Sept 20th - 26th (HUGE!)

Section: 

Find your gamer buddy, do not enter your local game shop this week without someone to keep you honest, give them a bat if you have to. The release list is staggering this week, itÂ's so big it took me two quarters of football to type it all out. ThereÂ's something for everyone here but thereÂ's only one game for me. Rome: Total War ships on the 23rd for $49.99 on the PC. E3Â's presentation stunned me, watching Decisive Battles gave me constant reminders that it was coming and now weÂ'll finally get a chance to see if it truly shines.

On DVD this week we have the Star Wars Trilogy, Mean Girls, the 4th season of Mr.Show and more!
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Platform: PC, Xbox, GC, PS2
Ships: September 20
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Xbox Live support, custom swings, custom courses and more. I wonder if the PC version will continue to be more of a simulation than its console counter-part. I hope so!

Star Wars Battlefront
Platform: PC, PS2, Xbox
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Iffy. Any BF1942 clone is going to have to be huge to go anywhere these days. The reviews havenÂ't been overwhelming so far, IÂ'm calling it a flash in the pan but IÂ'd be happy to be wrong.

Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War
Platform: PC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Last I checked, the multiplayer mode was a huge rushing game, not much fun. Single player is shaping up nicely though.

Def Jam Fight for NY
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Punching rappers in the face sounds like a great time to me!

NHL 2005
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: All signs point to ESPN NHL 2K5Â"… unless you own a Gamecube and need a hockey fix.

Hidden & Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron Expansion
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $9.99

The Buzz: At $10 bucks, why not just give it away?

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia
Platform: PS2, PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $29.99

The Buzz: Where did this come from? For $30 bucks it better be a good expansion!

Full Spectrum Warrior
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The PC demo shows this isnÂ't just a sloppy Xbox port, look into it if you have any interest in a very solid PC tactical strategy game. Coop included!

Headhunter: Redemption
Platform: PS2, Xbox
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The original was a Dreamcast game ported to every platform under the sun. Not much buzz on the sequel.

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Thank god, I was afraid we were done with extreme versions of games!

Mega Man X Command Mission
Platform: PS2, GC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: A Mega Man RPG thatÂ's scored middling reviews so far, IÂ'd pass.

Kohan II: Kings of War
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Shipping for real this time, really. Beta buzz is all over the place, wait and see.

Second Sight
Platform: PS2, GC, Xbox
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: A psychological thriller told with cinematic camera angles and 3rd person gameplay. 80 – 90% reviews across the board.

Blood Will Tell
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: No reviews on this games based on a popular manga. Wait for them.

Crusader Kings
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Based on the Europa Universalis engine, this strategy game features a medieval setting and so far, good reviews.

X-Men Legends
Platform: GC, Xbox, PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: It looked like fun at E3 and the previews have been mostly positive so far. BaldurÂ's Gate: Dark Alliance style gameplay, this time with the X-Men.

Monster Hunter
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: An online multilayer action title that has you hunting bigger and bigger monsters. Could be a surprise hit!

Saga of Ryzom
Platform: PC
Ships: September 23rd
Price: $44.99

The Buzz: This MMORPG has its following but with so many games out and WoW/EQ2 on the way does it have a shot?

- Certis

Comments

Do you hear that scream - thats my wallet, sigh........ I think I can hold off - I think I can, well probably not :).

Kohan II and SW DVD's this week for me. I'm really tempted by DoW but am going to have to wait on that one.

Think I may pick up the new Interpol CD while I'm out this week as well. I really like these guys!

Second Sight is by the guys who made TimeSplitters, which was one of the finest console shooters ever made, IMHO. Between that and Tiger Woods, I don't think I'll be buying a game again until Evil Genius.

...crap, that's next week.

I'm getting Rome: TW and the Star Wars DVD. Others will have to wait...

*Froths at the mouth*

Ugh, why I ask can't Rome come out in the UK this week too, why WHY!

It should be noted that the H&D2 expansion will feature coop. Worth a mention since H&D was a great coop game.

Christ, look at all those games. Fall is here!

Ach, Rome:TW $50 (ching), Fable (which I still have not forgiven this board for FORCING me to buy) $50 (ching), Dance Dance Revolution Extreme $0....

Oh dear, the Christmas deluge has begun. I'll just try to stay at least 300 yards back from any store that sells games and see if that gives me the strength to hold out.

I'm considering paring back some, but as it stands now my list goes something like:

Katamari Damashi
FFXI expansion
Blood will Tell
X-men
Monster Hunter
Def-Jam
Kohan
Rome
Warhammer

Yikes...

I'm curious to give EA's NHL a rent. ESPN's pretty good, but far from perfect. Besides that... I should finish the games I'm playing before getting more but damn ! Tiger Woods on Live!, can we resist ?

Think I'll pick up ground Control II and Kohan II this week.

I'll wait until I hear something from you guys on Rome TW, since I never played Shogun or Medieval. If its all that and the bag o' chips, then I'll get that next paycheck.

Or FSW if I like the demo I just D/L'ed.

One of the two.

Looks like a strateglicious week.

OMG Mateo, buy MTW. There are several reasons. First, you can get the whole show for around $35 or $40. Second, MTW is a turn-based, strategic si-move game at the high level. You plot your movement from province to province and then it all executes. RTW has a "realtime" 3D strategic map, and armies move on the exact path you pick. The point is, MTW is a *different* style game from RTW, and a fantastic one - why miss it? Third, MTW kicks ass. It's an awesome game. Should be part of any strategy game library.

Even if you don't like RTW in the end, consider MTW.

I'm worried about the following couple of weeks, too. HOI Platinum (if it's different from the patched HOI), Superpower 2 (intriguing demo, anyway), Evil Genius and Gary Grigsby's World At War are all coming. Good thing my attaboy bonus for last quarter was late, it should just cover this week, if I include The Sims 2. So next week may well be a repeat of this one, cost-wise. Gotta get another bonus.

I can't even justify Battles In Normandy, but I got it. lol

Blood Will Tell
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: No reviews on this games based on a popular manga. Wait for them.

Maybe Time Will Tell on Blood Will Tell!

I'm here all night, folks!

God... damn it. I needed that $50. Oh well...

Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War
Platform: PC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Last I checked, the multiplayer mode was a huge rushing game, not much fun. Single player is shaping up nicely though.

I don't know about that. The demo is SP, and its good, but nothing new. I's not into Warhammer, but think it does a good job of pretty good combat into a fairly stock SP RTS campaign.

If I can sell some stuff (ipod and stuff at a yard sale next week) and I have enough left after buying Halo 2 I hope to get the SW DVD.... if not its on the christmas list!

Argh! RTS overload..

I'm wary of Xmen... I want it to be good...but I suspect it will be a decent game just horribly flawed.

Demo of Def Jam was very cool... I like how the moved away from the straight wrestling aspect of it and made it more of a fighting game..

Not sure its worth buying at full price..

I'm probably getting SW:Battlegrounds on PC..

Good lord! 3 games that are "must have" for me, 3 games that are "i'd like to get", all in one week. And this after just getting fable this weekend. Maybe if I quit my job I'd have time for all this, but then I couldn't afford it. Err, not that I can afford it anyway. *sigh*

Spunior wrote:

It should be noted that the H&D2 expansion will feature coop. Worth a mention since H&D was a great coop game.

Interesting! I found the graphics and such great on this, but the interface was really wonky for me.

For me it's RTW, and FSW for sure. Starwars does nothing for me, nothing at all. I'd much rather play Joint Ops, BF, BF-V or any of the mods, or Raven Shield for my shooters.

I'll probably also be picking up Battles in Normandy as well.

Now, I just need TIME!

Well RTW for sure for me. I'm alway's in the mood for some good, Roman or Ancient's ambiance. And I hoping for this in spades (mostly on the strategic level). Full Spectrum Warrior too, although the demo for some reason fell short of what I was expecting in graphics. But the control is actually better then the console. But man, all the great talk about how great the co-op was has me eager to give it a go.

Everything else a more 'wait and see'. But the plastic may melt a bit more...but maybe not.

RTW has a "realtime" 3D strategic map

Actually it's turn based but with animations to represent the movement of the armies similar to HoMM or Age of Wonders.

There are two turns each year, one for winter one for summer.

And of course, no movement provinces this time around... brilliant!

Now, I just need TIME!

This is why none of these are on my buy list, but a few are going on the Santa List and Birthday List(both in December).

For multiplayer goodness, I've got JO.
For mayhem, madness, and sheer wreckage fun, there's Burnout 3.

I'm set. If I got any more games, I wouldn't have time to sleep or work, because I'm sure not cutting out family time.

And now the Ducki Prince is asking to play "Cah" every night after bath time. The nice thing about the earlier(read easier) tracks is, you don't have to steer to make forward progress. The side walls/barriers generally let you just keep the gas on and you'll (eventually) make it to the end.

So my wallet is safe, at least until I get Evil Genius for the wife and I finally make it to an electronics retailer to pick out a big TV.

This is why none of these are on my buy list, but a few are going on the Santa List

Same here.

All you guys are sheep.. go out in a field, find a big hairy dog to watch over you, and start bleating because all they have to do is "announce" the game and you follow with your wallet!

Mateo: seriously buy M:TW before you just go out and buy R:TW. Graphics will be a bit dated but I am guessing the gameplay will be similar. I saw it for $30 US for it and expansion so you know someone will be dropping the price once R:TW hits the stores.

Mayfield wrote:

Mateo: seriously buy M:TW before you just go out and buy R:TW. Graphics will be a bit dated but I am guessing the gameplay will be similar. I saw it for $30 US for it and expansion so you know someone will be dropping the price once R:TW hits the stores.

I was going to wait to get R:TW until I ran the demo a bit, and heard some of this group's reactions to the game. Let the rest of the "herd" go first, especially after the Doom III fiasco of aught-4.

Still, the M:TW has been on my list for a while, I just haven't broken down and bought it. $30 for M:TW and the Viking Expansion sounds like the right price to me.

$40 is almost in the "hell, you might as well just buy what shipped today" price category. Not that I ever do such a thing. No sir. Nothing to see here, move on.

Hrmph. Nothing on the list gets me turgid. I am so not a gamer.

Saga of Ryzom ran horrible on my fairly upper class system. Seemed pretty complex but not without it's charm. Next MMORPG I through away fifty bucks for 30 days play will be WoW or EQ2.

'm considering paring back some, but as it stands now my list goes something like:

Katamari Damashi
FFXI expansion
Blood will Tell
X-men
Monster Hunter
Def-Jam
Kohan
Rome
Warhammer

Oh come on why buy the FFXI expansion when your not even going to play it?