We are back on a regular schedule now that holidays and vacations have passes, and the ESRB didn’t disappoint. There were 36 rated titles this week, including quite a few with little to no buzz. The biggest surprise may have been the relative weakness of the DS titles, with just five rated including two movie tie-ins and an almost 15 year old game (MYST). The next-gen titles, much like the DS showed weakness in quality, although there were several new ratings. Another surprise was the PC and Mac segments, as the PC once again led the way with 21 titles and the Mac had a surprising five rated titles.

Wow, what a difference a few weeks make. Leading into the Holiday season, the DS and Wii were dominating the title ratings, with tons of releases getting rated weekly. Well, now that the Holiday push is behind us, the DS and Wii are back to middle of the road status. The DS had five title rated including the 15-year-old MYST and two movie tie-ins (Iron Man and the Spiderwick Chronicles). The Wii was only slightly better with a couple of ports, Spiderwick and SEGA Tennis Superstars among others. All in all, it was a poor showing for the sales leader in both console and handheld markets.

Unlike Nintendo, the PC and Mac market continue their strong push with not only casual games, but full retail titles. The PC saw anticipated titles such as Sudden Strike 3, Penumbra-Black Plague and Neverwinter Nights 2: Mystery of Westgate. The Mac titles were mostly casual games such as Yahtzee Texas Hold ‘Em and Gamehouse Solitaire Challenge. Regardless, I have seen a distinct shift toward the PC market over the last couple of months.

The next-gen system(s) had a few games rated, with the Xbox 360 having five and the Playstation 3 a pathetic two. They both saw the SEGA Superstars Tennis and Dragonball Z: Burst Limit (which was the extent of games for the PS3.) The 360 saw upcoming XBLA titles Frogger 2, Ikaruga and the movie tie-in The Spiderwick Chronicles. All-in-all, it was a pretty lame week for next-gen consoles. Let’s hope it gets better as the month progresses.

For the second week in a row, the ESRB ratings held several surprises and quite a few games I haven’t heard much buzz on lately for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Games rated include Frogger 2 (360), Ikaruga (360) and a tie-in with The Spiderwick Chronicles (both). Another rated title that caught my eye was FPS Creator. Apparently, it allows you to create Direct x10 games for Vista. It costs $69.99, while full info can be found at http://www.fpscreatorx10.com/.






Title
Publisher
Rating
Platforms


Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Atari, Inc.
T
360, PS3


FPS Creator...