{"id":5125,"date":"2010-10-03T18:39:58","date_gmt":"2010-10-04T00:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamingwithchildren.com\/?p=5125"},"modified":"2010-10-03T18:39:58","modified_gmt":"2010-10-04T00:39:58","slug":"calm-before-the-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/03\/calm-before-the-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Calm Before the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sorry folks, this is just a filler blog because I can\u2019t think of anything interesting to write a blog about. So this is the typical \u201cWhat games am I looking forward to this fall\u201d blog. A massive amount of games gets released this season for the holidays. But aside from Kingdom Hearts on the PSP, there really wasn\u2019t anything else I was looking forward to in September. So I like to call it the \u2018Calm Before the Storm\u2019 because now that October is here, all the cool games come out soon! I imagine in September, most people were looking forward to Halo: Reach. But not me! I\u2019m rather sick of that game myself. I couldn\u2019t care less about Halo games, and brother Jeff plays Reach all the time. But anyway, enough of that. Here are some games I\u2019m looking forward to playing in the next couple of months!<\/p>\n

One game that comes out early in October that I\u2019m kind of on the fence about is Wii Party. On the one hand, I\u2019m probably one of the only \u2018hardcore\u2019 gamers who enjoy the casual Mii games like Wii Sports and Wii Music. But on the other hand, I\u2019m kind of sick of mini-game party titles on the Wii. So I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ll get Wii Party right away or not. What do you all think?<\/p>\n

Another upcoming game from Nintendo that I\u2019m on the fence about is the third Pokemon Ranger game on the DS. Considering that I never picked up the second one, chances are I may not get this one either. But I did like some of the ideas behind the first game. I usually tend to enjoy the \u2018side\u2019 Pokemon games, such as Pokemon Pinball, Pokemon Snap, and Pokemon Channel, more than the main titles.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, this fall another Pokemon game comes out on the Wii called PokePark: Pikachu\u2019s Adventure. I\u2019ll probably get this one because it looks adorable and I can\u2019t resist anything cute. And it kind of reminds me of Pokemon Channel on the GameCube. Has anyone ever played that? It\u2019s a pretty weird game where you sit and watch Pokemon themed TV channels with Pikachu! Really! It was geared toward younger Pokemon fans, like I imagine the new PokePark game will be, too. But that\u2019s OK. As a game reviewer, I actually have a strong interest in games geared towards kids, so I\u2019ll definitely be taking a visit to the PokePark on the Wii.<\/p>\n

And while I\u2019m talking about games that most hardcore gamers would turn their nose up at, I\u2019ll also be getting Nintendo\u2019s Art Academy for the DS. Like I said before, I actually like a lot of Nintendo\u2019s casual fare, like their Touch Generation puzzle games and interactive cookbooks. Art Academy looks to teach art topics, and that sound fun on the DS. And since I do have a bit of interest in art and drawing as well, I think I\u2019ll enjoy it. Plus it\u2019s only 20 bucks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big fan of the \u2018Mama\u2019 series like Cooking Mama and Gardening Mama, and this holiday there will be two more of these games coming out! One is Crafting Mama on the DS. I guess she\u2019s gotten into scrapbooking and crap. Babysitting Mama on the Wii looks really weird, as I\u2019ve read it comes with a doll you put the remote inside to play! I might just have to get it for that bit of weirdness alone!<\/p>\n

As a fan of arcade classic collections, I\u2019m also eyeing Intellivision Lives and Atari Greatest Hits vol. 1 on the DS. My cousin had an Intellivision and I loved to play Frog Bog with her, and this collection is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying each game in the 360 Game Room. Hopefully the Atari collection will be better than the last one was on the DS.<\/p>\n

Speaking of classic games, Pac-Man is celebrating his 30th Anniversary this year with a party game on the Wii called Pac-Man Party. Only problem is there already WAS a Pac-Man party game on the last generation of consoles called Pac-Man Fever, and it wasn\u2019t very good. Pac-Man Party doesn\u2019t look any better. But I\u2019ll probably break down and get it since I\u2019m such a hopeless Pac-Man fan.<\/p>\n

However, there ARE some new Pac-Man games I am looking forward to, though. Like Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX on Xbox LIVE (and for other consoles with downloadable features). I loved the first Pac-Man: CE. In fact, it was one of the reasons that got me to get an Xbox 360 in the first place! Even better, there\u2019s also going to be a new Pac-Game in arcades called Pac-Man Battle Royale. It\u2019s a tabletop four player competitive Pac-Man game, and I hope I can find an arcade that has it!<\/p>\n

Probably the biggest game I\u2019m looking forward to this fall is Kirby\u2019s Epic Yarn. I\u2019m a HUGE Kirby fan, and I like Kirby games even more than Mario ones. In Kirby\u2019s latest on the Wii, he is made out of yarn and the world looks like a scrapbooking catalog come to life (did Crafting Mama have anything to do with this?). You can probably guess what I\u2019ll be doing on October 17. Do you think that GameStop will have Kirby launch parties like what they did with Halo: Reach?<\/p>\n

And speaking of epic, I\u2019m also looking forward to another cute Wii game: Epic Mickey. I don\u2019t hold it in as high regard as many others have, because when I played it at PAX, it looked like just another 3-D platformer to me. But that\u2019s not a BAD thing! I\u2019ll gladly play a good 3-D platformer, and Epic Mickey looks to fit that bit and have lots of classic cartoon references, too. Heck, the last blog I wrote about my favorite Disney games was partly in response to my anticipation for this game. I am getting a little tired of everyone using the word \u201cEpic,\u201d though. Kirby\u2019s Epic Yarn, Epic Mickey\u2026I think I\u2019m going to try and not use the word \u2018epic\u2019 so much in my writings!<\/p>\n

Another classic game character is getting some new games this fall that I\u2019m looking forward to as well: Donkey Kong. First is Donkey Kong Country Returns. I played it at PAX and it definitely has that classic DKC feel. I\u2019m a little worried about the Wii controls, though. I don\u2019t like having to wiggle the remote to roll. I\u2019d rather hold the remote sideways or use a classic controller. But I am looking forward to trying the two player co-op mode. When brother Jeff was very young, one of his first words was \u2018Donkey Kong\u2019 so he could communicate to me that he wanted to play Donkey Kong Country! Hopefully we\u2019ll get to play this new one together.<\/p>\n

Another DK game I might get will be on the DS: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again. I enjoyed the first DS Mario vs. DK game, but I never downloaded the DSiWare version because it looked like more of the same. This latest one is a cartridge again so I might pick it up. Looks like some more fun Lemmings style puzzling.<\/p>\n

At PAX I also played the new Sonic games: Sonic Colors and Sonic 4. I\u2019m not a big Sonic fan, but I don\u2019t hate ALL his games. If I get the opportunity to review Sonic\u2019s newest titles, I\u2019ll definitely give them a try. Sonic Colors MIGHT end up being a fun 3-D Sonic, and Sonic 4 certainly has the classic feel down, from what I played at PAX, anyway.<\/p>\n

Another game I\u2019m looking forward to that I\u2019ll probably get to review is Super Scribblenauts. I enjoyed the first game when I reviewed it, despite its problems. Here\u2019s hoping the sequel can fix some of the quibbles of the first game. I hope they let you play around with words in the title screen like in the first one. That was one of the most fun parts of the game to me!<\/p>\n

There are a few interesting RPGs this fall, too. One is Final Fantasy: 4 Warriors of Light for DS. It looks like a FF game that\u2019s more my speed, with classic style visuals and gameplay. I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ll get it or have time to play it, but I will keep my eye on it. Another RPG on the DS that I hope to review is Rune Factory 3. I reviewed the second one a couple of years ago, and it played like Harvest Moon except you get to fight monsters in dungeons, too.<\/p>\n

Two other portable RPGs I\u2019ll definitely be getting are Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals for DS and Ys: The Oath in Felghana for PSP. I loved Lufia 2 on the SNES. It was a pretty standard RPG, but had good music and fun, puzzley dungeons. The DS remake is more of a reimaging of the series, with lots of changes. Since I\u2019m not THAT big of a Lufia fan, I\u2019m not upset about the changes yet. Now, if they decided to totally change and remake FF6, THEN I would be mad.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll also definitely get Ys: The Oath in Felghana, a remake of an older Ys game for PSP. I loved Ys Seven so much; it was definitely one of the best games I played this year. So I\u2019ll be glad to give this other Ys title a try. I\u2019ll probably even get the Limited Edition version like what I did with Ys Seven.<\/p>\n

And finally, we can\u2019t forget downloadable titles. Soon on DSiWare, the sequel to the Game Boy Color masterpiece, Shantae, will be available. And it\u2019ll be an instant download for me. It\u2019s a 2-D platformer that reminds me of Wonder Boy. You play as a genie girl named Shantae who can change into different animals to help her get past obstacles. It\u2019s by WayForward, a company who can make REALLY good 2-D games when they want to (like A Boy and His Blob on Wii).<\/p>\n

Another downloadable title that\u2019s coming out soon that I\u2019ll get is Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley for Xbox LIVE. It\u2019s like a cross between Earthworm Jim and Viewtiful Joe, and has lots of humor. Plus it\u2019s made by the same people who did The Maw, and they\u2019re in Austin, TX. They have to be cool if they\u2019re from Texas, right?<\/p>\n

And finally, I don\u2019t know when it\u2019ll come out, but Nintendo has a WiiWare title I played at PAX called Fluidity that\u2019s like their answer to Loco Roco. You tilt the Wii remote to shift the world around to move water from place to place. It played really well, so I may get it when it\u2019s released. Maybe it\u2019ll be out this fall, but who knows?<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s about all the titles I can think of that I\u2019ll be looking forward to this fall. I probably won\u2019t get ALL of them right away, but I will keep my eye on them. The reason why I wrote this blog was because recently I was looking at release lists for the rest of the year, and noticed a lot of games I wanted as well as some pretty strange ones I didn\u2019t know existed. For instance, did you know that some company is making a Deadliest Catch game? I guess that show is pretty popular. I wonder if they\u2019ll make an Ice Road Truckers game, too!<\/p>\n

There are also some other games I\u2019ll be keeping my eye on because they\u2019re kids games or they\u2019re educational games. I know it\u2019s strange, but I do have an interest in these kinds of games and I like reviewing them for this site. One of the funniest was a Dora the Explorer cooking game! I hope Swiper the Fox is in it!<\/p>\n

Seeing the holiday releases, I also noticed a few games that were delayed. Most of the time, I\u2019m a little glad and relieved when a game is delayed since I usually have my hands full enough as it is. But there were two games that I was kind of sad to hear they were delayed until next year: Okamiden and Ghost Trick. Of course, seeing as they\u2019re Capcom games, I\u2019m not really surprised about the delay. They just looked like so much fun when I played them at PAX, that I was hoping they\u2019d be released this year like they said they would be earlier.<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s all for now. In the comments section, feel free to tell me if I\u2019m off my rocker for my game choices. And let me know what games you\u2019re looking forward to this fall. –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sorry folks, this is just a filler blog because I can\u2019t think of anything interesting to write a blog about. So this is the typical \u201cWhat games am I looking forward to this fall\u201d blog. A massive amount of games gets released this season for the holidays. But aside from Kingdom Hearts on the PSP, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}