Think of the Children
Boy, the PC and Wii came back off the holiday week with a vengeance, combining for 37 of the 56 rated titles. Many are of the garden variety casual game, but there are some gems in there as well as some classic stuff coming to VC or Wii Ware. The PC saw a handful of Tom Clancy’s titles for PC get rated (RB6: Vegas, Splinter Cell Double Agent and GRAW: 2), but I’m not aware if they will be LIVE enabled or cross platform. Also seen was Requiem: Bloodymare and quite a few kids’ games. The big story with the Wii were the titles that should be coming to VC or WiiWare,including Dig Dug, Cruis'n USA, Ninja Combat and a couple of Pokemon titles; My Pokemon Ranch and Pokémon Puzzle League.
The DS pulled in a very uninspiring week unless you are a tween girl. Imagine: Babysitters, The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom and Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society make for some great play if you are looking for games to keep your tweens preoccupied. Toss in a little Spongebob, and you have a very targeted, and young, audience this week.
Next-gen was again dominated by the Xbox 360, as the PS3 only had two titles (The Last Guy and WipeOut HD, both from SCEA) get rated. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 trotted out Braid, Darwinia +, Smash Court Tennis 3, Zombie Wranglers, Samurai Shodown and the console exclusive Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Pretty much a piss poor week for the PS3,and an OK week for the 360. We are in a bit of a dry period, but things should change as we get closer to E3 and games getting prepped for a Fall release.
The title of shame this week came down to a familiar concept, games based on pastries. The offender is Crazy Cakes by EA found at Club Pogo. I felt obligated to tee this one up, much like I did Cake Mania a few months back, as fairies and cake decorating just don’t seem like the type of gameplay that you would get your monies worth out of the Pogo service. Again, this is just a personal opinion, but I’m putting this game in the “Why?” bucket.
| Title | Publisher | Rating | Platforms |
| Art of Fighting 2 | SNK Playmore USA | Teen | Wii |
| Braid | Number None, Inc | Everyone 10+ | 360 |
| Cruis'n USA | Nintendo of America | Everyone | Wii |
| Dracula: Origin | DreamCatcher | Teen | PC |
| Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition | THQ Inc. | Everyone | DS |
| Fatal Fury 2 | SNK Playmore USA | Teen | Wii |
| My Pokémon Ranch | Nintendo of America Inc. | Everyone | Wii |
| Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society | Majesco Entertainment | Everyone 10+ | DS |
| Pokémon Puzzle League | Nintendo of America | Everyone | Wii |
| Rock Band Song Pack Volume 1 | MTV Games | Teen | PS2, Wii |
| Samurai Shodown | SNK Playmore USA | Teen | 360, Wii |
| Yakuza 2 | Sega America | Mature | PS2 |
| Underwater Attack | UFO Interactive Games | Everyone | DS |
| SKYKID | NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. | Everyone | Wii |
| Pirates: The Key of Dreams | Oxygen Games Interactive | Everyone | Wii |
| SPY Fox in Dry Cereal | Majesco Entertainment | Everyone | Wii |
| Mario Super Sluggers | Nintendo | Everyone | Wii |
| DIG DUG | NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. | Everyone | Wii |
| Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?: Make the Grade | ValuSoft | Everyone | PC, PS2, Wii |
| American Girl Kit: A Treehouse of My Own | ValuSoft | Everyone | PC |
| Belle's Beauty Boutique | eGames Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Darwinia + | Introversion, Software | Everyone | 360 |
| Luminary - Rise of the Goonzu | NDOORS Corporation | Everyone 10+ | PC |
| Freddi Fish: Haunted Schoolhouse Mystery | Humongous, Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Imagine: Babysitters | Ubisoft Entertainment | Everyone | DS |
| The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom | Disney Interactive Studios | Everyone | DS |
| Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 | Encore, Inc., | Teen | PC |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas | Encore, Inc., | Mature | PC |
| Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent | Encore, Inc., | Mature | PC |
| Requiem: Bloodymare | Gravity Interactive, LLC | Mature | PC |
| Smash Court Tennis 3 | Atari, Inc. | Everyone | 360 |
| Pajama Sam: Thunder & Lightning | Humongous, Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Putt-Putt Travels Through Time | Humongous, Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| The Last Guy | SCEA | Everyone 10+ | PS3 |
| Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery | Majesco Entertainment | Everyone | Wii |
| Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath | Electronic Arts | Teen | 360 |
| Clue Classic | Encore, Inc., | Everyone 10+ | PC |
| Crazy Cakes | Electronic Arts | Everyone | Macintosh, PC |
| Bubble Burst | eGames Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Burning Fight | SNK Playmore USA | Everyone 10+ | Wii |
| Lego Creator | ValuSoft | Everyone | PC |
| NCAA Football 09 | Electronic Arts | Everyone | PS2 |
| Ninja Combat | SNK Playmore USA | Everyone 10+ | Wii |
| Solitaire Master 1,000,000 | eGames Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Super Jigsaw Caboodle | RealNetworks | Everyone | Macintosh, PC |
| Purrfect Pet Shop | eGames Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Puzzle City | eGames Inc. | Everyone | PC |
| Samba De Amigo™ | Sega of America | Everyone | Wii |
| WipEout HD | SCEA | Everyone 10+ | PS3 |
| Zombie Wranglers | Vivendi Games | Everyone 10+ | 360 |
Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last week. There were 56 rated titles on seven platforms. PC (20), Wii (17), and 360 (6) and DS (5) had the most games rated. There were 39 of the 56 titles rated at E10+ or lower, seven rated at T for Teen and just four rated at M for Mature.
Got a comment on the article or a rated games, put it in the section below or send me an e-mail. Until next week, make sure you know what your kids are playing……
*The weekly Title of Shame (and any game that is tossed in that paragraph) is done so based on several factors, including which games were rated that week, how does the game concept stack up, is it a re-hashed sequel, lame movie tie-in, rip off of another game, etc
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
About Author
Like many gamers in their 40's, I developed my love of gaming from my Commodore 64 after we wore out our Intellivision. I spent countless hours wandering around the streets of Skara Brae, as my life was immersed in The Bard's Tale series on the C-64, D&D Titles and any/all Epyx titles (California Summer and Winter Games) and sports titles. After taking the early 90's off from gaming (college years) minus the occasional Bill Walsh College Football on Sega, I was re-introduced to PC games in the mid 1990's with a couple of little games called DOOM II and Diablo. I went all-in with the last generation of consoles, getting an Xbox 360 on launch weekend as well as adding a PS3 and Wii in subsequent years. I now am into the current-generation (latest?) of consoles with the WiiU and Xbox One. Recently, I was able to get back into PC gaming and have enjoyed it very much, spending most of my time going solo or playing with my fellow GamingNexus staffers in controlled multiplayer action.
While my byline is on many reviews, articles and countless news stories, I have a passion for and spent the last several years at GamingNexus focusing on audio & video and accessories as they relate to gaming. Having over 20 years of Home Theater consulting and sales under my belt, it is quite enjoyable to spend some of my time viewing gaming through the A/V perspective. While I haven't yet made it to one of the major gaming conventions (PAX or E3), I have represented GamingNexus at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in nine of the last ten years.
Personally, I have been a staff member at GamingNexus since 2006 and am in my third tour of duty after taking off the last year and a half.
