Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the ESRB has once again graced us with a significant amount of game titles that were rated last week. Highlighting the list were a couple of much-anticipated Xbox 360 title, the DS having a surprising low count of rated titles, the Mac making a big splash and an a re-start for a fledgling format with a new game being rated.

I guess the thing that first jumped out at me this week was how few titles the DS had rated, and how many the Mac had on the list. The Mac had eight titles this week, which is unusually high. However, they were all from the same publisher (Selectsoft Publishing/MPS) and included such titles as 101 Bunny Pets, 101 Kitty Pets and 101 Pony Pets. So I guess volume doesn’t always equate to top-shelf titles. As for the DS, it usually dominates, but could only muster three total titles including an AMF bowling game they are sharing with the N-Gage. Speaking of which, could AMF Bowling Pinbusters! Be the first game for the 2nd generation N-Gage platform?

The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 combined for seven titles this week, with both having LEGO Indiana Jones being rated. The only other PS3 title was something called Elefunk. No, it’s not a Black Eyed Peas tie-in, but rather a Playstation Network puzzler where you are challenged to get elephants to safety by building complex structures to allow them to make their way through the world. The Xbox 360 also had the much-anticipated Too Human rated, along retail game Operation Darkness and two XBLA titles in Darwinia and Braid. Other than Too Human, the other Xbox 360 titles have been more or less flying under the radar.

While looking over the list, two titles immediately jumped out as candidates for this week’s title of shame. The first was Jaks’s Pacific Plug & Play adaptation of Bejeweled, and the second was ValuSoft feeling the need to bring Dancing With the Stars to PC’s everywhere. I like Bejeweled, as a game, but it seems to me that a P&P version is not overkill, but almost a badge of shame for a distinguished franchise. I realize there may be a few people that live in caves, or remote farmhouses out in the barren countryside, but really, how many people couldn’t find a version of the game on their PDA, Cell Phone, PC, iPod, Flash game online or a console? Despite me not caring for the way Bejeweled is being presented (and that is the primary reason), this weeks Title of Shame belongs squarely to ValuSoft’s Dancing With The Stars. Frankly, any game that is spawn from a reality TV show, let alone a variety TV show about DANCING will always get at least a cursory look here. After checking out the previews and graphics, my fears were confirmed. It appears to be cheesy, has bad graphics and is completely unnecessary. I would say shame on ABC and THQ (parent company of ValuSoft) for letting this come to fruition.




Title
Publisher
Rating
Platforms


101 BunnyPets
Selectsoft Publishing / MPS