns blazing route. Looks promising. - ship


Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free Shipping)
Purchase At GameStop $29.99 (Free game slipcover & stylus)



[IMG-L=4890]4204[/IMG-L]Paws & Claws: Pampered Pets (Last Week) Dev. THQ Pub. THQ Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Lavish other people’s pets like furry royalty in this fancy pet spa simulator. Hey, that Chihuahua looks like Elle Woods’ dog, “Bruiser”, from Legally Blonde. Oh good God, why do I know that?! - ship

Purchase At Amazon $19.99





[IMG-L=4890]4442[/IMG-L]Personal Trainer: Math Dev. Jupiter Corporation Pub. Nintendo Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Will this surpass Fraction Football and gain the title of Greatest Math Game in the History of the World? - ship

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free Shipping on Orders over $25)






PC

[IMG-L=4890]4440[/IMG-L]Mirror's Edge Dev. DICE Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PC MSRP: $49.99
Now the PC faithful can parkour as well. - ship

Purchase At Amazon $46.99 (Free Shipping)







[IMG-L=4890]4443[/IMG-L]Saints Row 2 (Last Week) Dev. Volition Pub. THQ Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
PC gamers can finally play Cheapy’s favorite game of 2008. - ship

Purchase At Amazon $36.99 (Free Shipping)







On The DL

[IMG-L=4890]4461[/IMG-L]Jungle Speed Dev. Playful Entertainment Pub. Playful Entertainment Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10
Remember the card game Speed that was all the rage in middle school, circa 1985? Add in a jungle background and a casual gamer audience and you have Jungle Speed, the newest WiiWare title. Of course, there’s a totem pole to grasp and the rules are modified a bit for the Wii, but you get the idea. – mrs. ship







[IMG-L=4890]4462[/IMG-L]Planet Pachinko Dev. Allied Kingdoms Pub. Allied Kingdoms Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $5
This is not actually a Pachinko game, but is instead a 2D shooter that stars a robot looking for his dog inside a Pachinko machine. One or two players must shoot the falling balls before they reach the bottom of the machine and turn into evil robots. Kind of a quirky premise, but the graphics are… well… balls. - ship







[IMG-L=4890]4225[/IMG-L]Sandy Beach (Last Week) Dev. Frozen Codebase Pub. Konami Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $5.00
I think someone might have taken the suggestion to make a “sandbox game” a little too literally. Split into two different modes, players can either build a sand castle or play “Sand Castle Defense” against an invading crab army. While the overall idea is creative enough, apparently the controls emulate the sensation of having your sandy creation kicked in your face. - ship






[IMG-L=4890]4460[/IMG-L]Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse Dev. Konami Pub. Konami Systems: Wii Virtual Console (NES) MSRP: $5.00
One of my all-time favorite NES games, Castlevania III allows you to join up with one of three playable companions as you progress through the story. However, unless you choose Grant the hunch-backed, wall-climbing pirate, I am thoroughly convinced that you are doing it wrong. - ship








[IMG-L=4890]4208[/IMG-L]Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Last Week) Dev. HAL Laboratory Pub. Nintendo Systems: Wii Virtual Console (SNES) MSRP: $8.00
One of the last releases for the Super Nintendo, Dream Land 3 certainly has an appealing art style, but this could possibly be the Kirby game that sucks the hardest. Experienced platformers will be left unsatisfied by the easiness of this conquest. - ship






[IMG-L=4890]4444[/IMG-L]Cuboid (Last Week) Dev. Tik Games Pub. CREAT Studios Systems: PSN (PS3) MSRP: $9.99
Flip a cube around to navigate through mazes. It kind of reminds me of that Geon game, but without all the emotional baggage. - ship







[IMG-L=4890]4445[/IMG-L]Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (Last Week) Dev. Tik Games Pub. CREAT Studios Systems: PSN (PS3) MSRP: $9.99
I actually enjoy a good game of Mahjong and this one seems to have plenty of different modes. That $10 doesn't exactly match my price point though. - ship







[IMG-L=4890]4226[/IMG-L]Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos (Last Week) Dev. Tik Games Pub. Microsoft Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10.00
Wombat and I usually have pretty similar taste in games, so I was intrigued when he chose MillionHeir as his favorite DS game. I haven’t really played any games in the hidden object genre, and the main titles I’ve played in the point-and-click detective realm are Nancy Drew titles. This new XBLA title might be a good way to delve into these type games without spending a ton of cash. Unfortunately, poor reviews regarding the quality of the image resolution and questionable nature of some of the puzzles leave me thinking I should pick up MillionHeir and stay away from Dr. Chaos. - mrs. ship







Bonus Pictures

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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.

Interpol is not that good. I'd rather find an I Spy book and enjoy the beautiful images than play the three hours that Interpol takes to beat.

Edit: I tried out the MillionHeir demo for the DS and it seems to be a lot better than Interpol. I'd probably go that route if you want one of these image search games.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

zomg there's a batmobile monster truck!!!?!?!?!?!?!?????!?

great job with the podcast. any pictures with monster trucks?

I think the outro music will give me nightmares tonight. Great podcast anyway, enjoyed it as always! : )

Ship, I'm 95% sure you can't miss the Double Jump Relic. But you get it later in the game. If you want a workaround, you could jump off enemies' heads by pressing down + b while over them. But I haven't played it in a few weeks, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. I got stuck on a later boss where it takes up 4/5 of the screen, while you take up about 1 pixel less than the other fifth.

And...Donkey Kong vs. Batman? THE WORLD IS ENDING!

We need pics of Mrs Ship instead. Nobody wants to see you at the monster truck show, Ship!

Anyway, isn't Wednesday CAGcast day? Did you guys switch days again?

yes! awesome pics!

You should've had nerdy glasses on to complete that first picture, shipwreck. :lol:

Yay for the Dementium reference! Moon looks solid, and has been well-received by critics (thus far). I dig how enemies no longer respawn and how items stay on the ground. Moon looks like a good first-person puzzle game. I look forward to your review, Shipwreck.

Talking about totem poles and spitting....i thought this show was pg...hahah. Made me have a good laugh. Bravo!

Ship is right. I don't think I could go 10 words without dropping an F-bomb when I was younger.

30! You old fart!

Good point about LotR: Conquest's poor marketing. I had seen the game mentioned a few times, but I never bothered looking into the details of the game, and based on the title, I too thought that it was just another RTS, until I read this topic. I didn't expect it to be a LotR Battlefront game.

Welcome back Mrs. Ship. Glad you're feeling better.

Great show as always, need to listen to the latest CAG too to get my CAG double goodness!

Wow sweetie - you look really nerdy in that pic

hmmm, the intro was kinda weird to me with the music, greeting, then music again. not a fan.

mrs. shippy, well, he's a nerd so... (i love you Shippy. )

great show as usual~

btw Shippy, mah-Jong is correct, not mah-hong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong

great show like normal...Ship you really need to play MGS4! Its Awesome!

I was just wondering if I should buy The Lord of the Rings: Conquest and here comes shipwreck to the rescue. Listening now.

Good show guys. Thanks for the info on Rune Factory Ms Shipwreck. Sounds interesting .. I might pick it up this weekend.

And Ship, is that picture before or after you had snow cone dumped on your noggin?

Hey Mrs. Shipwreck. What is your Rune Factory 2 Friend Code? I just made it to 2nd Gen, and I think it is now time to try to buy/sell some stuff. Or at least do that monster fighting thing. Once I find mine I'll post it (my DS is with my girlfriend).

I really love Rune Factory 2. I love the 1st Gen and the 2nd Gen of the game. Hopefully the one coming out for the Wii this February is just as good. It looks like a upgraded version of the first Rune Factory on the Ds.

Thanks Ships! I wouldn't mind having the chance to see a monster truck show too . . . Thanks for the good podcast!

Just listened to the show.

I don't really need four more remotes from the Buzz controllers when I've already got the blutooth remote for XMB navigation.

I think the thing you guys couldn't put your finger on as to why Rock Band was better than Guitar Hero is that RB has a soul.

Inkheart reminds me of Legendary: the kids movie.

The fan thing mentioned about Interpol isn't a bad thing since you're in Tokyo, so it's trying to capture that feel in the images. But yeah, the images are decent SD images, so using and HDTV adds a handy-dandy border around the image because you didn't really need an HD version of that image to fill in that space.

If you have a Wii, use the Nintendo channel to download the DS demo for the MillionHeir and try it out. I had more fun with that demo than playing through the entire game of Interpol.

Good show.

Here are the PSN releases that you missed:


GTI Club+ - $9.99
Magic Ball - $9.99
Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP) - $19.99

Blurry monster truck pictures FTL ;_;

Elebits DS sounds interesting, I'll give it a try. I didn't care for Dementium: The Ward's setting, but Moon does look like it's more up my alley. I'll rent that one too.

[quote name='TiE23']I think the outro music will give me nightmares tonight. Great podcast anyway, enjoyed it as always! : )[/QUOTE]

Then you'll hate this:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp7G18nQxvU[/media]

I agree, Rune Factory 2 seems kind of interesting...as if I really needed anything else to get in the middle of right now. :\

Great show as usual, looking forward to 2 in a row.

/tk

[quote name='figcoinc']Hey Mrs. Shipwreck. What is your Rune Factory 2 Friend Code? .......[/quote]

That is the first step of how rape happens....

Also, I just clicked on the link and have to give props to Shipwreck for his detailed first post. That is so much crazy detail and I think I may pop in more. Good job Shipwreck I like

Castlevania 3 was awesome. I loved the pirate too. If i had a Wii i'd probably be all over this. The VC, currently, is the only thing that would make me pick up a Wii. Star Tropics and Kid Icarus are tempting, but not until they fix the storage issue first. They probably need to drop the price too. I guess i won't be picking it up till Nintendo's next system is out on the market.

Glad to have another Foreplay. Thanks for the work. Foreplay is a nice balance to the Cagcast, calm and civilized podcasting compared to the wrecklassness of the CagCast. This of course doesn't mean i don't love the CagCast, but balance is nice.

I was disappointed when yall didn't make it out on Friday. Thanks again for the work and effort.

[quote name='Davestation']That is the first step of how rape happens....

Also, I just clicked on the link and have to give props to Shipwreck for his detailed first post. That is so much crazy detail and I think I may pop in more. Good job Shipwreck I like [/quote]


This is exactly why Nintendo has friend codes, very funny though.

no foreplay this week?

[quote name='paintball745']no foreplay this week?[/QUOTE]

We're trying to get one out. The write-up and outline are pretty much done, but we've both been getting home around 8PM from work this week, so there has been no time (or energy) to record.

Not much this week aside from Skate 2 is there?

Just a tiny correction: Elebits was not a Wii launch title, it came out about a month after the Wii was released.
Great show even though nothing is coming out.

Hi Ships? Are you guys going AWOL again this week or should I continue to hit F5 repeatedly on the front page hoping to see you at the top?

If so, awesome, if not, I hope to see you next week!

Just started listening to Foreplay. I have to say it's completely different from the CAGcast, but in a really positive way.

No show this week?

Shiiiiiiiiiip, you guys are killing us Foreplay fans Looks like only 1 "real" Foreplay this month. A new horrible trend for 09? I kid because I care.

You guys have been delisted from the Zune marketplace.

I think from just the recent way the show's been done and missed weeks in a row due to scheduling issues from just the podcast that it might be better to move to a format where you post threads every week whether you can get a podcast up or not and move away from just numbering each show, just dating it as CAG Foreplay 01/27/09. It's both a resource for new release information and a form of entertainment, so one shouldn't hold back the other.

shipwreck, I am sure this is probably not going to happen but, can your wife reccommend an OTC NSAID or equivalent in dogs as rimadyl is both expensive and bad for their liver.

I'm starting to get concerned that the Shipwrecks have been abducted or something. It would seem that there won't be another show this week. But more unusual is that neither Shipwreck has been on CAG in over a week. People in Ohio .. start searching!

They've been on Twitter and Live, or at least Shipwreck has been, so I think they're just too busy to do anything. Bring on the Ron Workman podcast to fill in the void that the Shipwrecks have left behind.

Not that I want it to happen but since its becoming more and more of a trend I think this will only lead to Cagforeplay ending eventually. They are obviously busy and don't have time for the show and keep putting it off. Nothing wrong with that but I think thats were things are going.

Its not like they are missing any major releases.

[quote name='gamer4432']Its not like they are missing any major releases.[/quote]
Point.

However, how many games ending in "Z" have they missed? Probably like 47.

Come back soon Ships!

It is not just the releases that are interesting, it is the perspectives and stories that the two add is what I find neat.

They should just jump in on the cagcast when they get a chance. I wouldn't mind a longer 4-person podcast. over two separate 2-person ones. but obviously I know its hard to get everyone together at once with different time zones and all.

Or at least thinking about working on it. This week has been busy with family stuff - ship's niece had a birthday.

Ship's Sib