CAG's rocksolidaudio & shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of February 20th, 2007 and find you the best deals for all your fresh gaming needs.
Crackdown Dev. Realtime Worlds Pub. Microsoft Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
It's finally here. Realtime World's long-awaited debut, a superhero sandbox destructathon that should be up the alley of 95% of 360 owners. It won't exactly hurt sales that it includes the last grasp at the Halo 3 beta, but it's a game that should do just fine on it's own merits considering the audience. It has the living, breathing urban playground of Grand Theft Auto, and the superpowers of the Hulk. All wrapped in a hyper stylized universe and satisfying RPG leveling elements as you grow more powerful (if you didn't know anything about the game). Interestingly enough, they almost completely eschew the notion of traditional narrative and simply drop you into the world to take down crime bosses around the city. It makes the game feel a little haphazard at first, but it's more an admission on the part of the developers as to how you're going to be spending most of your time with the game: romping around the streets with a buddy online. Causing co-op destruction and experimenting with traditional toys of the genre (cars, ramps, physics, etc.) is as fun as you'd imagine, just be sure to stay relatively near to your friend, both geographically and level-wise. It's arguably not a meaty enough game experience to warrant a purchase if you can't get online with it, but it's an absolute rental at the least regardless, and a definite buy if you can.
Cheapest Price:
Circuit City stores are giving away a free Halo faceplate with the purchase of Crackdown this week (thanks MSUHitman for the reminder). There don't appear to be any other specific deals for Crackdown, 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. Play-Asia also has the Asian region release for $44.90 if you want to wait and see if the game turns out to be region free like most recent Microsoft games.
Purchase at Amazon $59.99 w/ Free Shipping
Purchase at Play-Asia $44.90 (Asian Version, region coding unknown at this time)
The free Halo faceplate with purchase of Crackdown is described in speedy1961's thread here.
NBA Street Homecourt Dev. EA Canada Pub. EA Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99
While the third iteration of the series was a bit of a sidestep that tried too many small tweaks and didn't really succeed at any of them, this fourth Street installment is refreshingly back on track for it's next-gen debut. The game feels more organic than before, as Gamebreakers and trick remixing have become significantly more reflexive; even the aesthetic and general urban vibe is more mature and doesn't really feel forced for a change. It's smoother than ever, with slightly cartoony characters models that translate to a silky 60fps (while still looking realistic in all the right ways thanks to fantastic animation). All that said, while it looks great and is as fun as ever to play, there's ultimately a limited amount of fun to be had once you've conquered the solo career and explored the online realm. It's good fun while it lasts, but there's still not enough depth for a truly classic gaming experience. It would have been nice to see a Knockout Kings -> Fight Night level evolution for the series, but at least enough time has passed since the last one for it to feel refreshing.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for NBA Street, 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 $59.99 w/ Free Shipping
Purchase at Amazon $59.99
Sonic and the Secret Rings Dev. SEGA Pub. SEGA Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
It seems odd that the Wii's Sonic offering would be so vastly superior to the PS3 and 360 offerings, but really those titles were just complete crap. If you weren't aware, SatSR is an on-foot racer, not a traditional Sonic game, but it fits the Wii well and it's surprisingly fun. You'll hold the Wii-mote sideways like an NES pad and blaze through levels collecting coins, hitting springs, bopping bad guys - the usual jazz. it takes some finesse to maneuver Sonic through some of the tricker areas at such high speeds, but it's a much better challenge, than say, battling with the camera. The opinion will probably be split about the new Arabian Nights aesthetic, but the music is objectively terrible. There are also some multiplayer minigames that are more Mario Party than anything that resembles the rest of the game, but Christ, I think we already have enough minigames on the Wii to last us the next decade.
Cheapest Price:
There are several deals and bonus offers for Sonic. Online, Amazon is selling the game for $44.99 with free shipping and EB/Gamestop is offering a free Sonic wrist band. Next week, Circuit City is offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of Sonic, if you can wait another 5 days. As always, in-store a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have can save you some money. Also 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 $44.99 w/Free Shipping
Purchase at GameStop $49.99 w/ Free Sonic Wrist Band
If you can wait until next week, Circuit City is going to be offering a free $10 Gift Card with the purchase of Sonic and the Sacred Rings at their stores starting on 2/25/07 as featured in speedy1961's thread here.
Virtua Fighter 5 Dev. AM2 Pub. SEGA Systems: PS3 MSRP: $59.99
Fighting games have had trouble evolving at the pace of almost any other genre. There have been few serious advances in the last decade, and are primarily enjoyed by the hardest of hardcore fans or college kids who simply want to mash buttons, with very little middle ground for average gamers to enjoy. Thankfully, Virtua Fighter 4 was quite ahead of the curve upon it's release, with characters that all felt fundamentally different and a truly rewarding training mechanic that took a nice mix of practice, visual learning and of course, good ol' fashioned memorization. While VF5 might be a little more welcoming to the average brawler, it's this way of learning to play that lies at it's heart, and it's still the most rewarding fighting series to play as a result. Two new characters, an expanded quest mode and a VERY pretty next-gen makeover make it a fairly convincing package for PS3 owners (though online play is sorely missed). If you're just not a fan of the genre this won't change your mind, but it's the pinnacle of traditional fighting game fare for those who've been keeping pace.
Cheapest Price:
Amazon is selling Virtua Fighter 5 for $54.99 with free shipping. In-store, use 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 $54.99 w/ Free Shipping
Shipwreck takes a look at the rest of this week's releases:
Arena Football: Road to Glory Dev. Electronic Arts Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
The license that EA acquired to make sure that 2K Sports couldn't possible have an even somewhat relevant football game makes its return. C'mon though guys, "Road to Glory"? Really? Anyway, they've added more teams and Jon Bon Jovi this year. We're going down (down) in a blaze of glory.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Arena Football, 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
Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja Dev. Sting Games Pub. Atlus USA Games Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Mix a pink-haired anime girl with dungeon crawling and over-the-top cuteness and Atlus once again will wrestle away $30 from their niche fanbase. Expect clever dialogue, a high level of difficulty, and ultimately middle of the road hack and slash gameplay. As always, Atlus brings a game that no other publisher would touch to the States. And like all Atlus releases, this has the potential to be hard to find down the road.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Izuna, 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
M.A.C.H. Dev. Kuju Entertainment Pub. Vivendi Games Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
It's the inevitable future where robots have replaced human pilots. There is little left for these poor unemployed souls, so they of course pimp out their out-dated jets and form an underground dog-fighting league. Oh, and they come up with a clever acronym to increase merchandise sales.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for M.A.C.H., 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
Metal Slug Anthology Dev. SNK Playmore USA Pub. SNK Playmore USA Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
The long delayed compilation of seven games in the Metal Slug series might be coming out this week, but I wouldn't be surprised to be reading this same preview in weeks to come. Fans of scrolling shooters will certainly be happy to get their fill of rescuing hostages and plowing through thousands of poorly trained militants on the go. Always a popular co-op game, the PSP version offers ad-hoc support for local multiplayer, but it doesn't look like there is infrastructure gameplay. Will this game come out this week, who knows, but the sooner it comes out the sooner it can drop from it's lofty $40 price tag.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Metal Slug Anthology, 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 $39.82 w/ Free Shipping
Micro Machines V4 Dev. Supersonic Software Pub. Codemasters Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
This is exactly what you would expect from a Micro Machines game: racing tiny cars with wacky weapons around magnified real-world environments. Unfortunately, this an inferior port of an already borderline mediocre game. Insert your own reference to the guy that talked really fast in the commercials.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Micro Machines V4, 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 w/ Free Shipping
Supreme Commander Dev. Gas Powered Games Games Pub. THQ Games Systems: PC MSRP: $49.99
Neither of us are PC gamers, but we felt the need to at least mention that this highly talked about RTS was hitting stores this week.
Cheapest Price:
There are quite a few deals and bonuses for Supreme Commander. Amazon and Target are selling it for $46.99 and 42.88 respectively. EB/Gamestop are offering a bonus DVD and a lenticular card. And starting this Sunday, Circuit City is selling the game for $37.99. Online, you also have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $46.99
Purchase at Target $42.88
Purchase at GameStop $49.99 Bonus DVD w/ Soundtrack and extras plus a signed lenticular card
Starting the week of 2/25/07, Circuit City will have Supreme Commander on sale for $37.99 if you can endure another 5 days of waiting. Details can be found in speedy1961's thread here.
Trioncube Dev. Namco Bandai Games Pub. Namco Bandai Games Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Trioncube looks to up the quirk factor in an already quirk filled 2007 by meshing a block based puzzle game with cute characters and apparent zaniness. See if you have what it takes to defeat the evil Hell Metal and rescue the princess as use your stacking prowess to fuel your spaceship. Great unlockables to accentuate your Trioncubes await such as sushi rolls and tambourines. Quirky, we get it.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Trioncube, 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
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 any $10 or more purchase for new users. Check out the details here.
Crackdown Dev. Realtime Worlds Pub. Microsoft Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
It's finally here. Realtime World's long-awaited debut, a superhero sandbox destructathon that should be up the alley of 95% of 360 owners. It won't exactly hurt sales that it includes the last grasp at the Halo 3 beta, but it's a game that should do just fine on it's own merits considering the audience. It has the living, breathing urban playground of Grand Theft Auto, and the superpowers of the Hulk. All wrapped in a hyper stylized universe and satisfying RPG leveling elements as you grow more powerful (if you didn't know anything about the game). Interestingly enough, they almost completely eschew the notion of traditional narrative and simply drop you into the world to take down crime bosses around the city. It makes the game feel a little haphazard at first, but it's more an admission on the part of the developers as to how you're going to be spending most of your time with the game: romping around the streets with a buddy online. Causing co-op destruction and experimenting with traditional toys of the genre (cars, ramps, physics, etc.) is as fun as you'd imagine, just be sure to stay relatively near to your friend, both geographically and level-wise. It's arguably not a meaty enough game experience to warrant a purchase if you can't get online with it, but it's an absolute rental at the least regardless, and a definite buy if you can.
Cheapest Price:
Circuit City stores are giving away a free Halo faceplate with the purchase of Crackdown this week (thanks MSUHitman for the reminder). There don't appear to be any other specific deals for Crackdown, 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. Play-Asia also has the Asian region release for $44.90 if you want to wait and see if the game turns out to be region free like most recent Microsoft games.
Purchase at Amazon $59.99 w/ Free Shipping
Purchase at Play-Asia $44.90 (Asian Version, region coding unknown at this time)
The free Halo faceplate with purchase of Crackdown is described in speedy1961's thread here.
NBA Street Homecourt Dev. EA Canada Pub. EA Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99
While the third iteration of the series was a bit of a sidestep that tried too many small tweaks and didn't really succeed at any of them, this fourth Street installment is refreshingly back on track for it's next-gen debut. The game feels more organic than before, as Gamebreakers and trick remixing have become significantly more reflexive; even the aesthetic and general urban vibe is more mature and doesn't really feel forced for a change. It's smoother than ever, with slightly cartoony characters models that translate to a silky 60fps (while still looking realistic in all the right ways thanks to fantastic animation). All that said, while it looks great and is as fun as ever to play, there's ultimately a limited amount of fun to be had once you've conquered the solo career and explored the online realm. It's good fun while it lasts, but there's still not enough depth for a truly classic gaming experience. It would have been nice to see a Knockout Kings -> Fight Night level evolution for the series, but at least enough time has passed since the last one for it to feel refreshing.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for NBA Street, 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 $59.99 w/ Free Shipping
Purchase at Amazon $59.99
Sonic and the Secret Rings Dev. SEGA Pub. SEGA Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
It seems odd that the Wii's Sonic offering would be so vastly superior to the PS3 and 360 offerings, but really those titles were just complete crap. If you weren't aware, SatSR is an on-foot racer, not a traditional Sonic game, but it fits the Wii well and it's surprisingly fun. You'll hold the Wii-mote sideways like an NES pad and blaze through levels collecting coins, hitting springs, bopping bad guys - the usual jazz. it takes some finesse to maneuver Sonic through some of the tricker areas at such high speeds, but it's a much better challenge, than say, battling with the camera. The opinion will probably be split about the new Arabian Nights aesthetic, but the music is objectively terrible. There are also some multiplayer minigames that are more Mario Party than anything that resembles the rest of the game, but Christ, I think we already have enough minigames on the Wii to last us the next decade.
Cheapest Price:
There are several deals and bonus offers for Sonic. Online, Amazon is selling the game for $44.99 with free shipping and EB/Gamestop is offering a free Sonic wrist band. Next week, Circuit City is offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of Sonic, if you can wait another 5 days. As always, in-store a Best Buy Gamer Gift Card $5 off coupon or any other in store coupons you may have can save you some money. Also 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 $44.99 w/Free Shipping
Purchase at GameStop $49.99 w/ Free Sonic Wrist Band
If you can wait until next week, Circuit City is going to be offering a free $10 Gift Card with the purchase of Sonic and the Sacred Rings at their stores starting on 2/25/07 as featured in speedy1961's thread here.
Virtua Fighter 5 Dev. AM2 Pub. SEGA Systems: PS3 MSRP: $59.99
Fighting games have had trouble evolving at the pace of almost any other genre. There have been few serious advances in the last decade, and are primarily enjoyed by the hardest of hardcore fans or college kids who simply want to mash buttons, with very little middle ground for average gamers to enjoy. Thankfully, Virtua Fighter 4 was quite ahead of the curve upon it's release, with characters that all felt fundamentally different and a truly rewarding training mechanic that took a nice mix of practice, visual learning and of course, good ol' fashioned memorization. While VF5 might be a little more welcoming to the average brawler, it's this way of learning to play that lies at it's heart, and it's still the most rewarding fighting series to play as a result. Two new characters, an expanded quest mode and a VERY pretty next-gen makeover make it a fairly convincing package for PS3 owners (though online play is sorely missed). If you're just not a fan of the genre this won't change your mind, but it's the pinnacle of traditional fighting game fare for those who've been keeping pace.
Cheapest Price:
Amazon is selling Virtua Fighter 5 for $54.99 with free shipping. In-store, use 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 $54.99 w/ Free Shipping
Shipwreck takes a look at the rest of this week's releases:
Arena Football: Road to Glory Dev. Electronic Arts Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
The license that EA acquired to make sure that 2K Sports couldn't possible have an even somewhat relevant football game makes its return. C'mon though guys, "Road to Glory"? Really? Anyway, they've added more teams and Jon Bon Jovi this year. We're going down (down) in a blaze of glory.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Arena Football, 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
Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja Dev. Sting Games Pub. Atlus USA Games Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Mix a pink-haired anime girl with dungeon crawling and over-the-top cuteness and Atlus once again will wrestle away $30 from their niche fanbase. Expect clever dialogue, a high level of difficulty, and ultimately middle of the road hack and slash gameplay. As always, Atlus brings a game that no other publisher would touch to the States. And like all Atlus releases, this has the potential to be hard to find down the road.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Izuna, 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
M.A.C.H. Dev. Kuju Entertainment Pub. Vivendi Games Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
It's the inevitable future where robots have replaced human pilots. There is little left for these poor unemployed souls, so they of course pimp out their out-dated jets and form an underground dog-fighting league. Oh, and they come up with a clever acronym to increase merchandise sales.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for M.A.C.H., 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
Metal Slug Anthology Dev. SNK Playmore USA Pub. SNK Playmore USA Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
The long delayed compilation of seven games in the Metal Slug series might be coming out this week, but I wouldn't be surprised to be reading this same preview in weeks to come. Fans of scrolling shooters will certainly be happy to get their fill of rescuing hostages and plowing through thousands of poorly trained militants on the go. Always a popular co-op game, the PSP version offers ad-hoc support for local multiplayer, but it doesn't look like there is infrastructure gameplay. Will this game come out this week, who knows, but the sooner it comes out the sooner it can drop from it's lofty $40 price tag.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Metal Slug Anthology, 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 $39.82 w/ Free Shipping
Micro Machines V4 Dev. Supersonic Software Pub. Codemasters Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
This is exactly what you would expect from a Micro Machines game: racing tiny cars with wacky weapons around magnified real-world environments. Unfortunately, this an inferior port of an already borderline mediocre game. Insert your own reference to the guy that talked really fast in the commercials.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Micro Machines V4, 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 w/ Free Shipping
Supreme Commander Dev. Gas Powered Games Games Pub. THQ Games Systems: PC MSRP: $49.99
Neither of us are PC gamers, but we felt the need to at least mention that this highly talked about RTS was hitting stores this week.
Cheapest Price:
There are quite a few deals and bonuses for Supreme Commander. Amazon and Target are selling it for $46.99 and 42.88 respectively. EB/Gamestop are offering a bonus DVD and a lenticular card. And starting this Sunday, Circuit City is selling the game for $37.99. Online, you also have the potential to use the Paypal rebate offer or Google Checkout offer. See the bottom of this post for details.
Purchase at Amazon $46.99
Purchase at Target $42.88
Purchase at GameStop $49.99 Bonus DVD w/ Soundtrack and extras plus a signed lenticular card
Starting the week of 2/25/07, Circuit City will have Supreme Commander on sale for $37.99 if you can endure another 5 days of waiting. Details can be found in speedy1961's thread here.
Trioncube Dev. Namco Bandai Games Pub. Namco Bandai Games Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Trioncube looks to up the quirk factor in an already quirk filled 2007 by meshing a block based puzzle game with cute characters and apparent zaniness. See if you have what it takes to defeat the evil Hell Metal and rescue the princess as use your stacking prowess to fuel your spaceship. Great unlockables to accentuate your Trioncubes await such as sushi rolls and tambourines. Quirky, we get it.
Cheapest Price:
There don't appear to be any specific deals for Trioncube, 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
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 any $10 or more purchase for new users. Check out the details here.
of an RPG.
