Madden’s day in the spotlight went by over a month ago. Now soccer takes their turn to be in the spotlight with not one major franchise’s annual release but two. Not that all that many people around here even pay attention to such releases, but still, give the poor scrappy sport a break. I hear it’s big over in, like, everywhere but here.

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

Honorable Mention

Samsung? I never knew they were also a country.

FIFA Soccer 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP)

Tuesday September 27, 2011
The beautiful game just got a lot more precise as EA making defense, dribbling, and collision detection. Defense has been beefed up to make marking smarter and more intuitive. Dribbling has been fine tuned, so you're more aware and protective of the ball around boundaries and defenders while collision makes tackles, positioning and injuries far more lifelike. Online leagues have also been revamped along with career to give gamers more bang for their buck. Overall it looks to be another strong outing for FIFA, perhaps enough to be the man of the match.
-Wolf96

(PS2 version) See that little guy near the lower left? That’s you.

The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)

Tuesday September 27, 2011
Normally, I don’t highlight these compilation ports anywhere above the “Coming This Week” section, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Put aside the fact that both games are truly phenomenal works of gaming. The fact that this compilation finally gives Shadow of the Colossus the horsepower it never had back on the PS2 makes this worth looking into especially for people who loved it back then.

What’s that? You’ve never heard of Ico and/or Shadow of the Colossus? First of all, shame on you! Anyways, lets start with Ico. This 3D platformer came out back in 2001 just a little bit after the PS2 came out. As Ico, you have to climb, jump, swim, and whatever it takes to get out of this worn down castle you were imprisoned in. Instead of inundating you with adrenaline pumping platforming action though, most of the times you find yourself outside with nothing but the sound of the sea and wind whipping by your ears as you stare at the ostensible platforming puzzle in front of you. Not to say that you’re completely alone though. The castle is populated by shadows. These shadows don’t want to kill you per se. Instead they are after your partner, the princess. Did I mention that Ico liberated an imprisoned princess and decided to try and get her along with himself out of the castle? Yes, the game boils down to a giant escort mission, but oddly enough most people, your truly included, ends up caring for this helpless princess who speaks in a different language.

Shadow of the Colossus kinda takes that same formula and shuffles it around a little bit. Instead of a castle, the wanderer finds himself in a pretty big spit of outdoorsy land with plains, cliff sides, forests, caves, and the occasional mesa here and there. Why such a big area? How else could they fit 16 colossi without having them bump into each other? These colossi will be the only enemies in the game you ever fight, and you will fight them all for, I’m guessing, your girlfriend (Sister? Secret admirer? They never did say who she is) who lies unconscious in a temple.

Describing these two seminal video games really doesn’t do either justice. Suffice it to say that based on these two games alone, the expectation for the third game, The Last Guardian in this loosely connected series of games cannot be any higher than it already is.

Coming This Week

Tuesday September 27, 2011

Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

You know the best part about Call of Duty and really just about every other FPS out there? They guys you shoot can shoot back. Admittedly if you take that away, you get Left 4 Dead, but even then, at least they outnumber you 1 to a billion making it somewhat fair that they don’t have guns. Cabela’s Big Game Hunter, despite being an FPS, has none of those elements. Sure the bear or mountain lion you shot at and missed might charge at you, but for the most part you’re hunting animals that you can scare with errant loud noises. Get back to me when they start arming the deers with Plasma Riffles. Then we’ll talk.

Gem Smashers (Wii, 3DS)

On the bright side, despite sounding like another in the long line of match-3 doodads puzzle games, Gem Smashers doesn’t play like that. Instead you control a cute little hedgehog, chick, or a hermit crab that rolls up into a ball and bounces around the screen destroying blocks and similarly colored gems. It even has boss fights! For a nice little, kiddie puzzle game, you can do much worst.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (Xbox 360, PS3)

PES 12 fine tunes a few of last years laundry list of enhancements opting to enhance physics, AI, speed and animations. One of the new standout features is the new teammate control system that allows you to control a teammate during live ball play or in set pieces so you can set a route to make your run. Referees will be smarter, as will defenders. Is it enough to take down FIFA, or is PES looking at relegation. We find out Tuesday, and it's clear this is no friendly.
-Wolf96

X-Men: Destiny (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS)

Another X-Men game? Is there a movie coming out? Whatever the reason, we suddenly have an action RPG X-Men game about three completely new, but very customizable mutants. Instead of having their own unique power, they get to basically copy other mutant powers and use it as their own. Some examples they’ve shown include Emma Frost, Havok, and Juggernaut. Juggernaut? Since when is he a mutant?

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (PS3)

Can’t get enough alchemy in your life? This ever going RPG franchise, known as the Atelier series, about wannabe alchemist/underage girls going on life changing adventures continues once again with yet another precocious anime girl also out to beat the living crap out of monsters and whatnot in the cutest way possible. If you can believe it, this marks the 12th game in the Atelier franchise, and as far as I can damn well tell, they are all the same. Hooray for originality!

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD (PS3)

Back when Snake was the undisputed king of sneaking around, a lone man from the CIA with a fancy looking night vision goggles came along to give Snake a run for his money. If you were wondering what the fuss is all about, maybe this compilation of the first three Splinter Cell games might show you why.

Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football (Wii)

Wait what? Isn’t Jerry Rice some kind of football star or something or other? Yes he is, and he’s playing football with a bunch of dogs. Here’s how it works. The quarterback remains human, but he absolutely must pass the ball over to a dog, who plays every position on the field. Once a dog has the ball, it get to run to the endzone over a veritable obstacle course of walls, beach umbrellas, tunnels, and various other obstacles. Whatever comment you’ve come up with in your head for this game is probably better than anything I could possibly come up with, so pretend you just read that here.

Maximum Racing: Super Karts (Wii)

What’s this? A Kart racing game without turtle shells? Fail.

Jewel Master Collection (DS)

In case you got your hopes up for yet another match-3 puzzler when you read Gem Smashers, you might be interested in Jewel Master Collection instead. This compilation of two Jewel Master games, Egypt and Cradle of Athena in case you cared, should sate any match-3 cravings you might have.

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (DS)

Ever heard of Tail Concerto? This PS1 RPG came out well over 13 years ago, and now we got the sequel to it. Sort of. Branded as a spiritual sequel to that, Solatorobo, an RPG with dashes of action sprinkled in, takes you into the world of humanoid cats and dogs on a very Skies of Arcadia-esque world of floating islands, not to mention the fact that you play as an air pirate. As Red, you get to pilot airships and a giant mech to fight bad guys and ultimately save the world. Not a bad send-off for the DS, I guess.

Late to the Party

• Child of Eden (PS3) 9/27/2011

Soccer fans should be happy with this week while Last Guardian fans will have something to make the wait just a tad bit easier. The rest of us will just have to keep chainsawing grubs to pass the time until something with a little bit more... angst comes out next week.

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