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Think of the Children for December 17

Think of the Children for December 17

Written by Dan Keener on 12/17/2008 for DS   PC   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  
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Looks like Holiday break is catching up with the ESRB and Publishers, as there were only 29 titles on the list this week. Not surprising, the DS, Wii and PC dominated the counts, but there are some potential hits tucked away for each platform this time around. The PS3 and 360 barely made a blip, while the intriguing title of the week is a DLC Prince of Persia-palooza for the PC.

With the big three dominating the list, I did find a handful of titles that should make many a gamer happy. First up is the Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy (PC re-release for DLC), Ubisoft’s ‘M; rated Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii), THQ’s Lego titles Lego Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension and Lego Drome Racers (PC), Destineer’s Cradle of Rome (Wii), DreamCatcher’s ‘M’ rated Band Manager (PC) and Ubisoft’s Grey's Anatomy for the chick crowd (DS). There were also quite a few of the Imagine, Petz and Paws N Claws brands out there as well.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 might as well stayed in bed this week, as they had a whopping two titles rated including on for both consoles. Namco Bandai’s Afro Samurai was the game that hits both services (with a big old ‘M’ for Mature rating), while the other title was Square Enix’s Star Ocean: The Last Hope (scheduled for a March 3, 2009 North American release) for the Xbox 360. This is another game series making it’s debut on the Microsoft system, as previous titles have been associated primarily with the Playstation brand (PSP, PS2) and GBA.

My intriguing title(s) of the week are the Prince of Persia Sands of Time title trilogy for the PC. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within were all rated by the ESRB, probably due to their recent availability on Steam. This is some early 2000’s gaming for those that are huge fans of the series and it I nice to see older games continue to hit Steam and the other sites regularly.

 
Title Publisher Rating Platforms
Inkheart DreamCatcher Everyone DS
MUSHA SEGA Everyone Wii
Righteous Kill ValuSoft Inc. Teen PC
NASCAR® Kart Racing Electronic Arts Everyone Wii
AFRO SAMURAI Namco Bandai Mature 360, PS3
Imagine Cheerleader Ubisoft Everyone DS
Grey's Anatomy Ubisoft Teen DS
Pet Show Craze Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
PLAY! Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Ubisoft Mature Wii
STAR OCEAN: The Last Hope Square Enix, Inc Teen 360
Family Glide Hockey Aksys Games Everyone Wii, WiiWare
Imagine: Ice Champions Ubisoft Everyone DS
Lego Drome Racers THQ Inc Everyone PC
Lego Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension THQ Inc Everyone PC
LIT WayForward Everyone 10+ Wii
Magic Farm Echoplay Everyone PC
American Popstar Road To Celebrity Gameloft Everyone DS
Cradle of Rome Destineer Everyone Wii
Eternal Oceans Digital Brandplay LLC Everyone 10+ PC
Band Manager DreamCatcher Mature PC
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis NIS America, Inc. Everyone 10+ PSP
My Cooking Coach Ubisoft Everyone DS
Farm Frenzy 2 Viva Media LLC Everyone PC
Petz Horseshoe Ranch Ubisoft Everyone DS
Paws & Claws Pet Vet ValuSoft Inc. Everyone Wii
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Encore Software Teen PC
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones Encore Software Mature PC
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Encore Software Mature PC

Here is the final tally on who, what and where everything was rated for last week. There were 29 rated titles on just six platforms. PC (12), DS (7) and Wii (7) had the most games rated as expected. There were 20 of the 29 titles rated at E10+ or lower, four rated at T for Teen and five (AFRO SAMURAI, Band Manager, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Tenchu: Shadow Assassins) 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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