Greetings humans, Monki here with another fresh batch of Dan's Games of the Week. Now I've been killing time at Fantastic Fest playing my DS and trying to figure out the perfect way to rip on Dan for confusing Clapton for Zepplin. Seriously.

Oh, and Dan hates Saint's Row. I think Dan hates America and is a huge Mel Gibson fan.

Alright, that's it for me, off to Dan "Sugartits" McGee's Games of the Week!

Game Releases for the Week of 9/24 - 10/1

Hello everyone! Dan here with this weeks game list. Man, did you hear about Guitar Hero on the 360?! I sure hope they have Eric Clapton's Stairway to Heaven as a song! Ha ha! Anyway, some good stuff this week for NBA fans with three dueling basketball games, as well as the open-ended GTA-ish Just Cause and a Square-Enix RPG sequel. Next week looks pretty light, so it might be a good time to take a look at past columns and see what you've missed.

Xbox 360

9/26 NBA Live 07 - EA's seemingly weekly sports releases continues with the latest incarnation of the popular NBA Live series, which saw its first release last year on the 360 to decidedly mixed reviews, mainly to the lack of the dynasty mode. Like this year's Madden, however, EA has replaced what was removed last time, rounding out the next gen version. Besides the return of dynasty, the 360 version also boasts a new control system called "total freestyle" that puts more emphasis on the right-analog. EA also promises new AI with signature moves and reportedly thousands of new player animations.
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9/26 NBA 2K7 - 2K Sports basketball offering garnered generally higher reviews than NBA Live last year, and the same development team is back once again. This year's version has a few new innovative features, including a mode where you join an online fantasy league made up of up to 30 of your online buddies. Also exclusive to the 360 is a unique new simulation method franchise mode that actually simulates games not based on team stats but player-vs-player, down to each posession in each game -- this is possible only due to the next gen horsepower. Pretty neat.

9/27 Import Tuner Challenge - By Japanese developer Genki, this is your typical street racing game with a typical set of modes, from single races to time attacks to a "quest mode" where you challenge Tokyo's best street racers. It puts the emphasis on customization and tuning, and has nice graphics to boot.

9/27 Just Cause - The demo has been up on Xbox Live for awhile now -- its the latest open-world driving/shooting/fighting game, this one developed by newcomer Avalanche Studios. The game has a distinct feel of Far Cry meets GTA, taking place on a sunny South American island. There's a thousand square miles to explore and a few innovative elements (your player has the odd ability to deploy a paraglider when driving, flying out of the car and into the air). The demo was fun enough, but early reviews are indicating the full game is just too short.

PSP

9/26 NBA Live 07 - The PSP flavor has an innovative feature for players who have shelled out the cash for the PS2 version: you can transfer your franchise to your handheld, play some games on the road, then transfer your progress back to the console.

9/27 Spectral Souls - A port of a popular Japanese PS2 game, Spectral Souls is a turn-based RPG with a so-called "item synthesis" system. Developed by Idea Factory, makers of many, many, many RPGs.

9/27 Moto GP - Namco's motorcycle racer hits the PSP for the first time, with all the requisite features: career mode, detailed racer stats, and 50 of those mini-challenges that always seem to work well on handhelds.

9/27 NBA 07 - Not to be confused with the other basketball games on the market, this is the third in the Sony developed b-ball series that started in 2005 with the originally titled "NBA". Also on the PS2, the PSP version does not feature the story mode and instead focuses on mini-games (hence the lack of the subtitle "Featuring The Life", since this version does not, in fact, feature The Life.)

DS

9/26 Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - See Game of the Week, below.

9/27 Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier - Namco published and produced turn based strategy that mimics the rules of the "collectable miniature" toys dorky kids love these days.

9/27 Bubble Bobble Revolution - The second DS Bobble title (the first being Puzzle Bobble), Bubble Bobble Revolution is more about returning to the Bobble roots, consisting of the original Taito game, converted for the DS. The original bubble-blowing gameplay mechanic is back, expanded to fit both DS screens.

9/27 Rainbow Islands Revolution - Another Taito remake, this time of the somewhat-less-popular (yet still compelling) arcade platformer Rainbow Islands, always considered the official sequel to Bubble Bobble. Like the Bubble Bobble remake, this version features updated graphics that use both DS screens.

9/29 Alex Rider: Stormbreaker - Based on a British series of kid lit books that follows teen spy Alex on his adventures, the DS version is a stealth actioner. Since the publisher is quick to point out Alex just hates guns, the emphasis will be on sneaking, hitting (Alex apparently has no problem with punching people in the face), and mini-games, including snooker!

Xbox

9/26 NBA Live 07 - See the 360 description.

9/26 NBA 2K7 - See the 360 description.

9/27 Just Cause - See the 360 description.

PS2

9/26 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - 4-player Super Smash Bros.-ish party game based on the Cartoon Network series of the same name, with cel-shaded graphics that mimic the look of the show.

9/26 NBA 2K7 - See the 360 description.

9/27 Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA - The latest DDR game to hit the arcade now sees a release on the PS2, only about 5 months after it showed up in US arcades. Not sure what that says about arcades, but PS2 owners will enjoy the same DDR action they known and love, with 70+ tracks from the arcade version, and added features like an online mode and a new two player battle mode.

9/27 Just Cause - See 360 description.

9/27 NBA 07 Featuring The Life Vol. 2 - Follow up to the Sony-only basketball series on the PS2, 989 Sports has packed in the features this time around: it includes the popular story mode, which tracks the progress of one up-and-coming NBA player. Vol.2, not surprisingly, picks up the story where the first game left off. There have been also some gameplay tweaks and promised EyeToy functionality.

9/27 Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball MAX'd - Released in 2004, the previous game in this series was somewhat of a sleeper hit for the Xbox, coming out of nowhere to deliver a fun bloodless-FPS that I actually rented way back when. It never saw release on the PS2 however, which will be rectified with this "MAX'd" version, adding new levels, new characters and gear items.

9/27 The Fast and the Furious - Based not on the Vin Diesel one, but the more recent Tokyo-street racing one, it follows the racing game trend as of late and puts the player in an open-world, where one can challenge racers at one of 10 "hotspots". Customization and tuning will of course play a role, with 100 rims and hundreds of parts to choose from.

9/27 Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - Square's less popular (yet still crazily, insanely popular) Valkrie Profile franchise returns for another installment, following the release of Lenneth for the PSP last month. Set before both that game and the original Valkrie Profile, the familiar turn-based RPG gameplay features many tweaks to the skill and weapons systems. Unlike the original, players can now control their character on the battlefield, for instance influencing on which side an enemy is attacked. RPG fans have been waiting this one for awhile, and if reviews of the Japanese version are any indication it will certainly be the one to pick up this week.

9/28 NBA Live 07 - See the 360 review.

GC

9/27 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - See the PS2 review.

9/27 Baten Kaitos: Origins - A rare GameCube-only release, this is the second in the series of card-battle RPG, the first released way back in 2004. Set before the original, it offers the same hot card deck action.

9/27 Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 - All I know about Naruto is the main character says "Believe it" a lot, and honestly, that's the way I'd like it to stay. Fans of the cartoon series, as well as the original fighting game (released only back in March) will find more of the same in this follow up, with new characters and a new multiplayer mode.

PC

9/25 Backyardigans: Mission to Mars - Kiddie game based on the Nick Jr. tv show.

9/25 Family Feud - It's the Feud, on the PC, and that's all I know. Does Louie Anderson still host this or did he croak?

9/25 Hidden Expedition: Titanic - Scavenger-hunt gameplay set on the Titanic is what this is, apparently. There is a demo.

9/25 NBA Live 07 - See the 360 description.

9/25 Pacific Storm - The slick graphics might make one think this is a flight sim, but one would be sorely mistaken: it's a RTS, and a unique one at that. Set during the build-up to Pearl Harbor in the Pacific, it puts you in charge of either the US or Japanese forces. Developed by Russian-based Lesta, it attempts to shake up the RTS market on the PC with action elements -- if you're tired of the typical resource management and unit movement that comes with RTS's, Pacific Storm lets you jump in and control gun turrets and individual units.

9/26 Caesar IV - The first Caesar game was released in 1996 and brought the popular city building genre into ancient Rome. Created by many of the team members who worked on the original, the new version adds 3D graphics into the mix. Like typical city building games, you'll be responsible for the road network, keeping the citizens (and the Gods) happy, and defending the countryside from raiders. Caesar and city-building fans have been eagerly anticipating this title, which was announced early last year.

9/26 Just Cause - See the Xbox description.

9/26 Mage Knight Apocalypse - See the DS description.

9/27 ParaWorld - Developed by German based SEK, this is, essentially, an RTS with dinosaurs, and more importantly, an RTS not set in World War 2. In development for the past several years, its essentially your traditional RTS, with units, resource gathering, and base building. A polished 3D engine and unique setting should help it find it an audience, especially with dino-fanatics.

9/29 El Matador - 3rd person stealth action game from a first-time developer, it was due out last year, then delayed, then delayed again, and now quietly released. Described by the developer as a cross between Max Payne and Far Cry, its set in South Africa and has slow-motion, bullet-time-ish gameplay features.

GBA

9/27 Backyard Sports: Baseball 2007 - Portable version of the PC series of games that features kid-sized versions of their favorite steroid-enhanced baseballers.

9/28 Alex Rider: Stormbreaker - The GBA version features simplified top-down graphics but retains the emphasis on stealth.

9/28 Unfabulous - Based on a tv show. "Help Addie Singer navigate the hectic halls of Rocky Road Middle School and avoid becoming popularity roadkill."

Game of the Week:

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, DS, 9/26

Fans of the all-too-short original should find more of the same fun gameplay with some tweaks in this DS sequel, with new, more intuitive controls taking full advantage of the DS's stylus. If you missed the GBA version, its certainly worth looking for in a discount bin -- it really defines easy explanation, but plays as sort of a cross between the classic Lemmings franchise and the recent Cloning Clyde on the 360. The idea in each stage is to guide a series of Mario toys ("Minis") to the goal by controlling the environment.. the Minis march on their own, and its your job to open and close barriers and otherwise guide them to safety. I really liked the original game in this series because it perfectly executed what one might call the Nintendo "formula": It starts you out painfully slowly, presents you with only a tiny aspect of the game, and expands on it as you go along, teaching a new technique and always throwing something new at you up until the very end. In MvDK, this comes in the form of new kinds of switches and new enemies that appear only on later levels. With bonuses to collect and minigames to unlock, it also rewards players who take the time to master each stage.

Game I'm Playing:

Saint's Row, Xbox 360, 8/29

Saint's Row has good enough gameplay: it's just Grand Theft Auto, and at it's core, GTA is fun. It's fun running and driving around in an open world, doing side-missions, and progressing through the story as you choose. The problem with Saint's Row is while it gets the basics right, and adds generally good online multiplayer into the mix, the single player mode makes some odd choices and omissions. The main problem right off the bat is the story, with a script that's easily the worst in recent memory. Let me just put it this way: GTA has more style in a 30 second internet banner ad than this game has in all its characters put together. The other problem with Saint's Row is it just doesn't have as many features as GTA: No planes, no helicopters, no motorcycles, no tanks. No giant open world like Vice City. Why the developers spent time working on things like a pretty pointless player creation system instead of these essentials is really unfortunate. I also didn't like how the game forces you into doing pointless side missions before progressing with the main storyline -- why can't I just do them after I finish the main storyline? While there are moments of brilliance (I like the safe cracking minigame), overall, Volition's talents and time would have been better spent working on another, more original, title.