CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of April 23rd, 2008. This week actually has some decent releases which is surprising considering the two big games coming out next week. There's a few quirky RPG's, some Pokemons, and some extremely reflective basketball players. Cory is also in the house.
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Multi-Platform
NBA Ballers: Chosen One Dev. Midway Pub. Midway Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99
Midway's "lifestyle" basketball game enters the current gen era with really impressive player models... slathered in baby oil, polished, and then dipped into Crisco. Beneath the shiny coating, fans of the series should expect a familiar one-on-one style of arcade hoops with new "Act a Fool" offensive moves and "Shut 'Em Down" defensive moves. And of course, the game revolves around obtaining as much bling as possible, so I'll be able to floss out my 5'11" pale, red-headed create-a-character. Looks fun, and entirely too hip for me. - ship
Best Deal:
Best Buy is offering a free Dwight Howard DVD with the purchase of the Xbox 360 version of NBA Ballers: Chosen One.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Best Buy $59.99 (Free Dwight Howard DVD with purchase)
Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)
Wii
Battle of the Bands Dev. Planet Moon Studios Pub. THQ Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
This rhythm-inspired title (also known as Band Mashups) features cartoon graphics and a varied style of music to play along to. There are 30 well-known tracks in the game, and each can be played in one of five musical genres: rock, hip hop/funk, country, latin, and marching band. The typical notes scrolling that correspond to buttons prevails, but instead of hitting a blue or red button, the gamer must move the wii-mote left, right, at the screen, or shake it. Of course, if you perform your moves with ultra accuracy, you'll also be able to physically attack the other band with weapons that speed up their music, reverse their notes, etc... Overall, it looks like a solid game and previewers reported solid controls. The price point seems a bit high at $50. But, if you're aching to hear Man of Constant Sorrow as a Latin piece, this title is for you! - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Battle of the Bands.
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping)
Heavenly Guardian Dev. Starfish Pub. UFO Systems: Wii MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) There once was a quirky series of games on the Super Nintendo called "Pocky & Rocky" that mixed overhead adventure style gaming with SHMUP-like gameplay. Pocky was a little girl that threw cards and Rocky was her Raccoon friend that attacked with leaves. What does this have to do with Heavenly Guardian? Well, before licensing issues got in the way, this game was supposed to be the next installment of Pocky & Rocky. So Pocky has been replaced with some other girl and Rocky has been turned into a rabbit, but the fun and unique gamestyle remains. Best of all, the game retains the 2D sprite look and still supports two player same-screen co-op. Now do I play as the little girl or the bunny? - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Heavenly Guardian.
Purchase At EB Games $19.99
Target: Terror Dev. Leviathan Games Pub. Konami Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
Light gun fans have recently been treated to two excellent ports on the Wii in the forms of Sega's Ghost Squad and House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. Both offered great arcade gameplay and could be picked up a few weeks after their releases for less than $20. I think probably everyone can see where I'm going with this. Target: Terror is not nearly half as good as those two games and it's double the price. It's a 2004 arcade game that looks like a 1994 arcade game with digitized FMV graphics that would make the Sega CD proud. I can't wait for Konami to bust out the inevitable $40 version of Crypt Killer. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Target: Terror.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
Wild Earth: African Safari Dev. Super X Studios Pub. Majesco Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
This title is a picture-taking safari sim that's based on the PC title of the same name. Playing as a photo journalist, the game play revolves around getting the best picture of the animals you encounter. There's also a mini-game that features some Wii-mote action and the game supports multi-player (up to 3 players). Even if this title makes you want to don a safari hat, $40 seems a bit pricey. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wild Earth: African Safari.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)
DS
Cory in the House Dev. Disney Interactive Studios Pub. Disney Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Holy crap, there's a spin-off to That's so Raven?!?! And the premise is that this "Cory" (sadly not of Boy Meets World fame) is the son of a culinary mastermind who gets a new job as the head chef at the White House. Cory then befriends Newt, the son of the Chief Justice, and Meena, daughter of the Bahavian Ambassador and, whaddya know, hijinks ensue . This sounds wonderful. Why was I not alerted of this sooner? The actual game centers around an evil toy manufacturer getting ahold of Cory's Presidential bobble-heads and then using them to hypnotize all of Washington. So it's up to you to help Cory, Newt, and Meena sneak around the baddies, employ zany gadgets, and play requisite mini-games. Aww yeah, that's so Cory! - ship
Best Deal:
Amazon is offering Cory in the House for $27 shipped.
Purchase At Amazon $26.99 (Free shipping)
Dream Pinball 3D Dev. TopWare Pub. South Peak Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) This new pinball title features six original tables. The other new twist that has been added in is that the ball changes to different materials (steel, wood, marble) during game play. I'm not sure how this actually affects the game play, but it sounds like it could be slightly annoying. The Wii version controls with the nunchuk/Wii-mote or the classic NES controller. While the graphics are rumored to look decent (60 frames per second), the flipper animation is either "up" or "down" with no real in-between. So all those times you catch the ball on the flipper and slowly flick it elsewhere are a thing of the past. This has apparently been fixed for the DS version which comes out next week. I guess if you're looking for a DS pinball title, this one should work. As far as buying it for your Wii, skip it and buy The William's Collection instead. The PC version has been out as a downloadable since 2006 but was released in box form earlier this year. Bottom line: if you're wiling to pay $20 for 6 new tables, then you must really love pinball. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Dream Pinball 3D.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness Dev. ChunSoft Pub. Nintendo Systems: DS MSRP: $34.99
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Dev. ChunSoft Pub. Nintendo Systems: DS MSRP: $34.99
The plot of these titles revolves around a young boy who is turned into a Pokemon (one of 16, specifically Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil, Tododile, Treecko, Torchic, Turtwig, Piplup, Chimchar, Munchlax, Skitty, Chichorita, Mudkip, and Meowth) and is transported into the Pokemon world. Thankfully, the boy has Pokemon friends to help him navigate a series of dungeons and return home. The gameplay is indeed a dungeon crawler, focusing on a team of Pokemon (humanoid boy included) fighting wave after wave of baddies. Of course, any Pokemon title wouldn't be complete without a money-making twin title. The main differences between Darkness and Time are the exclusive items and Pokemon. Darkness offers Mewtwo and Time offers Celebi as playable characters. My biggest problem with the Pokemon titles is the random battles (they really annoy me), so the dungeon-crawling aspect appeals to me while keeping the turn-based RPG elements. These games are essentially upgrades of Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team for the Game Boy. Because of the wi-fi capabilities, there are also rescue missions (hence the name) that will pop up on your DS even when you're not playing. Overall, Pokemon fans should love these titles just because they're solid Pokemon games. Although they don't bring anything spectacularly new to the table, they're just different enough to peak my interest. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
Circuit City is offering a free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with your purchase of either Explorers of Darkness or Explorers of Time. Toys R Us is offering $10 off when you buy any two Pokemon games. Family Video is offering either game for $33 shipped.
Purchase At Amazon $34.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Toys R Us $34.99 (Save $10 when you buy any two Pokemon games)
Purchase At Circuit City $34.99 (Free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with purchase)
Purchase At Family Video $31.99 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $34.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Toys R Us $34.99 (Save $10 when you buy any two Pokemon games)
Purchase At Circuit City $34.99 (Free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with purchase)
Purchase At Family Video $31.99 (99 cent shipping)
River King: Mystic Valley Dev. Natsume Pub. Natsume Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
In preparation of this title's release, Ship and I dusted off the PS2 version and popped it in. The best way I can describe this title is to say that it's visually similar to Harvest Moon (all the characters look the same to me), and it's like taking just the fishing from Animal Crossing and forgetting all the stupid retrieval errands you had to run. How better do you describe a fishing RPG? The game play in the PS2 version is simple: pick your character and learn the back story as to why they need to catch the River King, a mystical uber-fish that is difficult to wrangle. In the new DS title, the goal is to catch the fish to save your sister who is in a coma. The fishing part of the game is easy to learn on the PS2, and no doubt will be even easier with the DS stylus. There are tons of customizable bait, lures, and poles to help you catch bigger and better fish. There's also several maps that your character explores and some interactions with the townspeople that further your storyline (cooking contests and fishing contests, mainly). I really enjoyed the PS2 version, and can see myself getting addicted to the DS version pretty quickly. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for River King: Mystic Valley.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)
The World Ends with You Dev. Square Enix - Jupiter Pub. Square Enix Systems: DS MSRP: $39.99
This RPG set in modern-day Tokyo has been garnering rave reviews for its unique implementation of everything the DS has to offer. The action takes place on both screens as you control your main character with the stylus on the bottom screen and your supporting character on the top screen with the d-pad. The whole set-up sounds confusing and difficult, but reviewers have said that it actually works amazingly well and the game also offers nice difficulty sliders that allow you to customize just how involved you'd like to be. The whole package just looks like a quality RPG, and the Jet Set Radio type of graphic style and off-beat humor have me particularly intrigued. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for The World Ends with You.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
PlayStation 3
Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition Dev. Infinity Ward Pub. Activision Systems: PS3 MSRP: $59.99
(Deja Preview) Most gamers won't need me to explain this well-known WWII first-person-shooter franchise. Except, of course, it's no longer set in WWII. The newest edition is set in modern times, location unnamed. The other thing that most gamers will remember from playing the COD4 beta is that your soldier becomes more skilled as you play. As your player levels up, new weapons, skills, and abilities become available. The levels cap at 65 (in the final game, this is rumor - the beta only went up to 55), and then the gamer has the choice of staying at 55 or restarting at level one in prestige mode with a bonus icon. All in all, this game is one that's been talked about for months, so you don't need a preview to recommend you buy it - most of you probably already have. - mrs. ship
The Game of the Year Edition includes the four new maps that were released on Xbox Live a couple weeks ago, so if you haven't picked this game up yet be sure to grab this version to save yourself $10. PlayStation 3 owners now have the chance to call in air strikes on exotic new locales. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition.
PlayStation 2
Riding Star Dev. Valcon Pub. Valcon Systems: PS2 MSRP: $14.99
If you're thinking to yourself, "Shipwreck, don't we already have enough equestrian games featuring events like Cross Country, Show Jumping, and Dressage? Do I need this one in my collection as well?". Well, I've got two words for you: Ludger Beerbaum. This is the only game that features advice directly from the Ludgerator, so if you're a fan, maybe you should buy a copy so that he can sign it at the next family reunion. Or maybe you aren't a third cousin of Ludger and just like taking care of and dressing up poorly animated horses. Well, this might just be your horribly rendered bag of oats then. Keep your horse in top shape by picking out her hoof by pressing the "R2" button, or maybe you'd like to stop picking out her hoof - well, that feat of strength can be accomplished by pressing the "Triangle" button. But the fun doesn't stop there... your horse has three more hooves all ready to be R2ed and Triangled! All of this picking and not picking serves a vital role in your progression through the game because, as the press release reminds us, "Only together you will win!". Trust me, if you go out there and try to Dressage without a horse, the judges will not score you favorably. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Riding Star.
Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $13.99 (Free shipping)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES Dev. Atlus Pub. Atlus Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
(Deja Preview) Try saying that title three times fast. Set in a Japanese high school, this PS2 RPG title has a very anime feel to it. Your character fights demons at night but attend school during the day. And if that isn't bizarre enough, your character also has to shoot himself in the head on a regular basis. Warning: the first hour of gameplay is pretty passive, with loads of watching cut-scenes and reading dialogue. Once you get through that, I think you'll find this game well worth the $50 and the disappointment of playing it on a last-gen system. - mrs. ship
Here's what you need to know about the new release: the FES stands for Festival of Persona 3. The game includes the original Persona 3 with the FES adding 30 hours of gameplay in a storyline that begins after Persona 3 has ended. There's also a new "hard" difficulty setting, 23 new personas, and a new weapon synthesizing system. Oh, and you can customize your character's clothes now too. For $30, this is clearly a must buy if you love RPGs. Even better if you missed the game the first time out or, like Ship, never took the plastic wrap off of it. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
Fry's is offering Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES for $25.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Fry's $24.99
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)
PSP
Chameleon Dev. Pub. UFO Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) The purpose of playing this hex-based puzzle game is to take over as many game board spots by changing them to your character's color. The DS version got mediocre reviews, although it appears as if not many people actually played the game at release. I'd wait and look for this one in the bargain bin. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Chameleon.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)
PC
Lineage II: The 4th Anniversary Edition Dev. NC Soft Pub. NC Soft Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
This well-loved online RPG for the PC celebrates it's fourth anniversary by releasing an all-encompasing version. This compilation includes Harbingers of War, Age of Splendor, Rise of Darkness, Scions of Destiny, Oath of Blood, Interlude, The Kamael, and the new area, Hellbound. With this update, the level cap goes from 80 to 85 (can I get a whoo-hoo?) and the pet system includes new wolves to ride on (hell, yeah!). And here I thought the 4th anniversary was the flower anniversary. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Lineage II: The 4th Anniversary Edition.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Sword of the Stars: Collector's Edition Dev. Kerberus Productions Pub. Lighthouse Interactive Systems: PC MSRP: $29.99
Hey, it's another one of those 4X space strategy games that I've heard so much about. Well, not so much, as I promptly start daydreaming or dozing off anytime someone starts talking about them, but people do talk about them. This is apparently a compilation of the original game, the expansion pack "Born of Blood", an extras disc, and the first ever Sword of the Stars paperback novel. This is supposed to be one of the more streamlined 4X games, so it could be a good place to throw your first quadruple "X" down. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Sword of the Stars: Collector's Edition.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
On The DL with the Shipwrecks
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Systems: Wii (Genesis) MSRP: $8
Originally a Sega Genesis game, this RPG revolves around a wedding gone wrong. On the surface, the plot has it all: girls with amnesia, dragons, warring kingdoms, and love triangles. However, the gameplay features a generational aspect that wasn’t found in any of the other Phantasy Star titles which can make the storyline seem a little rushed and shallow. The other weird thing is that Phantasy Star III doesn't really have anything to do with Phantasy Star II (plot-wise). I'll be honest and say that I haven't played any of the Phantasy Star titles. It seems that this game is one that you either love or hate, with very little ground in-between. Because of that, from an outsider's standpoint, if I were to start in on a Phantasy Star game it wouldn't be this one. - mrs. ship
River City Ransom Systems: Wii (NES) MSRP: $5
BARF! No, I mean that in a good way. Like when I hit this guy with this lead pipe, he's going to fall over and proclaim "BARF!". Ah, a lot of good times were had with this off-kilter beat-'em-up for the NES. Probably some of my favorite character design to this day and if you have never played River City Ransom, I BARF! in your general direction. - ship
Lost Cities Systems: 360 MSRP: $10
Another highbrow board game comes to Xbox Live Arcade this week, and it looks like a good one. Lost Cities is essentially just a card game involving four different suits and your ability to organize them numerically in Racko-esque fashion. By the nature of the game, and the fact that you have to keep your hand of cards strategically hidden, I don't think this one is going to have a local multiplayer mode. That kind of takes some of the fun out of it for the Mrs. and I, but I think we'll both still enjoy playing online against other CAGs. Well, I've never actually beaten mrs. ship at a game of Racko in my life, so maybe the exclusion of local multiplayer is a positive for me. - ship
Metal Arms: A Glitch in the System Systems: 360 MSRP: $15
A fun, nice-looking third-person shooter starring a cute robot that shoots lots of bullets that then make lots of things explode. That is until it becomes incredibly difficult and you're the thing exploding. Not so fun then. Also not fun - paying $15 for a hard drive stuffer when the disc-based version is $7 at GameStop.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Systems: 360 MSRP: $15
Sam Fisher Sam Fisher's it up in his third game for the original Xbox. Plenty of sneaking around a killing folk for only $6. Oh, wait... that's only for the version that doesn't take up a quarter of that 20GB hard drive. - 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.
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].
Special thanks to www.GoDaddy.com for providing CAG Foreplay listeners with a code for domain names for just $6.95 a year. Just enter code "GAMER1" when you check out to get your savings.
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[digg]http://digg.com/podcasts/CAG_Foreplay[/digg]Multi-Platform
NBA Ballers: Chosen One Dev. Midway Pub. Midway Systems: 360, PS3 MSRP: $59.99
Midway's "lifestyle" basketball game enters the current gen era with really impressive player models... slathered in baby oil, polished, and then dipped into Crisco. Beneath the shiny coating, fans of the series should expect a familiar one-on-one style of arcade hoops with new "Act a Fool" offensive moves and "Shut 'Em Down" defensive moves. And of course, the game revolves around obtaining as much bling as possible, so I'll be able to floss out my 5'11" pale, red-headed create-a-character. Looks fun, and entirely too hip for me. - ship
Best Deal:
Best Buy is offering a free Dwight Howard DVD with the purchase of the Xbox 360 version of NBA Ballers: Chosen One.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Best Buy $59.99 (Free Dwight Howard DVD with purchase) Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping) Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Family Video $57.68 (99 cent shipping)Wii
Battle of the Bands Dev. Planet Moon Studios Pub. THQ Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
This rhythm-inspired title (also known as Band Mashups) features cartoon graphics and a varied style of music to play along to. There are 30 well-known tracks in the game, and each can be played in one of five musical genres: rock, hip hop/funk, country, latin, and marching band. The typical notes scrolling that correspond to buttons prevails, but instead of hitting a blue or red button, the gamer must move the wii-mote left, right, at the screen, or shake it. Of course, if you perform your moves with ultra accuracy, you'll also be able to physically attack the other band with weapons that speed up their music, reverse their notes, etc... Overall, it looks like a solid game and previewers reported solid controls. The price point seems a bit high at $50. But, if you're aching to hear Man of Constant Sorrow as a Latin piece, this title is for you! - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Battle of the Bands.
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping)Heavenly Guardian Dev. Starfish Pub. UFO Systems: Wii MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) There once was a quirky series of games on the Super Nintendo called "Pocky & Rocky" that mixed overhead adventure style gaming with SHMUP-like gameplay. Pocky was a little girl that threw cards and Rocky was her Raccoon friend that attacked with leaves. What does this have to do with Heavenly Guardian? Well, before licensing issues got in the way, this game was supposed to be the next installment of Pocky & Rocky. So Pocky has been replaced with some other girl and Rocky has been turned into a rabbit, but the fun and unique gamestyle remains. Best of all, the game retains the 2D sprite look and still supports two player same-screen co-op. Now do I play as the little girl or the bunny? - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Heavenly Guardian.
Purchase At EB Games $19.99 Target: Terror Dev. Leviathan Games Pub. Konami Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
Light gun fans have recently been treated to two excellent ports on the Wii in the forms of Sega's Ghost Squad and House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. Both offered great arcade gameplay and could be picked up a few weeks after their releases for less than $20. I think probably everyone can see where I'm going with this. Target: Terror is not nearly half as good as those two games and it's double the price. It's a 2004 arcade game that looks like a 1994 arcade game with digitized FMV graphics that would make the Sega CD proud. I can't wait for Konami to bust out the inevitable $40 version of Crypt Killer. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Target: Terror.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)Wild Earth: African Safari Dev. Super X Studios Pub. Majesco Systems: Wii MSRP: $29.99
This title is a picture-taking safari sim that's based on the PC title of the same name. Playing as a photo journalist, the game play revolves around getting the best picture of the animals you encounter. There's also a mini-game that features some Wii-mote action and the game supports multi-player (up to 3 players). Even if this title makes you want to don a safari hat, $40 seems a bit pricey. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wild Earth: African Safari.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)DS
Cory in the House Dev. Disney Interactive Studios Pub. Disney Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Holy crap, there's a spin-off to That's so Raven?!?! And the premise is that this "Cory" (sadly not of Boy Meets World fame) is the son of a culinary mastermind who gets a new job as the head chef at the White House. Cory then befriends Newt, the son of the Chief Justice, and Meena, daughter of the Bahavian Ambassador and, whaddya know, hijinks ensue . This sounds wonderful. Why was I not alerted of this sooner? The actual game centers around an evil toy manufacturer getting ahold of Cory's Presidential bobble-heads and then using them to hypnotize all of Washington. So it's up to you to help Cory, Newt, and Meena sneak around the baddies, employ zany gadgets, and play requisite mini-games. Aww yeah, that's so Cory! - ship
Best Deal:
Amazon is offering Cory in the House for $27 shipped.
Purchase At Amazon $26.99 (Free shipping)Dream Pinball 3D Dev. TopWare Pub. South Peak Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) This new pinball title features six original tables. The other new twist that has been added in is that the ball changes to different materials (steel, wood, marble) during game play. I'm not sure how this actually affects the game play, but it sounds like it could be slightly annoying. The Wii version controls with the nunchuk/Wii-mote or the classic NES controller. While the graphics are rumored to look decent (60 frames per second), the flipper animation is either "up" or "down" with no real in-between. So all those times you catch the ball on the flipper and slowly flick it elsewhere are a thing of the past. This has apparently been fixed for the DS version which comes out next week. I guess if you're looking for a DS pinball title, this one should work. As far as buying it for your Wii, skip it and buy The William's Collection instead. The PC version has been out as a downloadable since 2006 but was released in box form earlier this year. Bottom line: if you're wiling to pay $20 for 6 new tables, then you must really love pinball. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Dream Pinball 3D.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25) Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness Dev. ChunSoft Pub. Nintendo Systems: DS MSRP: $34.99
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Dev. ChunSoft Pub. Nintendo Systems: DS MSRP: $34.99
The plot of these titles revolves around a young boy who is turned into a Pokemon (one of 16, specifically Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil, Tododile, Treecko, Torchic, Turtwig, Piplup, Chimchar, Munchlax, Skitty, Chichorita, Mudkip, and Meowth) and is transported into the Pokemon world. Thankfully, the boy has Pokemon friends to help him navigate a series of dungeons and return home. The gameplay is indeed a dungeon crawler, focusing on a team of Pokemon (humanoid boy included) fighting wave after wave of baddies. Of course, any Pokemon title wouldn't be complete without a money-making twin title. The main differences between Darkness and Time are the exclusive items and Pokemon. Darkness offers Mewtwo and Time offers Celebi as playable characters. My biggest problem with the Pokemon titles is the random battles (they really annoy me), so the dungeon-crawling aspect appeals to me while keeping the turn-based RPG elements. These games are essentially upgrades of Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team for the Game Boy. Because of the wi-fi capabilities, there are also rescue missions (hence the name) that will pop up on your DS even when you're not playing. Overall, Pokemon fans should love these titles just because they're solid Pokemon games. Although they don't bring anything spectacularly new to the table, they're just different enough to peak my interest. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
Circuit City is offering a free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with your purchase of either Explorers of Darkness or Explorers of Time. Toys R Us is offering $10 off when you buy any two Pokemon games. Family Video is offering either game for $33 shipped.
Purchase At Amazon $34.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Toys R Us $34.99 (Save $10 when you buy any two Pokemon games) Purchase At Circuit City $34.99 (Free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with purchase) Purchase At Family Video $31.99 (99 cent shipping) Purchase At Amazon $34.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Toys R Us $34.99 (Save $10 when you buy any two Pokemon games) Purchase At Circuit City $34.99 (Free Pokemon action figure and 50% off the strategy guide with purchase) Purchase At Family Video $31.99 (99 cent shipping)River King: Mystic Valley Dev. Natsume Pub. Natsume Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
In preparation of this title's release, Ship and I dusted off the PS2 version and popped it in. The best way I can describe this title is to say that it's visually similar to Harvest Moon (all the characters look the same to me), and it's like taking just the fishing from Animal Crossing and forgetting all the stupid retrieval errands you had to run. How better do you describe a fishing RPG? The game play in the PS2 version is simple: pick your character and learn the back story as to why they need to catch the River King, a mystical uber-fish that is difficult to wrangle. In the new DS title, the goal is to catch the fish to save your sister who is in a coma. The fishing part of the game is easy to learn on the PS2, and no doubt will be even easier with the DS stylus. There are tons of customizable bait, lures, and poles to help you catch bigger and better fish. There's also several maps that your character explores and some interactions with the townspeople that further your storyline (cooking contests and fishing contests, mainly). I really enjoyed the PS2 version, and can see myself getting addicted to the DS version pretty quickly. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for River King: Mystic Valley.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)The World Ends with You Dev. Square Enix - Jupiter Pub. Square Enix Systems: DS MSRP: $39.99
This RPG set in modern-day Tokyo has been garnering rave reviews for its unique implementation of everything the DS has to offer. The action takes place on both screens as you control your main character with the stylus on the bottom screen and your supporting character on the top screen with the d-pad. The whole set-up sounds confusing and difficult, but reviewers have said that it actually works amazingly well and the game also offers nice difficulty sliders that allow you to customize just how involved you'd like to be. The whole package just looks like a quality RPG, and the Jet Set Radio type of graphic style and off-beat humor have me particularly intrigued. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for The World Ends with You.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)PlayStation 3
Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition Dev. Infinity Ward Pub. Activision Systems: PS3 MSRP: $59.99
(Deja Preview) Most gamers won't need me to explain this well-known WWII first-person-shooter franchise. Except, of course, it's no longer set in WWII. The newest edition is set in modern times, location unnamed. The other thing that most gamers will remember from playing the COD4 beta is that your soldier becomes more skilled as you play. As your player levels up, new weapons, skills, and abilities become available. The levels cap at 65 (in the final game, this is rumor - the beta only went up to 55), and then the gamer has the choice of staying at 55 or restarting at level one in prestige mode with a bonus icon. All in all, this game is one that's been talked about for months, so you don't need a preview to recommend you buy it - most of you probably already have. - mrs. ship
The Game of the Year Edition includes the four new maps that were released on Xbox Live a couple weeks ago, so if you haven't picked this game up yet be sure to grab this version to save yourself $10. PlayStation 3 owners now have the chance to call in air strikes on exotic new locales. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition.
PlayStation 2
Riding Star Dev. Valcon Pub. Valcon Systems: PS2 MSRP: $14.99
If you're thinking to yourself, "Shipwreck, don't we already have enough equestrian games featuring events like Cross Country, Show Jumping, and Dressage? Do I need this one in my collection as well?". Well, I've got two words for you: Ludger Beerbaum. This is the only game that features advice directly from the Ludgerator, so if you're a fan, maybe you should buy a copy so that he can sign it at the next family reunion. Or maybe you aren't a third cousin of Ludger and just like taking care of and dressing up poorly animated horses. Well, this might just be your horribly rendered bag of oats then. Keep your horse in top shape by picking out her hoof by pressing the "R2" button, or maybe you'd like to stop picking out her hoof - well, that feat of strength can be accomplished by pressing the "Triangle" button. But the fun doesn't stop there... your horse has three more hooves all ready to be R2ed and Triangled! All of this picking and not picking serves a vital role in your progression through the game because, as the press release reminds us, "Only together you will win!". Trust me, if you go out there and try to Dressage without a horse, the judges will not score you favorably. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Riding Star.
Purchase At Amazon $14.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25) Purchase At Deep Discount $13.99 (Free shipping)Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES Dev. Atlus Pub. Atlus Systems: PS2 MSRP: $29.99
(Deja Preview) Try saying that title three times fast. Set in a Japanese high school, this PS2 RPG title has a very anime feel to it. Your character fights demons at night but attend school during the day. And if that isn't bizarre enough, your character also has to shoot himself in the head on a regular basis. Warning: the first hour of gameplay is pretty passive, with loads of watching cut-scenes and reading dialogue. Once you get through that, I think you'll find this game well worth the $50 and the disappointment of playing it on a last-gen system. - mrs. ship
Here's what you need to know about the new release: the FES stands for Festival of Persona 3. The game includes the original Persona 3 with the FES adding 30 hours of gameplay in a storyline that begins after Persona 3 has ended. There's also a new "hard" difficulty setting, 23 new personas, and a new weapon synthesizing system. Oh, and you can customize your character's clothes now too. For $30, this is clearly a must buy if you love RPGs. Even better if you missed the game the first time out or, like Ship, never took the plastic wrap off of it. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
Fry's is offering Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES for $25.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Fry's $24.99 Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)PSP
Chameleon Dev. Pub. UFO Systems: PSP MSRP: $19.99
(Deja Preview) The purpose of playing this hex-based puzzle game is to take over as many game board spots by changing them to your character's color. The DS version got mediocre reviews, although it appears as if not many people actually played the game at release. I'd wait and look for this one in the bargain bin. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Chameleon.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25) Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)PC
Lineage II: The 4th Anniversary Edition Dev. NC Soft Pub. NC Soft Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
This well-loved online RPG for the PC celebrates it's fourth anniversary by releasing an all-encompasing version. This compilation includes Harbingers of War, Age of Splendor, Rise of Darkness, Scions of Destiny, Oath of Blood, Interlude, The Kamael, and the new area, Hellbound. With this update, the level cap goes from 80 to 85 (can I get a whoo-hoo?) and the pet system includes new wolves to ride on (hell, yeah!). And here I thought the 4th anniversary was the flower anniversary. - mrs. ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Lineage II: The 4th Anniversary Edition.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)Sword of the Stars: Collector's Edition Dev. Kerberus Productions Pub. Lighthouse Interactive Systems: PC MSRP: $29.99
Hey, it's another one of those 4X space strategy games that I've heard so much about. Well, not so much, as I promptly start daydreaming or dozing off anytime someone starts talking about them, but people do talk about them. This is apparently a compilation of the original game, the expansion pack "Born of Blood", an extras disc, and the first ever Sword of the Stars paperback novel. This is supposed to be one of the more streamlined 4X games, so it could be a good place to throw your first quadruple "X" down. - ship
Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Sword of the Stars: Collector's Edition.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)On The DL with the Shipwrecks
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Systems: Wii (Genesis) MSRP: $8
Originally a Sega Genesis game, this RPG revolves around a wedding gone wrong. On the surface, the plot has it all: girls with amnesia, dragons, warring kingdoms, and love triangles. However, the gameplay features a generational aspect that wasn’t found in any of the other Phantasy Star titles which can make the storyline seem a little rushed and shallow. The other weird thing is that Phantasy Star III doesn't really have anything to do with Phantasy Star II (plot-wise). I'll be honest and say that I haven't played any of the Phantasy Star titles. It seems that this game is one that you either love or hate, with very little ground in-between. Because of that, from an outsider's standpoint, if I were to start in on a Phantasy Star game it wouldn't be this one. - mrs. ship
River City Ransom Systems: Wii (NES) MSRP: $5
BARF! No, I mean that in a good way. Like when I hit this guy with this lead pipe, he's going to fall over and proclaim "BARF!". Ah, a lot of good times were had with this off-kilter beat-'em-up for the NES. Probably some of my favorite character design to this day and if you have never played River City Ransom, I BARF! in your general direction. - ship
Lost Cities Systems: 360 MSRP: $10
Another highbrow board game comes to Xbox Live Arcade this week, and it looks like a good one. Lost Cities is essentially just a card game involving four different suits and your ability to organize them numerically in Racko-esque fashion. By the nature of the game, and the fact that you have to keep your hand of cards strategically hidden, I don't think this one is going to have a local multiplayer mode. That kind of takes some of the fun out of it for the Mrs. and I, but I think we'll both still enjoy playing online against other CAGs. Well, I've never actually beaten mrs. ship at a game of Racko in my life, so maybe the exclusion of local multiplayer is a positive for me. - ship
Metal Arms: A Glitch in the System Systems: 360 MSRP: $15
A fun, nice-looking third-person shooter starring a cute robot that shoots lots of bullets that then make lots of things explode. That is until it becomes incredibly difficult and you're the thing exploding. Not so fun then. Also not fun - paying $15 for a hard drive stuffer when the disc-based version is $7 at GameStop.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Systems: 360 MSRP: $15
Sam Fisher Sam Fisher's it up in his third game for the original Xbox. Plenty of sneaking around a killing folk for only $6. Oh, wait... that's only for the version that doesn't take up a quarter of that 20GB hard drive. - 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.
