In [Nat's] Hands: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

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This time of year is supposed to be the lull before the video game release storm. If so, why are Tony and I getting all these games?

Thank you Amazon Lightning Deals.

Anyone have any impressions? I’ve never played an R&C game.

September Releases

Lately, I’ve been trying to list every game coming out for the major consoles and the PC. I think from now on, going forward, I’m just going to list the games I think would be of interest to the buttonmashing-dot-com audience. I’m guessing the majority of you guys and gals aren’t interested in Pony Palz 3. Let me know if I’m missing my target audience.

Without further ado, the month of releases:

Week of September 2nd
Infinite Undiscovery
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise - I gave the original Viva the College Try but i never really did it for me. The kids sure loved it, though.
Warhammer: Battle March
NFL Head Coach 09
FaceBreaker

Week of September 9th
NHL 09
TNA Impact!
Zoids Assault
NHL 2K9

Week of September 16th
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Rock Band 2 - I probably won’t be getting it. Will you?
Armored Core: For Answer
Pure
Battle Fantasia

Week of September 23rd
LEGO Batman
BAJA: Edge of Control
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts ‘09 - I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again — how does this game continue to sell? Who is BUYING IT?!

Week of September 30th
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Legendary
Guilty Gear 2: Overture
Samurai Warriors 2: Extreme Legends

Week of September 2nd
Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy with Fishing Pole - “DUDE! Did you check out the new Rapala Fishing game on the Wii? It is intense! I landed a twelve pound large-mouth last night. It was intense!
Defendin De Penguin - The assault on our children’s grammar continues.

Week of September 9th
Active Life Outdoor Challenge
The Price is Right
NHL 2K9 - A slapshot with the Wiimote actually sounds like a fun time.
Hell’s Kitchen - Being berated by Gordon Ramsay is a dream of mine. This is my dream fulfilled.
Ten Pin Alley 2 - Here’s another sequel I missed the original on. Bummer.
Cabela’s Legendary Adventures

Week of September 16th
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 with Dance Mat - Hottest Party 2?! Squee!
Zoo Hospital
Offshore Tycoon - Great. We’re ruining our kids grammar and teaching them to be criminals.
Crazy Golf
TNA Impact!
Ocean Commander

Week of September 23rd
LEGO Batman
Wario Land: Shake It!
Samba De Amigo - I never played the original, but I’ve heard great things about it. Why not pick up some Wii Maracas and go whole hog.
SimCity Creator
Lost In Blue Shipwrecked
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition- Don’t we have enough Pitfalls? (That is a rhetorical question)
Yamaha Supercross
Brothers in Arms: Double Time

Week of September 30th
Carnival Games - Mini Golf
We Cheer - Winner for the creepy boxart of the month.
Monster Lab
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune
Brave: A Warrior’s Tale

Week of September 2nd
Defendin De Penguin

Week of September 9th
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
The Price is Right - Will it be hosted by Bob Barker or Drew Carey?
Spore Creatures
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise - Is it just me or is this a poorly titled game?
Hell’s Kitchen
Lock’s Quest - I think this is the first game I’ve listed so far that I’m actually interested in picking up. RPG and tower defense all in one.

Week of September 16th
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - Okay, make that two in a row. Dragon Quest on the DS should be amazing.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Line Rider 2: Unbound
Mazes Of Fate - Winner of the cool boxart of the month.

Week of September 23rd
My Japanese Coach
LEGO Batman
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Disgaea DS - Another Sony mainstay on the DS.
SimCity Creator
Shaun The Sheep - Man, even commercial mascots are getting their own games!

Week of September 30th
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Monster Lab
ZUBO
Di-Gata Defenders

Week of September 2nd
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Flatout: Ultimate Carnage
Spore - It’s coming. Are you ready?

What’s point of listing anything else this week?

Week of September 9th

Week of September 16th
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Crysis Warhead
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
The Witcher Enhanced

Week of September 23rd
LEGO Batman
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Guild Wars Trilogy - I can wholeheartedly recommend Guild Wars, if you haven’t played it before.

Week of September 30th
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel - Sacred is a game I’ve always been intrigued in but have never tried. Any sacred players out there?
Etch a Sketch - I think this is another sign of the apocalypse.

Week of September 2nd
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
FaceBreaker
NFL Head Coach 09

Week of September 9th
NHL 09
TNA Impact!
NHL 2K9

Week of September 16th
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Armored Core: For Answer
Pure

Week of September 23rd
LEGO Batman
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway

Week of September 30th
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Legendary

Week of September 2nd
Brave: A Warrior’s Tale

Week of September 16th
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Yggdra Union
B-Boy

Week of September 23rd
LEGO Batman
Valhalla Knights 2

Not a bad month for games. Nothing blockbuster except for a couple DS titles and Mercenaries 2. Are you planning on picking anything up this month?

In [Nat's] Hands: Too Human Among Others

Let the teasing commence.

Getting this title has raised an interesting dilemma for me regarding professional game reviews. It’s something I intend to address in the next couple of days once I get my thoughts about it in order.

The game? Forget the story and all the online drama. Just play it to play it. You know, like Pac Man. I think if the game just said, “There are a bunch of bad monsters threatening humanity. Kill them.” It would have been fine.

Other than constant drops, the three co-op games I’ve played so far have been fun.

Since getting the PS3, I’ve been itching to play some PS2 games I’ve missed (either playing or missed playing). I picked up Shadow of the Colossus and Rogue Trooper.

Rogue Trooper is one of the most underrated, insanely fun games I’ve ever played. (UPDATE: I found this while googling. Holy crap, on the Wii!)

August Releases

Week of August 5th
Crash Time

Week of August 12th
Madden NFL 09 - I played the original Madden on the PC 20 years ago. I haven’t purchased a copy of Madden since then (although I’ve played most iterations). Is this the year I skip NCAA and pick up Madden?
Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition

Week of August 19th
Too Human - I checked out the Too Human demo. I didn’t hate it. I could see the click (point), kill, loot cycle be tempting. Diablo 2 it ain’t, but it doesn’t have to be. Supply me with enough loot and I’ll keep playing.
Smash Court Tennis 3 - I’ve already got Top Spin 3 (which I’m liking and will be writing about soon) so I won’t be picking up another tennis game this year.

Week of August 26th
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 - I love golf and I love Tiger Woods. I usually pick this one up every other year, but with other games this month, this will be a rental for me.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - Mercenaries 2 is one of the reasons I won’t be getting much else this month. I have been patiently waiting for this one for a long time. I hope the wait was worth it.
Tales of Vesperia - Another JRPG for the 360. I should check one of these out one of these days.

Week of August 5th
Little League World Series Baseball ‘08
Puzzler Collection

Week of August 12th
Madden NFL 09 All-Play

Week of August 19th
Pajama Sam in Don’t Fear the Dark
Ford Racing Off Road
Super Pick Ups

Week of August 26th
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility - I tried Harvest Moon once and I definitely do not want.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play - The Wii was built for this game. I hope they nailed it.
Mario Super Sluggers - Mario themed sports games are usually “can’t miss”. If they expanded on Wii Sports Baseball, this will be another winner.
Margot’s Word Brain
Ferrari Challenge

Week of August 5th
Puzzler Collection
Rock Blast
Little League World Series Baseball ‘08
Quick Yoga Training - I originally read this title as “Quick Yoda Training.” That sounded much more interesting.
GRID

Week of August 12th
Wordmaster
Imagine Teacher
Madden NFL 09
Bangai O Spirits - A game I’ve definitely been looking forward to.
Air Traffic Chaos - At my local second-hand video game store, there are a couple Super NES games called “AeroBiz.” I never had heard of them before, and always wondered what kind of fun an airport simulator would be. I guess a new generation of gamers is about to find out!
Mazes Of Fate - If purchases were based on cover art, this one has me sold already.
N+ - Great XBLA title, I’m definitely interested to see how this translates to the dual screens.

Week of August 19th
The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom - Someone read my mind, I’ve always wanted to be a Cheetah Girl! How did they know?

Week of August 26th
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
Margot’s Word Brain - Who is Margot? And why does she have a striking resemblance to the Super Nanny? And why do I know what the Super Nanny looks like?
My Chinese Coach
MLB Power Pros 2008
Digimon World Championship
From The Abyss
The Sims 2: Apartment Pets
Ferrari Challenge
PictoImage

Week of August 12th
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
Murder in the Abbey
Microids: Dracula III - The Rise of Han Dracula!
Space Siege
Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific Gold Edition
GTR Evolution
Polar Sports, Vol. 1 - Titling something “Vol. 1″ is pretty ambitious, isn’t it? Especially with “Polar Sports.” Not a whole lot of options to draw on there. You can only do so many variations of curling.
Doggie Daycare
Babysitter: My Dream Job - Landslide winner of this month’s “Creepy Box Art” award.

Week of August 19th
Hoyle Card Games 2009
Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2009
Hoyle Casino 2009
Two Worlds: Epic Edition
Shattered Suns

Week of August 26th
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
Women’s Murder Club - Death in Scarlet
Flatout: Ultimate Carnage
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

Week of August 5th
Monster Madness: Grave Danger

Week of August 12th
Madden NFL 09

Week of August 26th
Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Vampire Rain: Altered Species
Ferrari Challenge

Week of August 12th
Madden NFL 09
Fading Shadows
N+

Week of August 26th
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
B-Boy

Are you planning on picking anything up this month?

Metal Gear Solid 4 First Impress…er, Digressions

It has a top-notch presentaiton and the audio and visuals are outstanding. I’m not too deep into the story, but I hear it gets convoluted really fast.

I’ve put about 45 minutes into this game.

I’ve pressed a controller button about ten times.

If this is the future of next generation gaming, count me out. I’m sure that this may change the deeper I get into the game, but for cryin’ out loud, let me play! I don’t know what the (seemingly) recent trend is to put 20-30 minute intros into a game before there is even any real gameplay, but it’s driving me nuts. Here are some recent games I’ve played: Okami, 20 minutes; about every Mario game since the Gamecube, 20 minutes, Eternal Sonata, 15 minutes; Final Fantasy Crisis Core, 10 minutes; and Metal Gear Solid 4, a whopping 40+ minutes.

Yes, some of the fluff can be skipped, but some of it cannot be. I guess that’s why I’m drawn to games such as Space Invaders Extreme and Galaga (a remake coming soon…another trend—but one I like). Give me the pew pews.

In looking back on the games I’ve enjoyed the most in the last year, they have been those that are either short on story or they use the gaming experience to tell the story. Bioshock is an excellent example of a game that uses itself to advance the storyline and Half-Life 2 is another example (somewhat). Assassin’s Creed with it’s forced cutscenes is not.

There were a lot of moments in the opening scenes of Metal Gear Solid 4 that I could have played, but I guess it was not to be. Apparently, this is the style of play that gamers want—at least in this instance for PS3 owners, who are coming close to pushing this title to over 1 million sold in the U.S.

Yes, the game is epic. I’ll give it that. The whole “press one button to play” mentality just reminds me of the people in the movie Wall-E. Of course, this trend might be going the other way if a game like Mega Man 9 (possible old-school difficult) proves to sell well.

Hopefully, we’ll have both. Some can pay $60+ for their glorified movie viewer, and some can pay $10+ for their buttonmashing pew pews.

In [Nat's] Hands: Playstation 3

Through an even weirder turn of events involving a group of tourists from Hong Kong, a camera, and a package of Little Debbie Zebra Cakes I was able to get a Playstation 3 bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4 for absolutely FREE. (Well, not really. It was by using the reward points of my Sony credit card.)

I am excited for the movie playing alone. Games, you need to prove yourself.

Give It Up, Hardcore Gamers

A site I used to frequent more than daily recently posted the June NPD numbers. The number aren’t what I’m really interested in (i.e. Nintendo prints money). However, the comments on that post chafe me just a little.

It seems as if hardcore gamers cannot accept the fact that there has been a paradigm shift in the gaming world. Let me make it simple: the Wii is a success and is here to stay, Sony still has to prove themselves with the PS3 (Yes, they do. If you don’t think so, you are in denial—show me the numbers next month), and Microsoft seems to be missing all the cues to stay afloat with the 360.

It also seems as if all the companies are copying each other: avatars and Miis, achievements and trophies, motion controllers, instruments, etc. You name it, but I only really see one innovation that’s driving all the momentum.  It’s that thing that hardcore gamers call a gimmick.

I truly believe that hardcore gamers are a dying breed. Hardcore AAA games will keep being sold for a premium (and don’t get me started on the “Collector’s” editions that some games just have to have), and the casual waggle games will still fly off the shelves at an incredible rate at a cheaper price.

My big surprise for the June NPD was that the Wii Lego Indy made the top ten list and the 360 version didn’t.

July Releases

It’s that time again. What does the month of July hold?

Week of July 2nd
Gears of War (2-Disc Edition) - If you happen to one of the seven people who don’t own Gears of War, here’s your chance.

Week of July 9th
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution - If you want to fry your 360 from overuse, do it in a Civilized manner.
Unreal Tournament III - Just when July was looking bad, UT3 comes along.
Beijing Olympics 2008 - I never “got” track and field games. Probably never will.
Mobile Ops One Year War for Xbox 360

Week of July 16th
NCAA Football 09 - Ugh. I have faithfully purchased EA’s NCAA since 2003. Every year I say I’m done with them, every year I pick it up anyway. Will it happen again this year?
World In Conflict
Space Chimps

Week of July 30th
Soul Calibur IV - I used to be a HUGE fighting game fan. I played a lot of the original Soul Calibur in the arcade, but haven’t played much since then. Maybe it’s time to go back to the franchise.
Spectral Force 3
Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge

Week of July 2nd
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon - Milking the FF Franchise, one platform at a time.
Purr Pals

Week of July 9th
WonderWorld Amusement Park

Week of July 16th
Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1
NCAA Football 09 - EA abandoned Nintendo with the NCAA line near the end of the console cycle, so it’s nice to see NCAA back in the Nintendo library.
We Love Golf! - Golf games are right in the Wii’s wheelhouse.
Space Chimps
Ford Racing Off Road

Week of July 23th