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Think of the Children

Think of the Children

Written by Dan Keener on 6/18/2008 for DS   PC   PS2   PS3   PSP   Wii   360  
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I missed last week due to my vacation, but judging from the amount of titles that have been rated since I last published, there wasn’t much there. So I am now back and have two weeks worth of rated games to cover. Scanning the list I see the usual tripe of sequels, milked IPs and kids titles. However, a couple of names caught my eye from some of the big publishers, but the biggest name on this list belongs to a long-awaited title for the Xbox Live Arcade.

PC, DS and Wii contributed 30 of the 38 titles to this weeks rated titles, but the quality is scarce as usual. What you will find are another Mario money grab (Dr. Mario Online Rx – Wii), a Digimon game (Digimon Word Championship – DS) and casual games being charged for (Lifetime Fashion Solitaire). There looks to be a sliver of hope with Crazy Golf (Wii), Family Table Tennis (Wii), Space Chimps (Wii, PC) and Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (PC). Overall, there are more titles that people probably won’t be interested in than titles that they would.

The Xbox 360 again flies the banner for the next-gen platforms with seven rated titles, while the Playstation 3 only had three. Both consoles shared two of EA’s titles, NCAA Football 2009 and NFL Head Coach 09. In addition, the PS3 had some sort of Vampire Rain sequel (Vampire Rain: Altered Species) rated. Hopefully it isn’t as bad as the Xbox 360 version of the game. The other titles for the 360 are Space Chimps, Beat’n Groovy, Domino Master and Don King Presents: Prizefighter. The final rated title for the Xbox 360 is the long-awaited XBLA release of Castle Crashers. While it won’t release this week, I would like to see it hit the service on either June 25th or July 2nd.

The title of shame this week was an easy choice for me personally. The Political Machine 2008 has landed the dishonor, for nothing more than placing more politics at the forefront and being a sequel to boot. While some people may get into the whole nasty underworld of Politics and want to run their own campaign, this to me is nothing more than a waste of money, time and resources by Stardock. I won’t go any deeper into the discussion on this topic, as I know it will only tick more people off.

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
Castle Crashers The Behemoth Teen 360
Madden NFL 09 Electronic Arts Everyone DS
My Secret World by Imagine Ubisoft Everyone DS
The Political Machine 2008 Stardock Corporation Everyone 10+ PC
Stronghold Crusader Extreme Firefly Studios Teen PC
Rock Tour Game Mill Entertainment Everyone PC
Pastry Passion RealNetworks Everyone PC
PLÄTTCHEN - twist 'n' paint Bplus Everyone Wii
Beat'n Groovy Konami  Everyone 360
Crazy Golf Destineer Everyone Wii
Domino Master TikGames Everyone 360
EnerG: Modern Dance ubisoft Everyone DS
Family Table Tennis Aksys Games Everyone Wii
Digimon World Championship Namco Bandai Everyone DS
Neo Turf Masters SNK Playmore USA Everyone Wii
King of the Monsters SNK Playmore USA Everyone 10+ Wii
The Immortals of Terra: A Perry Rhodan Adventure Viva-Media, LLC Teen PC
Trainz The Complete Collection Paradox Interactive Everyone PC
Women's Volleyball Championship Agetec, Inc. Everyone PS2
Space Siege SEGA of America Teen PC
Space Chimps Brash Entertainment Everyone 10+ PC, PS2, 360, Wii
Underwater Attack UFO Interactive Games Everyone DS
Unreal Tournament III Destineer Mature Macintosh
Vampire Rain: Altered Species Ignition Entertainment Mature PS3
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Atari, Inc. Teen PC
NFL Head Coach 09 Electronic Arts Everyone 360, PS3
MLB Power Pros 2008 Visual Concepts Everyone DS
Don King Presents Prizefighter 2K Teen 360
Alice Greenfingers MumboJumbo Everyone Macintosh, PC
Dr. Mario Online Rx Nintendo of America Everyone Wii
Defendin' DePenguin Crave Entertainment Everyone DS, Wii
MLB Power Pros 2008 Visual Concepts Everyone PS2, Wii
Lifetime Fashion Solitaire Brighter Minds Media Everyone PC
Lovely Lisa TOMY Corporation Everyone DS
NCAA Football 09 Electronic Arts Everyone 360, PS3
Ocean Express Brighter Minds Media Everyone PC, Web Browser
Hamster Ball Brighter Minds Media Everyone PC, Web Browser
Hannah Montana Pop Tour JAKKS Pacific Inc. Everyone Plug-and-Play

* 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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