It’s a pretty appalling week at retail as far as new releases go this week, with a few lousy film tie-ins, quick cash-ins and other shameful software. There’s a little promise hidden beneath the dross this week with the Xbox Live Arcade release of the first season of Sam & Max, the re-release of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat as part of the New Play Control! line and the explosive family-oriented puzzler Boom Blox: Bash Party. Wii owners also have the opportunity to enjoy the excellent adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, which is an extra in the new Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings game.

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

17/06/2009

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings Platform: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii Developer: Artificial Mind and Movement Publisher: LucasArts RRP: $AU49.95 (DS, PS2, PSP), $AU99.95 (Wii) Relive the golden era of LucasArts this week with the release of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Unfortunately, to gain access to the classic point & click adventure game, you’ve got to run through some Indiana Jones 3D platformer/action game, and only the Wii offers up the classic adventure game. Could have a few good moments, but A2M’s portfolio consists mostly of licensed kids’ titles, so your mileage may vary. Fortunately, some retailers are giving away a code that lets you unlock Fate of Atlantis right away.
LEGO Battles Platform: Nintendo DS Developer: Hellbent Games Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment RRP: $AU49.95 The cute brickyness of LEGO meets the real time strategy genre with this week’s release of LEGO Battles. Apparently, it’s heavily inspired by the Warcraft series and packs in quite a bit of content, with six single player stories, 90 levels and wireless multiplayer, so it could actually turn out to be good.
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: Stainless Games Publisher: Wizards of the Coast RRP: 800 Microsoft Points ($AU13.20) One of the most popular trading card games comes to Xbox Live Arcade this week. I don’t really know anything about the Magic: The Gathering mythos, but this one concerns a group of chaps named the Planeswalkers, a bunch of wizards who like to roam the lands in search of glory, knowledge and conquest. This is accomplished through card battles, which you can also take online to beat your friends without having to spend hundreds of dollars building up a decent deck.
Sam and Max Save the World Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: Telltale Games Publisher: Telltale Games RRP: 1600 Microsoft Points ($AU26.40) Xbox 360 owners have been getting a steady dose of adventure games over the last couple of months, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop any time soon. This week, Telltale is bringing the entire first season of their new Sam & Max series to Xbox Live Arcade in one go. Sure, it’s a little older now, but it’s insanely good value compared to recent offerings.

18/06/2009

Boom Blox: Bash Party Platform: Wii Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts RRP: $AU79.95 The original Boom Blox offered up some fine destructive fun when it hit the Wii last year, and the sequel looks to serve up a whole lot more. New block types, shapes, gameplay modes, a level editor with a host of new tools and such should offer almost infinite fun for the whole family.
Ferrari Challenge Deluxe Platform: Nintendo DS, Wii Developer: System 3 Publisher: 505 Games RRP: $AU59.95 (DS), $AU69.95 (Wii) It’s never a good sign when you’ve never heard much about a racing game prior to release, and these single manufacturer games never seem to stand up to the big guns like Gran Turismo and Forza. So unless you’re a rabid Ferrari enthusiast, it’s probably something you can skip.
Hannah Montana: The Movie Game Platform: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 Developer: n-Space Publisher: Disney Interactive RRP: $AU69.95 (DS), $AU79.95 (Wii) $AU89.95 (PS3, Xbox 360) Awful country singer Billy Ray Cyrus’ kid Miley became Disney’s hottest ticket this decade with the rise of the Hannah Montana franchise. Now a feature film is hitting cinemas this week, and a game is coming out with it. You can bet your bottom dollar that it’s going to be awful.
Let’s Tap Platform: Wii Developer: Prope Publisher: Sega RRP: $AU49.95 Sonic Team’s Yuji Naka set out on his own a couple of years ago, setting up a company called Prope. Their first game is Let’s Tap a - you guessed it – mini-game collection for the Wii. This one doesn’t revolve around flailing the remote hoping that the game registers; as the title insinuates, it’s all about tapping. It even comes with a bunch of empty cardboard boxes to put your remote on.
MySims Racing Platform: Nintendo DS, Wii Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts RRP: $AU49.95 (DS), $AU79.95 It’s been a few years since we’ve seen a knock-off cart racer, and it shouldn’t be surprising that this one, like all of the other imposters out there, just isn’t any good.
New Play Control! Donkey Kong: Jungle beat Platform: Wii Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo RRP: $AU49.95 Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat was one of the most unorthodox platformers ever released, replacing the standard controller with the Kongo Drums used in the Donkey Konga series. The result was a high energy platformer which was an absolute blast to play – one of my all time favourite Nintendo games. I’m a bit sceptical about the New Play Control! version, since it replaces the bongo control with the Wii Remote combo – could result in the game being a whole lot less exciting. On the other hand, there is a whole extra set of levels, and it’s cheap. It’ll be a tough call.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Platform: Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360 Developer: Amaze Entertainment Publisher: Majesco RRP: $AU49.95 (DS), $AU69.95 (Xbox 360, Wii) Ben Stiller plays Ben Stiller the loser security guard whose world is turned upside down when the museum exhibits he watches at night come to life...again. Expect a typical low quality production for this one, though I hear it has some easy achievements if you can live with it being tied to your Xbox Live profile.
Virtua Tennis 2009 Platform: Wii (Also on PS3 and Xbox 360) Developer: Sumo Digital Publisher: Sega RRP: $AU79.95 (Standard), $AU109.95 (“Champions” edition, includes 2 racquets) The first Wii version of Sega’s classic arcade tennis series is out this week. In case you missed our review of the other versions of the game, it’s pretty good, even if it’s not quite up to the standard of Sega’s internally developed iterations of the series. However, the Wii’s a bit of a champ when it comes to tennis, and our illustrious leader Richard swears by the control scheme offered in this one in conjunction with Wii Motion Plus, so it should be pretty good.

Next week looks a whole lot more promising on the new release front with Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits pushing out old Guitar Hero tracks with full instrument support, Klonoa offers up some old fashioned 2D platforming goodness, Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil lets those who missed the GameCube version of the Resident Evil Remake have the opportunity to play it (which you should), Monster Hunter Freedom Unite brings some huge monsters to the PSP for you and a couple of friends to hack to bits while owners of Sony formats will toast some oversized marshmallows with Ghostbusters: The Videogame. Remember guys, next time someone asks if you’re a God, you say yes!