Games On Net :: New Releases: Coming Attractions

Coming Attractions - 20/05/2009

By Matt Keller - Wed May 20, 2009 6:29pm

It has been a quiet couple of weeks here in May, but the schedule continues to get busier. This week is no exception, with eleven new releases hitting shelves and/or digital download services. New release highlights this week include the high-swinging action of Capcom’s new Bionic Commando, EA’s serious take on Wii-based fitness in EA Sports Active, Yuke’s first foray into the world of mixed martial arts in UFC 2009 Undisputed and a new compilation of classic arcade titles in Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade.

Don’t forget to check out the full release schedule for the latest changes and information on upcoming games.

20/05/2009

*Gel: Set & Match* Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: *Gastronaut Studios* Publisher: *Gastronaut Studios* RRP: 800 Microsoft Points ($AU13.20) Almost seems like Xbox Live Arcade has transformed into XNA Community Games this week with a pair of rather simple games on offer. First up is *Gel: Set & Match, yet another match four puzzle game. Seems like an awful lot of work went into the game’s visuals, but I can’t imagine it being more than your run of the mill puzzle game. Save your points and grab Bionic Commando Rearmed*, which is on special this week for 400 points.
*Blazing Bird* Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: *Vector 2 Games* Publisher: *Vector 2 Games* RRP: 400 Microsoft Points ($AU6.60) *Blazing Birds* is a sort of weird version of badminton played by robots who have access to all sorts of weird and wonderful power ups. Badminton is woefully underrepresented in the gaming world, and this was a winner at the XNA 2007 Dream, Build, Play contest, so it could actually be quite good. Give the trial a whirl first.

21/05/2009

*Big Family Games* Platform: Wii Developer: *THQ* Publisher: *THQ* RRP: $AU49.95 Another week, another collection of mini-games for the Wii. *Big Family Games* lets you participate in all sorts of stuff you could be doing outside and getting real exercise, like hitting a tennis ball against a wall, playing basketball and shooting each other with paintball guns. Skip it.
*Bionic Commando* Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (Coming August to PC) Developer: *Grin* Publisher: *Capcom* RRP: $AU109.95 Capcom’s long awaited revival/sequel *Bionic Commando* swings onto store shelves after a lengthy wait. Swing through the remains of Ascension City as Nathan “Rad” Spencer, the hero of the original game (now a gruff ex-con, voiced by Mike Patton of Faith No More), and stop the evil BioReign forces. I’m curious to see what Grin has done with the game – *Bionic Commando Rearmed* was a really solid revival of the original game (and just happens to be on sale on XBLM this week), and early impressions of the game are pretty positive.
*EA Sports Active* Platform: Wii Developer: *Electronic Arts* Publisher: *Electronic Arts* RRP: $AU99.95 *Wii Fit* has turned out to be a phenomenon, but most of you will agree that it doesn’t really challenge players to improve their fitness. EA has seen this deficiency, and is getting ready to make you sweat with *EA Sports Active*. They’ve teamed up with a bunch of personal trainers and developed a collection of tasks designed to improve various aspects of your fitness. The big feature is meant to be the 30 Day Challenge that lets you set weight goals and track your progress. I can see this one being pretty big, but whether it actually benefits players’ health is yet to be seen.
*Marbles! Balance Challenge* Platform: Wii Developer: *Hudson Soft* Publisher: *Konami* RRP: $AU69.95 Anthony the Ant needs the help of you and your Wii Remote and Balance Board to steer a bunch of marbles through 300 odd stages of...er...balancy fun to collect a bunch of mystical golden sunflower seeds. The title might not state it, but this is actually the sequel to Kororinpa!, which essentially did the same thing. Might be worth a look if you like Marble Madness and Super Monkey Ball
*Neopets Puzzle Adventure* Platform: Nintendo DS, PC, Wii Developer: *Infinite Interactive* Publisher: *Capcom* RRP: $AU49.95 (PC), $AU69.95 (Nintendo DS), $AU79.95 (Wii) Infinite Interactive combines it’s classic Puzzle Quest gameplay (this time with a puzzle system based on Reversi) with the world of Neopets. I don’t exactly know anything about Neopets, other than it’s an online game that’s been around for what seems like an eternity. Apparently you can unlock stuff in this game to carry over to the online game, which sounds pretty neat if Neopets are your thing.
*Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade* Platform: Xbox 360 Developer: *Namco* Publisher: *Namco* RRP: $AU49.95 Normally I’m pretty down on Namco’s arcade compilations, mainly because they’re never as good as all of the other classic arcade collections that have hit shelves in the last 15 years. *Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade* looks to subvert that trend by offering more than 30 of Namco’s best old arcade titles (far more than they usually pack in), in both original and arranged versions. In addition to the usual Pac-Man, Mappy and Dig Dug, you get one or two slightly more modern games like Rolling Thunder. The icing on the cake, however, is the inclusion of Namco’s recent Xbox Live Arcade sequels *Pac-Man Championship Edition* and *Galaga Legions*.
*Sports Island 2* Platform: Wii Developer: *Konami* Publisher: *Konami* RRP: $69.95 I could have sworn that the original *Sports Island* only just came out, so Konami is obviously trying to squeeze every dollar they can out of the general Wii populace, most of who probably don’t know any better. 10 half-assed, entirely terrible mini-games for 70 bucks – you could easily do better things with that cash, like giving it to me.
*UFC 2009 Undisputed* Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Developer: *Yuke’s Future Media Creators* Publisher: *THQ* RRP: $AU109.95 Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the leading body, so it’s only natural that they’d team up with a developer to start producing video games. It’s not the first time it’s been done – there was a couple on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 – but after spending a couple of days with the game, I can say with confidence that it’s far better than any of those that came before it. There are still a few minor issues that will hopefully be sorted out in years to come, but MMA fans should be very happy with it.
*Velvet Assassin* Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Developer: *Replay Studios* Publisher: *Gamecock Media Group* RRP: $AU109.95 Take on the role of secret agent Violette Summer, who is apparently based on real Allied agent Violette Szabo (very loosely, Szabo only served two missions for the Allies and was captured on the second, imprisoned, brutally tortured and executed) in this World War II stealth ‘em up. You’ll do all sorts of tripe to help turn the war in the Allies’ favour, but as early reviews have indicated, it’s not the least bit fun.

The normally quiet Q2 release period really heats up next week with the release of the unexpectedly awesome Guitar Hero: Metallica, film tie-in Terminator Salvation: The Video Game, Sega’s high quality arcade tennis sim Virtua Tennis 2009, Steven Spielberg and EA’s second collaboration Boom Blox Bash Party and the World War II based multiplayer game Battlestations Pacific. Should be a good week.