It was another mildly slow week for the ESRB, as 39 games were rated and announced last week. There was a surprising push from SCEA though, as they had nine of the 39 rated games. I’m still thinking the vacation burn-off is in full swing though due to the low overall volume.

I already mentioned the larger than normal quantity of SCEA games, and that translated to a surprising push for a console that has been lagging recently. Nintendo was rolling as usual and the usual cross-section of gaming genres was represented.

Usually, I wait until the end to make fun of the true next-gen consoles for the lack of games that are getting rated. However, this week they deserve top billing for SCEA stepping up to the plate and getting the Playstation 3 some ratings love. There were eight PS3 games rated, included heavy hitter Uncharted: Drake`s Fortune, which could be the exclusive sleeper hit the PS3 so desperately need. There also appeared to be several downloadable PSN games that should be hitting soon including Trials of Topoq, Operation Creature Feature, and Aquatopia. There were also two titles to take advantage of the Playstation Eye camera in the EyeCreate and Mesmerize. The Xbox 360 had four titles rated, but all look to be Xbox Live Arcade titles. More on this later.

Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo. Man, they dominate this list every week. Another week, and another 16 of the 39 games rated were Wii or DS. Much like last week, I question just exactly what type of quality is getting pumped out for the Nintendo owners. This week there are some good looking titles for the Wii, but the stuff for the DS sometimes make you want to shake your head as an owner or a Parent I still think I need to do the research or have one of the staffers put together and editorial on the quantity or quality debate for $29.99…

I have made mention of this before, but it is truly amazing to look at a cross-section of the types of games that are rated and produced. This week is a small microcosm, with games for kids, adults, motion sensing, hardcore shooter (Crysis on PC) and simulation. Despite my continual jabbing at the sheer quantity of games that get pumped out each week, if you have a specific type of game you like, one of the platforms will have it.

For the first time in a few weeks, we seem to have an ESRB coming out party, primarily for a bunch of Xbox Live Arcade titles. Cosmic Osmo`s Hex Isle, Boogie Bunnies, Aces of the Galaxy and the card game Lost Cities all had little fanfare before the ESRB rated them this week. Although not unknown, the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed rating went live for the Nintendo DS.





Avatar The Last Airbender: Bobble Battles
ValuSoft
E
Windows PC


Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship
Majesco Entertainment
E
PSP