DiRT 2
First up, the much anticipated release for the PC, DiRT 2. This is the first game in Colin McRae’s Rally franchise to be released since McRae’s death in 2007. Despite his absence, the developers have continued many of the trends and features that have made the earlier games so successful. The original DiRT was hailed as the most realistic off-road racing game ever, and DiRT 2 looks as though it has followed and surpassed its predecessor in the regard. Players with top-of-the-line hardware can expect photo-realistic graphics and detailed damage simulation as they barrel around dusty, dangerous curves, and try to place high in a long race campaign mode or one of the new special modes like Last Man Standing and Domination.
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
The first major cross-platform release this week is James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game. In this Sci-fi action adventure that loosely follows the plot of the movie, players take on the role of a newly recruited Avatar operator. The Avatars are genetic clones, made to look like the indigenous species of the planet Pandora—the Na’vi—which the humans can control remotely. The protagonist is ordered to use his/her avatar to help relocate a Na’vi village away from a valuable mining site. The player, controlling both the Avatar and its human counterpart, must make decisions along the way about which side will ultimately hold the land. Each race has 20 skills, over thirty weapons, and several vehicles to master throughout the course of the plot, and once you have it down there is a multi-player mode that lets take the battle between the Humans and Na’vi to the Internet. Finally, the Wii version is compatible with the Wii Balance Board and the Wii MotionPlus.
Rogue Warrior
The other major cross-platform release is Rogue Warrior. Play as real-life Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko in this stealth-based, tactical FPS. Trapped behind enemy lines—the sole survivor of your team—you must quietly leave a trail of bodies across Russia in an effort to complete the mission and escape. Hide in the shadows, sneak up on the enemy soldiers, and perform over 25 different lethal moves with names like The Optometrist and the Kidney Bean. Break the rules of conventional warfare as you complete side missions against targets of opportunity in the Russian countryside. There will also be a multi-player-mode, but like most games, stealth will likely not be much of a factor there.
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
The Icrontic Spotlight this week is the DS release, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Visit the land of Ashan, 40 years prior to the events of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic when five lost children find themselves in command of powerful armies, which must wage war against powerful demon adversaries. Control forces of Haven, Inferno, Sylvan, Academy, and Necro, each with eight unit types in three colors. The battles are block-switching puzzles, in which the player must try to line up the correct sequences of different unit types on the correct color in order to mount attacks. The units, attacks, and combos must first be collected from the world in an exploration mode that looks very much like a typical jRPG, so one can expect lots of NPCs to interact with, and many RPG elements mixed in with the puzzle battles.
As always, this week’s game releases are available at Ye Olde Icrontic Game Shoppe.
Following is a list of this week’s announced North American releases:
PC
- Can You See What I See? Dream Machine
- DiRT 2
- Elven Legacy: Magic
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
- Rogue Warrior
- Strike Force Red Cell
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood
- The Seventh Dragon
- World of Zoo
- Zombie Driver
Wii
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel- Christmas Clix
- Copter Crisis
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
- My Zoo
- Reader Rabbit Kindergarten
- Rec Room Games
- Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre
- Storybook Workshop
- Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood
- th!nk Logic Trainer
- Yoga for Wii
- The Combatribes (VC – SNES)
- Solomon’s Key (VC – Arcade)
DS
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
- Bookworm(DsiWare)
- Dragon Master
- Dreamer: Zoo Keeper
- Empire Deluxe
- Foto Face: The Face Stealer Strikes
- Hair Salon
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
- Learn Science
- Master of Illusion Express: Mind Probe
- Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
- MX vs. ATV Reflex
- Reader Rabbit Kindergarten
- Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure
- Sudoku Challenge!
- th!nk Logic Trainer
- th!nk Logic Trainer: Kids
- World of Zoo
Xbox 360
- Call of Duty Classic
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
- MX vs. ATV Reflex
- Rogue Warrior
PS3
- Call of Duty Classic
- James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
- MX vs. ATV Reflex
- Rogue Warrior
PSP
- Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters
- MX vs. ATV Reflex
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