Is there a more boring month than November? It's like there's nothing worth playing this month at all. After the debacle that was last week, this week is completely bereft of anything even remotely resembling fun in even the most infinitesimal way. Seriously, have you seen what's coming out this week? Just take a look.
It's funny. The reaction to both a nuclear disaster and the release of a long-awaited sequel is essentially the same. You want to stock up on food and supplies, get indoors, seal the exits, and come to terms with the fact that you may never see your family again. Yes, Fallout 3 comes out this week. There are other games coming out this week too. You can read about those below. You know, if you want.
Oh boy. Not only are there eight new games hitting the Xbox 360 this weeks (and Portal on XBLA, lest we forget), but several of them look to be good games. Heavy hitters like Far Cry 2 and Fable II undoubtedly top the list, but there are some other big names in there as well. Check 'em out:
And here ... we ... go. We're halfway through October and it's finally started. The industry imposed holiday game torrent is upon us. We hope you've saved up some cash (or tidied up your GameFly queue) because, starting now, you're going to need it. Just look at all of these games:
We mean the headline literally, you see, because this week's marquee title (arguably) is Fracture. You may recall Fracture as the earth molding third person shooter from LucasArts. If you don't remember it -- and we wouldn't blame you -- there's a demo of the game available on Xbox Live Marketplace right now. We've also got a platformer, two basketball titles, and ... um ... Guilty Gear 2: Overture. All told, we have:
We've got five (count 'em, five) new Xbox 360 games this week. Probably the biggest of the bunch is Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, which finally arrives after numerousdelays. Aside from Brothers in Arms we have LEGO Batman, which we imagine will be an awful lot like LEGO Indiana Jones which was an awful lot like LEGO Star Wars. We question whether or not the somewhat addictive charm will hold out this time. To round out the week, we've got off-road racing, hacking and slashing, and ... um ... hunting. Consider the fall gaming flood postponed.
The big releases are starting to drip out as the industry steadily ramps up for yet another packed holiday season. This week, the Xbox 360 plays host to some decent titles including the likes of Rock Band 2, Pure, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. On top of those, we've also got Armored Core: For Answer and ... um ... Battle Fantasia. To our disappointment, we have learned that Battle Fantasia is not a fighting game about the Disney movie Fantasia. It's a shame, really, because we were ready to throw down with some tutu-wearing hippos.
While the PC crowd is all about Spore this week, the Xbox 360 is all about hockey. We have not one but two different hockey games up for grabs. What's that? A sports league that isn't exclusive to a single publisher? It's bizarre, we know. So bizarre, in fact, that we almost forgot there are two other games on the list. So, which is it gonna be, hockey, robot animals, or spandex?
There are two really notable things about the games releasing this week. One, you may recall that Tales of Vesperia was the game that single-handedly caused the Xbox 360 to sell out completely in Japan. Somehow, we doubt the game will have quite the same impact in North America (regardless of its quality). Two, after over two frakking years, Castle Crashers is finally landing on Xbox Live Arcade. Our anticipation around here is palpable. Perhaps you've noticed. Also releasing this week is Tiger Woods 09. We're not sure exactly what's notable aboout that unless, of course, the Jesus shot makes a return.
This is it. Ten years of development have finally culminated in an actual finished product. We are speaking, of course, of Too Human. It's finally coming out folks. Will it be worth the wait? Will the quest for phat lootz pull you in? There haven't been any major online reviews posted as of this writing, so take that for what it's worth. We're also getting Namco Banadai's Smash Court Tennis 3 this week. So, you've got to choose between cybernetic-Norse dungeon crawling ... and tennis. What's it gonna be?
It's Madden time kids. Specifically, it's Madden 09 time. With good old Brett Favre emblazoned on the cover (wearing his Packers uniform or his fancy new Jets uniform), we're sure copies will be flying off shelves and into man-filled living rooms everywhere. We're also fairly certain that the percentage of "sick days" will be pretty high this week. Get out the snacks, the (root)beer and the turduckens. It's game time.
If the foosball isn't your thing, take comfort in the fact that we're also getting Bionic Commando Rearmed on XBLA this week.
Kids, it is a sad day in "Shipping this week" history. There is precisely one Xbox 360 game shipping this week. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the game releasing ... is Crash Time. You may recall the demo that was released for the game back in May. We wouldn't blame you if you can't though. It was that bad. If you still need convincing, check out our video impressions of the demo above.
But hey, it's not all bad, as we still get the mind-bending Braid on Xbox Live Arcade this week. Thank the heavens for that.
This is it folks, this week officially marks the release of Soul Calibur IV. You may recall SCIV as the weapons based fighter that features not only ridiculously proportioned female fighters but also Yoda. The Playstation 3 version gets Darth Vader himself, though he may be Force choking his way to the 360 if rumors are to be believed. Also on the release this week are Spectral Force 3 and Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge. Spectral Force 3 is a Japanese strategy RPG and Summer Athletics The Ultmate Challenge is ... well, honestly, we have no idea. Looking at the title, we'd say someone is looking to cash in on the Olympic Games.
When you scan the new 360 releases this week, you may feel a sense of déjà vu. "Unreal Tournament III," you will say, "didn't that come out eight months ago?" Fear not, however, for your eyes do not deceive you. The Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III has finally released, bereft of user created content though it may be. Presenting us with another trip back in time is Civilization Revolution, which has players building their ... civilizations from ancient times all the way into the space age. If you haven't given the demo a try, we suggest you do. It's good fun. Finally, we have Beijing Olympics 2008. We're guessing that one involves a lot of button mashing and stick twirling. You'd best prepare for the calluses now.
While there are technically two games coming out this week, there's really only one. You see, one of them is the Gears of War re-release (which we thought came out last week). That's all well and good for the folks who have yet to pick up Epic's super gory and very playable shooter. Just remember to watch out for that host shotty. Strangely enough, the new game releasing this week isn't all that new either. It's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is, you guessed it, Guitar Hero with a lot of Aerosmith tracks. Whether or not you regard that as a good thing is entirely up to you. One point in defense of Aerosmith: they did give us Alicia Silverstone.
