Videogame Releases for the Week of June 27th, 2010

After a difficult month primarily occupied by games we wouldn’t ever consider renting, let alone purchasing, this week is the payoff. Is it enough to make up for a lackluster couple of weeks? Not really. But it’s a start.

APB (PC)

This one completely fell off of my radar. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I had just assumed it was already out and that I missed it. ‘APB’ is a cops and robbers MMO from some of the people who brought you ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ including David Jones, who worked on both the original ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ and ‘Lemmings.’ ‘APB’ is a little bit ‘Crackdown’ and a little bit ‘GTA.’ It should be interesting to play, to say the least. It’s sad to see that the Xbox 360 version didn’t happen, though.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (360, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii)

The worst of the ‘Lego’ games made by Traveller’s Tales – ‘Lego Indiana Jones’ – is still a pretty damn fun game. Based on the demo of ‘Lego Harry Potter,’ it looks like the company has made a few changes to the formula and ramped up the production value quite a bit. The ‘Lego’ games are simple and fun. If you’re into collecting, they’re also incredibly replayable. The best thing about the games is that they’re lighthearted. Need a break from ‘Demon’s Souls’ or ‘Modern Warfare’? Pop in some ‘Lego Harry Potter’ and have some fun.

Ninety-Nine Nights II (360)

People love to hate on ‘Dynasty Warriors’-style titles, but I think a little mindless hack and slash is important from time to time. There have been improvements from the first game, including the ability to show a hundred enemies on screen at once, and the addition of an online co-op mode. There’s also a bit more strategy to attacking, according to lead designer Tak Fujii.

Singularity (360, PC, PS3)

While ‘Singularity’ doesn’t look like a breakthrough title, it does seem like it’d be worth playing. After all, it’s from Raven Software. They haven’t done wrong by me yet. I suppose ‘Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix’ was a bit of a letdown, but not an out and out bad game. The whole thrust of ‘Singularity’ is one of time manipulation, which isn’t particularly new to games. But what’s different is that ‘Singularity’ appears to be an otherwise mainstream shooter with heavy puzzle elements. How well those elements are implemented will determine how much it separates itself from the pack.

Trinity Universe (PS3)

This may be fan service for hardcore JRPG fans, but it’s cool fan service. ‘Trinity Universe’ puts together characters from Gust Corporation’s ‘Atelier’ series and Nippon Ichi’s ‘Disgaea’ series into one massive game with two different storylines. You can play from the point of view of the ‘Atelier’ characters or the ‘Disgaea’ characters. It’s strange and fun and very Japanese.

3 comments

  1. JoeRo

    Trinity Universe looks interesting, not too pumped about the rest though. APB is one of those titles that just has me shaking my head, an MMO in the vein of GTA? Do we really need that, or want if for that matter? To each his own. I guess I just don’t dig on MMO’s as a genre, but meh whatever. Kind of a lackluster lineup of releases this week.

    • Zaserov

      “Do we really need that, or want if for that matter?”

      Yes. Absolutely yes. Though clearly my ‘we’ does not include you. APB isn’t it, though, see my other post.

  2. Zaserov

    APB just had a pre-launch open beta (the Key to the City event) that I played some. Overall, it just seemed to be bland. I guess the customization is amazing, but I’m not much for playing virtual dolls. The actual game play revolves around driving and shooting, but neither of those are particularly gripping, and the missions to get it started are incredibly generic. Not a bad game, but to me not worth the money, especially with a monthly fee.

    Here’s a post with a lot of very similar responses to the game, if people are curious:
    http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/29/wot-u-think-apb/

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