Videogame Releases: Week of November 20th, 2011

This week, Wii owners finally get theirs. After plenty of great releases on the big boy systems, ‘Skyward Sword’ comes to the Wii. The other consoles don’t get much. PC gamers, on the other hand, finally get the full version of a game that I completely neglected to mention last week.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

It’s rare that a game for the Wii is actually worth talking about. Don’t act all offended, Wii fans. You know it’s true. I own a Wii too. It’s covered in dust and sad because I only play it when I have friends over and we’re done with ‘Minecraft’, ‘Warcraft’, ‘StarCraft’ or one of the countless other games that demand our time. That’s a lot of “crafts,” isn’t it? We craft things in ‘Skyrim’ too, so I count it.

But every once in a while, a game comes out that makes me pull out those motion controls for a good workout, and ‘Skyward Sword’ is one of them. It’s your typical Zelda affair – explore a dungeon, get new weapons, go to the next dungeon – but with the caveat that you use motion controls the whole time. Based on what I’ve played, they’re used really well in the game, but I’d still prefer if there was an option to play with a controller.

Minecraft (PC)

If you haven’t played ‘Minecraft’, go play the super-outdated, in-browser version and build some stuff. Then shell out the $26.95 to buy the game proper. If you already own ‘Minecraft’, then get off of this blog and go back to playing it. It’s all right, we’ve already got your hit. Just promise to come back later.

‘Minecraft’ is finally out of Beta (as of last Friday, in fact) and it’s incredible. Remember how the word “sandbox” got thrown around to describe titles like ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’? ‘Minecraft’ is a true sandbox game. You can play it however you want, set goals for yourself and even turn off all of the game-like elements and just create. ‘Minecraft’ is one of those games that I’d put up there with ‘Super Mario Bros.’ and ‘Portal’. Not because it’s an amazing game, but because it’s required playing if you consider yourself game literate.

Rayman Origins (360, PS3, Wii)

The ‘Rayman’ games never really got the love they deserved back in the day. It’s a shame, because the first two were really solid experiences. ‘Rayman 2’ was an impressive 3D platformer. The series went downhill after that, but Ubisoft is hoping to bring it back with ‘Rayman Origins’.

One of the coolest things about the new ‘Rayman’ game is that Ubisoft is putting it all out there and making an honest-to-god 2D platformer. Sure, Nintendo did it with ‘New Super Mario Bros.’ and ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’, but putting the name Mario on a game means that it’ll sell even if it’s terrible. It wasn’t, by the way. ‘New Super Mario Bros’. is insanely good. I’m hoping that ‘Rayman’ will be too. I’d love the return to 2D to become a trend.

1 comment

  1. Hmmm, new Zelda game. Time to dust off the Wii. I agree, its been gathering dust. I think I will replay Windwaker and Twilight Princess, and then maybe I can pick up a used copy of this for under $40.

    I truthfully do not get Minecraft. I played it with a few friends once, not really my style. I think it should be pointed out, though, and this is important, that Minecraft is available for the three main PC operating systems – Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Its rare that a game launches simultaniously on all three platforms. http://www.minecraft.net/download

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *