Quick Updates 2/15

--- Man it took three years but I finally found a copy of the Adventures of Cookie and Cream in an EB Games bargain bin for $6.99. I probably could have gotten it off ebay all this time but it just gave me something to always look for any time I was in an EB Games (we have 5 of them in town, 3 of them within a square mile of each other.) Now I don't know what I'll do when flipping through the piles and piles of used games they can't give away. Honestly if you missed a bunch of the PS2 generation, go thumbing through their PS2 bins. The problem isn't the quality of titles, it's just the fact that I played or owned just about everything remotely interesting in the bins.


If you never got around to Cookie and Cream, don't let the cute exterior turn you off it is prehaps one of the best co-op game experiences of all-time, if not just for the PS2.

--- Speaking of EB Games, they have Moon for the DS for $20 already. I don't know if this will be the regular price point or just a limited thing but rush and grab it. I've always maintained that for $20 you rarely can go wrong with a title. What's strange is Moon was 2009's first must-own title just last month.

--- Going back to last week I said I wasn't entirely sold on Retro Game Challenge. Well slap me once more because it's pretty darn good. But the final selling point for me? XSeed games saying that the chances of localizing Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki-no-Haikyo hinged entirely on the sales of Retro Game Challenge.

Localizing games takes a lot of bank and apparently they need money still even though I've bought Populous DS, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, Wild ARMs 4 (sadly still in the shrink wrap,) Wild ARMs 5 (not in the shrink wrap but not beaten,) Valhalla Knights, Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground, and Brave Story: New Traveler from them. That's essentially everything XSeed's published in the US. I put up with Valhalla Knights and Dungeon Maker. I want my damn Fragile, but at least RGC is actually a much more enjoyable game than the chore that was Dungeon Maker.

So the short of it -- BUY RGC SO I CAN PLAY FRAGILE!



--- QuickJump Network has details on the handheld port of Disgaea 2...obviously in celebration of the impending relase of the new Prinny game on the PSP. The 'article' can be found by clicking.

Looks like some new weapon skills, a new Magi-Change and some new playable characters -- including Asagi, the Red Prism Ranger and Marjoly. It's Disgaea on the PSP, did you really need any more motivation?

--- Pwn or Die Blog presents 10 video game athletes that probably used steroids. Much more interesting than debating the morality of A-Rod.

--- Monster Hunter G for the Wii had its newest trailer released yesterday. I honestly hope Monster Hunter can make it big over here in America. Obviously it'll never reach the same level of fever as in Japan but Monster Hunter back for the PS2 is one of the few online community games I got 'hardcore' into. I don't do MMOs and I don't do FPS deathmatches but Monster Hunter was just darn right addictive and I shed a tear when Capcom finally closed the servers last year even though I had sold the game a while before.

The PSP Monster Hunter games though just never reached the same level thanks to only supporting (to my knowledge) ad-hoc local. It was hard enough finding people around here with PSPs when the game cam out. The complications became ten fold in finding someone with a PSP and a copy of the game.



I hate to rag on the Wii but a huge part of Monster Hunter is playing with other people. Is this really a game the Wii's majority target audience will be into? Will Friend Codes once again detract from people picking this one up? Anyone thinking about picking this up once (if) it comes Stateside?

--- Pretty good article from Final Fantasy Union about the decline of SquareEnix since they merged in 2003. You can click here for it. I'm guessing not too many people realized it was that bad.

But yeah, a year ago Last Remnant was probably my number one most anticipated title of 2008. I knew there was room to be letdown but I didn't expect it to be that bad. Horrible load times and stupid, uninspired gameplay 'strategy' killed it quickly. The other big release, Infinite Undiscovery is also considered a dissapointment but there's at least a few things I can point to there and say I enjoyed the title. Would I tell you to buy it at $60 retail? No, but it's easily worth the $30-40 most retailers smartly slashed it down to after its release.

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.