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Think of the Children for August 27th

Think of the Children for August 27th

Written by Dan Keener on 8/28/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  
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There was a significant amount of titles this week’s list from the ESRB. There was balance across the 61 titles, with no platform getting more than 13 rated, and six having at least five rated. The usual amount of titles for the Wii, DS and PC can be found in the same old clichéd categories. A couple of winner salted in, but not too many. The 360 and PS3 had a fair amount of rated titles again, but there are not any Superstars in this bunch like the last several weeks, nor are there any PS3 stand alone titles for PSN. The intriguing title of the week is one that GamingNexus has provided a lot of press on over the last year (myself included) and its release is right around the corner. I guess it is time for it to put up or shut up.

Scanning the DS, Wii and PC list, I see a couple of decent titles trying to poke their heads out from the canopy of clutter that surrounds them. The first Ghostbusters sighting (DS) was found as well as Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2 & Wii), Shaun White Snowboarding (DS) and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC, MAC). It was very hard to see these under the mountain of petz, paws & claws and card games littering the rated title bin.

The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 continued their impressive ratings with another slew of titles. Each console had Summer Athletics Crash: Mind over Mutant Rise of the Argonauts and Burnout Paradise (I’m guessing the Cagney downloadable content) rated. In addition, the Xbox 360 had Blazing Birds and R.B.I. Baseball (the old NES game) rated for Xbox Live Arcade. Again, not a bad week, but this didn’t really contain any superstars or surprises other than a Take Two published R.B.I. Baseball. I will be interested to see if it is an exact duplicate of the original from 1988, or “enhanced” in some way. It originally showed up on the ESRB list back in May of this year with a different publisher.

The Intriguing Title of the Week is Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. We have been inundated with details, screens, trailers and Beta aces for this game for the PC and Mac. Well, with the release right around the corner, the time has come for the title to show off what it is all about. Several GN staffers are eagerly anticipating the game, so I won’t go into much detail or speculation, as they are sure to post blog and impression pieces on it in the near future. I may pick this up if their insight shows the game to be worthy…

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
American McGee's Grimm: A Boy Learns What Fear Is Spicy Horse Teen PC
Blazing Birds Vector2 Everyone 360
Burnout Paradise Electronic Arts Everyone 10+ 360, PS3
futureU: The SAT Prep Game Aspyr Media, Inc. Everyone Mac, PC, DS
Ghostbusters Vivendi Games Everyone DS
GTR Evolution Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
KORG DS-10 Synthesizer XSEED JKS, Inc. Everyone DS
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Activision Everyone PS2, Wii
Paws & Claws Pet Resort ValuSoft Inc. Everyone Wii
The Enchanted Unicorn Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Electronic Arts Teen Mac, PC
TV Show King Party Gameloft Everyone Wii
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 THQ Inc Teen Wii
The Secret Files: Tunguska Koch Media Teen DS
Tetris Party Tetris Online Everyone Wii
Smart Boy's Winter Wonderland UFO Interactive Games Everyone DS
Smart Girl's Winter Wonderland UFO Interactive Games Everyone DS
Reel Deal Card Games 2009 Edition Phantom EFX, Inc. Teen Mac, PC
Rise Of The Argonauts™ Codemasters Mature PC, 360, PS3
Murder in the Abbey DreamCatcher Everyone 10+ PC
Natalie Brooks: Secrets of the Treasure House Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
NBA 2K9 2K Games Everyone PS2
Hidden Expedition: Amazon Activision Value Everyone PC
Crash: Mind over Mutant Vivendi Games Everyone 10+ PS 2, PSP, 360, Wii, PS 3
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009 Activision Value Teen PS2, 360, Wii, PS 3
Hoyle Casino 2009 Encore Software Teen Mac, PC
Guitar Hero World Tour Activision Teen PS2, Wii
Mystery Cookbook Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
Monster Lab Eidos Interactive Everyone 10+ DS, PS2, Wii
R.B.I. Baseball Take-Two Everyone 360
Shaun White Snowboarding DS Ubisoft Everyone DS
Petz Rescue Ocean Patrol Ubisoft Everyone DS
Polar Bowler Mumbo Jumbo Everyone DS
Star Parodius Hudson Entertainment Inc Everyone Wii
Summer Athletics Conspiracy Entertainment Everyone PS2, 360, Wii
Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet ValuSoft Inc. Teen Mac, PC
Petz Rescue Wildlife Vet Ubisoft Everyone Wii
Movie Party Ubisoft Everyone 10+ Wii
National Geographic Panda Namco Bandai Everyone DS

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for the last week. There were 61 rated titles on eight platforms. PC (13), Wii (13), DS (11), Xbox 360 (7), Playstation 2 (7) and Mac (5) had the most games rated. There were 29 of the 61 titles rated at E10+ or lower, nine rated at T for Teen and one (Rise Of The Argonauts) rated at M for Mature.

Got a comment on the article or a rated games, put it in the section below or send me an e-mail. Until next week, make sure you know what your kids are playing……

*The weekly Intriguing Title of the Week (and any game that is tossed in that paragraph) is identified based on a game on the list that catches the eye of the author for any number of reasons. Good, bad or otherwise, feel free to agree, disagree or add some constructive input to the discussion.

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.


About Author

Like many gamers in their 40's, I developed my love of gaming from my Commodore 64 after we wore out our Intellivision. I spent countless hours wandering around the streets of Skara Brae, as my life was immersed in The Bard's Tale series on the C-64, D&D Titles and any/all Epyx titles (California Summer and Winter Games) and sports titles.  After taking the early 90's off from gaming (college years) minus the occasional Bill Walsh College Football on Sega, I was re-introduced to PC games in the mid 1990's with a couple of little games called DOOM II and Diablo. I went all-in with the last generation of consoles, getting an Xbox 360 on launch weekend as well as adding a PS3 and Wii in subsequent years.  I now am into the current-generation (latest?) of consoles with the WiiU and Xbox One.  Recently, I was able to get back into PC gaming and have enjoyed it very much, spending most of my time going solo or playing with my fellow GamingNexus staffers in controlled multiplayer action.

While my byline is on many reviews, articles and countless news stories, I have a passion for and spent the last several years at GamingNexus focusing on audio & video and accessories as they relate to gaming. Having over 20 years of Home Theater consulting and sales under my belt, it is quite enjoyable to spend some of my time viewing gaming through the A/V perspective. While I haven't yet made it to one of the major gaming conventions (PAX or E3), I have represented GamingNexus at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in nine of the last ten years.

Personally, I have been a staff member at GamingNexus since 2006 and am in my third tour of duty after taking off the last year and a half.


 

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