Game Releases for the Week of 10/8-10/14

Hey everybody, Dan here with this week's gaming releases! As the weather turns nippily, publishers are beginning to gear up for the big holiday releases. But before we get there are weeks like this, filled with one or two standouts, but overall a bunch of crap (don't miss the GBA crud being shoveled out this week at the bottom of this article). Next week looks far better though, with the next installment of Sam Fisher's Splinter Cell: Double Agent as well as the next-gen version of Tiger Woods.

Xbox 360

None

PSP

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - Based on an apparently very popular Nickelodeon animated series which I have never heard of, THQ is launching versions of the video game conversion on pretty much every console this week (one for Nintendo's Wii is also planned for that systems launch). Pretty much all the versions look the same; the game appears to be your standard top-down actioner, with bad graphics and your standard top-down gameplay.. collect items, take on enemies, rinse, repeat. Anyway, all I know is this THQ license for Nickelodeon cartoons lasts through 2010, so expect a game based on every single Nick series.

10/11 GUN Showdown - For a minute, I totally forgot that not only did this title once come out for the 360 last year, I played it as well.. I guess that says something about the gameplay, a 3rd-person over-the-shoulder westerner that plays as you'd expect. A port of last the console version, the PSP title does include several new missions, as well as quick-play minigames.

10/11 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - This years version of EA's golf game arrives on every console this week with one notable exception: the 360 version is apparently 1 week late to the party. But if you just can't wait, the PSP and old-gen console titles will be out, and of course, 10 bucks cheaper. Of note in the PSP version is the same basic gameplay as last year, but the developers have promised they've addressed the long load times. Also new is a career mode and new mini-games.

10/12 Scooby Doo! Who's Watching Who? - It's a 3D cartooney adventure with Scooby Doo, the Mystery Machine, and some plot that involves the Scooby-gang of mystery hunters challenging modern CSI-like ghost hunters. Gameplay seems to be a variety of adventurer staples: the stealth mission, the driving mission, the platforms.

DS

10/10 Clubhouse Games - See game of the week, below.

10/11 Disney's Hannah Montana - Hannah Montana is a Disney Channel series for tween girls about, (and I quote), "the hippest 14-year-old transfer from Tennesee to Malibu". That rock-solid concept has been translated into a text-centric adventure game where players meet characters and choose dialog responses using the stylus.

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - See the PSP description. Of note in the DS version is a more traditional hand-drawn animation style as opposed to the others 3D polygon action, but gameplay appears similar.

10/11 Crash Boom Bang - Onomatopoeic title filled with mini-games based on the Crash Bandicoot license. Gameplay wise, it's your basic Mario Party rip-off with games that control with the stylus. In multi-play you can send text messages to your opponents in an attempt to trip them up, a cute little feature.

10/12 Scooby Doo! Who's Watching Who? - See the PSP description.

Xbox

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - See the PSP description.

10/11 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - While most of us will wait a week for the 360 version, EA is promising the Xbox/PS2 incarnations will have similar features to the next-gen title: and, of course, a smaller price tag. New in 07 is essentially more courses and golfers, a new gameplay mode (Team Tour), and new online features, including EA-run daily tournaments.

10/11 Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - The mighty Spyro franchise that began way back in 1989 returns for another round, with gameplay that, despite the "New Beginning" moniker, will be mostly familiar to long-time fans. The developer promises greater emphasis on action and less on jumping and platforming, but the same fire-breathing crystal-smashing, powerup-collecting gameplay will be there. With voice acting by Elijah Wood and David Spade, Sierra is seemingly pulling out the stops for this aging franchise.

PS2

10/10 Family Feud - It's Family Feud, now on the PS2, with 1,000 survey questions fun for the whole, uh, family.

10/10 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - If you're keeping score at home, this is the 7th (and if the series creators are to be believe, the last) in the series of fighting games that has spawned movies and congressional inquires alike. The idea behind this one seems to be content, as Ed Boon & Co. have thrown everything in -- 62 playable characters, 17 arenas, the return of Konquest mode (the adventure-ish story-mode), and wacky mini-games including a Kart-racer. There's even a new create-a-player option that's all the rage these days. (Of note is that no 360 version is planned, an odd omission. The Xbox version of this title will be out next week.)

10/11 God Hand - Published by Capcom and developed by the currently hot Clover Studios (Okami), God Hand is pretty much just an old-fashioned brawler for the PS2. Besides the requisite punches, kicks, and throws, the titular God Hand is your super move that can be powered-up and upgraded at God-Hand-Upgrade shops along the way. (Heh, I said "titular").

10/11 Tales of the Abyss - The next in the popular Tales RPG series, which began in Japan in 1994 with Tales of Phantasia on the SNES and has since seen dozens of versions and spinoffs (this is officially the 5th game in the main series, if you're keeping track). Fans will be pleased to know the same development team that worked on Symphonia is back, with an adjusted battle engine that allows for super attacks after powering up a elemental-based meter.

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - See the PSP description.

10/11 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - The latest in the god-knows-how-long running series of spinoffs and sub-spinoffs of the so-called MegaTen franchise, Devil Summoner signifies a strategic shift away from its traditional RPG roots, throwing some action into the mix.. Don't worry RPG fanatics, your deep menus and XP and RP and ZP are still here, with the real-time battle commands only replacing some of the simpler actions.

10/11 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - See the Xbox description.

10/11 Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - See the Xbox description.

10/11 Eagle Eye Golf - I guess to capitalize on the "confused grandma" market who might mistake this budget golf title for Tiger Woods, this Japanese-developed title still appears to have your golf game requirements, albeit with far fewer courses than its big-budget competition.

GC

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - See the PSP description.

10/11 Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - See the Xbox description.

PC

10/9 Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade - Ridiculously-long titled expansion pack for the popular "Dawn of War" RTS (that game is, obviously, required). The pack includes 2 new races and a new campaign.

10/10 Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Special Edition - Released earlier this year on the PS2, this is essentially the infamously-hard DMC3 with several tweaks and new gameplay modes, including "adjusted difficulty" (i.e. an easier easy mode)

10/10 Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 07 - See the Xbox description.

10/12 The Guild II - The sequel to 2003's Europa 1400, Guild II is an odd mix of God Game in the SimCity style and RPG, with an emphasis on making money, be it through trade or thievery.

GBA

10/11 Avatar: The Last Airbender - See the DS description.

10/11 Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses - "Use special skills and gifts from each sister to overcome obstacles and save the king from the poison potion."

10/11 Noddy: A Day in Toyland - Based on the Nick Jr. kids show for babies (are babies playing games now??)

10/11 Disney Princess: Royal Adventure - Combining all of Disney's "Princesses" from its various film properties in one giant synergistic bitch convention, this game "lets players explore an enchanted castle with secret portals leading to the worlds of the Disney Princesses on their quest to find a missing collection of special tiaras." Inane.

10/11 Barbie: Diary Mysteries - "Barbie's high school is holding its annual charity event, and some valuable items up for auction have gone missing!" Fuck!

10/11 Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts - The second original Over the Hedge title this year, this title centers around Hammy, the squirrel from the film.

10/11 Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - See the Xbox description.

10/12 Naruto: Ninja Council 2 - The last Naruto game appeared all of 2 weeks ago, so naturally that means your kid has grown tired of it. Thankfully Tomy has stepped in and filled the void with this, the second in the Ninja Council side-scrolling platformer series with that kid who says "Believe it".

Game of the Week:

Clubhouse Games, DS, 10/10

There's 42 -- count 'em -- 42! classic games here, from card standards like Old Maid and Texas Hold Em, to classic pub games like Darts and Billiards. Once you unlock them all (this is a Nintendo game, after all), every single one is playable over the Internet using the NiWifi connection, or single-cart multiplayer, making the title perfect for a long car-ride to grandmas house. No explosions or power-ups to collect here, just a bunch of titles whose gameplay has stood the test of time.

Game I'm Playing:

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

No surprise here: this game is fun, clever, and like the original, insanely hard to put down. Essentially Mario Bros: the Puzzle Game, MvDK is pretty much Nintendo's take on the classic Lemmings -- your mission is to guide a series of mini Mario toys from one end of a level to another, maneuvering traps and avoiding enemies while keeping your group of Marios together in order to score maximum points. The Marios have very basic moves -- you can tap them with the stylus to make them stop, and swipe them to make them jump or change direction. Most of time you'll be flying around the level (using the D pad, which works very well), trying to multi-task: Most levels start the Marios apart from each other, so it takes some work, and a lot of restarting, to bring them together. Unlike the last game, earning full points is substantially harder, requiring frantic stylus work that hasn't been seen since the days of Trauma Center. Overall, a fun little game, made even better with a level designer (although making an interesting and clever level proves far harder than playing the actual game), and Wifi Connection support that allows you to download your friends or Nintendo-created levels.