Mid-year sales tend to be pretty awful, but one particular Australian retailer was running out a lot of stock for around the $5 mark, mainly on the PC, PS2, DS and Xbox 360. Needless to say, this week, I came home a couple of hundred dollars poorer and weighed down by bags of games, yet could not find many of the titles I wanted due to the store having been raided by people buying up multiple copies of the one game to trade or sell on eBay. Such is life. I'm still trying to wrestle my way through Alone in the Dark on the Xbox 360, a game with some stunning ideas, but absolutely horrendous controls and far too many bugs and glitches.

This week, The Warp Pipe will look at the current Q3 release list, gauging the perceived level of hype and giving a brief impression as to the quality of each game.

The Games of Q3, 2008

There was once a time where the third quarter of the year was utterly quiet, with very little in the way of new releases. I enjoyed this time of year, as it let me catch up on the games that I had accumulated but not yet beaten. This year, the game publishers have conspired against me, releasing an absolute glut of games to ensure I'm busy all year round. Curse those handsome devils!

July American McGee's Grimm Hype: Low Impression: Average Former id Software level designer American McGee has traipsed his name through the mud in the time following his only successful post partum release from id, Alice. By attaching his name to every game he works on, he is now forever associated with awful games such as Scrapland and Bad Day LA. Now he's returning to making dark versions of fairy tales (after his Oz game was shelved years ago), with a 24-part episodic retelling of Grimm's Fairy Tales. The half hour episodes are intended to help "return the darkness" to fairy tales, but unless there's some solid gameplay to back up the concept, I think McGee will be out of luck once again. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Hype: Medium Impression: Good Despite the fact that the original run of Dragon Ball Z ended some 5 years ago, Atari refuses to let go of the license – since it was recently revealed that it accounts for 50% of their revenue, despite falling sales of each successive title. After three years of over the shoulder fun, Burst Limit takes things back to the original side perspective of the Budokai games, letting players fight as Goku and friends online and in glorious high definition. Initial reviews have been positive, but the decision to restrict the game's focus to the period from the Saiyan Saga to the Cell Saga has limited the previously robust character count, which may offend some fans. Secret Agent Clank Hype: Medium Impression: Average Clank's solo mission was pushed back to the latter half of this month by our local division of Sony, but with the final code on my desk, I can safely say that this one is rather disappointing. This is due in large to High Impact's decision to include a number of superfluous sections where players control Ratchet and Captain Quark which just don't jive well with Clank's story. Soulcalibur IV Hype: High Impression: Great The fifth game in the Soul series seems to have garnered more attention for its sizeable female assets and dubious inclusion of Star Wars characters, rather than the fact that it looks awesome and should be fun to play. After the unbalanced, bug ridden, yet-strangely enjoyable mess that was Soulcalibur III, I've got high hopes that Namco will be back on the path with this one. Soulcalibur Legends Hype: Low Impression: Bomb Of course, for everything Namco does right, they do about 10 things wrong. Soulcalibur Legends, an action-adventure game set in the Soulcalibur world, is like a sharp right hand to the jaw to Wii-owning Soulcalibur fans – you know, the ones that bought the most copies of Soulcalibur II, yet never got to see a sequel. After an unexplained 10 month delay for the PAL version of the game, you can still expect this one to suck harder than the entire Dyson range combined. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Hype: Medium Impression: Good The point and click adventure game will be the first episodic release for WiiWare, and should be give a few chuckles if the source material is anything to go by. Telltale has proven themselves to be a capable developer with two seasons of Sam & Max to their credit; let's hope the size limit of WiiWare doesn't cripple what should be a fun game. Wipeout HD Hype: Low Impression: Great Wipeout's triumphant return to the home console sphere has been delayed more times than I care to remember, but its gorgeous graphics, awesome soundtrack and courses and gameplay elements borrowed from the PSP's Pure and Pulse games should prove to whet gamers' appetites for the inevitable fully featured PS3 Wipeout later down the line. August Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway Hype: Medium Impression: Good Gearbox's World War II shooter keeps getting hit with delay after delay - more than two years worth, in fact, but it finally looks as if it's going to be released, and it's looking a lot better since the last time I saw it. The biggest problem is probably the fact it's still World War II, and everybody is over that. Guitar Hero Aerosmith Hype: Low Impression: Average Another Q2 holdover. I said it before, and I'll say it again; does anyone really like Aerosmith? Hellboy: The Science of Evil Hype: Low Impression: Bomb The Q2 article listed Hellboy as needing work, and reviews from the US release two weeks ago would suggest that I was right. Boring, short and aesthetically bland. Considering the lengthy development cycle, one would think that Krome could have assembled a better game. Madden NFL 09 Hype: High Impression: Good The new generation of consoles has not been kind to EA Sports' line-up. Madden 08 showed a lot of signs of improvement after the dreadful 06 and 07 releases, but EA still has a long way to go to match even Madden NFL 2005, let alone break new ground for American Football – and with no viable competition, they don't really have a reason to do so, unless sales of the franchise begin to drop off. I do think Madden 09 will be an improvement. Mario Super Sluggers Hype: Low Impression: Average Nintendo continues to farm out Mario for these sports titles, but none of them have the same lustre of Camelot's golf and tennis. Namco's previous Mario Baseball effort was competent, and some good Wii-remote implementation will help this one along, but it's hard to get excited over yet another Mario sports game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Hype: Medium Impression: Great I had little faith in the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. after years of delays and a feature list that sounded too good to be true, but it really wowed me when I finally got my hands on it. It was a little rough, but Clear Sky sounds as if its main goal is to fix the issues with the original game while providing another compelling gameplay experience. If it can deliver, then it will be one of the best PC games of the year. Space Siege Hype: Low Impression: Good Dungeon Siege has proven somewhat divisive amongst action-RPG fans; personally, I enjoy the loot-heavy dungeon crawlers, even if it is a little more automated than I'd like. Space Siege sounds like it has a halfway interesting plot, so if it maintains or improves the formula from the last dungeon outing, it should prove to be a good pre-Diablo III diversion – you'll need a few of those. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Hype: Low Impression: Needs Work With no serious competitors in the realistic golf genre, EA will not bother to do anything major to improve their latest Tiger Woods effort. 1:1 swinging in the Wii version is a good idea, but if the 08 game is anything to go by, it will take a long time to get used to, and I don't have the confidence that EA will deliver that effectively. Too Human Hype: High Impression: Average Silicon Knights futuristic Norse-lore action-RPG has been ten years in the making, and is finally ready to come out for the Xbox 360. It will be interesting to see exactly how well it plays; it's been a long time since Silicon Knights released a game that was all their own, so it's time for them to prove that they're a capable studio, and that their President is not just a windbag. The trilogy structure is a bit dubious, as poor sales of the first game could lead to the story being left on a cliffhanger, and the character design is rough to say the least. With major features being cut down or removed entirely to get the game out the door, one has to wonder how much faith Microsoft has left in Too Human. September De Blob Hype: Medium Impression: Good De Blob originally started as a student game before being snatched up by THQ and handed to Melbourne studio Blue Tongue. It's an interesting little game where you have to paint a city using a blob, after the colour of the city is sucked dry by some evil-doer. Should provide a bit of fun for those who like something unconventional. Deadly Creatures Hype: Low Impression: Good Deadly Creatures is an action game with a bit of a difference; you play as a tarantula or scorpion and do battle against all sorts of other dangerous insects, arachnids and snakes. It might sound a little silly, but early footage of the game makes these fights look pretty epic, and the scale of the game is particularly impressive. It's good to see Rainbow Studios, a developer who's mostly worked on racing games, do something a little different. Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon Hype: Low Impression: Average I've not played the two Pandemic-developed Destroy All Humans games, but I'm told they're halfway decent. THQ has since parted ways with Pandemic and kept control of the property, and the results so far have not been pretty, with Big Willy Unleashed torn apart by critics. That doesn't give one a lot of faith in this one, but it could go either way. Facebreaker Hype: Medium Impression: Average Hey EA, it was called Ready 2 Rumble, and it was done 8 years ago. Ghostbusters Hype: High Impression: Good Normally a game based on an older license is going to suck, but this Ghostbusters game is meant to take the place of a planned third film that never got off the ground. The plot is being written by Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd, who, along with Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, will reprise their roles from the films. From the looks of pre-release media, it looks like you'll run through scenes from the first two movies while you're at it. It's not the prettiest game on the block, but it sounds like Terminal Reality has a pretty good hold on what needs to be there gameplay-wise. Infinite Undiscovery Hype: Medium Impression: Average The J-RPG has taken a bit of a beating this generation as the Japanese publishers have not yet decided which format to back. Square Enix and tri-Ace are throwing Xbox 360 gamers a bone with Infinite Undiscovery, which is meant to be Square's first ever simultaneous worldwide release. Game concept sounds interesting, with a world that changes in real time based on how you play the game, but realistically it will probably only appeal to the J-RPG hardcore and everybody else will play something slightly more exciting. LEGO Batman Hype: Medium Impression: Good I have to admit that I'm in the minority around here, as I thought LEGO Indiana Jones was a real let-down – Star Wars just seemed like a better fit. As such, I'm a little more cautious about the Batman game. The trailers seem to show that the game will be more in line with the campy fun of the 1960s TV show, rather than the darker movies of the last 20 years (cheer up Christian Bale!). Now if only Fox and Warner Brothers would sort out the rights for said TV show. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Hype: Medium Impression: Average One of the first games announced for the current generation of consoles has seen delay after delay, but it's finally set to come out in September. The newest trailer makes it look like the game has come a long way, but the bar for free-roaming action gameplay has been raised, and Mercenaries 2 will have to do a lot to impress. Nonetheless, Mercs 2 is still likely to provide some short term fun. Rise of the Argonauts Hype: Low Impression: Needs Work UE3 based Greek mythology action/RPG romp from Liquid Entertainment, whose last effort was... Desperate Housewives. Loosely based around the story of Jason and the Argonauts, so should be fun for those who are into the whole mythology/action thing (even if such games seem to piss all over said mythology). The most recent trailer made the game look as if it needs a bit of refinement, though. Samba De Amigo Hype: Low Impression: Good Sega's maraca rhythm game was a minor hit on the Dreamcast back in the day, and they're hoping to bring it back with the Wii. Gearbox is handling development, which is a little concerning given their focus on action games, but if the mechanics translate well and a good tracklist is there, then Samba De Amigo should please those looking for something different. Silent Hill: Homecoming Hype: High Impression: Needs Work Konami needs to bring back Team Silent, because outsourcing Silent Hill hasn't been going well for them so far. Homecoming looks like it's too focused on combat, rather than the series' staple of puzzle solving, exploring rather unsettling locations and absurd cultist plots. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Hype: Medium Impression: Good Sonic fans have been running ankle deep in faeces for the last 10 years, and Sega is hoping on bailing their mascot out with something a little different; an RPG from Bioware. It's got a rather unique watercolour visual style to it, and it's taking a lot of gameplay kicks from Mario & Luigi, but it'll take more than that to get me on board. Spore Hype: Intense Impression: Good The recent release of the Spore Creature Creator has shown just how good the technology underlying Spore is, but what's more important is how it functions as a game – it's no good if the game isn't any fun to play. A lot of folks place a great deal of faith in Will Wright, which he deserves given his catalogue to date, but I honestly think the jury will be out on Spore til we get to experience the full game on our own terms. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Hype: High Impression: Average The fact that LucasArts decided to fire the entire Force Unleashed 360/PS3 development team after they'd finished their work doesn't give me much hope for what the final game is going to be like. It seems like it has a pretty narrow gameplay focus, and after the prequel trilogy, I'm pretty tired of the whole Jedi/Lightsaber/Force thing – give me some badass Han Solo action. That and I find it impossible to care for even a second about some "secret apprentice" of Darth Vader – the whole plot sounds flaky. TNA Impact Hype: Medium Impression: Good Yet another Q2 delay, but the fact that Midway did delay the game means they are at least committed to delivering a quality grappling experience, something that Yukes and THQ haven't done since 2003's WWE Here Comes the Pain. The small roster may bother some fans of TNA, but it should allow for a more focused fighting experience, and there's always create-a-wrestler and downloadable content to rectify that. Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise Hype: Low Impression: Good Viva Piñata was a pretty decent game, but probably the most poorly targeted and poorly marketed game Rare has ever made. Nonetheless, they're giving it a second go, with more piñatas and a number of different types of gardens for you to build up. Kind of looks like more of the same to me. WALL-E Hype: Low Impression: Needs Work It's hard to get even remotely excited about a Pixar licensed effort from THQ after years of half-baked crap, and it doesn't seem like WALL-E will be any different. They'd probably sell 2-3x more copies if they bothered making these games good. Wario Land: The Shake Dimension Hype: Low Impression: Good The Wario Land series was pretty well respected on the Game Boy, but the ill-tempered Mario villain's most recent appearances have sucked a great deal. The Shake Dimension looks like it's taking it back to basics – rather lovely looking side scrolling action with a play style similar to that of the original Wario Land series. Probably better off as a WiiWare title, but could please gamers at the right price. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Hype: High Impression: Good EA Mythic's Warhammer Online is often billed as one of the biggest threats to the World of Warcraft throne, especially given the similar themes of each game and the backing of EA. Features such as Realm vs. Realm combat are new and exciting, but it will be interesting to see what else the game has to offer. Could still potentially be delayed. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Hype: Low Impression: Good The Witcher impressed PC gamers late last year with its RPG'ing ways, but many complained about the quality of the production, particularly when it came to the English translation. This enhanced edition promises to improve the quality of the translation, add new animations and drastically reduce load times. It'll also be available as a patch to those who already own the game.	Phil Harrison will need the Dragon Balls to revive Atari
	Knightmare's armour is a little much, no?
	Wipeout HD should be the best PSN game yet
	Nothing says realism like a distinct lack of blood
	Apparently head stomping is new to this year's Madden
	Bound to contain at least one character named Boris
	Will there be a space mule?
	Hey, at least we're not a shameless Lovecraft rip-off this time
	A rolled up newspaper would beat both
	Calling all bets for a lawsuit from Midway
	Hint: If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "Yes!"
	ADAM WEEEEEEST!
	Owned
	Amigo is a rather strange looking monkey
	It was naive to think that Spore wouldn't spawn many races of "well endowed" creatures
	Catch me!
	They need a "fat kid" ruffian this time
	Yeah, MMOs. Woo.

Next Week

In celebration of the upcoming release of The Dark Knight, I thought we'd take a brief look at the rather unfortunate video game career of the caped crusader.