Videogame Releases: Week of November 21st, 2010

Xbox 360 owners may be in for a bit of disappointment this week. Meanwhile, both the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 are getting long-awaited titles guaranteed to light up the eyes of their hardcore fans.

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

I bought a Wii last month for two reasons. The first was to complete my collection of current generation systems. I find it difficult to call myself gaming literate without experiencing the best that each system has to offer. The other reason is ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’.

I was able to go hands on with the game back in September, and I’ve been excited about it ever since. It recaptures everything I loved about the SNES classic and adds a few nice touches to boot. Despite existing on a standard-definition system, ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’ is beautiful. It shows that while the 2-D platformer is classic, it’s by no means dead. I’ll be picking this one up to play over the weekend, and I’d suggest that you do the same.

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)

Poor ‘Gran Turismo’ fans have been waiting for what seems like forever to get their hands on the fifth installment in the series. They suffered through countless delays and had to use the strange ‘Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’ to tide them over. This week, that all changes.

When you’re looking for the most realistic, most intense driving simulator, ‘Gran Turismo’ has always been the front runner, ever since the game’s initial release back in 1998. The new installation brings realistic weather effects, hugely improved visuals, a detailed damage model, and plenty more that only the most hardcore of racing fans will appreciate.

Splatterhouse (360, PS3)

It’s become a trend for huge games from the past to be reborn, reimagined, and rebooted on today’s HD consoles. Yet just because a game wasn’t a blockbuster hit doesn’t mean it can’t be remade. That’s right, the 1988 arcade game ‘Splatterhouse’ is back, and it’s hitting 360s and PS3s near you.

Of course, the big question is whether you should bother with it or not. If this were October, I’d say it’s worth renting for sure, just for the horror themes that go so nicely with Halloween. But it’s November, and there are far better games to buy. However, if you’re really into 3rd-person action games and horror, it may be worth a shot.

11 comments

  1. My first thought was that your picture was from Lion King, but I have a feeling it isn’t. Is it Donkey Kong Country?

    If you are new to the Wii, I’ll let you know that there are maybe 5 good games, and about 400 crap games. I suggest checking out Zelda: Twilight Princess, Rampage (If you can find it), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and New Super Mario Bros Wii.

    • Picked up New Super Mario Bros Wii and I absolutely love it. I’ll probably look for more after the holidays, but I’ve got Donkey Kong Country (yup, that’s the picture) to play tonight and Kirby’s Epic Yarn to catch up on.

      Mario Kart is a must of course:)

    • Lahrs

      I have spent countless hours playing all three Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES. The new one on the Wii feels more like Donkey Kong Country 1 than the sequels, which is fine by me. The first was my favorite.

      I have to ask though, is the game more difficult than previous versions, or have my gaming skills declined over the years?

      I have Twilight Princess, but haven’t been able to get over the motion controls to get very far. Not a fan of the motion controllers at all, and in my opinion one of the main reason there are only a few good games and 400 crappy ones.

      I didn’t care for Mario Kart, though I do enjoy playing it with my five year old daughter, gaming with her is always fun. I have found the game is 20% skill and 80% luck, too many unavoidable weapons coming your way.

      Super Mario Bros. Wii was excellent and I am looking forward to a possible sequel.

  2. Seriously, 5 good games?
    He forgot Epic Mickey, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Zak and Wiki, Sonic Colors, GoldenEye, Metroid: Other M, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor , Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2, House Of The Dead Overkill, Metroid Prime Trilogy, The Conduit, Boom Blox 1 and 2, Excitebots: Trick Racing, New Play Control! Pikmin, Trauma Team, Super Paper Mario, Madworld, Kirby’s Epic Yarn….

    Plus lots of awesome WiiWare games like Lost Winds 1 & 2 and World of Goo.

    It is so annoying to see how many people like to hate on the Wii. I have had way more fun with Wii Bowling than any of my Kinect games so far.

    • I got motion sickness from Mario Galaxy, I hate the Metroid games, and hate FPS on the console. Paper Mario is in my BB que.

      But I am okay with this. I LOVE the WiiWare stuff (got the Sonic Games, all the Zelda games, and Super Mario loaded), use it for Netflix, and love that I can finally play Gamecube games (the N64 came out while I was in high school and the Gamecube when I was in college, so missed those systems, so I love being able to catch up with those).

      I actually love the Wii. I just haven’t found many games that really take good advantage of motion gaming. Big difference. But its okay, because, like I said, I use the Wii for other stuff than just motion games, and feel like I got a good investment.

  3. that1guypictures

    If you are new to the wii, you simply must try the Super Mario Galaxy games (I like 2 better than the first one), Mario Kart Racing, Super Mario Bros Wii, Goldeneye, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Epic Mickey and Paper Mario.

  4. Donkey Kong Country Returns is thusfar amazing. I wish it was in HD, but it’s still gorgeous. Expect a review next week.

    Biggest problem so far is needing to use the motion control to roll. It just doesn’t work as well as a button.

    I should be getting a review copy of ‘Epic Mickey’ before the first of December, so that’s the next on my list :p

  5. I am hearing reviews that DK is short, really short. That’s OK by me though because I have so little time to game, I would enjoy an awesome but short ride.
    I have picked up some classic Point and Clicks and adventures games, like Monkey Island…..But with work and 4 yo twins, I don’t get much game time.

    • I’m getting the feeling that the length of the game depends on your skill. Three hours in and I’m only in the second world.

      And I’m right with you on game length. I love the idea of a 40 hour game, but I just don’t have that kind of time on my hands!

  6. You would think the opposite though to look at my entertainment center.
    Hooked up are Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox, Wii, PS3, Xbok 360 w/ Kinict, and the kids V-Motion.