The Sequel to Majesty comes out for the PC this week. Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is very much like Majesty, but with better graphics, and a few new features. This RTS has the player building hero’s guilds, hiring heroes then getting them trained and equipped to fight the baddies. The economy of the game is based around the heroes themselves, but the player never directly controls them, relying instead on bounties and flags that suggest actions to the heroes at the right time. Watch for Icrontic’s review of this game to show up later this week.
A tie-in to the upcoming movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, based loosely on the classic children’s book will arrive across all major platforms. In the game you play Flint, the movie’s main character, as he follows the plot of the film, which apparently has him saving the world from his own giant food meteors. I would expect sloppy controls, half-shod mechanics, and little replay value. However, I have been surprised by movie tie-ins in the past.
In the cross-platform release WET, Rubi is a ‘fixer’ who’s been slighted, and is out for revenge against the man who left her for dead. Gun down the bad guys, while performing superhuman feats of acrobatics. This game features a retro cinematic style, lots of slow-motion, and a few unique modes, like car-surfing and a super-angry adrenaline mode. The fact that it’s coming out of Bethesda, the studio that brought us the Elder Scrolls franchise, makes high production value, and well-thought out mechanics very likely.
Icrontic’s Spotlight Release this week is Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story for the DS: An RPG/puzzle game that has the player following two related story-lines. The usually, but not always, evil Bowser accidentally inhales our favorite plumbers after being tricked by a rival villain who wants to take over. Switch back and forth between the story of Bowser’s fight against Fawful and The Bros. journey throughout the inside of Bowser’s body. Use Mario and Luigi’s teamwork to fight-off microscopic badguys, and help Bowser along from inside. The combat is RPG style with some button timing, and the many platformer-style levels are full of puzzles that require the pair to work together to find Peach and escape.
A list of announced North American Releases follows:
PC
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
- Constellation Professional
- ORDER OF WAR
- Madballs in Babo: Invasion
- Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
- Need for Speed: Shift
- RACE On
- Red Faction: Guerrilla
- Resident Evil 5
- Runes of Magic Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy
- Supreme Ruler 2020 GOLD
- Twin Sector
PS3
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
- Heroes Over Europe
- Katamari Forever
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- Need for Speed: Shift
- NHL 10
- NHL 2K10
- Pinball Hall of Fame – The Williams Collection
- Tornado Outbreak
- WET
PSP
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
- IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- Need for Speed: Shift
Wii
- Chicken Blaster
- Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
- NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- Monster Trucks Mayhem
- NHL 2K10
- One Piece: Unlimited Cruise 2
- Our House Party
- Pacific Liberator
- Tornado Outbreak
- Toy Story Mania!
- Mart Racer (WiiWare)
- Spaceball: Revolution (WiiWare)
- Texas Hold’Em Poker (WiiWare)
- Crash N’ the Boys Street Challenge (VC – NES)
DS
- BLEACH: The 3rd Phantom
- Chicken Blaster
- Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
- Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force
- Dreamer: Top Model
- Happy Party with Hello Kitty & Friends
- IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
- It’s a Girl Thing! My Boyfriend
- It’s a Girl Thing! Princess In Love
- James Patterson Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion
- Learn Geography
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2
- Our House
- Scribblenauts
- Art Academy: First Semester (DSiWare)
- Oscar in Toyland (DSiWare)
XBox360
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
- Heroes Over Europe
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- Need for Speed: Shift
- NHL 10
- NHL 2K10
- Panzer General: Allied Assault
- Pinball Hall of Fame – The Williams Collection
- Qubed
- Tornado Outbreak
- WET