Games On Net :: New Releases: Coming Attractions

Coming Attractions - 09/09/09

By Matt Keller - Wed Sep 9, 2009 6:01pm

All fancy calendar tricks aside, 09/09/09 is significant for a number of reasons, two of which we’ll mention here. First off, it’s the Dreamcast’s 10th anniversary in the United States, and secondly, it’s launch day for The Beatles: Rock Band, the most heavily hyped music game release to date. Non-Beatles fans don’t have too much to look forward to this week – Champions Online will be available in local retailers at last, and AFL and Rugby League Challenge will be tearing it up on the PSP.

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

09/09/2009

*The Beatles: Rock Band* Platform: PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 Developer: *Harmonix* Publisher: *MTV Games* RRP: $AU99.95 (Standard), $AU369.95 (Game + Instruments) The Fab Four make their first foray into the video game arena with this week’s release of *The Beatles: Rock Band, which coincides with the release of digitally remastered versions of the group’s albums. The Beatles: Rock Band* isn’t just simply a collection of a few of the group’s hits; it promises some refinement of the Rock Band formula, adding support for up to six players, including three on vocals with the new multi-part vocal system, while letting players relive key moments from the group’s history. Forty-five of the band’s tracks will be available on the disc, with more coming via DLC down the road. It’s a must for music game fans and Beatlemaniacs.
*Sonic & Knuckles* Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: *Backbone Entertainment* Publisher: *Sega* RRP: 400 Microsoft Points ($AU6.60) Sega’s second offering of classic Mega Drive and Arcade titles for Xbox Live Arcade concludes with tonight’s release of *Sonic & Knuckles. What’s really going to annoy fans, particularly those who bought Sega’s retail collection earlier this year is that this version actually “locks on” with the Vintage Collection release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3*, something which Backbone claimed they didn’t have the resources to do, despite the fact that amateur emulator programmers accomplished that in the late 90s without the support of Sega. The locked on game is the ultimate Sonic experience, so it’s worth seeking out.
*Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 2* Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Developer: *Telltale Games* Publisher: *Telltale Games* RRP: 800 Microsoft Points ($AU13.20) The second of the *Wallace and Gromit* adventure games hits the 360 this week, a couple of months after the PC version. If you enjoyed the first game, you’ll like this one – if you haven’t checked the series out yet, it might be better to start off with the original, which also costs 800 points.

10/09/2009

*AFL Challenge* Platform: PSP Developer: *Wicked Witch Software* Publisher: *Sony Computer Entertainment* RRP: $AU49.95 (standalone), $AU269.95 (w/ PSP-3000) Games based on local sports are few and far between; there’s a market there, but it’s not big enough to justify the investment needed to make a game on the scale of EA and 2K’s productions. Sony Computer Entertainment’s giving it another go this year with *AFL Challenge, developed exclusively for the PSP. We’ve not heard much since the first announcement, and it looks very* rough from a visual standpoint, but if the gameplay is there, that shouldn’t be of concern to AFL fans.
*Champions Online* Platform: PC Developer: *Cryptic Studios* Publisher: *Atari* RRP: $AU79.95 (base game), $AU39.95 (60-day time card) *Champions Online* is a new MMO from Cryptic Studios, the guys behind the superhero MMOs *City of Heroes* and *City of Villains, based on the pen-and-paper game Champions*. It’s more action oriented than the usual MMO fare (with rules based on the HERO system), and features a deep character creation system, including an interesting concept where players get to create their hero’s arch-nemesis. Several of the classic heroes and villains from the pen and paper game will appear as NPCs. For anyone wanting to live out their superhero fantasies with thousands of other comic book nerds (this year, at least), then this is probably the MMO for you. The monthly subscription fee is $US14.99.
*Imagine Teacher: Field Trip* and *Imagine: Detective Adventures* Platform: DS Developer: *Ubisoft* Publisher: *Ubisoft* RRP: $AU59.95 We’re not even going to pretend that any of you care about these Imagine games anymore – apart from the fact that they help fund Ubisoft’s other, far better games, so instead, I thought I’d attempt to amuse you with this highly immature and wholly inappropriate image from one of these games. Enjoy.
*Rugby League Challenge* Platform: PSP Developer: *Wicked Witch Software* Publisher: *Sony Computer Entertainment* RRP: $AU49.95 (standalone), $269.95 (w/ PSP-3000) Like *AFL Challenge, Rugby League Challenge* is Sony’s way of trying to get local sports fans on board with the PSP. It’s far from pretty but if the gameplay’s there, then this should resonate well with rugby league fans.

Next week is the first big week of the release season. Leading the pack is Activision’s latest musical number Guitar Hero 5. Launching alongside that will be Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 where players can relive the recent Civil War saga from the comics, Disney hamster movie tie-in G-Force, racing duo Need for Speed SHIFT and Colin McCrae DiRT 2, EA’s annual ice hockey game NHL 10, the belated PC ports of Resident Evil 5 and Red Faction: Guerilla and much more.