CAG's rocksolidaudio & shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of February 13th, 2007 and try to save you a few bucks in case you are looking to pick up that perfect Valentine's Day gift: a new video game.
Chili Con Carnage Dev. Deadline Games Pub. Eidos Systems: PSP MSRP: $29.99
EDIT: It looks like the release date for Chili Con Carnage was pushed back until the 27th.
A spin-off to the gunslingin', "Max Payne as directed by Robert Rodriguez" PS2 game Total Overdose, Chili Con Carnage will likely follow in it's big brother's footsteps by being a complete mindless blast to play but garner little attention from the gamers who would actually enjoy it. There are several fun game mechanics behind the seemingly standard third-person action, such as slowing down time, incredibly destructive "Loco" moves, and a perpetual combo meter for racking up stylish kills (whose resulting points unlock challenge levels). It's VERY over the top in it's aesthetic, narrative and general pacing, but it should translate well to a portable experience (Wi-Fi multiplayer, too!).
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Chili Con Carnage, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Gamestop $29.99
Chulip Dev. Victor Interactive/Punchline Pub. Natsume Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
It's taken four and half years to make it to the US, and now Chulip is apparently an EB/Gamestop exclusive title. Why has it taken that long? Well, America just wasn't ready for a kissing simulation. Now that we're collectively riled up, it shouldn't be a surprise that we're finally seeing bizarre games like this at the end of the PS2s life cycle. In a very Animal Crossing style, you traverse a small town talking to people and trying to plant smooches on them, with the ultimate goal of being man enough to woo your true love and plant one on her under Lover's Tree. If you're into quirky Japanese titles it doesn't get much quirkier, and you might learn a thing or two about love (not likely).
Cheapest Price:
Well, since Chulip is a EB/Gamestop exclusive there's really no way to get around paying full price. At least you get a free keychain if you order online (and possibly at the store if you are lucky).
Purchase at Gamestop $29.99
Ghost Rider Dev. Climax Studios Pub. 2K Games Systems: PS2, PSP, GBA MSRP: $29.99, $19.99
From the people who brought you ATV Offroad Fury 3 and Sudeki (seriously), comes a Ghost Rider game that looks like a decent Devil May Cry clone, if Dante sold his soul and rode a motorcycle. Let's be serious about this though - it's a licensed game. If it's any good, it will be likely be short, and it probably won't be any good. Let's keep our hopes high though, and take the advice of user 'Fire is better than it looks' from the Gamestop.com customer previews page (in it's powerful, unedited form): "this game as good as the movie sweet i love ghost rider he is the bom i want to see the movie and the game trust me you will love it just dont take my word for it just by it it rules youll love it youll take it by it". Well said.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Ghost Rider, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $29.99
Purchase at Amazon $29.99
Purchase at Amazon $19.99
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Dev. High Impact Games Pub. SCE Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
The Ratchet & Clank series started off quietly alongside Sony's other mascot-driven games, but quickly matured into an amazing beacon of quality, the second and third games in the series practically perfect action/adventure titles, showing what brilliant game design and technical mastery over the PS2 can accomplish. Smooth third-person shooting, exploration and platforming, all sorts of great minigames to keep things fresh, a colorful inviting world to explore and cutscenes that can actually make you chuckle - this PSP extension of the series (developed by ex-Insomniacs) accomplishes all of those series hallmarks with flying colors, even going so far as to include the surprisingly great multiplayer from the later games in Ad Hoc or Wi-Fi modes. Games like this are what made the PS2 a historically great system, and it's wonderful to see the formula work so well on the PSP.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Ratchet & Clank, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
Wii Play Dev. Nintendo Pub. Nintendo Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
Hey, a new Wii game! Several of the nine games in Wii Play started their lives as tech demos for the systems unveiling to the press, and for good reason - they simply and elegantly demonstrate what the system is capable of, in terms that are better experienced than explained. It's arguable that something like this would have been better suited to residing on the console itself, but with a $40 Wii remote bundled with the game, it's hard to complain about what is essentially a $10 title. There are takes on table tennis, Duck Hunt, Where's Waldo, Pong, fishing, racing, pool, Combat, and, er, stick figure posing. The game has some of the same appeal as Wii Sports in that it supports multiplayer, high scores, and Miis, but also like Wii Sports it will probably serve more as a Family Fun Time activity than something to put serious time into by yourself. If you're still needing a second Wiimote there's no better time or way to pick one up, but if you're looking for a solid single-player experience you might want to wait a couple more weeps for Sonic and SSX to hit.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Wii Play, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details. This game may have limited quantities and be difficult to find this week as it includes the Wii remote which is still a hot commodity in many regions.
Purchase at Circuit City $49.99
Shipwreck takes a look at the rest of this week's releases:
Backyard Basketball 2007 Dev. Atari Pub. Atari Systems: PS2, GBA MSRP: $29.99
Paul Pierce of the red hot Boston Celtics is this year's Backyard Basketball. I'm not sure if there is a Madden type curse that goes along with this series, but if things start going badly for the Celtics, I'd blame this game. Actually, for kids sports games, you really can't go wrong with any of these Backyard titles. So if you've got some little hoopsters that can't quite get the timing right for the double dunk in NBA Street, this might be a game worth checking out.
Purchase at Amazon $29.82
Purchase at Amazon $24.99
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Backyard Basketball, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
F-24 Stealth Fighter
Dev. Majesco Pub. Majesco Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Sneaky, sneaky planes. The DS has sneaky, sneaky planes. If that's your thing, well the DS now has them.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Stealth Fighter, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $19.82
Amazon does have a Gameboy Advance version listed for $14.82.
Purchase at Amazon
$14.82
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
Dev. Falcom Pub. Mastiff Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
This may have slipped out to stores early, but action-RPG & platformer fans should take a look at this horribly titled game from Falcom (makers of Legend of Heroes), so I wanted to at least make everyone aware of it this week. Everything about this game has sleeper hit written all over it. Hopefully, a lot of people will pass it over and there will still be plenty of copies to pick up on the cheap when we'll all feel more comfortable picking up a game with such an awful title. Expect a Zelda style adventure out of this one, but without all the fanfare.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Gurumin, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner Dev. Atlus USA Pub. Atlus USA Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
Shin Megami Tensei's creator comes up with the novel idea to collect monsters and battle them in this PSP exclusive RPG. Your character gets to fight alongside and evolve his monsters as you work your way through dungeons and lots of dialogue. This is sure to be a hit with Atlus fans and sure to be ignored by everyone else, but collectibility on this one seems high.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Monster Kingdom, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
The Warriors Dev. Rockstar Games Pub. Rockstar Games Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
The well received brawler based upon everyone's favorite themed gang film comes out to play-i-ay on the PSP. All the early reviews for this port have been positive, so if you need to take your Warriors on the road at least Rockstar has decided that you can dig it on a budget. [End really bad Warriors references]
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for The Warriors, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $19.99
Other games that were scheduled to come out this week that I don't even feel like making fun of:
Dogz 2 GBA
Disney's Kim Possible: Global Gemini DS
Super Trucks Racing 2 PS2
General Deals that could be applied to save you some money:
Paypal is currently offering a $15 rebate on qualifying $30 purchases. Check out all the details here.
Google Checkout is still running their $10 off and $10 or more purchase for new users. Check out the details here.
Chili Con Carnage Dev. Deadline Games Pub. Eidos Systems: PSP MSRP: $29.99
EDIT: It looks like the release date for Chili Con Carnage was pushed back until the 27th.
A spin-off to the gunslingin', "Max Payne as directed by Robert Rodriguez" PS2 game Total Overdose, Chili Con Carnage will likely follow in it's big brother's footsteps by being a complete mindless blast to play but garner little attention from the gamers who would actually enjoy it. There are several fun game mechanics behind the seemingly standard third-person action, such as slowing down time, incredibly destructive "Loco" moves, and a perpetual combo meter for racking up stylish kills (whose resulting points unlock challenge levels). It's VERY over the top in it's aesthetic, narrative and general pacing, but it should translate well to a portable experience (Wi-Fi multiplayer, too!).
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Chili Con Carnage, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Gamestop $29.99
Chulip Dev. Victor Interactive/Punchline Pub. Natsume Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
It's taken four and half years to make it to the US, and now Chulip is apparently an EB/Gamestop exclusive title. Why has it taken that long? Well, America just wasn't ready for a kissing simulation. Now that we're collectively riled up, it shouldn't be a surprise that we're finally seeing bizarre games like this at the end of the PS2s life cycle. In a very Animal Crossing style, you traverse a small town talking to people and trying to plant smooches on them, with the ultimate goal of being man enough to woo your true love and plant one on her under Lover's Tree. If you're into quirky Japanese titles it doesn't get much quirkier, and you might learn a thing or two about love (not likely).
Cheapest Price:
Well, since Chulip is a EB/Gamestop exclusive there's really no way to get around paying full price. At least you get a free keychain if you order online (and possibly at the store if you are lucky).
Purchase at Gamestop $29.99
Ghost Rider Dev. Climax Studios Pub. 2K Games Systems: PS2, PSP, GBA MSRP: $29.99, $19.99
From the people who brought you ATV Offroad Fury 3 and Sudeki (seriously), comes a Ghost Rider game that looks like a decent Devil May Cry clone, if Dante sold his soul and rode a motorcycle. Let's be serious about this though - it's a licensed game. If it's any good, it will be likely be short, and it probably won't be any good. Let's keep our hopes high though, and take the advice of user 'Fire is better than it looks' from the Gamestop.com customer previews page (in it's powerful, unedited form): "this game as good as the movie sweet i love ghost rider he is the bom i want to see the movie and the game trust me you will love it just dont take my word for it just by it it rules youll love it youll take it by it". Well said.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Ghost Rider, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $29.99 Purchase at Amazon $29.99 Purchase at Amazon $19.99Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Dev. High Impact Games Pub. SCE Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
The Ratchet & Clank series started off quietly alongside Sony's other mascot-driven games, but quickly matured into an amazing beacon of quality, the second and third games in the series practically perfect action/adventure titles, showing what brilliant game design and technical mastery over the PS2 can accomplish. Smooth third-person shooting, exploration and platforming, all sorts of great minigames to keep things fresh, a colorful inviting world to explore and cutscenes that can actually make you chuckle - this PSP extension of the series (developed by ex-Insomniacs) accomplishes all of those series hallmarks with flying colors, even going so far as to include the surprisingly great multiplayer from the later games in Ad Hoc or Wi-Fi modes. Games like this are what made the PS2 a historically great system, and it's wonderful to see the formula work so well on the PSP.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Ratchet & Clank, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
Wii Play Dev. Nintendo Pub. Nintendo Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
Hey, a new Wii game! Several of the nine games in Wii Play started their lives as tech demos for the systems unveiling to the press, and for good reason - they simply and elegantly demonstrate what the system is capable of, in terms that are better experienced than explained. It's arguable that something like this would have been better suited to residing on the console itself, but with a $40 Wii remote bundled with the game, it's hard to complain about what is essentially a $10 title. There are takes on table tennis, Duck Hunt, Where's Waldo, Pong, fishing, racing, pool, Combat, and, er, stick figure posing. The game has some of the same appeal as Wii Sports in that it supports multiplayer, high scores, and Miis, but also like Wii Sports it will probably serve more as a Family Fun Time activity than something to put serious time into by yourself. If you're still needing a second Wiimote there's no better time or way to pick one up, but if you're looking for a solid single-player experience you might want to wait a couple more weeps for Sonic and SSX to hit.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Wii Play, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details. This game may have limited quantities and be difficult to find this week as it includes the Wii remote which is still a hot commodity in many regions.
Purchase at Circuit City $49.99
Shipwreck takes a look at the rest of this week's releases:
Backyard Basketball 2007 Dev. Atari Pub. Atari Systems: PS2, GBA MSRP: $29.99
Paul Pierce of the red hot Boston Celtics is this year's Backyard Basketball. I'm not sure if there is a Madden type curse that goes along with this series, but if things start going badly for the Celtics, I'd blame this game. Actually, for kids sports games, you really can't go wrong with any of these Backyard titles. So if you've got some little hoopsters that can't quite get the timing right for the double dunk in NBA Street, this might be a game worth checking out.
Purchase at Amazon $29.82 Purchase at Amazon $24.99Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Backyard Basketball, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
F-24 Stealth Fighter
Dev. Majesco Pub. Majesco Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Sneaky, sneaky planes. The DS has sneaky, sneaky planes. If that's your thing, well the DS now has them.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Stealth Fighter, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $19.82
Amazon does have a Gameboy Advance version listed for $14.82.
Purchase at Amazon
$14.82
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
Dev. Falcom Pub. Mastiff Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
This may have slipped out to stores early, but action-RPG & platformer fans should take a look at this horribly titled game from Falcom (makers of Legend of Heroes), so I wanted to at least make everyone aware of it this week. Everything about this game has sleeper hit written all over it. Hopefully, a lot of people will pass it over and there will still be plenty of copies to pick up on the cheap when we'll all feel more comfortable picking up a game with such an awful title. Expect a Zelda style adventure out of this one, but without all the fanfare.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Gurumin, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner Dev. Atlus USA Pub. Atlus USA Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
Shin Megami Tensei's creator comes up with the novel idea to collect monsters and battle them in this PSP exclusive RPG. Your character gets to fight alongside and evolve his monsters as you work your way through dungeons and lots of dialogue. This is sure to be a hit with Atlus fans and sure to be ignored by everyone else, but collectibility on this one seems high.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Monster Kingdom, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $39.99
The Warriors Dev. Rockstar Games Pub. Rockstar Games Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
The well received brawler based upon everyone's favorite themed gang film comes out to play-i-ay on the PSP. All the early reviews for this port have been positive, so if you need to take your Warriors on the road at least Rockstar has decided that you can dig it on a budget. [End really bad Warriors references]
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for The Warriors, so you're best bet in-store is a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have. Online, you have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $19.99
Other games that were scheduled to come out this week that I don't even feel like making fun of:
Dogz 2 GBA
Disney's Kim Possible: Global Gemini DS
Super Trucks Racing 2 PS2
General Deals that could be applied to save you some money:
Paypal is currently offering a $15 rebate on qualifying $30 purchases. Check out all the details here.
Google Checkout is still running their $10 off and $10 or more purchase for new users. Check out the details here.
