Think of the Children for July 30th

Written by Dan Keener on 7/30/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  

Now this is the type of week I hope to see every time I pull the ratings. Not only were there a good amount of games rated, but they are highly anticipated games to boot. With E3 in the rear view mirror, quite a few games that were shown on the floor and behind closed doors are finally getting rated and finding release dates. The PS3 and 360 had both quantity and quality and one of the best weeks of rated titles hat I can remember. Lastly, the intriguing title of the week may be the game that the Wii remote was perfectly designed for.

It was the same old same old for the PC and DS platforms, with a wide swath of titles to choose from. Whether you are a fan of puzzles games (Brain Quest Grades 3, 4, 5, 6 – DS), Old school arcade titles (Rampage and Total Carnage – PC) or just a blatant money grab (Shrek's Carnival Craze Party Games – DS) there was a title for you. My personal favorite out of this bunch (simply for the name) was Real Networks Damn Beavers! for play on the PC.

This was simply a monster week for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Both platforms had nine rated titles including following shared games: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon, Eternal Sonata, NHL 2K9, Pure and Guitar Hero World Tour. In addition, the PS3 saw a trifecta of games from SCEA called SIREN: Blood Curse - Bundle 1, Bundle 2 and Bundle 3 be rated. The Xbox 360 saw two exclusives and an all time favorite in Gears of War 2, Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise and Duke Nukem 3D. By far, this is the best showing for the 360 and PS3 in a single week from both a quantity and quality standpoint that. The games for the most part are outstanding, and the confirmation of Duke Nukem 3D for XBLA is just icing on the cake.

The Intriguing Title of the Week is Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels for the Nintendo Wii. If ever there was a game that was designed to use the Wii remote properly, it would be any game where you get to wield a lightsaber. From checking out the E3 trailer, the game looks like a load of fun for local multiplayer, and has decent graphics (for the Wii standards) to boot. This is the type of game that could push me over the edge to seek out a Wii. All I want to know is if you could play as General Grievous, could you wield multiple Wii remotes and skip the Nunchuk? Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels currently has a release date of November 2008.[Editors note: during the Clone Wars presentation it was mentioned that the game will support the new WiiMote Plus features for better control in the game]

 

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last two weeks. There were 54 rated titles on 11 platforms. DS (12), 360 (9), PS3 (9), PC (9) and Wii (5) had the most games rated. There were 26 of the 54 titles rated at E10+ or lower, 8 rated at T for Teen and 5 (Gears of War 2, Duke Nukem 3D and SIREN: Blood Curse - Bundle 1, 2 and 3) 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.