Okay Metroid maniacs, calm the hell down! Your game has arrived this week. And as for you Valkyria Chronicles fans over in the corner there, your day has arrived as well. From the looks of it, everyone’s making way for Metroid’s newest release given how small the number of releases is this week.

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

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Tuesday August 31, 2010

Team Ninja? Really? It’s a little bit like Bioware making the next Bejeweled or something (Although who amongst us haven’t fantasized those red squares getting it on with those purple triangles.). It’s just so random! Metroid: Other M takes place after the events of Super Metroid, and unlike all the other Metroid games, Other M has a much heavier emphasis on the story, probably even more so than Metroid Fusion did. There’s voice acting, cutscenes with people talking, story unfolding with words being said about it, and all that good stuff. Metroid Prime 3 maybe the first Metroid game to utilize voiceovers, but it seems Other M will be taking it to the level of most narrative driven games of today. As for the game, it’s played on a 3D playing field, but you won’t be using the nunchuck. You’ll be playing with just the Wii Remote held sideways. The funny thing is that there’s a first person mode, which is activated by pointing the Wii Remote at the screen. That’s the only time you can use your missiles. Shifts in perspectives aside, most of the previews I’ve read paints Other M as a classic Metroid game. You go around the map killing enemies while keeping your eyes open for secrets and whatnot. New powers will help you reach new areas or secret items somewhere out of reach but within view to tantalize you. Given the series’ trademark atmosphere of isolation, cutscenes with real voiceovers doesn’t exactly help create such a feeling, but Metroid was far more than just that though. Exploration and progression played a huge role in making Metroid the revered series that it is today, and if Other M at least still has those, I’m on board.

Valkyria Chronicles II (PSP)

Tuesday August 31, 2010

I never could figure out why a series suddenly decided its next iteration will be on a less powerful platform? Take Metroid for example. Metroid went from the NES to the Gameboy for one iteration before going back to the home console. Valkyria Chronicles have done the same thing with Valkyria Chronicles 2. From the looks of the trailers, not much has changed. It’s still a Strategy Role Playing Game mashed with a Third Person Shooter game. It only sounds weird, but it actually works really well. You get the cerebral workout from figuring out the best way to deploy your units and the visceral action of aiming and shooting with each individual unit, even if percentages play a role in whether or not your shots hit the enemy. The art style, thankfully, stays intact as well. The pencil drawn filter makes what would have been a run of the mill Anime art style very interesting to just watch. The story takes place 2 years after the events of the first one, and Gallia is in the grip of a civil war. The game follows the story of a couple of cadets from the military academy and as far as I can tell has no relations to the characters from the first one. The first Valkyria Chronicles wasn’t just a unique game in terms of mechanics and graphics. Sales-wise, Valkyria Chronicles didn’t do all that well when it was first released, but against all video gaming odds, it suddenly gained popularity and sold well enough to warrant a sequel. Hopefully we’ll just skip the whole word of mouth thing and just get right on to the gangbuster sales part this time around.

Coming This Week

Tuesday August 31, 2010

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Ultimate Edition) (Xbox 360, PS3)

In addition to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, you’ll also be getting the online only Battlefield 1943 and a bunch of Bad Company 2 DLCs. I guess if you haven’t picked up the game, this here’s the best version to pick up for you.

Guilty Party (Wii)

Guilty Party is really just a mini-game collection dressed up as a whodunit. You play as the Dickens Detective Agency who goes out to solve a bunch of different crimes. The mini-games are for uncovering clues. What’s funny is that that veneer of a whodunit is really all you need to make this collection of mini-games seem kind of palatable. Whether it really is or not, I don’t know.

Camp Rock: The Final Jam (DS)

In theory, a camp devoted to rock n’ roll sounds awesome. In game form made by Disney made to cash in on a Disney film, probably not. Join the cast of the film and play guitar, bass, and drums to tunes from the film. There’s even some dancing involved somewhere. Sigh.

LTTP

Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII (Wii) 6/28/2010

Farmtopia (DS) 3/22/2010

Jewels of the Tropical Lost Island (DS) 8/9/2010

Galactic Taz Ball (DS) 8/9/2010

Ace Combat: Joint Assault (PSP) 6/28/2010

I seriously need to finish the first Valkyria Chronicles. Stupid life getting in the way of my games. That way I can play Valkyria Chronicles 2 without spoiling the story. Maybe I’ll play Metroid: Other M while I finish up Valkyria Chronicles. While I’m at it, I also would like a pony. I’m guessing the rest of you guys will be pouring your heart and soul into rock n’ roll at camp, right?

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