August 27 – August 31

Section: 

Let’s start with Madden — hey, there’s a new Madden game out this week. It has football in it.

Now that we’ve gotten through that, we can move on to greener pastures. For me, this week is all about Guild Wars 2. This is a game some of you have been anticipating for years, and one of the most frequent e-mails we get on the podcast is “Hey, why don’t you guys talk more about Guild Wars 2?” The thing is, it’s only been recently where I’ve started to give it the attention it deserves.

I am gun-shy about proclaiming the greatness of any kind of MMO launch, more so now considering how much I liked The Old Republic at first, and how quickly that infatuation faded. Though, I am currently no less smitten by the charms of ArenaNet’s game, and in fact I think it is doing some amazing things that could potentially advance the entire genre. I will, however, demonstrate reserve in heaping too much praise too soon.

The thing is, it’s easier to recommend a game like Guild Wars 2 because it does not have the monthly fee. You can naturally look at the game in terms more like those you would use with Skyrim or Mass Effect. Sure, it invites you to spend hundreds of hours over a time frame measured in seasons, but if you “only” get 60 or 80 hours out of the game, then that can be its own success. You don’t end up having spent hundreds on a year-long subscription for a game you don’t play anymore.

And 60-80 hours of GW2 time is for me a certainty. I say that confidently, knowing I’ve already made a substantial dent into that commitment, and technically the game hasn’t even launched yet. Let me just put it this way: If you like MMOs at all, get Guild Wars 2.

PC
- Guild Wars 2
- Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII (download)
- Mutant Mudds (download)
- Starvoid (download)
- The Basement Collection (download)
- They Bleed Pixels (download)

Xbox 360
- Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII
- Madden NFL 13
- Rock Band Blitz (XBLA - $15)

PS3
- Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII
- God of War Saga
- inFamous Collection
- Journey Collector's Edition
- Madden NFL 13
- Ratchet & Clank Collection
- Lights, Camera, Party! (PSN - $30)
- Psychonauts (PS2 Classic)
- Rock Band Blitz (PSN - $15)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (PSN - $15)

Wii
- Madden NFL 13

Vita
- Madden NFL 13

Comments

That's a lot of old games repackaged on PS3.

Still I'm getting the R&C one.

And I'm a little tempted by the Journey one.

I think it will be many long months before I feel like playing anything other than GW2.

The head start weekend was great and the GWJ guild is tons of fun: all hail the Octo Gear!

Picking up R&C collection and Psychonauts myself. I would play Guild Wars, but I'm burnt out on MMORPGs entirely.

GW2 has made me all but forget throwing money down the drain with SWTOR. I'm really enjoying it!

I'm actively avoiding GW2 because it is exactly the kind of game that will consume my life, and I know I'd love it.

inFamous Collection victory by default.

Oh hey, Mutant Mudds is coming to PC this week. Let me take a moment to plug that game as being completely awesome. I just recently completed it on the 3DS and loved every minute of it. It's an old school, nails-hard platformer, and the PC version even comes with 20 extra levels that the 3DS version didn't have. Definitely check it out.

For me, this week is all about Guild Wars 2.

But next week, that's all about Madden, right? I don't see you holding out for a whole month.

ccesarano wrote:

inFamous Collection victory by default.

Already platinum'ed the first. But I guess if it goes on sale for the same price as 2 at some point, then the PSN game for free would be a solid buy.

Ratchet and Clank Collection is something I'll almost certainly pick up eventually, but not this week. This week, if I buy anything it'll be The World Ends with You on iPad.

Will be getting Rockband Blitz and TWEWY, but possibly not this week. I'm kinda up to my eyebrows in alligators here.

Let me just put it this way, if you like MMOs at all get Guild Wars 2.

The reason I pre-purchased GW2 is because I generally don't like MMOs. I really liked the first Guild Wars (which isn't really an MMO) mostly for its PvP, and even though GW2 is a true MMO, it's different enough compared to most traditional MMOs that I'm confident I'll more than get my $60 worth from it.

Oh, and there's no goddamn monthly fee.

I'd have picked up Rock Band Blitz if this was last year, but I'm staring at a Rocksmith preorder, and no one wants to play ye olde RB with me, so meh.

I'd play RB3 with you, if you have it on PS3.

Stele wrote:

I'd play RB3 with you, if you have it on PS3.

I do - all I've got left are my two guitars, the synthesizer and some mics; the drum set broke about two years ago, and I haven't bothered to replace it.

Demyx wrote:

This week, if I buy anything it'll be The World Ends with You on iPad.

Wasn't this the game which poured the water on Sean's last embers of interest in JRPG's? Followed rapidly by abadonment of his resolution to try out a new genre once a month?

I'm seeing the hype for GW2 is going strong.

But I got no time for commiting to MMO's anymore. I'll taste the first few level, and then switch to something else.

But, man, if the hype is strong even after 2 months.. I'll be way too tempted.

In the meantime, I'll wait for Borderlands 2 and Torchlight 2.

Wasn't this the game which poured the water on Sean's last embers of interest in JRPG's? Followed rapidly by abadonment of his resolution to try out a new genre once a month?

It killed so much of me, that I'm surprised it's out on parole.

Elysium wrote:
Wasn't this the game which poured the water on Sean's last embers of interest in JRPG's? Followed rapidly by abadonment of his resolution to try out a new genre once a month?

It killed so much of me, that I'm surprised it's out on parole.

Since I trust your reviews on games, especially JRPGs, I stayed away from this one.

walterqchocobo wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Wasn't this the game which poured the water on Sean's last embers of interest in JRPG's? Followed rapidly by abadonment of his resolution to try out a new genre once a month?

It killed so much of me, that I'm surprised it's out on parole.

Since I trust your reviews on games, especially JRPGs, I stayed away from this one.

If you have a chocobo for an avatar that might not be the best of ideas.

Unless I'm not detecting sarcasm here.

Is there anything special in the Journey CE? Like a physical scarf or something? I'll gladly double-dip if so.

Elysium wrote:

It killed so much of me, that I'm surprised it's out on parole.

Was this recorded on a podcast segment at one point?

shoptroll wrote:

Is there anything special in the Journey CE? Like a physical scarf or something? I'll gladly double-dip if so.

Soundtracks? Free month of PS+? Developer behind-the-scenes videos? FLOW and FLOWer games too?

shoptroll wrote:

Is there anything special in the Journey CE? Like a physical scarf or something? I'll gladly double-dip if so.

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Collec...

No physical items. I would totally buy a Journey scarf, make it happen thatgamecompany.

Stele wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

Is there anything special in the Journey CE? Like a physical scarf or something? I'll gladly double-dip if so.

Soundtracks? Free month of PS+? Developer behind-the-scenes videos? FLOW and FLOWer games too?

Nope. Not special/collector's enough.

shoptroll wrote:
Elysium wrote:

It killed so much of me, that I'm surprised it's out on parole.

Was this recorded on a podcast segment at one point?

Let's take a jump into the Conference Call wayback machine! (It's around 28-29 minutes in.)

Also, here's Elysium's follow-up piece to that podcast, where he compares The World Ends With You to a Hot Pocket filled with raw sewage. Good times.

Whose bright idea was it to take JRPG-skeptic Elysium and toss him headlong into one of the more aggressively Japanese JRPGs? That's like taking someone who is skeptical of sushi and serving them live octopus.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

That's like taking someone who is skeptical of sushi and serving them live octopus.

Or introducing someone to adventure games with Gabriel Knight 3

Seriously, no one had the sense to tell him to get Chrono Trigger DS instead? At that point in time Square was whining that no one bought it!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Whose bright idea was it to take JRPG-skeptic Elysium and toss him headlong into one of the more aggressively Japanese JRPGs? That's like taking someone who is skeptical of sushi and serving them live octopus.

I'm more partial to soy-reanimated cephalopods.

Point of order -- I played Chrono Trigger when it originally came out. Finished it. Liked it. A shame I didn't play the DS remake instead.

Elysium wrote:

Point of order -- I played Chrono Trigger when it originally came out. Finished it. Liked it. A shame I didn't play the DS remake instead.

That shame doesn't have to last.... I'm just sayin'

In other shameful news, just a head's up on the iOS version of The World Ends with With You. If you have a 1st gen iPad, when you try to buy it you get an error message saying it's not compatible because it requires a gyroscope to run. I'm looking into it to see if there's any way around it.