Some release weeks are truly uninspiring.  Take this week.  We’ve got yet another movie tie-in game, some dancing game for the Wii, and a DS game that could easily win the title of the Most Generic Title ever among other things.  There is one silver lining on the horizon though.

Remember.  Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

Releases To Watch For This Week

Picross 3D (DS)

Monday May 3, 2010

Ever heard of a nonogram puzzle?  Yeah, I don’t blame you.  This puzzle style originated in Japan and was made into a couple of video games for the Game Boy and DS going by the name Picross (PICture CROSSwords).  Of which, only two made it over here, Mario’s Picross and Picross DS, but thankfully that isn’t going to stop Nintendo from releasing the latest one stateside.  Picross is normally played on a 2D grid wherein you try to draw a picture one pixel at a time.  The clues as to how many pixels there are in each row and column is given on the side in the form of numbers which indicates… never mind.  It sounds utterly complicated, but suffice it to say that once you understand how to solve it, it’ll be like second nature.  More importantly, it’s truly addictive.  As the title imply, this is simply Picross with an extra dimension.  Instead of a picture, you’re chiseling a 3 dimensional object out of a block with the help of some numbers written on the side.  If this extra dimension makes an already great puzzle game even better, count me in!

Honorable Mention

What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! 2 (PSP)

Tuesday May 4, 2010

Can we all agree to never let the Japanese name any of our games?  This here is a sequel to the PSP game “Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!  What Did I Do to Deserve This?” that came out last July.  Only recently did NIS America realized that maybe they were skirting a little too closely to copyright infringement with Batman.  This sequel is basically their way of rectifying this mistake by changing the series name to what you see now.  The basic gameplay remains the same though.  You still get to create elaborate underground dungeons with a sustainable monster ecology to defend the overlord against those annoying heroes and their obnoxious need to take down evil wherever they lurk.  This being the sequel will give you access to more monsters, more levels, and more heroes to take down.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Leave it to the Japanese to come up with weird ass game concepts.

Fat Princess: A Fistful of Cake (PSP)

Tuesday May 4, 2010

Do you like capture the flag?  How about a multiplayer game dedicated to just that one mode?  Search no more because Fat Princess: A Fistful of Cake is exactly that game.  Originally released for the PSN, Fat Princess has you playing a little in dude red, or blue, who has to rescue the princess of their kingdom who’s been kidnapped by the other little dudes wearing the opposite color.  This isn’t some cutesy first person shooter though.  It’s a bloody 3D brawler where you get to choose your little dude’s job like soldier or worker or priest.  The original PSN release was pretty well received despite some balancing issues, so it stands to reason that this one should be pretty decent too.  But there is no voice chat.  How are you suppose to communicate with the other players without voice chat?  Moreover, the game can only support 8 real life players, but each team always has 16 players.  Are the bots going to be any good?  You’ll have to try for yourself to find out.

Coming This Week

Tuesday May 4, 2010

Iron Man 2 (ECKM*)

Comic book movie films have always made perfect sense for video game adaptations, yet they’re normally among the worst games for your money.  Here we’ve got a movie where you get to play as both Iron Man AND freakin’ War Machine, and somehow the precedent on movie-licensed games have shown that this game is probably going to suck.  Reality bites doesn’t it.

Family Gameshow (Wii)

Do you like quiz shows?  How about word games like crosswords or word searches?  What about logic puzzles?  Well, if you’ve got kids who also likes this stuff, and you’ve been dying to find a game just for you and your kids, have I got a game for you.

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails (DS)

I remember these guys.  I used to watch them way back in the early 90’s.  Well, here we’ve got a game based off the straight to DVD movie of the same name that came out last September, but unfortunately, I highly doubt either of these will tell me how these tank engines scratch an itch on their nose.  That question drove me nuts back when I was a kid.

Monster Racers (DS)

And here I thought Koei is just a Dynasty Warriors factory.  Meet Koei’s answer to Pokemon!  Monster Racers has you collecting various monsters which you’ll then race through a 2D course Platformer style!  Is it at all possible that we can leave nature be and not try to catch various animals for our perverse entertainment pleasure like gladiatorial combat or racing?  I guess not.

LTTP

• Dance Sensation (Wii)
• Dementium II (DS)

I was so hooked on Picross DS.  I guess I’m about to get re-hooked with Picross 3D.  How about you guys?  Who’s up for playing conductor with Thomas?

* = Every Console Known to Man

If you enjoy this article, please visit our website at www.rrbgames.com.  This feature is released every Monday.