Dare to Play the Game

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I found me a new addiction to stray me (at least temporarily) from Rainbow Six Vegas, it is also the first PC game that I’ve played in years that wasn’t solitaire. It’s called Guild Wars. I picked up the first one for a me…e $25 (thank you best buy coupon) and played it all of Friday and scattered throughout the weekend. My character is up to level 9 and my forte is warhammers and bows. I’m still experimenting but since I’m part Ranger, I also have a level 8 pet that likes to peck. Sure beats the heck out of my two real life pets which are level 1 at best (that is until my rabbit starts producing fire) and just likes to gnaw a lot. It’s a cool game and the best thing is no monthly fee, chomp on that WOW and Evercrack.

Call me, call me. Either Morgan is calling the operator to get my number or she is in touch with the police station filing that report. I’ll stick with the former, it calms me at night when I’m counting little morgans jumping over the fence. Do you ever think about the fact what she would sound like on an answering machine? Would she use her full name or just say “Morgan”. Of course if you actually got over the fact she left a message on your answering machine, the question really is; do you care and why aren’t you calling back?

Take-Two has announced it is considering a possible sale of the company in light of the imminent management shakeup that threatens to ax several executives. The company has long been embattled with controversies relating to its games (Grand Theft Auto) and financial scandals.

A statement issued by Take-Two reads: “The purposes of the Board’s actions are to provide additional time to review the proposed actions of the shareholder group and also to evaluate alternative courses of actions that could potentially be presented to the shareholders, including a possible sale of the Company.”

Troubling, here is a good company with good releases that push the envelope and bring some great gameplay having issues that could force it being sold to somebody else. It’s not like we are going to see Grand Theft Auto IV disappear from the map or any other decent game kept from a follow up sequel. However, little known franchises could dry up or release dates extended. To be honest, we could even see a more politically correct GTA. A cleaner GTA might be a more pleasant experience (San Andreas and Vice City Stories are so explicit that I even cringe a little), but ultimately that would probably take away from the open ended mature game play. So here is hope that Take Two cleans up its financial act and we hear of no more problems (or impending sales).

New DS Game Has Longest Name Ever

D3 has gotten pretty darn close to breaking databases in the past, but with its latest game, it may have crossed the barrier. Take a deep breath, and try reading this: Simple DS Series Vol.14 The Jidousha Kyoushuujo DS — Gendoukitsuki Jidousha, Futsuu Jidou Nirin, Oogata Jidou Nirin, Futsuu Jidousha, Fusuu Jidousha Nishuu, Chuugata Jidousha, Oogata Jidousha, Oogata Jidousha Nishuu, Oogata Tokuchuu Jidousha, Kenbiki.

As for all that junk that makes up the rest of the name, those are just the different types of license tests that are included in the game. You’ll find everything from standard cars to motorcycles. The fact that D3 decided to put this extraneous information in the title suggests that they’re either out to drive database masters to insanity, or they’re planning another volume with an entirely different set of cars and an even longer name.

Bless you. Could you possibly come up with a longer title, I’m not sure my mouth has gone into cardiac arrest by the time I get half way thru this insanity. More proof that Nintendo handhelds get every single game that one can think of and then some. What’s scarier here? The fact that the DS gets a game about passing the driving test, or that Natsume and D3 got together because the Japanese driving tests are so ridiculous and produced a game to get help to teenagers who are having trouble. When you look at the reality and how well the DS sells over in Japan, it makes sense; it just boggles the mind in the process. I’m waiting for the American version of Take Home Defensive Driving for the DS; I’ll be there I tell you! (just as long as I can rent it at Blockbuster for free)

Taking off XBOX 360 for a week to keep it fresh around here, I just had to give a quick summation of one of the more creative titles out there coming out on the Wii in about a month’s time. This game started out on the DS which creatively used the stylus to whip up an assortment of dishes. Now on April 20th for the Wii, it goes into nex-gen console territory. Cooking Mama, for lack of a better adjective, is a cooking video game. You follow a recipe from mixing ingredients to seeing it come out of the oven. Two hundred and fifty recipes from 10 countries are included for you to try out. A cooking challenge mode also exists where you can test your skills against a fellow cooker. The neat thing is that this does use the Wii controller as you use it to chop, stir, roll, slice, dice and gyrate food in any manner you wish. This might be the closest thing we ever get to Iron Chef the video game . (I think there is actually an import game Iron Chef, but until I can play it on an American console, it doesn’t count). This could be a highly addictive game and should be a real treat for Wii owners. This is also the type of game unfortunately that will never see it’s way onto the XBOX 360. It’s very family oriented and the frying pan can’t be used to hit somebody over the head in first person view. I do want to comment on one thing however; looking at the box cover. A Hot Dog, Taco, Lasagna, and Sushi will give you heartburn if consumed all at once, actually it will probably give you gas enough to set your house on fire or at least two people sitting directly to the right and left of you. You might want to duck, but seriously go spend the $50 for you fortunate Wii owners come April 20th.

One of the first video game titles I can remember where the music is still fresh in my mind cause I played it so MUCH! I played the arcade version and nes version to death and then some. This game gave birth to the scrolling beat em up franchise that would be elaborated on by Double Dragon, Final Fight & Streets of Rage. Your character was Keiji Thomas whose girlfriend Sylvia has been kidnapped by Mr. X. Keiji must fight through 5 levels of increasing difficulty in order to save his girl. These range from the standard fighters and knife throwers to bizarre creatures such as fire-breathing dragons, killer bees and butterflies that wish to maim you. A very fun and engaging game developed by Irem and released by Data East. It was released in Japan under the name of Spartan X and had many elements of the Bruce Lee movie: Game of Death. At this time, I don’t believe it has been released to Virtual Console for the Wii, but one would think it will become a reality pretty soon. The last release I can remember was that it appeared on a compilation of IREM games for the PS1 Japanese import console.

PS2

Shining Force EXA
Test Drive Unlimited
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
UEFA Championship League 2006-2007

PSP

After Burner: Black Falcon
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Another Road
Full Auto 2: Battlelines
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of WarLords
Test Drive Unlimited
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
UEFA Championship League 2006-2007

PS3

Armored Core 4
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Godfather The Don’s Edition
Virtua Tennis 3

Xbox 360

Armored Core 4
Earth Defense Force 2017
Tetris Evolution
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
UEFA Championship League 2006-2007
Virtua Tennis 3

Gamecube

TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Wii

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Godfather: Blackhand Edition
Kororinpa: Marble Mania
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Wing Island

DS

Custom Robo Arena
Major League Baseball 2k7
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Steel Horizon
Theme Park
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007

GBA

Nickelodeon Volume 1 4 Pack
Petz Vet
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Lots of little to medium releases this week. The most numerous one include the umpteen releases of TMNT for every major console and then some (I heard Commodore 64 wanted a version too but nobody was sure if you could tell the difference between Donatello and Leonardo). Also Oblivion makes its way to PS3 because they had a few more million dollars to make for the most insane RPG ever. Finally a Tetris game makes its way to the 360, however paying $50 for a Tetris game is a bit worrisome no matter how many variations of the game exists. This should have been a slam dunk for Live with a 400-800 point pricetag ($5-$10). It would have a few million copies and then some and no packaging cost. I would have bought it to boot as well; I’ll stick to my tetris game I got for $15 for my ps2 or Bejeweled 2 for Live. It’s Tetris, it shouldn’t be complicated. Oh by the way, if I haven’t mentioned it a million times before; Castlevania Symphony of the Night for XBOX Live should be available by the time you read this. At 800 points it’s a steal especially since it is the first title to break the sacred 50mb barrier. (before we even get into the great gameplay and everything else)

This week I picked up Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Middle Earth II for XBOX 360 for under $20 on Ebay. It is supposed to be a fun little strategy game, we will see how it works out. Supposedly Call of Duty 2 for 360 is $14 this week at Circuit City, but I can’t figure out if it’s all editions (cause if you can’t get the Game of the Year edition, then it simply isn’t worth it). Also mentioned, I will try to get out the review for Vice City Stories for PS2. To be perfectly honest, it will not be an overall positive review. Look for also this week for a couple of DVD reviews as I expand my reviewing prowess (Are we There Yet? and In the Heat of the Night).

As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)