This Week in Games: May 31 – June 6
Well, now … I’m mad at the industry for messing up the release schedule by releasing one of my most anticipated games of the year a week early. So while it shows up on this week’s list, Red Faction: Guerrilla for XBOX360 and PS3 is already out, with the PC version delayed to late August. The other huge release is sequel to the mega-franchise The Sims 3 for the PC … and in an amazing move, simultaneously released for the Mac! The other big release is the innovative Knights in the Nightmare for the DS. Oh … and another Naruto game – BELIEVE I! Check out the list!
- Red Faction: Guerrilla
- Fuel
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Red Faction: Guerrilla
- Fuel
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
- No New Releases
- No New Releases
- Knights in the Nightmare
- Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4
- Fashion Week: Junior Stylist
- Again: Eye of Providence
- Petz Fashion: Dogz & Catz
- The Sims 3
- Storm of War: Battle of Britain
As for last week … while the cover game Infamous is getting very good reviews, it is not quite living up to the hype … but make no mistake, it is a really good game. The other big multiplatform release last week, Damnation is abysmal. And as mentioned, Red Faction Guerilla is already out and getting amazing reviews. The late-released Jagged Alliance is a wonderful recreation of the classic game.
What I’m Currently Playing:
- Mac: Braid – anyone with an XBOX360 should already know how wonderful this one is. The PC version came out a bit ago and the Mac version just released last week.
- Mac: Neverwinter Nights – plowing ahead in Chapter One … this game means a lot to me in terms of getting back into RPG’s, and I’m savoring it quite a bit!
- PSP: Resident Evil Director’s Cut – replaying the classic PSOne game.
- PSP: Rock Band Unplugged (Demo) – I thought this was out this week but is now showing up as coming out the 9th. The demo is fun, but not quite up to the full game. Have heard it called ‘Amplitude PSP’ … seems about right.
- DS: PictoBits – just grabbed this thanks to Cary’s blog … enjoyable game as he mentioned, will tide me over until Knights in the Nightmare
Enjoy gaming!
May 31st, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Wait, FF4: The After is coming to WiiWare this week? Where did you read that? That’ll be an instant download for me. I love FF4! –Cary
May 31st, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Hmmm … that was how it showed up, but looking around more I can’t find that confirmed *anywhere* .. so I wouldn’t hold your breath!
May 31st, 2009 at 7:33 pm
This looks pretty official:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wbClwJfshw
May 31st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Here is another:
http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/news/2009/05/final_fantasy_iv_the_after_years_coming_to_wiiware_june_1st
June 1st, 2009 at 10:41 am
Sims 3 not only is released for PC and Mac at the same time – but in the same package. That’s extremely useful for a Mac and PC household like mine.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:08 am
Very True, GamerDad! I have to admit that I have never played a Sims game … but am seriously thinking about jumping on here.
June 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hmmm… I am looking forward to getting Red Faction: Guerilla tomorrow on June 2nd when it comes out. Though i wish you GamerDad or Mike Anderson would give a review of some sort or what not about it. To Mike Anderson: Since you said you wanted to try sims 3 i would agree with that. I have played the others or a few of them and they were pretty good.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I wish I could preview on Red Faction … but since I’m PC only I’m out of luck until late August. I have actually been fiddling a bit with the original on the Mac lately, still a cool game!
June 1st, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I am teh biased about Red Faction. See, I previewed the original at Volition Studios over in Champaign about 9 years ago. I did a Computer Games Magazine cover story on it and the game did not live up to what they showed me. I remember you could blow holes in walls and aside from that, it was mediocre. I’m surprised the IP got resurrected. Was Volition sold recently?
GamerAddict – I’d say go to GameRankings for reviews. We ain’t that quick and I mainly care about the kid factor.
Mike – The Sims are best thought of as a petri dish or a dollhouse. You can control them, teach them and guide them. You can torture and even kill them. You can have kids and lose them to child protective services. You can run it on autopilot and just watch.
Ultimately the game is a brilliant social experiment but boils down to a time management sim. Like real life the game is about balancing needs and wants. Don’t use the bathroom? Enjoy the puddle and watch your sim’s happiness plumet. Run out of money, well that TV will only entertaim for so long.
The best thing I can say is that’s one of the most important games ever and unlike most games of its kind, seeing the man behind the curtain (meaning, seeing how it works and being able to predict outcomes) is harder here.
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:47 am
@ GamerDad – completely agree on Red Faction! I said ‘cool’, not ‘great’ 😉 I remember enjoying it when it came out, but as an overall game it wasn’t particularly great. It was just a cool fun game. Red Faction 2, on the other hand, was really lousy – it felt like they had a game, but it was only ~2.5 hours long … so they contrived an add-on plot that would carry them another couple of hours …