Games of the Week: Week 7

February 15th - 21th

This week brings us a couple must haves.

NINTENDO DS

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Roogoo
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters



If you're an RPG fan you already know the DS is probably the best system for you and this week you have two top heavyweights duking it out. Dragon Quest V comes to America for the first time ever and despite over a decade of waiting, it holds up amazingly well. It's an instant classic and if you haven't played it -- either by learning your kanji or by...other...means then for shame on you and here's your chance to rectify it. This is one of the top 30 games of all-time. Bar none.

Sorry Justin, but I'm just not into Fire Emblem. I admit there's things I like about the games and I loved Sacred Stones but that's the only one I've had the patience to trudge all the way through. Shadow Dragon is yet another remake of the original Fire Emblem game and America's introduction to Marth -- you know that guy you didn't know (or used) in Smash Bros. Melee. The remake looks like an impressive package though and if you're looking for a solid strategy RPG or your store is inexplicably doesn't have DQV then it's a pretty good second option. Fans of the series definitely would be wise to pick it up.

One of the best games no one played last year was Roogoo on XBLA. It was a puzzle game where you had to guide meteors through a series of rotating discs to save the planet of Roo from destruction. It finally comes to the DS but at $20 (opposed to the $10 on XBLA) it just depends if you really want to take it on the go. Multiplayer modes do allow for up to 6 players to play on a single cart though.

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters


I heart Disgaea. I've still yet to finish the three games in the series in entirity (I did finish the first game but if you've ever played a Disgaea game you know there's quite a bit more to it than that) but its zany and well-designed characters keeps bringing me back to the series. But what originally drew me to the series were the "mascots" of the Disgaea world, the Prinnies. Demonic penguins that explode upon being thrown? And they say 'dood' all the time. They're too cool and aborable to ignore.

Finally the mascot gets its own game and it looks pretty good. Advance reviews state this slick platformer might turn some people off with its insane difficulty level (you start with 1000 lives, playing on the jokes that the Prinnies are interchangable and mere cannon fodder.) But those charming Prinnies might be worth tearing out some hair. It grows back.

PLAYSTATION 2

Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3

Moving on....

NINTENDO WII

Evasive Space
Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters
RooGoo
Battle Rage





Outside of RooGoo (mentioned above) the Wii line-up is a bit thin this week. Evasive Space might be worth a look as a WiiWare pick-up and Battle Rage is a mech-fighting game but its not quite a huge genre for the Wii crowd. If you're looking to get your mech fight on I'm sure ebay has copies of Virtual On (for the Dreamcast) or Senko no Rondo (for the 360, also called WarTech in the States.) It'll probably go completely under the radar thanks to its generic name and horrible box art, but it might be something worth keeping an eye on if you see it in a bargin bin in a couple months (or years.)

PLAYSTATION 3

Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3
Noby Noby Boy
Street Fighter IV



Nobi Nobi Boy looks amazing. I'm really excited to make it my first PSN purchase (although everyone's saying Flower is worth picking up.) Katamari was one of those games that could be equated like crack. There really wasn't much to it but the great music, the fantastic art/characters, and quirky concept made it a game that you couldn't help but have fun with. It induced smiles everytime you booted it up.

Here you control a worm-like creature (named Boy) and you move around controlling both ends separately. The longer Boy becomes the harder he is to control, but he gains some new, groovy moves. It's hard to explain but so was Katamari Damacy. Just give it a try.

XBOX 360

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned
RacePro
Street Fighter IV




If you have GTAIV you're probably already either commited or dead-set against picking up the DLC but if you're not commited already I'm surprised. Although I wasn't blown away by GTA4 (and still stand by Vice City and GTA2 as the best in the series) as some people were, I still had a lot of fun and what you get for the cash with this DLC seems to be nice bang for the buck. If you're still against it after seeing the trailers, you probably already sold off GTA4 anyway.

The same generally goes for Street Fighter IV. What can I say that hasn't already been said? You're either getting it already or you have no passing interest it...and probably suck. To just see it in motion is a feat to behold. And to feel it as you control the characters is simply amazing. It has a long way to go in knocking off 3rd Strike as my favorite Street Fighter (and I'm still pissed that 3rd Strike is completely unrepresented on the roster) but expect for it to remain in my top 10 games of the year until the end.

The only question now is do you really want to spend the money to track down the tournament edition stick (prepare for a second mortage on the house because this thing is going to be hard to find even for the people that pre-ordered.) The gamepads (retailing for around $40) don't look too bad with a six-button set-up and a decent d-pad on the 360 and probably are the next best option if you can't find the tournament stick. Yes, there is the fighting stick by Hori but its not exactly a great option either.