We’re back after a one week hiatus, and there are tons of titles that came across the ESRB’s rating system this week. Wii and PC dominated again, but the DS and PS3 were surprisingly light. The Wii is breaking out some classics and some of their cash cows. It was another mediocre week for the next-gen consoles, with the 360 firmly driving the bus. And last but not least, we have a title of shame that is sweet, yet leaves a bitter taste in your mouth at the same time.

Boy, the PC and Wii came back off the holiday week with a vengeance, combining for 37 of the 56 rated titles. Many are of the garden variety casual game, but there are some gems in there as well as some classic stuff coming to VC or Wii Ware. The PC saw a handful of Tom Clancy’s titles for PC get rated (RB6: Vegas, Splinter Cell Double Agent and GRAW: 2), but I’m not aware if they will be LIVE enabled or cross platform. Also seen was Requiem: Bloodymare and quite a few kids’ games. The big story with the Wii were the titles that should be coming to VC or WiiWare,including Dig Dug, Cruis`n USA, Ninja Combat and a couple of Pokemon titles; My Pokemon Ranch and Pokémon Puzzle League.

The DS pulled in a very uninspiring week unless you are a tween girl. Imagine: Babysitters, The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom and Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society make for some great play if you are looking for games to keep your tweens preoccupied. Toss in a little Spongebob, and you have a very targeted, and young, audience this week.

Next-gen was again dominated by the Xbox 360, as the PS3 only had two titles (The Last Guy and WipeOut HD, both from SCEA) get rated. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 trotted out Braid, Darwinia +, Smash Court Tennis 3, Zombie Wranglers, Samurai Shodown and the console exclusive Command & Conquer 3: Kane`s Wrath. Pretty much a piss poor week for the PS3,and an OK week for the 360. We are in a bit of a dry period, but things should change as we get closer to E3 and games getting prepped for a Fall release.

The title of shame this week came down to a familiar concept, games based on pastries. The offender is Crazy Cakes by EA found at Club Pogo. I felt obligated to tee this one up, much like I did Cake Mania a few months back, as fairies and cake decorating just don’t seem like the type of gameplay that you would get your monies worth out of the Pogo service. Again, this is just a personal opinion, but I’m putting this game in the “Why?” bucket.





Title
Publisher
Rating
Platforms


Art of Fighting 2
SNK Playmore USA
Teen
Wii