Think of the Children for November 12th

Written by Dan Keener on 11/12/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  

Last week was extremely light on the rated titles, so we have a two-week compilation for you this week. Unfortunately, my fears of a downturn in rated titles may be coming true as we get closer to the Holiday selling season. The last handful of the announced titles from E3 were rated this week, so there probably wont be much more than usual fare coming down the channels the next month or so. I changed it u a bit and pulled and listed what appears to be the best of the rated titles for the PC, Wii and DS. My intriguing title of the week is a version of a long-time series that is taking a bold step (and potential misstep in the U.S.) in a new direction with a worldwide phenom as its catalyst.

Here is a quick run down of what appears to be the best of PC, DS and Wii. For the PC a couple of Sony Online Entertainment titles hold the most promise in EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction and Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts. The titles for the DS, while filled with the usual tripe, have a version of Tomb Raider: Underworld and a new Pokemon in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia to look forward to. The Wii continues to frustrate gamers, but Activision-Blizzard’s Block Party and the 1,000th iteration of Mario in Mario Golf look to be the keepers from this list.

In edition to a few exclusives, some of the last E3 announced titles finally became rated this week for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Titles rated for both platforms included Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, Quantum of Solace (and Collector’s Edition), Sacred 2: Fallen Angel and Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box. The PlayStation 3 had Magic Ball, Astro Tripper, Buzz! Quiz TV Horror Movie Quiz and SingStar ABBA. The Xbox 360 had Naruto: The Broken Bond, Lips, Lips: En Español and Dash of Destruction. A couple of singing games (both of which I personally believe will underwhelm), some arcade characters taking on Superheroes, a little James Bond with some prequel action RPG action sprinkled in. The list is quite the cross-section of gaming.

The Intriguing Title of the Week is “SingStar ABBA” by SCEA for the PS2 and PS3. The unique thing about this version of the series is that in the previous 21 editions of SingStar, never has one been branded specifically to on artist or Band. Here in lies the catch, ABBA is a WORLD renowned act that saw some recent revitalization with their participation in the film ‘Mama Mia!’. However, they still only have a handful of songs that would be recognized by fans of the series here in the Untied States. I expect this version of SingStar to be a massive seller overseas in Europe and Japan, but I would guess that it will struggle domestically with only a handful of the 20 (PS2 - $29.99) or 25 (PS3 - $39.99) song being recognizable by the usual fans of the series.

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for last week. There were 55 rated titles on 10 platforms. PC (16), DS (12), Wii (11), 360 (9), PS3 (9) and PS2 (6) had the most games rated. There were 38 of the 55 titles rated at E10+ or lower, 16 rated at T for Teen and one (Sacred 2: Fallen Angel) 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 Intriguing Title of the Week (and any game that is tossed in that paragraph) is identified based on a game on the list that catches the eye of the author for any number of reasons. Good, bad or otherwise, feel free to agree, disagree or add some constructive input to the discussion.