[preview][img-l=1]2[/img-l]CAG's shipwreck & mrs. shipwreck preview the new releases for the week of July 14th, 2008. Maybe you need something new to play this week for the times you're not watching a press conference or constantly refreshing your browser.
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[podcast]12[/podcast]
Download - 69 minutes, 32MB
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Multi-Platform
[IMG-l=135]827[/IMG-l]Beijing Olympics 2008 (Last Week) Dev. Eurocom Pub. SEGA Systems: PC, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99, $49.99
Going to go out on a limb here and say this might not sell as well as Mario and Sonic’s take on this year’s Olympic games. Just a hunch, but I don't think Amanda Beard and Tyson Gay have the built-in fanbase. After seeing Gay crumple to the track this weekend though, I think the dreaded Olympics game cover athlete curse got him. Anyways, having run track all the way through my college days, I can honestly say that never once did I think that running 800m or 1500m would make for a compelling video game. Yet those two events are here, along with 34 others spanning from Track & Field to Aquatics to Gymnastics to more obscure sports that only see the light of day every four years yet somehow fill us with nationalistic pride should we happen to win them. As you would expect, with so many different disciplines, the game is simplified to rhythmically pressing buttons at appropriate times to correspond to various meters while watching Virtua Athletes do their thing. Having developed Athens 2004, this is Eurocom's second go-round at the Olympics, so they should have a pretty good grasp on ways to make you hit buttons as quickly as possible. And for the first time ever you can compete online against up to eight people to see who pulls up lame with a finger cramp and who brings home the gold... only to be stripped later for a positive dope test. Stay clean, people, stay clean. - ship
Best Deal: Circuit City is offering a free $10 gift card with the purchase of Beijing Olympics 2008.
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free $10 gift card)
Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Family Video $27.64 ($1.99 shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free $10 gift card)
Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]841[/IMG-L]NCAA Football 09 Dev. EA Tiburon Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PS2, PSP, Wii, 360, PS3 MSRP: $39.99-$59.99
It's Pre-Madden time of year again and as always I'm not too sure on what to say about this year's NCAA Football 09. The demo I played on the Xbox 360 looked and played great, but I'll take EA's word on it that they opened up the offense and improved on everything else because I can't remember what last year's version played like. With the new twelve player online Dynasty Mode, though, there should be enough content here to keep you busy well into Bowl Season... or at least until Madden comes out next month. The Wii version forgoes all that online nonsense and instead focuses on getting the whole family involved with "All-Play" controls that provide for a more casual and fast-paced game. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for NCAA Football 09. Unless you want some Coke, Target is giving away some of that with the game. Check the Weekly Ad thread for details.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]845[/IMG-L]Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 Dev. Harmonix Pub. MTV Games Systems: PS2, Wii MSRP: $29.99
For the PS2 and Wii owners who are feeling left out of the 360/PS3 downloading-extravaganza comes the first (of many, no doubt) track pack for Rock Band. Already bored with the songs that came with the game? Then maybe you'll enjoy "Buddy Holly", "Joker & the Thief", or "Synchronicity II". There are 20 songs all-together, so each song averages out to being $1.50, which is cheaper than the $1.99 you'd generally pay for the 360 or PS3 version. The down side is, of course, that you have to buy them all. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]830[/IMG-L]Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (Last Week) Dev. Firaxis Pub. 2K Games Systems: DS, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99, $59.99
Generally, turn-based strategy games and simulations are not my cup of tea. Partly because I just don’t get that much enjoyment out of thinking hard and partly because I suck at them. Fortunately, ol’ Sid Meier has come up with a way to accommodate for those of us that sit on a couch and don’t feel like memorizing tech trees or complicated controls. Sure, the hardcore PC enthusiasts will say this is dumbed-down, but by dammit, that's what a console version of a strategy game needs. We're simple folk, with our four face buttons and short attention spans. Throw in some colorful cartoon historical people who make funny talking noises and we'll give it a shot. In fact, the art style reminds me of Sid's last rather enjoyable console game, "Pirates!", so he might be onto something here. The core game mechanics are similar to the PC versions: establish cities, collect resources, build units, conquer the world.... and now we're all back to being bored... but don't be, the game actually is not overwhelming and before you know it, you are actually understanding the rules and looking forward to progressing your civilization to the next big thing. it's entirely too addicting and you never seem to get the feeling that you are doing something wrong (a problem I have with most strategy games). This could be because there are constantly new goals for you to be achieving along whatever path you are taking (yes, there's a tech tree, but it's very simple and can be pulled up easily). Add in four different ways to win and fourteen different leaders, and you've got a game with a lot of replay value. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there is anyway to play local multiplayer, so if you want to play against other human beings, you'll have to take the fight online. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]846[/IMG-L]Space Chimps Dev. Brash Entertainment Pub. Brash Entertainment Systems: PC, DS, PS2, Wii, 360 MSRP: $19.99-$39.99
Based upon the "out of this world movie adventure of the year" (their words, not mine), this looks to be pretty standard platforming fare. You can either be the boy chimp or the girl chimp and hop, swing, or do that griding/sliding rail thing that all platformers have now as you explore a tropical island themed alien planet. Chimps ahoy! That pun is a little primitive, but I'm running with it. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Space Chimps.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Wii
[IMG-L=135]829[/IMG-L]Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Last Week) Dev. Square Enix Pub. Square Enix Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
This is the only game I reviewed this week that I KNOW I want to purchase, and previewing it makes me want to buy it that much more. I’m already addicted to the Mystery Dungeon format, and I like Final Fantasy better than Pokemon (no offense, little Treeko). There are different jobs for your Chocobo that will alter the weapons you can use and give your character different strengths and weaknesses. The animation style is fantastic but there is some questionable cut-scenes and voice acting, but the gameplay is getting excellent reviews. Overall, there isn’t much else to say about this title other than it’s a quality mystery dungeon title with great characters and it’s probably worth the pricetag. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]848[/IMG-L]We Love Golf! Dev. Camelot Software Planning Pub. Capcom Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
From the makers of the original Hot Shots Golf and many Mario Golf titles comes... wait for it... another arcade golf game. So maybe not the most original title, but Camelot knows its stuff and this looks like it's going to be another enjoyable outing. Forgoing the obvious swing your Wii-mote like a golf club controls, the game instead uses a more traditional triple-click style of swinging with Wii-motions added in. Having not gotten my hands on the game yet, I'm not entirely sure how that works, but the videos look like the game will be a blast and it has been receiving good reviews. Fellow nerds will be pleased that you can play as Ken of Street Fighter fame and Morrigan ofnaughty figurine Darkstalkers fame along with the ability to unlock costumes from other Capcom classics like Zack & Wiki, Apollo Justice, Resident Evil, and Ghosts 'n Goblins. If you're not content with fan service, the game also supports Mii integration and has online play as well. Seems like We Love Golf! might actually live up to that name. - ship
Best Deal: Both Circuit City and EB/GameStop are offering a free Wii-mote carrying bag with the purchase of We Love Golf!
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Circuit City $49.99 (Free Wii-mote Bag)
Purchase At EB Games $49.99 (Free Wii-mote Bag)
[IMG-L=135]833[/IMG-L]Wonder World Amusement Park (Last Week) Dev. Coyote Console Pub. Majesco Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
You know it's a sad week in gaming when the biggest competition between new releases is for best carnival-themed mini-game compilation. Since Carnival Games sold so well on the Wii, Majesco is releasing it's own title for the cotton-candy loving gamer. The mini-games are similar but are divided up into areas within the park, and gamers can take their Miis and explore the 3D park areas in between playing games. The five areas within the part are Carnival, Fairytale, Pirate, Space, and Spooky. There's some underlying humor within the game (like shooting Zombies in the Tunnel of Love) that wasn't found in Carnival Games. The same people that bought Carnival Games should be heading out to buy this title, so I'm expecting it to sell well. Unless, of course, the carnival-themed mini-ame compilation market has been saturated. Scary, right? - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wonder World Amusement Park.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)
DS
[IMG-L=135]828[/IMG-L]Carnival Games (Last Week) Dev. Cat Daddy Games Pub. 2K Games Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Since the Wii version of Carnival Games sold well, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before the title was ported to the DS. Well, that time has come. Now you can use yourWii-mote DS stylus to hammer clowns in the new carnival classic Clown Hammer. Or you can play Alley Ball, Frog Leap, or Dunk Tank, among others. Rumor has it that the games are either frustrating or really easy with no in-between difficulty. The other downside to the DS version is that you loose the fun, local multi-player party atmosphere that you got with the Wii. This title is a mini-game collection that doesn't need to be part of my game collection. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Carnival Games.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]844[/IMG-L]Mister Slime Dev. Lexis Numerique Pub. South Peak Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Not just a clever name, the protagonist is actually a ball of goo on a quest to save his village of other slimeballs from their arch-enemies the Axons. Essentially a 2D platformer with puzzle elements, you must guide Mister Slime through the levels by attaching his arms to pegs much like the "Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber" series of games. Oh, and there's lots of blowing. Blow to make him swim, blow to make him breathe underwater, blow to make him fly. Because as we all know, you can pretty much get out of any sticky situation with enough blowing and vigorous rubbing. Overall, seems like a decent enough budget title, but I wouldn't expect Mister Slime to be signing any Ecto Cooler licensing deals anytime soon. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Mister Slime.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
[IMG-L=135]847[/IMG-L]Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Clue Bender Society Dev. Gorilla Pub. Majesco Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Okay, so after the extreme letdown that came with playing The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park (the first Nancy Drew DS title), I wasn't about to get my hopes up with this second title. The first game was not graphically pleasant, the mini games were ultra repetitive, and the "clues" within the gameplay were easily found via the giant magnifying glass where you were supposed to point with your stylus. Olde World was rated E for everyone, but no one should every buy it. It is with those feelings of dread that I approached this game. What I found was a decent trailer and some added new features that both scare and excite me: snowmobiling, boating, sneaking a-la MGS, and an E10+ rating (you can guess which ones scare me and which ones excite me). The bottom line: this game could suck, or maybe it will be decent. I most certainly won't be fantastically awesome. Let me buy it (because I will anyway), and I'll let you know. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Clue Bender Society.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
[IMG-L=135]842[/IMG-L]Pony Luv (Last Week) Dev. Gogil Pub. Aspyr Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
It's been a while since I've had a really lame and crappy pet sim to preview, so I may be a bit rusty at veiling my sarcasm. In what I can only assume is a sequel to Puppy Luv and a prequel to Kitty Luv, Bunny Luv, and Dolphin Luv, we get the adorable pony-owning simulator for the DS. The gameplay allows the user to name, bathe, feed, and do various tricks on their pony until they grow up, stop being cute, and get sent to the glue factory. All for just $19.99. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Pony Luv.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
[IMG-L=135]857[/IMG-L]Wordmaster Dev. Sarbakan Pub. Destination Software Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Sarbakan has taken the basics of the Mastermind board game and applied them to this DS title. The gameplay focuses on guessing a 6-letter word, then telling you how many of the letters you got right. From there, you try and gradually figure out what random word they've chosen. It brings to mind that Price-Is-Right game in which you had to guess the price of the car and Bob would tell you how many numbers were correct and then you had to change the ones you thought weren't right. Yeah, this game would be cooler with Bob Barker. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wordmaster.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
PlayStation 2
[IMG-L=135]839[/IMG-L]Jeep Thrills Dev. Gamesauce Pub. Destination Software Systems: PS2 MSRP: $12.99
Do I spy a titular pun for a cheap racing game based around Jeep vehicles? Choose from eighteen different and customizable Jeep vehicles and race over 35 tracks. (Wow, that's actually quite a few courses.) There's really not any other info available, but the screenshots show a lot of Jeeps racing along a wide variety of brown textures. There's giant-stone texture, there's dirt with lines in it texture, there's blurry dirt texture, and there's apparently a non-pictured frozen Alaskan tundra texture that I suspect... is not brown. With all these different textures, it might be easy to lose focus on your "one main main objective: conquering the terrain and the elements and owning the planet!" That's right, make that planet your bitch. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Jeep Thrills.
Purchase At Amazon $12.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
[IMG-L=135]853[/IMG-L]PopCap Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Dev. PopCap Games Pub. PopCap Games Systems: PS2 MSRP: $19.99
The two games being rereleased within this title are Zuma and Heavy weapon. Zuma is a puzzle title that revolves around shooting colored balls at a chain of colored balls. Match up 3 colored balls and they all disappear (you know the concept). Heavy Weapon is a side-scrolling shooter with tanks, helicopters, jets, and jeeps. Both solid titles if you don't already own them. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for PopCap Greatest Hits Vol. 2.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
Xbox 360
[IMG-L=135]832[/IMG-L]Unreal Tournament III (Last Week) Dev. Epic Games Pub. Midway Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
The first-person fragfest thattore up the charts we all vaguely remember releasing on the PC and PlayStation 3 months ago makes its unceremonious debut on the Xbox 360 this week. Devoid of the mods that some people insist give this game some form of relevance on the other platforms, the Xbox 360 version does not allow for such flights of user created fancy. What you do get is five extra maps and split-screen support. That second addition may come in handy in two weeks when you find that no one else is playing this online. That’s sad to say, as I enjoyed this series in the past, but without a viable single player mode aside from fighting bots, and a delayed release combined with the enormous competition it faces on the 360, it would be unreal to think this has much staying power. That said, the game has been getting really good reviews, so if you want an extremely fast paced shooter, you can take the chance that it will distract people away from Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 for awhile. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Unreal Tournament III.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping)
Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)
PC
[IMG-L=135]831[/IMG-L]Devil May Cry 4 (Last Week) Dev. Capcom Pub. Capcom Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
(Deja Preview) Okay, so I'm a bit behind in the series and I have no idea why the new protagonist in this game looks nearly identical to Dante, but is named Nero and has a demonic grappling hook arm. (Could someone please get one of these guys some "Just For Men" so I can keep them straight?) Regardless, you're going to be slicing and shooting with just as much pizzazz as the previous games. Check that, you'll have even more pizzazz as it seems they have toned down the difficulty which allows for mere mortals to possibly even play through the game this time around. (Yes, that includes me.) - ship
This is a port of the current 5-month-old console title of the same name. Added to the PC version are the new "Turbo" and "Legendary Dark Knight" modes. Turbo mode is obviously a faster version of the title; Legendary Dark Knight mode, much to my chagrin, is not a version where you play as Batman. Instead, the game will use the extra PC oomph to throw more enemies at you. - Treehouse Gamer
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Devil May Cry 4.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)
[IMG-L=135]855[/IMG-L]Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (Last Week) Dev. Her Interactive Pub. Her Interactive Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
With this being a slow week and with all PC detective games being extremely formulaic, this preview will be written in haiku.
Eighteen Nancy Drews
All of them being the same
Please don't buy this crap. - Treehouse Gamer
You can't blame Treehouse Gamer for dissing the Nancy Drew games for the same reason you shouldn't judge me for thinking most RTS games on the PC are the same. They're just not my style, and clearly TG didn't grow up with Nancy like I did. That being said, yes all the games are similar because they're all point-and-click adventure titles. But like drinking a fine wine, it takes a true connoisseur to notice the subtle, yet important, differences between the titles. I guess his palate just isn't sophisticated enough for Nancy Drew. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)
On The DL with the Shipwrecks
[IMG-L=135]840[/IMG-L]King of the Monsters (Last Week) Systems: Wii Virtual Console (NEOGEO) MSRP: $9
It’s hard not to love giant monsters punching each other in the face while destroying a metropolis. From Rampage to War of the Monsters, I don’t think you can screw this genre up (yes, I even liked Rampage: Total Destruction), and King of the Monsters is a classic example of how much stupid fun can be had when you place a large lizard and an abnormally ample ape into one of our puny, insignificant civilizations. Anybody want to place bets on which game from SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 will be ported to the Virtual Console next week? - ship
[IMG-L=135]851[/IMG-L]Major League Eating: The Game Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10?
Yes, sports fans, twelve of your favorite eaters are in your hands as you can play as the legendary Kobayashi, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, or the number one ranked eater in the world, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut. In addition to stuffing your face, you can unleash attacks on your opponent such as belches, bad breath, or mustard gas... wow, that last one seems a little drastic, but in the no holds barred world of competitive eating, I guess anything goes. The game features both online and local two player multiplayer so both you and a friend can experience the enjoyment of watching caricatures of professional gurgitators yack all over themselves. Of course the power of Wii-motion is what truly brings this game to life... well, lax quality standards on WiiWare probably didn't hurt any either. - ship
[IMG-L=135]843[/IMG-L]SPOGS Racing (Last Week) Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10
Gotta getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha face in the race! Wait, that's head in the game... Too bad, as you'd much rather be watching Troy and Sharpay get their groove on than racing around these big wheels (not the sweet plastic three-wheelers, but an actual singular large tire) with 2D faces in them. And they're not even your face, they are just random cartoon faces which means their catch phrase doesn't even make sense... unless you are perhaps an animated squirrel, but even then, you probably aren't this animated squirrel. So you won't be shocked that the computer A.I. is broken, the graphics are unappealing, and there is really no redeeming quality other than us geeks and otaku won't have to worry about this one wasting valuable storage space. - ship
[IMG-L=135]852[/IMG-L]Coffeetime Crosswords Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
More crosswords. This time they come with achievements and online co-op play. I might just have to give in and play a crossword title now. - mrs. ship
[IMG-L=135]849[/IMG-L]Golf: Tee It Up! (Last Week) Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
Certainly not as full-featured as its contemporary "Hot Shots Golf", "Golf: Tee it Up!" still offers a quick and enjoyable round of golf for a mere $10. There's cartoony customizable characters, two colorful 18 hole courses (one in the Caribbean, the other in Scottland), and really simple, classic triple-click style controls. Up to four-players can hit the links either online or locally and there are plans to add more courses and character clothing through future downloadable content. That extra content may be influential in keeping you interested in the game, because while it is certainly solid, there doesn't seem to be the level of depth that will keep you coming back for additional tee times. Still, for $10, consider it the video game equivalent of going to hit a bucket of balls. - ship
[IMG-L=135]850[/IMG-L]Schizoid (Last Week) Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
The first XNA game to make the big time, Schizoid shows why that development path is viable for both developers and consumers by providing us with a unique, entertaining, and simple game. Built around a co-op experience, each player controls one of two ships (one is orange, the other is blue... this is important, I'm not just name-dropping those colors for no reason so pay attention) in a set-up and graphical style that can most easily be compared to Geometry Wars. Unlike a twin-stick shooter, however, you only use one stick and there is no shooting. Instead, the ships must clear the stages by ramming into like-colored enemies while dodging the opposite colored enemies, so the orange ship runs into the orange enemies and vice versa. Like I said, really simple concept, but the emphasis on teamwork along with dealing with different enemy behaviors makes for a good time. The only downfall about that is that if you are playing by yourself you are left to let the computer control the other ship (which is okay) or control each of the ships on your own (which is quite a task). I'd recommend giving it a go with a friend to see if both of you dig it enough to play through the full game, which is an odd thing to suggest for a game that named itself after a personality disorder where people are anti-social. - ship
[IMG-L=135]856[/IMG-L]Song Summoner (Last Week) Systems: iPod MSRP: $4.99
Square Enix comes out of nowhere with a tactical RPG for the iPod that creates your soldiers based upon your MP3s. Similar to what the Monster Rancher series did with those relic compact disc things, your Tune Troopers are created by selecting songs from your library. The game somehow assigns classes and statistical values for each song, which is a pretty neat concept. For instance, if you made a squad member from this week's CAG Foreplay Podcast file, I'm sure you'd get a super-rare job class with unparalleled attributes that you could then take into battle. The game itself is actually very competent and controls easily enough with the scroll wheel. Here's a pro-tip though: remember what songs you used to create your characters as you actually receive bonus "Groove Points" for listening to those MP3s outside of the game. So, Square, you are able to create a completely new game for the iPod and charge $5 for it, but you can’t quite seem to charge less than $40 for all these PSP and DS rehashes? - ship
Feedback:
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[podcast]12[/podcast]
Download - 69 minutes, 32MB
[digg]http://digg.com/podcasts/CAG_Foreplay[/digg][/preview]You can now subscribe to Foreplay on iTunes by clicking this link: CAG Foreplay on iTunes
You can also contact us with any questions or comments at [email protected] or [email protected].
Multi-Platform
[IMG-l=135]827[/IMG-l]Beijing Olympics 2008 (Last Week) Dev. Eurocom Pub. SEGA Systems: PC, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99, $49.99
Going to go out on a limb here and say this might not sell as well as Mario and Sonic’s take on this year’s Olympic games. Just a hunch, but I don't think Amanda Beard and Tyson Gay have the built-in fanbase. After seeing Gay crumple to the track this weekend though, I think the dreaded Olympics game cover athlete curse got him. Anyways, having run track all the way through my college days, I can honestly say that never once did I think that running 800m or 1500m would make for a compelling video game. Yet those two events are here, along with 34 others spanning from Track & Field to Aquatics to Gymnastics to more obscure sports that only see the light of day every four years yet somehow fill us with nationalistic pride should we happen to win them. As you would expect, with so many different disciplines, the game is simplified to rhythmically pressing buttons at appropriate times to correspond to various meters while watching Virtua Athletes do their thing. Having developed Athens 2004, this is Eurocom's second go-round at the Olympics, so they should have a pretty good grasp on ways to make you hit buttons as quickly as possible. And for the first time ever you can compete online against up to eight people to see who pulls up lame with a finger cramp and who brings home the gold... only to be stripped later for a positive dope test. Stay clean, people, stay clean. - ship
Best Deal: Circuit City is offering a free $10 gift card with the purchase of Beijing Olympics 2008.
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free $10 gift card) Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Family Video $27.64 ($1.99 shipping) Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free $10 gift card) Purchase At Deep Discount $48.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]841[/IMG-L]NCAA Football 09 Dev. EA Tiburon Pub. Electronic Arts Systems: PS2, PSP, Wii, 360, PS3 MSRP: $39.99-$59.99
It's Pre-Madden time of year again and as always I'm not too sure on what to say about this year's NCAA Football 09. The demo I played on the Xbox 360 looked and played great, but I'll take EA's word on it that they opened up the offense and improved on everything else because I can't remember what last year's version played like. With the new twelve player online Dynasty Mode, though, there should be enough content here to keep you busy well into Bowl Season... or at least until Madden comes out next month. The Wii version forgoes all that online nonsense and instead focuses on getting the whole family involved with "All-Play" controls that provide for a more casual and fast-paced game. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for NCAA Football 09. Unless you want some Coke, Target is giving away some of that with the game. Check the Weekly Ad thread for details.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]845[/IMG-L]Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 Dev. Harmonix Pub. MTV Games Systems: PS2, Wii MSRP: $29.99
For the PS2 and Wii owners who are feeling left out of the 360/PS3 downloading-extravaganza comes the first (of many, no doubt) track pack for Rock Band. Already bored with the songs that came with the game? Then maybe you'll enjoy "Buddy Holly", "Joker & the Thief", or "Synchronicity II". There are 20 songs all-together, so each song averages out to being $1.50, which is cheaper than the $1.99 you'd generally pay for the 360 or PS3 version. The down side is, of course, that you have to buy them all. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]830[/IMG-L]Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (Last Week) Dev. Firaxis Pub. 2K Games Systems: DS, 360, PS3 MSRP: $29.99, $59.99
Generally, turn-based strategy games and simulations are not my cup of tea. Partly because I just don’t get that much enjoyment out of thinking hard and partly because I suck at them. Fortunately, ol’ Sid Meier has come up with a way to accommodate for those of us that sit on a couch and don’t feel like memorizing tech trees or complicated controls. Sure, the hardcore PC enthusiasts will say this is dumbed-down, but by dammit, that's what a console version of a strategy game needs. We're simple folk, with our four face buttons and short attention spans. Throw in some colorful cartoon historical people who make funny talking noises and we'll give it a shot. In fact, the art style reminds me of Sid's last rather enjoyable console game, "Pirates!", so he might be onto something here. The core game mechanics are similar to the PC versions: establish cities, collect resources, build units, conquer the world.... and now we're all back to being bored... but don't be, the game actually is not overwhelming and before you know it, you are actually understanding the rules and looking forward to progressing your civilization to the next big thing. it's entirely too addicting and you never seem to get the feeling that you are doing something wrong (a problem I have with most strategy games). This could be because there are constantly new goals for you to be achieving along whatever path you are taking (yes, there's a tech tree, but it's very simple and can be pulled up easily). Add in four different ways to win and fourteen different leaders, and you've got a game with a lot of replay value. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there is anyway to play local multiplayer, so if you want to play against other human beings, you'll have to take the fight online. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]846[/IMG-L]Space Chimps Dev. Brash Entertainment Pub. Brash Entertainment Systems: PC, DS, PS2, Wii, 360 MSRP: $19.99-$39.99
Based upon the "out of this world movie adventure of the year" (their words, not mine), this looks to be pretty standard platforming fare. You can either be the boy chimp or the girl chimp and hop, swing, or do that griding/sliding rail thing that all platformers have now as you explore a tropical island themed alien planet. Chimps ahoy! That pun is a little primitive, but I'm running with it. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Space Chimps.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25) Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)Wii
[IMG-L=135]829[/IMG-L]Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Last Week) Dev. Square Enix Pub. Square Enix Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
This is the only game I reviewed this week that I KNOW I want to purchase, and previewing it makes me want to buy it that much more. I’m already addicted to the Mystery Dungeon format, and I like Final Fantasy better than Pokemon (no offense, little Treeko). There are different jobs for your Chocobo that will alter the weapons you can use and give your character different strengths and weaknesses. The animation style is fantastic but there is some questionable cut-scenes and voice acting, but the gameplay is getting excellent reviews. Overall, there isn’t much else to say about this title other than it’s a quality mystery dungeon title with great characters and it’s probably worth the pricetag. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]848[/IMG-L]We Love Golf! Dev. Camelot Software Planning Pub. Capcom Systems: Wii MSRP: $49.99
From the makers of the original Hot Shots Golf and many Mario Golf titles comes... wait for it... another arcade golf game. So maybe not the most original title, but Camelot knows its stuff and this looks like it's going to be another enjoyable outing. Forgoing the obvious swing your Wii-mote like a golf club controls, the game instead uses a more traditional triple-click style of swinging with Wii-motions added in. Having not gotten my hands on the game yet, I'm not entirely sure how that works, but the videos look like the game will be a blast and it has been receiving good reviews. Fellow nerds will be pleased that you can play as Ken of Street Fighter fame and Morrigan of
Best Deal: Both Circuit City and EB/GameStop are offering a free Wii-mote carrying bag with the purchase of We Love Golf!
Purchase At Amazon $49.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Circuit City $49.99 (Free Wii-mote Bag) Purchase At EB Games $49.99 (Free Wii-mote Bag)[IMG-L=135]833[/IMG-L]Wonder World Amusement Park (Last Week) Dev. Coyote Console Pub. Majesco Systems: Wii MSRP: $39.99
You know it's a sad week in gaming when the biggest competition between new releases is for best carnival-themed mini-game compilation. Since Carnival Games sold so well on the Wii, Majesco is releasing it's own title for the cotton-candy loving gamer. The mini-games are similar but are divided up into areas within the park, and gamers can take their Miis and explore the 3D park areas in between playing games. The five areas within the part are Carnival, Fairytale, Pirate, Space, and Spooky. There's some underlying humor within the game (like shooting Zombies in the Tunnel of Love) that wasn't found in Carnival Games. The same people that bought Carnival Games should be heading out to buy this title, so I'm expecting it to sell well. Unless, of course, the carnival-themed mini-ame compilation market has been saturated. Scary, right? - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wonder World Amusement Park.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $38.99 (Free shipping)DS
[IMG-L=135]828[/IMG-L]Carnival Games (Last Week) Dev. Cat Daddy Games Pub. 2K Games Systems: DS MSRP: $29.99
Since the Wii version of Carnival Games sold well, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before the title was ported to the DS. Well, that time has come. Now you can use your
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Carnival Games.
Purchase At Amazon $29.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $28.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]844[/IMG-L]Mister Slime Dev. Lexis Numerique Pub. South Peak Interactive Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Not just a clever name, the protagonist is actually a ball of goo on a quest to save his village of other slimeballs from their arch-enemies the Axons. Essentially a 2D platformer with puzzle elements, you must guide Mister Slime through the levels by attaching his arms to pegs much like the "Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber" series of games. Oh, and there's lots of blowing. Blow to make him swim, blow to make him breathe underwater, blow to make him fly. Because as we all know, you can pretty much get out of any sticky situation with enough blowing and vigorous rubbing. Overall, seems like a decent enough budget title, but I wouldn't expect Mister Slime to be signing any Ecto Cooler licensing deals anytime soon. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Mister Slime.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)[IMG-L=135]847[/IMG-L]Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Clue Bender Society Dev. Gorilla Pub. Majesco Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Okay, so after the extreme letdown that came with playing The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park (the first Nancy Drew DS title), I wasn't about to get my hopes up with this second title. The first game was not graphically pleasant, the mini games were ultra repetitive, and the "clues" within the gameplay were easily found via the giant magnifying glass where you were supposed to point with your stylus. Olde World was rated E for everyone, but no one should every buy it. It is with those feelings of dread that I approached this game. What I found was a decent trailer and some added new features that both scare and excite me: snowmobiling, boating, sneaking a-la MGS, and an E10+ rating (you can guess which ones scare me and which ones excite me). The bottom line: this game could suck, or maybe it will be decent. I most certainly won't be fantastically awesome. Let me buy it (because I will anyway), and I'll let you know. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Clue Bender Society.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)[IMG-L=135]842[/IMG-L]Pony Luv (Last Week) Dev. Gogil Pub. Aspyr Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
It's been a while since I've had a really lame and crappy pet sim to preview, so I may be a bit rusty at veiling my sarcasm. In what I can only assume is a sequel to Puppy Luv and a prequel to Kitty Luv, Bunny Luv, and Dolphin Luv, we get the adorable pony-owning simulator for the DS. The gameplay allows the user to name, bathe, feed, and do various tricks on their pony until they grow up, stop being cute, and get sent to the glue factory. All for just $19.99. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Pony Luv.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)[IMG-L=135]857[/IMG-L]Wordmaster Dev. Sarbakan Pub. Destination Software Systems: DS MSRP: $19.99
Sarbakan has taken the basics of the Mastermind board game and applied them to this DS title. The gameplay focuses on guessing a 6-letter word, then telling you how many of the letters you got right. From there, you try and gradually figure out what random word they've chosen. It brings to mind that Price-Is-Right game in which you had to guess the price of the car and Bob would tell you how many numbers were correct and then you had to change the ones you thought weren't right. Yeah, this game would be cooler with Bob Barker. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Wordmaster.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)PlayStation 2
[IMG-L=135]839[/IMG-L]Jeep Thrills Dev. Gamesauce Pub. Destination Software Systems: PS2 MSRP: $12.99
Do I spy a titular pun for a cheap racing game based around Jeep vehicles? Choose from eighteen different and customizable Jeep vehicles and race over 35 tracks. (Wow, that's actually quite a few courses.) There's really not any other info available, but the screenshots show a lot of Jeeps racing along a wide variety of brown textures. There's giant-stone texture, there's dirt with lines in it texture, there's blurry dirt texture, and there's apparently a non-pictured frozen Alaskan tundra texture that I suspect... is not brown. With all these different textures, it might be easy to lose focus on your "one main main objective: conquering the terrain and the elements and owning the planet!" That's right, make that planet your bitch. - ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Jeep Thrills.
Purchase At Amazon $12.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)[IMG-L=135]853[/IMG-L]PopCap Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Dev. PopCap Games Pub. PopCap Games Systems: PS2 MSRP: $19.99
The two games being rereleased within this title are Zuma and Heavy weapon. Zuma is a puzzle title that revolves around shooting colored balls at a chain of colored balls. Match up 3 colored balls and they all disappear (you know the concept). Heavy Weapon is a side-scrolling shooter with tanks, helicopters, jets, and jeeps. Both solid titles if you don't already own them. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for PopCap Greatest Hits Vol. 2.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)Xbox 360
[IMG-L=135]832[/IMG-L]Unreal Tournament III (Last Week) Dev. Epic Games Pub. Midway Systems: 360 MSRP: $59.99
The first-person fragfest that
Best Deal: There don't seem to be any specific deals for Unreal Tournament III.
Purchase At Amazon $59.99 (Free shipping) Purchase At Deep Discount $58.99 (Free shipping) PC
[IMG-L=135]831[/IMG-L]Devil May Cry 4 (Last Week) Dev. Capcom Pub. Capcom Systems: PC MSRP: $39.99
(Deja Preview) Okay, so I'm a bit behind in the series and I have no idea why the new protagonist in this game looks nearly identical to Dante, but is named Nero and has a demonic grappling hook arm. (Could someone please get one of these guys some "Just For Men" so I can keep them straight?) Regardless, you're going to be slicing and shooting with just as much pizzazz as the previous games. Check that, you'll have even more pizzazz as it seems they have toned down the difficulty which allows for mere mortals to possibly even play through the game this time around. (Yes, that includes me.) - ship
This is a port of the current 5-month-old console title of the same name. Added to the PC version are the new "Turbo" and "Legendary Dark Knight" modes. Turbo mode is obviously a faster version of the title; Legendary Dark Knight mode, much to my chagrin, is not a version where you play as Batman. Instead, the game will use the extra PC oomph to throw more enemies at you. - Treehouse Gamer
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Devil May Cry 4.
Purchase At Amazon $39.99 (Free shipping)[IMG-L=135]855[/IMG-L]Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (Last Week) Dev. Her Interactive Pub. Her Interactive Systems: PC MSRP: $19.99
With this being a slow week and with all PC detective games being extremely formulaic, this preview will be written in haiku.
Eighteen Nancy Drews
All of them being the same
Please don't buy this crap. - Treehouse Gamer
You can't blame Treehouse Gamer for dissing the Nancy Drew games for the same reason you shouldn't judge me for thinking most RTS games on the PC are the same. They're just not my style, and clearly TG didn't grow up with Nancy like I did. That being said, yes all the games are similar because they're all point-and-click adventure titles. But like drinking a fine wine, it takes a true connoisseur to notice the subtle, yet important, differences between the titles. I guess his palate just isn't sophisticated enough for Nancy Drew. - mrs. ship
Best Deal: There don’t seem to be any specific deals for Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice.
Purchase At Amazon $19.99 (Free shipping on orders over $25)On The DL with the Shipwrecks
[IMG-L=135]840[/IMG-L]King of the Monsters (Last Week) Systems: Wii Virtual Console (NEOGEO) MSRP: $9
It’s hard not to love giant monsters punching each other in the face while destroying a metropolis. From Rampage to War of the Monsters, I don’t think you can screw this genre up (yes, I even liked Rampage: Total Destruction), and King of the Monsters is a classic example of how much stupid fun can be had when you place a large lizard and an abnormally ample ape into one of our puny, insignificant civilizations. Anybody want to place bets on which game from SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 will be ported to the Virtual Console next week? - ship
[IMG-L=135]851[/IMG-L]Major League Eating: The Game Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10?
Yes, sports fans, twelve of your favorite eaters are in your hands as you can play as the legendary Kobayashi, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, or the number one ranked eater in the world, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut. In addition to stuffing your face, you can unleash attacks on your opponent such as belches, bad breath, or mustard gas... wow, that last one seems a little drastic, but in the no holds barred world of competitive eating, I guess anything goes. The game features both online and local two player multiplayer so both you and a friend can experience the enjoyment of watching caricatures of professional gurgitators yack all over themselves. Of course the power of Wii-motion is what truly brings this game to life... well, lax quality standards on WiiWare probably didn't hurt any either. - ship
[IMG-L=135]843[/IMG-L]SPOGS Racing (Last Week) Systems: WiiWare MSRP: $10
Gotta getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha face in the race! Wait, that's head in the game... Too bad, as you'd much rather be watching Troy and Sharpay get their groove on than racing around these big wheels (not the sweet plastic three-wheelers, but an actual singular large tire) with 2D faces in them. And they're not even your face, they are just random cartoon faces which means their catch phrase doesn't even make sense... unless you are perhaps an animated squirrel, but even then, you probably aren't this animated squirrel. So you won't be shocked that the computer A.I. is broken, the graphics are unappealing, and there is really no redeeming quality other than us geeks and otaku won't have to worry about this one wasting valuable storage space. - ship
[IMG-L=135]852[/IMG-L]Coffeetime Crosswords Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
More crosswords. This time they come with achievements and online co-op play. I might just have to give in and play a crossword title now. - mrs. ship
[IMG-L=135]849[/IMG-L]Golf: Tee It Up! (Last Week) Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
Certainly not as full-featured as its contemporary "Hot Shots Golf", "Golf: Tee it Up!" still offers a quick and enjoyable round of golf for a mere $10. There's cartoony customizable characters, two colorful 18 hole courses (one in the Caribbean, the other in Scottland), and really simple, classic triple-click style controls. Up to four-players can hit the links either online or locally and there are plans to add more courses and character clothing through future downloadable content. That extra content may be influential in keeping you interested in the game, because while it is certainly solid, there doesn't seem to be the level of depth that will keep you coming back for additional tee times. Still, for $10, consider it the video game equivalent of going to hit a bucket of balls. - ship
[IMG-L=135]850[/IMG-L]Schizoid (Last Week) Systems: XBLA MSRP: $10
The first XNA game to make the big time, Schizoid shows why that development path is viable for both developers and consumers by providing us with a unique, entertaining, and simple game. Built around a co-op experience, each player controls one of two ships (one is orange, the other is blue... this is important, I'm not just name-dropping those colors for no reason so pay attention) in a set-up and graphical style that can most easily be compared to Geometry Wars. Unlike a twin-stick shooter, however, you only use one stick and there is no shooting. Instead, the ships must clear the stages by ramming into like-colored enemies while dodging the opposite colored enemies, so the orange ship runs into the orange enemies and vice versa. Like I said, really simple concept, but the emphasis on teamwork along with dealing with different enemy behaviors makes for a good time. The only downfall about that is that if you are playing by yourself you are left to let the computer control the other ship (which is okay) or control each of the ships on your own (which is quite a task). I'd recommend giving it a go with a friend to see if both of you dig it enough to play through the full game, which is an odd thing to suggest for a game that named itself after a personality disorder where people are anti-social. - ship
[IMG-L=135]856[/IMG-L]Song Summoner (Last Week) Systems: iPod MSRP: $4.99
Square Enix comes out of nowhere with a tactical RPG for the iPod that creates your soldiers based upon your MP3s. Similar to what the Monster Rancher series did with those relic compact disc things, your Tune Troopers are created by selecting songs from your library. The game somehow assigns classes and statistical values for each song, which is a pretty neat concept. For instance, if you made a squad member from this week's CAG Foreplay Podcast file, I'm sure you'd get a super-rare job class with unparalleled attributes that you could then take into battle. The game itself is actually very competent and controls easily enough with the scroll wheel. Here's a pro-tip though: remember what songs you used to create your characters as you actually receive bonus "Groove Points" for listening to those MP3s outside of the game. So, Square, you are able to create a completely new game for the iPod and charge $5 for it, but you can’t quite seem to charge less than $40 for all these PSP and DS rehashes? - 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.
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