Monday, October 09, 2006
Lunch with Tom: Worthwhile Releases!
I'm not sure why website designers seem to go out of their way to hide the information I desire. I'm checking out EBGames.com right now, my number one source for video game release dates, and am disappointed to see a detrimental redesign. A few months ago I could click on New Releases and get a list of every new game coming out, along with price and system it can be found on. Really convenient for people like me who don't care about systems. I just want games. Now every system has a box to itself. God forbid you mix a Sony and Microsoft game. What would happen? On to the games.
God Hand - Hey! I kind of know about this one. My eyes would normally have glossed over this PS2 game (who plays a PS2 anymore? Orphans?) except for two pretty nice tidbits. First, it's only $30. That's half as much as a new X360 game. Heck, that's $5 less than an NDS game. In other words, that's coming dangerously close to impulse buy land. Second, it's made by Clover. I love this little developer. I would take Viewtiful Joe over any action game last generation. It's deeper and more difficult than God of War and just flat out more fun than Ninja Gaiden. And then there's Okami, just a gift from people who truly love gaming. If you can create two of the best games from last generation in just a couple years, well, I'm going to pay attention to whatever else you put out there. God Hand involves lots of walking around and punching. But what separates it from something like Final Fight is the magnitude of all these fights. They all matter. There is no push over, Raiders-type opponent in this one. So it may appeal more to a fighting fan (are there any of those left?) but since it is cheap, it is Clover and it does let you spank your opponent, how can I turn away?
Clubhouse Games - You want another EBGames.com complaint? They don't list this game as an upcoming release on their main release page. They list Strawberry Shortcake, coming out next week, but not this. They list Crash Boom Bang! (I assume this is a porn version of The Movies) coming out this week, but not the greatest NDS game ever? For shame EBGames. Clubhouse Games is a compilation of about 50 old school games. It may not sound like much, but it lets you play with up to 8 people on one cart or battle your friends via WiFi. It has card games like Hearts (of which I am a master of) and Rummy, board games like Checkers (real and Chinese), and even bar games like Darts. Basically, if it's great and isn't a real video game, it's in Clubhouse Games. What man can resist that? It even has Turncoat, the Benedict Arnold-sim we all reenacted as kids, and Koi-Koi! I think we all remember sitting around the bonfire playing Ludo with Grandma, right? It's a little pricey at $35 (I told you God Hand was $5 cheaper than NDS games) but the sheer volume of games and WiFi should make up for the cost. You can even Pictochat in games. And I believe there's even a PDA application buried somewhere in there. Yes, in fact I'm quite sure that Hasami Shogi is another way to say "Personal Digital Assistant." So there you go, everything you could possibly want on one NDS cartridge.
And that's all you're getting this week. Two games are enough for anyone. I'm not writing about Barbie or Scooby Doo, I just won't. Next week seems to be the beginning of the Holiday Season, tune in for some huge titles.
God Hand - Hey! I kind of know about this one. My eyes would normally have glossed over this PS2 game (who plays a PS2 anymore? Orphans?) except for two pretty nice tidbits. First, it's only $30. That's half as much as a new X360 game. Heck, that's $5 less than an NDS game. In other words, that's coming dangerously close to impulse buy land. Second, it's made by Clover. I love this little developer. I would take Viewtiful Joe over any action game last generation. It's deeper and more difficult than God of War and just flat out more fun than Ninja Gaiden. And then there's Okami, just a gift from people who truly love gaming. If you can create two of the best games from last generation in just a couple years, well, I'm going to pay attention to whatever else you put out there. God Hand involves lots of walking around and punching. But what separates it from something like Final Fight is the magnitude of all these fights. They all matter. There is no push over, Raiders-type opponent in this one. So it may appeal more to a fighting fan (are there any of those left?) but since it is cheap, it is Clover and it does let you spank your opponent, how can I turn away?
Clubhouse Games - You want another EBGames.com complaint? They don't list this game as an upcoming release on their main release page. They list Strawberry Shortcake, coming out next week, but not this. They list Crash Boom Bang! (I assume this is a porn version of The Movies) coming out this week, but not the greatest NDS game ever? For shame EBGames. Clubhouse Games is a compilation of about 50 old school games. It may not sound like much, but it lets you play with up to 8 people on one cart or battle your friends via WiFi. It has card games like Hearts (of which I am a master of) and Rummy, board games like Checkers (real and Chinese), and even bar games like Darts. Basically, if it's great and isn't a real video game, it's in Clubhouse Games. What man can resist that? It even has Turncoat, the Benedict Arnold-sim we all reenacted as kids, and Koi-Koi! I think we all remember sitting around the bonfire playing Ludo with Grandma, right? It's a little pricey at $35 (I told you God Hand was $5 cheaper than NDS games) but the sheer volume of games and WiFi should make up for the cost. You can even Pictochat in games. And I believe there's even a PDA application buried somewhere in there. Yes, in fact I'm quite sure that Hasami Shogi is another way to say "Personal Digital Assistant." So there you go, everything you could possibly want on one NDS cartridge.
And that's all you're getting this week. Two games are enough for anyone. I'm not writing about Barbie or Scooby Doo, I just won't. Next week seems to be the beginning of the Holiday Season, tune in for some huge titles.
// posted by Tom @ 11:36 AM 
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