No More Heroes is going to rock. If anyone says, "The Wii is only for kiddies", they've been hiding under a log. Check out Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, MK: Armeggedon, SSBB - all of which will have adult followings.
Shippin' Out January 21-25: Burnout Paradise, No More Heroes
By
Tom Magrino
Headliners join Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Mario & Sonic's Olympic adventures on the DS, Pirates of the Burning Sea MMOG hoists its sails, and PixelJunk Monsters mauls the PSN.
It may be a light week for game releases quantity-wise, but even a cursory glance at the impending slate should reveal a game for just about anyone. A release that would seem to be better garaged as an end-of-the-year blockbuster, Burnout Paradise squeals onto the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this week as easily the biggest release thus far this year. Developed by EA-owned Criterion Games, Burnout Paradise returns as the fifth installment in the road-rage-fueled racer. Both PS3 and 360 gamers can test drive a demo for Burnout Paradise through their respective online content distribution dealerships.
Wii gamers looking for middle ground will have no such luck this week, as the two most notable releases offer gamers a choice between assassins or marine life. No More Heroes, a hyperstylized action game from Killer7 designer Suda-51 and Grasshoper Manufacture, drops players into the role of a lightsaber-wielding assassin on his journey to ascend the ranks of a group of killers for hire. On the other side of the spectrum, Nintendo and Akira invite meditative gamers to delve into Endless Ocean, a scuba-diving sim that plays heavily to atmospheric gameplay and low-key tunes. On the Wii's Virtual Console, Adventures of Lolo 2 and Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers are available for 500 ($5) and 800 ($8) Wii points, respectively.
On the DS, Intelligent Systems' fourth installment in the Advance Wars turn-based strategy series is out this week. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin diverges from its critically lauded predecessor on the DS, adding in darker, more serious undertones and a more realistic style. DS gamers looking for a little light fun can check out Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. As with its Wii counterpart released last November, Mario & Sonic pits the two iconic characters and their respective entourages off in a series of world-championship gaming events.
Flying Lab Software's long-in-development massively multiplayer online game Pirates of the Burning Sea sets sail on PCs this week. A part of Sony Online Entertainment's ranging stable of MMOGs, POTBS received its christening by those who preordered the game two weeks ago. POTBS features both on-foot exploration and high-sea sailing around the Caribbean Sea circa 1720 and offers both player-versus-environment and player-versus-player combat. POTBS requires a subscription fee, with SOE plundering $14.99 from gamers' wallets monthly.
PixelJunk Monsters, a tower-defense-style real-time strategy game from PixelJunk Racers developer Q-Games, arrives on the PlayStation Network this week costing the equivalent of 1.5 beers, according to studio president and executive producer Dylan Cuthbert. In lieu of its weekly Wednesday release, Microsoft will be giving away Chair Entertainment's aquatic multiplayer action game Undertow in an effort to make amends for the widespread Xbox Live outages during the holidays. Undertow will be free to download from January 23 through January 27, at which point it will return to its regularly scheduled 800 Microsoft points ($10) price.
This week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates may vary).
JANUARY 21, 2008
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
Adventures of Lolo 2 (Wii VC)
Endless Ocean (Wii)
Pacific Storm: Allies (PC)
Pirates of the Burning Sea (PC)
Ship Simulator 2008 (PC)
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (Wii VC)
JANUARY 22, 2008
Burnout Paradise (X360, PS3)
History Channel: Lost Worlds (PC)
Iridium Runners (PS2)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)
No More Heroes (Wii)
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure (Wii)
JANUARY 23, 2008
No releases announced.
JANUARY 24, 2008
Rainbow Islands Evolution (PSP)
PixelJunk Monsters (PSN)
JANUARY 25, 2008
No releases announced.
By
Tom Magrino
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
60 comments
Wow, after seeing some screenshots for this, a man getting sliced down the middle blood everywhere and Manhunt 2 originally gets an AO rating, and this (NMH) is on the kid friendly Wii...
"Anyway, Burnout it looking amazing. I may be forced to get that, though I'm gonna go with the PS3 version since it looks and plays better then the 360 version. " This statement has no basis in fact. There was an urban legend perpetuated by IGN that BP was being developed with PS3 as lead console and therefore, the PS3 version would be better. The devs have categorically denied this, they started with a "common resource" then handed engine and optimization chores on to SEPARATE TEAMS for each console. The differences between the two versions are very slight, with the PS3 version having a slightly smoother framerate, while the 360 version has a some minor framerate hitches, but has improved texture appearances and better lighting. The differences are tiny. The PS3 version is only "better" if you concentrate on framerate (you can cause noticable hitches in the 360 version by e-braking in a crowded intersection), and completely ignore the visual improvements in the 360 version.
Not impressed with the New Brurnout, to me it does have the edge of the first, too open for my taste. I'll pass on this and wait for Turok in Feb.
Picked up Paradise and No More Heroes at lunch today. Can wait to try them when I get off work!!!
Can't wait to get Burnout Paradise! I hear so many people raving about No More Heroes, but I've sadly haven't seen anything for it myself. I'll have to check it out and see what the hype is about.
Ign gave No More Heroes a trashing, not even making 8.0 (i know it's still not bad, but i was expecting better). Racing isn't my thing, so n/ for me this week. Waiting on PixelJunk Monsters, Haze, maybe Rez
What's the deal with the two-VC-game-a-week scheme they've been pushing? I might have to check out No More Heroes and Endless Ocean though.
I feel bad for No More Heroes. I would expect it to sell anymore then Zak and Wiki, and since that game was a financial failure..... Anyway, Burnout it looking amazing. I may be forced to get that, though I'm gonna go with the PS3 version since it looks and plays better then the 360 version. It's also good to see that MS is making up for the XBL shortages, but nothing is going to give me all my Halo 3 save data that got corrupted back because of the problems. And Undertow might not be the best way to apologize. How about you just give me my 1 month of Live back eh? It's cheaper anyway.... Oh and PSN Thursdays FTW. Glad to see them finally doing something on a weekly basis.
Yet another crappy couple of weeks to look forward to as a wii owner. Anyone else craving some more more games?
Got NMH since a couple of weeks and I'll just say that Goichi Suda is gaming industry's Quentin Tarentino. If U have a Wii and look for some action, get this game and enjoy the Assassination Gigs ;) Can't wait to get a GC version of Killer 7 now !!
Hey Super Street fighter 2 woot, i was waiting on that instead of the first outting to get street fighter 2.
Nothing interesting for me about the Wii (No more Heroes is to cartoony), I might get Burnout: Paradise since my original Revenge (Xbox 1) is not compatible with the 360....
carljohnson, I actually haven't played it yet, as my Wii is about 3 states away from me right now. But I've read Play's glowing hand's on with it, I've read Game Informer's, Nintendo Power's various hands on reports, and Game Trailers just put up their video review today. Also, its a Suda 51 game (Killer 7, Michigan, and he's damn good buddies with Hideo Kojima). On top of all of this, its a GOOD MATURE 3rd party title on the Wii. If people don't buy this game then it only further continues the negative stigma of the Wii catering to party game and non-gamer audiences. Simply put, if people don't buy this game, they have no right to whine about the lack of good 3rd party games on the Wii.
I will pick up No More Heroes at some point this week. Burnout Paradise might be a little too expensive for me now. After playing Killer 7, I'll be buying any Suda 51 game from now on.
I think NMH got a pretty good review from Famitsu. I'm not sure if any English-speaking publications have reviewed it yet.
"jmangafan If you own a Wii, you're doing a disservice to yourself if you don't pick up No More Heroes. SImple as that." Have you played it? I havent really read any reviews of it so far, I've heard alot about it, but not an official review.
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Burnout Paradise
- Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
- Developer(s): Criterion Games
- Genre: Driving
- Release:
- PEGI: 3+
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