A lot of interesting games drop this week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.
The eighth game in the Tomb Raider series, Tomb Raider: Underworld is going to put a lot of focus on the environment. Crystal Dynamics, the company responsible for developing the last two Tomb Raider games, are turning Lara Croft’s adventures into a real saga, offering up a mission based story in Legend, and a back-story heavy retelling of the very first adventure in Anniversary. In Underworld, expect Lara’s environment to feel more realistic.
The key word here is ‘persistence’. Make a footprint and it will stay until it rains, get Lara’s clothes dirty, they’ll stay that way until she takes a dip in the pond. Drop some items or bodies here and there, they won’t disappear when you walk away. Break down some plants, kick up some rocks, shoot up the walls. Everything you do become part of the environment. In addition, this game will focus even less on gun-play than Legend did, instead making the navigation of the environment the biggest challenge for our heroine.
In the latest EverQuest II expansion, EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey, players will get access to new lands by airship, five new quests, and a shard reward system. Oh… and they’ll also ride a bear.
Some tactical RPG fans might be looking forward to Luminous Arc 2, the sequel to the TRPG that played like Final Fantasy Tactics, but refused to take itself seriously. This new offering seems to be dishing up more of the same. In a similar vein Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon is a continuation of the story and play style from the first Fantasy Harvest Moon game, with some interface improvements. If you were into either of these DS games the first time around, it’s time to pickup the second one.
An interesting entry in the Wii’s growing catalog of casual, social games is Animal Crossing: City Folk. Your character is on vacation in the world of personified animals. What will you choose to do each day? Visit the beach, do some shopping, hang-out with the animals, or chat (and share game stuff) with your friends over the Internet? What ever you do, make sure that you take advantage of the new Wii Speak (a speaker-phone style peripheral for the Wii), as this is the first game which will utilize it.
Left 4 Dead!
The Icrontic Spotlight game for this week is Left 4 Dead. The demo for L4D was released last week, and the reception so far is quite positive. A co-operative game in which the players must work together to survive a post-apocalyptic zombie infestation. The challenge isn’t really in the monsters themselves, it’s in working together. Every challenge in the game is designed to force the players to behave as a team or fail. It very well may be the game that defines a new genre: Co-op Survival. Check the Icrontic Steam group if you want to get in on this action with some of the {IC} crew, as many of us will be playing.
Find a full list of this week’s releases on the following page.
PC
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- The Lord of the Rings: Mines of Moria
- The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff
- Bejeweled Twist
- Bolt
- CSI: NY
- Everquest II The Shadow Odyssey
- Left 4 Dead
- Legendary
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Expansion
- Tomb Raider Underworld
- World Wide Soccer Manager 2009
Nintendo DS
- Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- Emma at the Farm
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Skate It
- Amazing Adventures The Forgotten Ruins
- Animal Boxing
- Bolt
- Burger Island
- Cradle of Rome
- Imagine Ballet Star
- Imagine Movie Star
- Jumble Madness
- Luminous Arc 2
- Math Blaster in the Prime Adventure
- Metal Slug 7
- Monster Band
- Moon
- Petz Catz Clan
- Petz Monkeyz House
- Petz Rescue Endangered Paradise
- Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
- Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
- Smart Girl’s: Winter Wonderland
- Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
- Tomb Raider Underworld
- Tony Hawk’s Motion
Nintendo Wii
- Animal Crossing: City Folk
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- Gallop & Ride
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Skate It
- AMF Bowling World Lanes
- Bolt
- Castlevania Judgment
- Championship Foosball
- Cooking Mama: World Kitchen
- Petz Crazy Monkeyz
- PopStar Guitar
- Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
- Safecracker
- Sonic Unleashed
- Tomb Raider Underworld
- Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
- American Pool Deluxe
- Summer Sports 2
PlayStation 2
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- NCAA Basketball 09
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Rock Band Track Pack Vol 2
- Bolt
- Dynasty Warriors 6
- PopStar Guitar
- Sonic Unleashed
- Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge
PlayStation 3
- Blitz: The League II
- Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- NCAA Basketball 09
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Alone in the Dark
- Bolt
- Tomb Raider Underworld
PSP
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- Need for Speed: Undercover
Xbox 360
- Blitz: The League II
- Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- NCAA Basketball 09
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- You’re in the Movies
- Bolt
- Left 4 Dead
- Lips
- Naruto: The Broken Bond
- Tomb Raider Underworld
- Winter Sports 2 The Ultimate Challenge
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