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October Releases

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We are at the cusp of Gaming Nirvana, with the next few months being stuffed to the gills with Gaming Goodness. We get a nice warm up in October, with Brutal Legend, Borderlands and Forza 3. It’s going to be an exciting month of gaming. Here’s a look at this month’s more popular releases.

Xbox 360 banner

Week of September 28th
Tornado Outbreak
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 – It’s the week of Mother Nature’s WRATH!

Week of October 5th
SAW– I’m at a loss for words. I vaguely remember hearing about this game before today, but it just hit me how terrible a SAW game could be. Also how awesome it could be.
NBA 2K10
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
NBA Live 10

Week of October 12th
Brütal Legend– Yes, people are getting very excited about this one, as are we. We should have a review for this one up shortly after it comes out.
Fallout 3: Game of The Year Edition
Magna Carta 2– I haven’t heard anything about this one. Brock, can you fill me in?
Way of the Samurai 3
Dreamkiller– Another one I know nothing about. Where are these games coming from?

Week of October 19th
Borderlands– EDITOR’S CHOICE. If I pick up anything on day one, it will be Borderlands. I am very excited about this game.
FIFA Soccer 10
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010
Tropico 3

Week of October 26th
Forza Motorsport 3– Okay, so maybe there will be two day-one purchases.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City– After Lost and Damned, I’m a little GTA’ed out. Not sure if I’m picking up the newest episode. But this disc is interesting — you don’t need the full GTA IV game to play the expansions.
DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable
Tekken 6
Alpha Protocol– I thought I had heard somewhere that Alpha Protocol was delayed, but Amazon is showing that it’s shipping this month.

Wii banner

Week of September 28th
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010– That is a sweet looking shotgun attachment.
Dead Space Extraction– This is getting some good buzz. I still need to play Dead Space!
MySims Agents
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga

Week of October 5th
Wii Fit Plus
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
Spore Hero

Week of October 12th
Wii Sports Resort– This is being released with two Wii Motion Plus adapters. This is how it should have originally shipped.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
A Boy and His Blob
JU-ON: The Grudge– This is called a Haunted House Simulator. You can’t go wrong with that!

Week of October 19th
FIFA Soccer 10
NBA 2K10
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010
Rock Blast
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2

Week of October 26th
Press Your Luck 2010 Edition– No Whammies! (I wonder if this will still work)
DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable
Hasbro Family Game Night 2– Save your money and play the real thing!

Nintendo DS banner

Week of September 28th
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
MySims Agents

Week of October 5th
A Witch’s Tale
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes

Week of October 12th
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Hero’s Saga: Laevatein Tactics

Week of October 19th
FIFA Soccer 10
Super Hero Squad
Space Invaders Extreme 2– Oooh, tempting

Week of October 26th
Nostalgia
Fighting Fantasy

PC banner

Week of September 28th
Risen
Fallen Earth

Week of October 5th
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes

Week of October 12th
NBA 2K10
Fallout 3: Game of The Year Edition
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Fate: The Traitor Soul
Worldshift
The Clockwork Man JC

Week of October 19th
Borderlands
Tropico 3
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Week of October 26th
Alpha Protocol
Everquest II: The Complete Collection

PS3 banner
Week of September 28th
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Week of October 5th
Demon’s Souls w/ Artbook & Soundtrack CD
NBA 2K10
NBA Live 10
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
SAW
Afrika– Who brought the rain?

Week of October 12th
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves– This is going to be a crazy good week for PS3 owners.
Fallout 3: Game of The Year Edition
Brütal Legend

Week of October 19th
Borderlands
FIFA Soccer 10
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010

Week of October 26th
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time
Tekken 6
DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable
Alpha Protocol

PSP banner

Week of September 28th
Gran Turismo
Undead Knights
Beaterator– My pick for Box-art of the Month.
Obscure 2

Week of October 5th
NBA 10
Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
NBA 2K10
NBA Live 10

Week of October 12th
Half-Minute Hero– Nat mentioned this game earlier.

Week of October 19th
Super Hero Squad
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
FIFA Soccer 10

Week of October 26th
LittleBigPlanet

What are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

Wheel Chair Tank

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Nat and I are planning on a huge Dead Rising 2 mega-post, including screen shots, videos and previews. But this video was too good to wait. I give you the Wheel Chair Tank:

This game is going to kick so much butt.

What I’m Consuming

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I never meant for almost a year to pass since my last “What I’m Consuming post. I know the conversation around here is mostly video games, but I enjoy the occasional discussion of other forms of entertainment, and I feel bad that it’s taken me so long to get back to these posts. I enjoy the discussion and hearing what you guys are watching/reading/listening to. This one could get long. I won’t let that happen again.

First, this summer was supposed to be lousy with exciting blockbusters. It turned out to be a giant turd of a summer for me, movie-wise. With the exception of Star Trek and District 9, I think I caught them all. I’ve seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers 2, Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince, and G.I. Joe in the theater. To put in perspective how bad this summer was, G.I. Joe was my favorite movie of the lot. That says a lot, both for G.I. Joe and the rest of the movies. Wolverine didn’t impress, Terminator: Salvation was okay but nothing special, Harry Potter made no sense to me (it was my first HP movie, having still never read the books) and Transformers 2 was an unholy abomination that most likely ushered in the beginning of the apocalypse. It was so terrible I don’t have the vocabulary to sufficiently eviscerate its awfulness. On a positive note, I also got to see Up and “9” and loved them both. But it was kinda dusty in the theater where we saw Up. My eyes kept watering.

Through a combination of DVDs, cable, Netflix on the 360 and the ShowBox app, I also finally was able to enjoy some movies I’ve missed in the past, filling some gaps in my movie reperotire. These included Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy (had some hilarious moments), Matrix Revolutions (confusing, frustrating and ultimately buzz killing), Young Frankenstein (haven’t laughed this hard in a while), and No Country for Old Men (A must see, friend-oh).

Also, through the power of Netflix, I’ve been on a documentary binge. I mentioned Confessions of a Superhero earlier, but the wife and I have also watched Bigger, Stronger, Faster (a sad commentary on the state of sports) , The King of Kong (which Nat mentioned earlier and I think is one of the best documentaries ever) and Man on Wire (not as good as King of Kong, but still interesting. I got dizzy and sick to my stomach watching him lie down on the wire between the twin towers).

I’ve also continued down my educational path of the Sci-Fi classics, this time finishing up Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (still holds up exceptionally well, but I could help but hear Ford’s Deckard in my mind as I read it), Snow Crash (with the exception of one section, I really enjoyed this one), and Ringworld (whether this was an inspiration to Halo or not, it was still an exceptional read). I also gave Codex a read (nothing special, but has a gamer slant which was enjoyable) and I got my first taste of Pratchett with The Color of Magic (I am deifnitely looking forward to the next one). Now I’m in the thick of Dune, a book I wish I would have read years ago. And when my eyes are too tired to read I play a little game with my new animal jam codes!

Music-wise, I haven’t been listening to a whole lot of new stuff. I’m still digging on No More Kings and I’ve been dabbling in the nerd-core, mostly listening to MC Frontalot. (Here’s “Final Boss” by Frontalot, a favorite of mine. I think it gets played at the end of Penny Arcade’s first game on XBLA)

Phew, that’s a lot. What have you been consuming?

Weekend Gaming

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I missed the Weekend Gaming post for last week, which is unfortunate since hopefully most people had a nice long 3-day weekend. So what’s on tap for gaming for everyone this weekend?

After I finished Fallout 3 a few weeks ago, I decided to hit the backlog of games I’ve had piling up for some time now. I’ve been touring the 2007 greatest hits, finally finishing Bioshock and then starting Mass Effect over from the beginning.

It turns out that I stopped playing Bioshock about 30 minutes from the end, so that one was easily to cross of the list. What was surprising to me was how easily I remembered the controls. The ending didn’t make as much sense as I hoped it would, as I was two years removed from the story. I still enjoyed that game thoroughly. I started Mass Effect over from the beginning because I forgot everything about that game. I’m about ten hours in and really enjoying it. I just wish there weren’t so many friggin elevators.

So I’ll be spending my time on Mass Effect this weekend, with a little Fight Night Round 4 sprinkled in. Oh, and there’s a little football game tomorrow evening. If you’re a college football fan, you probably heard mention of it.

What about you?

Wii need help

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So it would appear that our Wii has succumbed to the physical abuse my two year-old subjects it to on a daily basis. The Wii boots up to the home screen, but whenever I put a disc in, it draws the disc in, spins it for a split second, spits it partially out, draws it back in a second time and then spits the disc out completely.

According to the Nintendo trouble-shooting guide, my Wii needs to be repaired.

I’d rather not spend the seventy-five bucks on a repair, so I have a quick question to my fellow buttonmashers: Has this happened to your Wii? If so, were you able to fix it on your own?

September Releases

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It’s that time again, the long list of monthly releases. As Jason mentioned earlier, we’re heading into a plethora of gaming, coming in at all angles.

Xbox 360 banner

Week of September 1st
Gears of War 2 – Game of the Year Edition
Section 8

Week of September 8th
The Beatles: Rock Band– I’m not going to judge.
Dirt 2
Mini Ninjas
Darkest Of Days– One of those titles completely under the radar.
Capcom Platinum Hits Triple Pack
Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures 2010

Week of September 15th
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2– I can’t speak for them personally, but I think a few bloggers around these parts are a little more than excited about this one.
NHL 10
Wet
Need for Speed: Shift– I’m a Forza guy, but I’m still interested to see how this game turns out.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
NHL 2K10

Week of September 22nd
Halo 3: ODST– Possible day one purchase.
Heroes Over Europe– Why release the week of Halo?

Week of September 29th
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Risen
Heist

Wii banner

Week of September 1st
Guitar Hero 5 with Van Halen Offer
Monster Mayhem: Build and Battle

Week of September 8th
Monster Truck Mayhem
The Beatles: Rock Band
Dirt 2
Mini Ninjas

Week of September 15th
Toy Story Mania!
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
NHL 2K10
Pacific Liberator

Week of September 22nd
Scooby Doo! First Frights
Where’s Waldo?
The Price is Right 2010 Edition
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up
Sudoku Ball – Detective
Wacky World of Sports
Spyborgs

Week of September 29th
Family Fun Football
Family Feud 2010 Edition
Deca Sports 2
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010
MySims Agents
Shimano Xtreme Fishing
Doctor Fizzwhizzle’s Animal Rescue

Nintendo DS banner

Week of September 1st
Monster Mayhem: Build and Battle
The Hardy Boys Treasure on the Tracks

Week of September 8th
Dirt 2
Imagine: Detective
Ant Nation
Mini Ninjas

Week of September 15th
Scribblenauts– Day one purchase for me.
Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story– Maybe this one, too? This week is looking good.
Women’s Murder Club Games of Passion– Don’t laugh, I’ve heard these games are actually pretty good.
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom
NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2– Is this the best week for the DS ever?
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

Week of September 22nd
The Price is Right 2010 Edition
Where’s Waldo?
Sudoku Ball – Detective

Week of September 29th
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Cake Mania 3
Secret Files: Tunguska
Hero’s Saga: Laevatein Tactics
Battle of Giants: Dragons
MySims Agents
Dragonology

PC banner

Week of September 1st
Section 8
Champions Online

Week of September 8th
Mini Ninjas
Trine
Darkest Of Days

Week of September 15th
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
Need for Speed: Shift
Resident Evil 5
Red Faction Guerrilla
Race On
Fallen Earth
The Orb & the Oracle

Week of September 22nd
Aion
Order of War

Week of September 29th
Heist
Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy
Jumpgate Evolution

PS3 banner

Week of September 8th
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
The Beatles: Rock Band
Dirt 2
Mini Ninjas
Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures 2010
Little Big Planet: Game of the Year Edition

Week of September 15th
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Wet
NHL 10
Need for Speed: Shift
NHL 2K10

Week of September 22nd
Afrika
Katamari Forever
Heroes Over Europe

Week of September 29th
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010
Heist

PSP banner

Week of September 1st
SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny

Week of September 8th
Dirt 2
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days

Week of September 15th
Need for Speed: Shift
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Week of September 22nd
Obscure 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Mytran Wars

Week of September 29th
Beaterator
Gran Turismo
Undead Knights

Not a lot of snark this month, too much to do. So feel free to make fun of whatever games you want. Or you can tell us: what are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

In the mail

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The folks at Pandemic Studios were nice enough to send me this sharp looking 1941 Replica Zippo lighter in the mail yesterday. Why would would they be sending me this? To invite me to be a member of the Resistance, of course. With the special Zippo, I can prove I’ve been contacted. I can also get a little preview of their game, The Saboteur at PAX. Since I won’t be a PAX, I’ll take solace in my secret membership in the Resistance.

Will you be joining the Resistance as well?

Saboteur Zippo