August 24 - August 28

Section: 

We've been on a pretty strong roll for decent, if not groundbreaking, games. The roll continues, and perhaps appears to be gaining momentum into September with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Coming off some hot buzz, a terrific demo and highly positive initial impressions, it may be safe to say that BAA -- yes, I'm coining that as it's official acronym -- may turn out to be the best super hero game ever.

This is not saying much.

Oh, it's not like there's never been a good super hero game. Spiderman had a solid one or two, and there was a pretty solid Hulk game. Still, if the demo is any indication BAA will actually elevate a traditionally disappointing genre into a new realm. But, rather than gushing further it may be worth recognizing some of the other games finding their way onto store shelves this week, such as Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii and Dissidia Final Fantasy on the PSP.

Buckle up, kids. It's about that time of year.

PC
- Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout
- Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger
- Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger

Xbox 360
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout
- Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger

PS3
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

Wii
- Cursed Mountain
- Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
- Metroid Prime Trilogy
- Reel Fishing: Angler's Dream

PSP
- Dissidia Final Fantasy
- Warriors Orochi 2

Nintendo DS
- Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues
- Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming
- Imagine: Teacher Class Trip
- Marker Man Adventures
- Princess Lillifee's Magic Fairy
- Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
- Sarah: Keeper of the Unicorn
- The Clique: Diss and Make Up
- Wizards of Waverly Place

Comments

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

The PS3 demo for Batman was pretty enticing...but I think I'll pick up Metroid Prime Trilogy instead...

LAYTON!!!

Wooo!

GIMME!

Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

In exactly the same spot here. Loved the PC demo so much, but the 360 version is so ready, so available.

Hang in there, Sinatar. We'll get through this together.

Yes, I meant to mention Professor Layton as well.

I'm curious to know if Cursed Mountain is any good. It certainly looks interesting from it's trailers.

Reading that, I pictured some aberrant, unholy chimera of Nancy Drew and Raven Squad. A mind-boggling image, to say the least.

What exactly is Raven Squad? I've never heard the name before now.

Purchasing Layton, Metroid and perscription drugs... I'll seriously have no money this week.

Oh well. Layton will be worth it.

I thought the BAA demo was terrible (well, the production value was great, gameplay? not so much). What are you all talking about? Did I miss something? Antiquated stealth, stupid AI, button mashing combat, xray vision, gargoyles. What did you all think was so good about it?

I'm ready for the Metroid Prime Trilogy. I'll have Batman as soon as Will is done with it. Dissidia is still up in the air. And damn, I had no idea Layton was coming out this month. This is great.

"Princess Lillifee's Magic Fairy" for Ninty DS would cetainly make a nice tag here on the boards...

CrimeCraft, the PC MMO shooter is also coming out tomorrow.

I wasn't all that impressed by the Batman demo, but I didn't exactly give it a fair shake. Still, I pre-ordered the PS3 version, as it was only $48 on Amazon, and I think I get some fun out of it.

I've always wanted to try Professor Layton, but I do a terrible job at playing portable games.

egads wrote:

I thought the BAA demo was terrible (well, the production value was great, gameplay? not so much). What are you all talking about? Did I miss something? Antiquated stealth, stupid AI, button mashing combat, xray vision, gargoyles. What did you all think was so good about it?

Big ol' thread about it here.

My girlfriend hates that Layton is coming out. She knows I won't speak to her for a couple days.

PC
- Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout

Xbox 360
- Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout

I'm all for releasing these campaigns on a retail disc, but for the life of me can't figure out why Bethesda broke them up into two separate releases (Operation: Anchorage & The Pitt on the prior disc release).

Why didn't they just release all 5 on a single disc? Besides, I'm sure there's a GotY edition with all the download content waiting in the wings anyway, right?

Oh well.

BAA for me this week...can't wait! Of course, now I can't see the acronym without thinking of the sheep sound.

Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Sinatar wrote:

What exactly is Raven Squad? I've never heard the name before now.

It's an FPS/RTS hybrid of sorts. It's obviously made by a development team with limited resources, as graphically it looks like a 2004 game blown up to HD, but I've read a few previews that were pretty positive. It's certainly one title I might go back to if reviews are decent.

inspiringsn wrote:

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Isn't platform preference pretty much always the reason why you want one version over the other? That's essentially what it comes down to in this case: It looks better and the aiming is more precise.

BAA already has modders at work on the game for the PC, so I can see the PC being the best version of the game. Then the PS3 lets you play as the Joker. But as far as the core game, I don't think there will be much difference. If I was still playing games on the PC, that's the platform I would choose.

Elysium wrote:

Buckle up, kids. It's about that time of year.

Or...

IMAGE(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9599/gwjteam.png)

inspiringsn wrote:
Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Framerate seems to be a bit higher and smoother, anti-aliasing is higher, personally prefer using the mouse to aim the batarang and grappling hook, and modding community.

inspiringsn wrote:
Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Double the framerate and a higher resolution. Plus the neat PhysX stuff.

Alright, I hadn't been keeping up on the thread for the game, but still had been considering picking it up.

stevenmack wrote:

I'm curious to know if Cursed Mountain is any good. It certainly looks interesting from it's trailers.

I got it a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's pretty niche so I'm sure it'll polarize people, so if you're on the fence you'll probably want to rent it.

inspiringsn wrote:
Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Way late to the party and others already answered, but for me it was the fact that I don't have an HDTV, so it's much prettier on my PC monitor than it would be on my 360, the PhysX integration, and the modding potential.

I'm glad I waited. It's awesome.

Ravenlock wrote:
inspiringsn wrote:
Sinatar wrote:

Man I dunno if I have the willpower to wait for the PC version of Batman, but it was definitely a better experience then the 360 demo...

Must. Hold. Strong.

So besides maybe platform preference, why are you wanting the PC version over the 360 version?

Way late to the party and others already answered, but for me it was the fact that I don't have an HDTV, so it's much prettier on my PC monitor than it would be on my 360, the PhysX integration, and the modding potential.

I'm glad I waited. It's awesome. :D

Fair enough, I went ahead and got it on the PS3 and had a blast with it. Though if I didn't have an HD tv the PC would've been my preferred platform.