CAG Foreplay #46: Shipwreck Wins! (6/18/08)

CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of June 18th, 2008. Hope you are in the market for portable games this week as Etrian Odyssey II & Space Invaders Extreme lead a pack of games ready to help you pass the time on your commute and the time on your commode.

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Multi-Platform

Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity Dev. Neko Entertainment Pub. Game Factory Systems: PS2, PSP MSRP: $19.99, $29.99
Released last year on the Wii, this licensed 3D platformer (based on a license you probably know nothing about) has now been ported over to the PS2 and the PSP. The game didn't exactly score all that well (58 out of 100 on Metacritic), but apparently fans of the cartoon actually like the game, so if you like the show, don't be afraid to get your fan service on. The rest of us will continue with our blissful ignorance. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity.

Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Deep Discount $18.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)


Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm Dev. Liquid Dragon Studios Pub. Greenwave Games Systems: PC, 360 MSRP: $39.99, $59.99
This title is based on the series Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel, and oddly enough, it's caught the eye of most previewers as a potentially cool strategy title for gamers who usually prefer the PC. There's a crew to be hired, food to stock up on, and lots of Dramamine to buy. The fishing part revolves around crab and follows a career mode and is generally as slow and methodical as fishing is in real life. Some people might read that sentence as boring. If that's you, this title isn't your cup of tea. If you're a gamer who wishes there were more strategy titles with fish instead of minions, this game is for you. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm.

Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)


Space Invaders Extreme Dev. Taito Pub. SquareEnix Systems: DS, PSP MSRP: $19.99
Who would have thought that Space Invaders would be relevant as a stand-alone retail product in 2008? One of the original arcade hits gets a Pac-Man Championship Edition style treatment as Taito has masterfully modernized waves of descending aliens. Visually, the game takes on the appealing high-contrast art style that really makes the familiar invaders pop on a constantly changing animated background. Also constantly changing are the size and behavior patterns of the enemies. These alterations lead to an almost mini-game type feel as you progress further along and even have to deal with boss characters... in a Space Invaders game! Add to this a hip Lumines-like music & sound effect mixture while keeping the gameplay as simple as the original, and Space Invaders Extreme shows that with the right amount of care, even the oldies can still be goodies. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Space Invaders Extreme.

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


Wacky Races: Crash and Dash Dev. Farmind Pub. Eidos Systems: DS, Wii MSRP: $29.99, $39.99
I loved this cartoon when I was little. Plus, we lived by Kings Island who owned the Hanna Barbera license so we could see lots of our favorite characters. I think I have a picture of myself at 5 with one of the Slag Brothers. Anyway, this racing game features widgets that are collected during the race that give each team special powers. There's not much information available, other than the animation style stays pretty true to the cartoons, which seems like a good thing to me. I think for $40, if this racing game is another solid title for us to use our Wii Wheel with, we're set. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wacky Races: Crash and Dash.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $28.24 (99 cent shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)


DS

Arkanoid Dev. Taito Pub. SquareEnix Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Growing up, I spent quite a few weeks captivated by a copy of Arkanoid that I had borrowed from a neighbor girl. For some reason, this powered-up version of Breakout and its immersive NES paddle controller (can you be immersed in a game built around hitting a ball with a paddle?) enthralled me and I distinctly remember hoping she'd forget to ask for it back. Unfortunately, that day eventually came and now, twenty years later, a new version of Arkanoid is being released to try and fill that void in my life. Unlike, Space Invaders Extreme, this remake doesn't stray too far from the original or innovate at all really. You use the paddle at the bottom to destroy the bricks across both screens and you collect the same power-up capsules that you've always collected. Unfortunately, unlike the Japanese release of Arkanoid, the North American version comes without the paddle peripheral (ie. the only reason to play Arkanoid) so you are left with two control schemes: moving the paddle with the d-pad or moving the paddle with the stylus. Both make you instantly realize that Arkanoid is extremely mundane without a paddle controller. If you want the full experience, you can import the controller in a variety of colors, but Play-Asia is currently out of stock. Maybe a girl down the street has one you can borrow in the meantime. - ship

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

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


Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled Dev. Studio Archcraft Pub. Graffiti Entertainment Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
There's no information about this game other than the main character's name is Kairu, and his soul is cursed. The original title was a GBA release called Project Exile, and video of the original 2006 GBA footage abounds on YouTube and the like. Instead of actually releasing it for the GBA, it was decided to port the title over to the up-coming DS market. That was two years ago. A whole new game could have been developed in the meantime, but we won't complain as long as it turns out to be as good as the internet hype says it is. The release date has been updated to "TBA", so my guess is that the developers at Studio Archcraft aren't quite as prepared as they thought they'd be. A little jaunt over the their website confirms that as of June 2nd, 2008, the game has just entered beta testing. There's a small chance this title might be available in stores tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it. There's also a small chance that this game is overrated, but if the GBA footage is any indication, I wouldn't bet on that either. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)


Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. Dev. Neko Entertainment Pub. Game Factory Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Because one Code Lyoko game this week wasn't enough to satiate the needs of Code Lyoko fans everywhere. I've honestly never seen the cartoon series that all these games are based upon, but Wikipedia says it's from France and ran on Cartoon Network for awhile. I guess it has something to do with kids fighting against an evil technological menace named X.A.N.A. by using a combination of virtual reality, time travel, and, I can only assume, baguettes. The game itself is a turn-based (and real-time) RPG where you control Pierre, Jean-Luc, Margaux, and Brigitte by selecting their attacks or actions with the stylus. And I completely made up the four characters' names, but you already knew that because you are a Code Lyoko super-fan, aren't you? - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)


Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard Dev. Atlus Pub. Atlus Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
After proving myself as a master cartographer in the previous game (Google Maps ain't got nothing on me), I'm ready to firmly entrench Etrian Odyssey II into my DS for the next couple of months. Definitely a more of the same type of game, fans of the original old-school style RPG crawl will instantly fall back in love with everything that made the first game so great. Sure they've added three more character classes (Beast, War Magus, and Gunner), modified the limit-break style "Force Skills", and added a lot of new enemy species, but the core of the game is still the same turn-based battles. And mapping out new mazes while making perilous escapes from new FOEs (dungeon bosses for those of you new to the series) is exactly what I wanted in an Etrian Odyssey sequel. Looks like Atlus delivered. - ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $27.64 (99 cent shipping)


Imagine: Rock Star Dev. Gevo Entertainment Pub. UbiSoft Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
It's nice to know that my chosen career gets a game in the same vein as ROCK STAR. Interestingly enough, both veterinarians and rock stars probably deal with a similar amount of drug overdoses and bodily fluids, I just prefer that mine come in the form of small fuzzy creatures versus tattooed bass players. Okay, so I'm off topic. This title is the newest release in the Imagine series of games where kids get to pretend to follow their dreams of having a cool career. This title is at heart a rhythm-based game and includes lots of customizable band mates. The goal, of course, is to watch your band rise to the top. The downfall is that the music is all original and thus not very good. For $30, I'd much prefer a Rock Band or Guitar Hero 3 port to the DS with music that I know and love. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Imagine: Rock Star.

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


Petz Dogz Fashion Dev. UbiSoft Pub. UbiSoft Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Humiliate both your dog and yourself by dressing your unwitting canine in over 400 different clothing items and accessories. Once you've selected your favorite breeds and strapped adorable outfits to them, you can then organize fashion shows starring your dogs where you can take pictures of them to capture your moment of glory for all to see. In addition to the haute couture scene, there are also mini-games you can play with your fellow dog-dressers that feature jumping rope and playing soccer (activities dogs dearly love). But don't think the ridiculousness stops there as you get to customize your puppy's room with furniture and decorations as well. So if you are curious in the many avenues available to humanize your pet, this game has it licked. They might as well sell this at Moochie & Co. - ship

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

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)


Tamagotchi Connection Corner 3 Dev. Namco Bandai Pub. Namco Bandai Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
This digital pet wonderland is back with all new shops and thus all new mini-games. The game itself is pretty much unchanged with the mini-games within being new and different. The animation is strangely attractive to me and reminds me of a Hello Kitty wonderland with it's bright primary colors and happy shapes. I'm not much into the mini-game compilations, but this one's quirkiness makes me want to buy it for, well, the third time now. Maybe that counts for something. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Tamagotchi Connection Corner 3.

Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $27.64 (99 cent shipping)


PSP

Secret Agent Clank Dev. High Impact Games Pub. Sony Systems: PSP MSRP: $39.99
Clank, of Ratchet & Clank fame, has a secret-agent alter ego that has apparently been begging for his own title. In this new title, Clank must track down the person responsible for framing Ratchet before it's too late. Of course, the gameplay involves fun spy weapons and quirky humor, but with the addition of some MGS4 stealthy fun. There are some missions mixed in that feature Ratchet and Qwark, which seem a bit distracting to most previewers. The other odd thing about the gameplay is that as time goes on, there's less stealth and more shoot 'em-up. It seems as if half way through, the developers forgot what the point was in the first place. The camera is the same pain-in-the-ass that it usually is, and the menu system is quirky, Overall, the game is getting mediocre scores (from 65/100 to 85/100). There will be gamers who play this game and say, hmmm.... that was fun. And then there will be the gamers who can't get past the spots in which the game falls short. And you just have to figure out which gamer you are BEFORE you spend your $40. - mrs. ship

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Secret Agent Clank.

Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $38.46 (99 cent shipping)

PC
(Taking us up on our PC games casting call, CAG Treehouse Gamer decided to write up some previews for this week's PC releases.)

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

Best Deal:
There are no deals for Legends of Norrath: Oathbreaker as it is digitally distributed directly from Sony.

Purchase At the Legends of Norrath Official Site $19.99

Political Machine 2008 Dev. Stardock Pub. UbiSoft Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
From the developer that brought Sins of a Solar Empire and the Galactic Civilization series, The Political Machine 2008 is an update to the original Political Machine released in August 2004. The original Political Machine was actually a really fun diversion based on the previous voting year. The original had you select an existing political figure or you could create your own; You would take this character through their campaign trail by building a platform, being interviewed by the news and media, and trying to win over each state by appealing towards their general disposition. The career mode had you climbing up the ladder in head-to-head campaigns starting with the likes of Condoleeza Rice until you reached Bush or Kerry - depending on your political stance. This 2008 version keeps the core elements of the previous version and adds a 3D spit-shine. This is strangely conflicting to me since the original's whimsical charicatures were such a large part of its appeal; Instead, the candidates are replaced with 3D bobbleheads. The key new feature is the implementation of historical and alternate universe campaigns (including a campaign giving a huge nod to the GalCiv series). I insist that those interested pick up the original for $10 or less, and if you're a fan, the new one looks to be pretty fun for under $20. - Treehouse Gamer

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Political Machine 2008.

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


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

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Spore Creature Creator

Purchase At Amazon $9.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)


Supreme Ruler 2020 Dev. Battlegoat Studios Pub. Paradox Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
This is a 4X-style strategy game with a world map featuring 185 countries to control and a truckload of menus. The original game Supreme Ruler 2010 got mediocre reviews, and the new version features a slightly more robust game engine. - Treehouse Gamer

Best Deal:
There don't seem to be any specific deals for Supreme Ruler 2020.

Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)


On The DL with the Shipwrecks

Block Breaker Deluxe Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $8
Okay, between this and Arkanoid it must be some sort of national brick breaking appreciation week. If you really need to play this cell phone game on your Wii, well $8 will allow you to do that. But again, these games all come down to the precision you have with the paddle, and I don't see any paddle controllers for the Wii... But that would kick ass, and then we all could play some WiiWare Kaboom! - ship

Cocoto Fishing Master Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $7
So it's come to this. Cocoto, the imp mascot featured in many a budget release, has made his way over to WiiWare with a port of a $10 PlayStation 2 game that sits untouched on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart. Well, at least it's $3 cheaper and they've wrestled in some Wii fishing controls. And another bright note, in the future, you may not have to go all the way to Wal-Mart to ignore these titles; you can simply do it from the comfort of your own living room. Chalk one up for digital distribution. (Okay, I'll be honest, I've actually touched a copy of this game at my local Wal-Mart... picked it up and turned it over even. Despite the colorful graphics and somewhat fanciful fish design, I just can't give this one the benefit of the doubt due to Cocoto's past track record.) - ship

Samurai Shodown Systems: Wii Virtual Console MSRP: $9
I wasted many an hour my freshman year of college playing Samurai Shodown on my roommates Goldstar 3DO, and while I'm sure this Virtual Console version is more faithful to the original vision of slicing dudes completely in half like grilled cheese sandwiches, save your money and your precious Wii blocks as this is coming out soon for the Wii with sixteen other games on SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1. Of course you can already run by your local store and pick up that compilation for either the PS2 or PSP if you need Samurai Shodown this instant. No word on a 3DO version at this time and, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches are sliced diagonally. - ship

Fatal Inertia EX Systems: PSN (PS3) MSRP: $29.99
Initially released for the Xbox 360, Koei has spent a year making this futuristic racing game slightly less terrible by improving things like steering, physics, and adding more content. They've even added six-axis controls, so when you are careening off canyon walls, you can blame it on that and not the fact that the game is likely still terrible. Fans of crappier versions of WipeOut are in for a treat though. - ship

Elements of Destruction Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
Having played Elements of Destruction on the DS, I'm actually intrigued to see what the Live Arcade version has to offer. If you aren't familiar with the premise, you are a weatherman who is fired because he doesn't forecast sunny days everyday. To exact his revenge, you must harness weather making machines and destroy cities. Pretty logical stuff, really. The whole game plays out in sort of a SimCity meets Rampage style and while I had fun with the DS version, it gets repetitive (and difficult) quickly. Hopefully, they've made some adjustments to fix those issues for this release. - ship

Sea Life Safari Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
Somehow Ship gets by with sneaking this last minute crap, er, game onto my list when I'm away at work. This PC game port revolves around a deep sea dive and taking photos, keeping logs of what you've seen, and receiving stars. Well heck, if they're going to give me a star, then I just may have to play it! - mrs. ship

Guilty Gear XX #Reload Systems: Xbox Originals MSRP: $15
Guilty Gear XX #Reload is certainly one of the best 2D fighters available for the original Xbox, and fighting game fans should definitely have some version of this in their collection. Whether you go for the more expensive downloadable version or just pick up a retail copy for less than $10 is your call. - ship

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning Systems: Xbox Originals MSRP: $15
Every time I get to preview a Spyro game I think to myself, "Is that the one that was really hard and annoying and I couldn't get past that one level?" And it seems that every time the answer is yes, no matter what Spyro title I was playing. We even avoid them at the pre-played game sales because we can't remember which one was the one that's really hard and annoying, so we just don't play any of them. This Spyro game, however, I don't remember playing (whether I did actually play it or not), so I'm going to try it out. Scratch that. Gamepedia tells me that we don't actually own this game, so I'll just leave it up to our faithful audience to point out which Spyro game was really hard and which ones are worth playing. - mrs. 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.

Wow, I thought there would be a fist fight or something over Frogger.

Shipwreck is right about Frogger 3D being better than Frogger 2 because That Frogger didn't have a cute look with a baby story. That being said, Mrs. Ship is also right about time being a factor as well.

King's Island sucks btw. Cedar Point takes that park and makes it look like sad. I know you live closer to King's Island but I'd rather take a longer car trip to get to Cedar Point any day.

I too played the Operation Darkness game, and I didn't think it was terrible or anything. My guess is that this game was given to the wrong people and I also noticed the game took forever to do anything which is something reviewers hate. From the demo I'd say a 6 would be about right.

The only good things at King's Island include The Beast and the blue ice cream from the Huckle Berry Dairy.

[quote name='Dingleberry']The only good things at King's Island include The Beast and the blue ice cream from the Huckle Berry Dairy.[/quote]

Made from ground up Smurfs. YUM!

[quote name='mrs. shipwreck']Made from ground up Smurfs. YUM![/quote]

So that's what happened to the old smurf ride...

The gameplay of Space Invaders Extreme is not "as simple as the original." There is a combo system that gives it much more depth.

Any opinions as to whether to get the DS or PSP version of Space Invaders? The only difference I know about so far is that the PSP version has slightly more distracting backgrounds.

[quote name='Dingleberry']So that's what happened to the old smurf ride...[/QUOTE]

I just laughed for about 30 seconds Dingleberry because I liked that ride as a kid and remembered it.

P.S. Cedar Point has FlavorBurst.
http://www.flavorburst.com/consumables-flavors.html

I really want Deadliest Catch but not at full price

[quote name='blandstalker']Any opinions as to whether to get the DS or PSP version of Space Invaders? The only difference I know about so far is that the PSP version has slightly more distracting backgrounds.[/quote]

If you have the Arkanoid paddle for the DS, you can use it on space invaders. Hooray!

i can't believe you guys can argue so much about Frogger...lol

Them's fighting words, thorbahn. I LOVE Kings Island. I haven't been to Cedar Point, it may be better, but that doesn't mean King's Island sucks. If you think it sucks, you should try going to the crappy amusement parks out here in the west |

Speaking of things that suck, Ship is right on this one, Frogger 2 is awful. I tried the demo and it feels like a game for preschoolers - I was amazed at the crappiness. I never played the original Frogger much (though I like it), and I didn't play the 3D version, but Frogger 2 is baaaaaaaaaaaad by any standard

Success-HK has the DS paddle controllers for those who want one. All colors in stock:

http://www.superufo.com/pp/item_search_list.asp?keyword=lite+paddle

Great show, Ships, but as a longtime fan of Deadliest Catch (watched it last night, in fact), I find your lack of knowledge about crab fishing disturbing. Nets? Seriously? How would that work exactly? And when they talk about "losing 50 percent," they don't mean half the crew dying on a regular basis (it's not THAT deadly). They mean a large number of the crabs in the hold can die if you stay out too long, or you spend too much time in rough seas, etc. I encourage you to watch an episode or two of the show. It's surprisingly interesting and oddly addictive.

That said, I probably won't pick up the game until it drops in price a bit.

Also, damn you Ship for making me want Etrian Odyssey 1 & 2 even though I know they would frustrate me to the point of tears.

[quote name='Tybee']Great show, Ships, but as a longtime fan of Deadliest Catch (watched it last night, in fact), I find your lack of knowledge about crab fishing disturbing. Nets? Seriously? How would that work exactly? And when they talk about "losing 50 percent," they don't mean half the crew dying on a regular basis (it's not THAT deadly). [/QUOTE]

Here's the line in the game description I was referring to: "Battle 40-foot waves, storms, ice and a nearly 100-percent crew member injury rate in the dangerous hunt for undersea riches on the Bering Sea with the videogame based on the hit Discovery Channel series." I think they really were trying to play up the danger, although I did mistake injury for death, which is clearly not the same thing.

As far as our lack of crab fishing knowledge, we're from Ohio. Come to me with Deadliest Corn and we'll talk.

Yay my name was said again. I would correct you about Wacky Racers, but I don't remember the Slag Brothers. That show had a lot of characters that never seemed to show up anywhere else, so I don't remember them.
That amusement park your talking about sounds a lot like the Great America in Santa Clara (where tehy filmed Beverly Hills Cop 3), when it was owned by Hanna Barbarrra. They used to have a smurf village, a carousel of HB characters ( I went with Jabber Jaw) and costumed characters walking around.

[quote name='mrs. shipwreck']Here's the line in the game description I was referring to: "Battle 40-foot waves, storms, ice and a nearly 100-percent crew member injury rate in the dangerous hunt for undersea riches on the Bering Sea with the videogame based on the hit Discovery Channel series." I think they really were trying to play up the danger, although I did mistake injury for death, which is clearly not the same thing.[/quote]

Well, they don't really need to play up the danger since it's officially the most dangerous profession. They do get injured all the time, and a few guys have died (though not on any of the ships the show follows).

As far as our lack of crab fishing knowledge, we're from Ohio. Come to me with Deadliest Corn and we'll talk.

Click to expand...

Ya got nothing on our killer peanuts and feral peaches down here in Georgia.

Mrs. Shipwreck does Shipwreck have frogger boxer or frogger tighty whitey? :lol:

Shipwrecks, I understand your distaste for Spyro (the PSX game gave me awful migraines and made me nauseous) but don't discount The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night for the GBA. It is actually quite good and very different from the other Eternal Night games. It reminds me of Astro Boy: Omega Factor (again for the GBA) in that it has a questionable license but excellent gameplay.

Also, I hope that Black Sigil actually does come out. I had completely forgotten about that one. I just wish that it was more action-RPG instead of turn-based.

Speaking of which, despite the fact that I usually don't like turn-based, I'm really digging Etrian Odyssey 2. Hope that it's as fun as the first.

[quote name='PleasantOne']Them's fighting words, thorbahn. I LOVE Kings Island. I haven't been to Cedar Point, it may be better, but that doesn't mean King's Island sucks. If you think it sucks, you should try going to the crappy amusement parks out here in the west |

Speaking of things that suck, Ship is right on this one, Frogger 2 is awful. I tried the demo and it feels like a game for preschoolers - I was amazed at the crappiness. I never played the original Frogger much (though I like it), and I didn't play the 3D version, but Frogger 2 is baaaaaaaaaaaad by any standard[/QUOTE]
I've traveled to a lot of amusement parks and it pretty goes Disney World > Cedar Point > everything else.

After you read the Wikipedia page you'll see why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Point

i completely agree with Mrs Ships view on frogger 2. The game play was acceptable 10 years ago, but video games have evolved to the point where this game play is no longer acceptable. Mr Ship needs to play frogger for the PS1 for next weeks show and tell us all how much he enjoys it still today. If he does then he'll win the argument.

[quote name='mrs. shipwreck'] Come to me with Deadliest Corn and we'll talk. [/quote]

The Deadliest Shuck!?

I really thought Operation darkness was really cool. Good idea, it was fun, just VERY long in moving and selecting your characters. If it was quicker/easier to move the game would be really solid I think. I enjoyed the demo a lot.

Is Mrs.Ship still playing Mystery dungeon? for a time I was really into the first one. Sure it was annoying at times, but it was fun. I really liked it.

also, The Chocobos Dungeon game for wii is looking very interesting. maybe not a 50 dollar game - but hey, might as well give you the mrs a heads up, eh?

Man, how good is Psychonauts when shipwreck's only complaint is that there is too much content and material?

The great gameplay just kept coming and coming with no end in sight ... and he wished it would just end already.

# in Guilty Gear = Sharp

[quote name='Phryo88']# in Guilty Gear = Sharp[/quote]

Like in music? Hmmm, I would not have guessed that. Thanks.

I've gotten to the third movie in Lego Indiana Jones and it never gave me any glitches until the first level of the Last Crusade when the boss was waiting for a boat that never came. It's so much less glitchy for me than the original Lego Star Wars, which would freeze for me on a specific spot in the hub that I couldn't ever seem to remember to not go there.

Edit: You should note for next week's show that Gurumin, the PSP game, came out on the PSN this week for $15.

Game of the week: Deadliest Catch!

Good show this week. Very entertaining argument over frogger 2 as well. Does anyone know , is the frogger 2 on live arcade the same as frogger 2 that was released on the GBC years back? I don't think it is but I'm not sure.

Regarding Code Lyoko , I would highly recommend the show , it's pretty good. You can pick up the first 2 or 3 seasons I think for around $15 or $20 online. Although the 1st season of the show is more of just a "monster of the week" style program , where XANA wakes up , makes bad things happen , kids go into computer to stop him , turn back time , everyone goes home happy. But if you don't watch the first season , you'll be more lost with whats happening in later seasons.

As far as the games go , I was kinda interested in the DS game based off of previews and the whole RPG style , the console version never really caught my attention.

I also have to admit , that all the talk about The Deadliest Catch , has me interested in trying the game out. Maybe I'll pick it up when it eventually comes down in price. Maybe I'll also give the show a try while I'm at it.

Ship c'mon - you can't expect to play any 3d games on a MacBook! They've got Intel graphics chips which aren't exactly made for gaming. I'm actually really surprised that the Intel graphics chip in the newest MacBook barely meets the requirements for Spore, they must have stretched it to support that.

It should work on the iMac if it's a newer one.

Great show, this week, but I feel a little bad that my Frogger question sparked such turmoil.

I heard Major Nelson interview the guy from Deadliest Catch last week. Man, what a seaman he is, and quite a bit of a schmuck. He seemed excited about the game, and mentioned that there was a lot of “learning” as you go, like on the first mission he’ll pop up and tell you to respect the Coast Guard. I kind of got the impression that it’s a game where you start as a
rookie and build up to being a captain. I guess since I’m not that into the show and I’m really not into the captain, the game isn’t for me.

Everybody says Space Invaders Extreme is a great game (the guys on the Giant Bombcast have been talking it up big time, they’ve been playing the Japanese version). Any idea which is the better version to get? I actually prefer playing my DS to my PSP (better battery life, etc), but I’m guessing the PSP’s graphics might be better…Looking at gamespot’s review,
the PSP version doesn’t have online leaderboards, so maybe the DS is the way to go. It looks like the game is going to be hard to find locally for either system, I have about 5 Gamestop stores in a 3 mile radius from my apartment, and none of them have it in stock (some a little farther out seem to). bestbuy.com says it’s shipping next week.

Yay for Etrian Odyssey II!! Ship turned me onto the original Etrian Odyssey, and I knew when EOII was announced that I’d be jumping on it. I couldn’t find a copy of EOII locally, so I had to order it from amazon. It’s supposed to ship next week, which probably means I’m not going to actually play it until after I get through FFTA2, but I’m definitely looking forward to this one.

/tk

Here's some bullet points for the back of the box for Imagine: Engineerz...

Play dress up! With over 18 different pairs of sandals that can be matched with 15 different pairs of socks.
Fill spreadsheets! Featuring a 100% accurate simulation of Microsoft Excel. VBA has never been so fun!
Impress your boss by correctly arranging the pens in your top pocket in alphabetical order of their color!
Panic when a surprise new team member turns out to be a woman!
Earn bonus points by submitting patents that your company will own instead of you!

[quote name='Jonman']Here's some bullet points for the back of the box for Imagine: Engineerz...

Play dress up! With over 18 different pairs of sandals that can be matched with 15 different pairs of socks.
Fill spreadsheets! Featuring a 100% accurate simulation of Microsoft Excel. VBA has never been so fun!
Impress your boss by correctly arranging the pens in your top pocket in alphabetical order of their color!
Panic when a surprise new team member turns out to be a woman!
Earn bonus points by submitting patents that your company will own instead of you![/quote]

lol...My wife, who is an engineer, enjoyed this.

Hey Ships (or anyone). Did we ever get any confirmation on the situation with achievements for player 2 in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga? I read somewhere that both players are eligible for all achievements except story achievements (i.e., the ones you get for finishing each film). That doesn't seem like too big a deal, as you can usually get through a level pretty quick if you aren't focused on maxing out studs, finding red/gold blocks, etc.

[quote name='Tybee']lol...My wife, who is an engineer, enjoyed this.

Hey Ships (or anyone). Did we ever get any confirmation on the situation with achievements for player 2 in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga? I read somewhere that both players are eligible for all achievements except story achievements (i.e., the ones you get for finishing each film). That doesn't seem like too big a deal, as you can usually get through a level pretty quick if you aren't focused on maxing out studs, finding red/gold blocks, etc.[/QUOTE]

Uhhhhh, yeah. It doesn't seem like too big a deal until you FINALLY beat the game and finish the story, collect all the characters, and then only Mrs. Ship gets the achievements. So now we'll be playing it all again for Ship!

[quote name='mrs. shipwreck']Uhhhhh, yeah. It doesn't seem like too big a deal until you FINALLY beat the game and finish the story, collect all the characters, and then only Mrs. Ship gets the achievements. So now we'll be playing it all again for Ship![/quote]

the perfect game for marriages

Ship & Mrs. Ship, thanks for answering my question about Operation Darkness. I think that despite the poor early reviews, it would be a game that I would try out once it has a price drop or two.

The demo reminded me slightly of the old X-com games (slow paced turn-based squad level combat), which by the way, someone really needs to do a remake of the xcom games.

I agree with your review that while the demo wasn't amazing, it didn't seem broken, which is the only reason I can see a game getting a 2/10 review score. The game has been out in Japan since last year so I wonder if it was reviewed poorly in Japan and the 2/10 was based on that as opposed to an actual review copy.

One problem with the demo I had was that if you used your bazookas on the soliders at the start of the level, you were screwed when the tanks showed. It was probably a poor choice of levels for the demo considering it took 30-45 min to get to that point of no return in the level and you probably weren't going to replay it from the beginning.

This one might be hard to find in stores though, but I'd definitely pick it up for the 15-20 range if it eventually gets clearanced because what is better than killing Nazis in videogames? Killing Nazi Zombies, Nazi Werewolves and Nazi Vampires!

The only thing that Apocalyse Now has over What's Opera Doc is "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!" WOD is perhaps the best uses of Flight of the Valkeryies.

I recently got Monster Madness at Target for $5 and have yet to try it out, and now the migraine talking is making not even think that $5 is worth it. lol

Now I have to play catchup on Foreplay eps.

I'm a bit late to the party, seeing as the show is a week old now, but I just finished listening to it yesterday after coming back from a nice long vacation without Internet access.

As always, I enjoy listening to the discussion between Shipwreck and Mrs. Shipwreck, and am quite impressed that Mrs. Shipwreck can keep up with Ship's encyclopedia of (sometimes obscure) video games.

Listening to Ship talk about games and pull out all of these facts and details about them reminds me of Matt Pinfield from the mid-late 90s on MTV. This dude knew EVERYTHING about a whole lot of musical artists, and not just the popular ones at the time.

So, kudos to the man who's mind is a literal video game database, and the woman who can keep up with him, while at the same time not losing her mind trying to figure out why her husband remembers some of the oddest video game details. The brain is a weird and wondrous thing!

[quote name='retrovertigo']I'm a bit late to the party, seeing as the show is a week old now, but I just finished listening to it yesterday after coming back from a nice long vacation without Internet access.

As always, I enjoy listening to the discussion between Shipwreck and Mrs. Shipwreck, and am quite impressed that Mrs. Shipwreck can keep up with Ship's encyclopedia of (sometimes obscure) video games.

Listening to Ship talk about games and pull out all of these facts and details about them reminds me of Matt Pinfield from the mid-late 90s on MTV. This dude knew EVERYTHING about a whole lot of musical artists, and not just the popular ones at the time.

So, kudos to the man who's mind is a literal video game database, and the woman who can keep up with him, while at the same time not losing her mind trying to figure out why her husband remembers some of the oddest video game details. The brain is a weird and wondrous thing![/quote]
Yeah, especially Ships lol.

New show will be up tonight/early tomorrow. Sorry about the delay, but work has been busy for both of us and with all the games that came out this week, we didn't want to just throw together a half-ass show.

[quote name='retrovertigo']Listening to Ship talk about games and pull out all of these facts and details about them reminds me of Matt Pinfield from the mid-late 90s on MTV. This dude knew EVERYTHING about a whole lot of musical artists, and not just the popular ones at the time.[/quote]

Yeah, Ship's a regular video game oracle. Try listening to Bob Boilen, host of NPR's All Songs Considered (also a podcast, and one of my favorites). That guy's a frickin' encyclopedia of music, popular and obscure...I've found so many great artists through that show.

Ugh. I really do appreciate the Ships taking the extra time to make sure the show is the best it can be, but it's a logistical nightmare for me when they come out on Fridays. I've already got two other must-listen podcasts (one being the CAGcast) that come out on that day, and since I can only really listen during my commute, something inevitably gets neglected. Oh well. I guess these are good problems to have.

In order to accommodate for Tybee's podcast listening habits, we just decided to roll in the few releases from next week and have a fresh show ready to go for next week's CAG 2.0 launch.

[quote name='shipwreck']In order to accommodate for Tybee's podcast listening habits, we just decided to roll in the few releases from next week and have a fresh show ready to go for next week's CAG 2.0 launch.[/quote]

On a normal game-release week, this might make me sad, because unlike Tybee, I know that there are other days to catch up on podcasts. Luckily I have FFTA2 to distract me, so I'll let it slide this time.

/tk

[quote name='shipwreck']In order to accommodate for Tybee's podcast listening habits, we just decided to roll in the few releases from next week and have a fresh show ready to go for next week's CAG 2.0 launch.[/quote]

DAMN YOU, TYBEE!!!!

[quote name='shipwreck']In order to accommodate for Tybee's podcast listening habits, we just decided to roll in the few releases from next week and have a fresh show ready to go for next week's CAG 2.0 launch.[/quote]

Don't you put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby!

[quote name='shipwreck']In order to accommodate for Tybee's podcast listening habits, we just decided to roll in the few releases from next week and have a fresh show ready to go for next week's CAG 2.0 launch.[/quote]

Oh well . . . hopefully the next show will be nice and long!