411 Games Roundtable: August 2009

Posted by Sean Garmer on 08.11.2009

Will Batman Arkham Asylum rule? What about Madden NFL 2010 and Phantom Brave: We Meet Again? Was Battlefield 1943 the biggest winner from July? Were XBOX LIVE Users July's biggest losers? And which games are 411 staffers anticipating the most in August? Check out the latest edition of the 411 Games Roundtable for all the details!

Well, its been a while but the 411 Games Roundtable is back. As everyone in America begins to get Madden fever and the kids get back to school, some members of the 411 Games staff would like to share their opinions on the games coming out this month. However, before we get to the list of games, I had to ask the staff some questions first. All that's left now is to let you know who is joining the roundtable this month.





Joining Us this month are...


First one up is Adam Larck He writes the 10th Hour column, does reviews, and writes news too.

Next, Drew Robbins He organizes the Games Fact or Fiction, writes news, and does reviews.

Hey, Todd Vote Where you at? Oh yeah, right here. He organizes the Games Top 5, writes news, and does reviews.

Please give a warm welcome to the writer of the Nintendophiles, Theo Fraser

The 411 Games newbie Lee Price is here as well, he gives you the Retronomicon every week, as well as writes news too.

I, Sean Garmer aside from organizing roundtable stuff for 411 Games, I write reviews too.



Questions:



Biggest Winner of the Month:




Adam Larck: Battlefield 1943. This game has had huge success in July. Xbox 360 players got 43 million kills within a week, and PlayStation 3 got there a little after a week. It's great to see a downloadable game doing this well.

Drew Robbins: XBOX LIVE Users Its the tail end of summer break and Xbox Live just recently began its festival of high quality Live Arcade games, Summer of Arcade. Though July only received the first few games for this year's Summer of Arcade, the two games it did receive were the inventive Splosion Man and the fan-favorite Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Those two games alone would be good enough, but to think that Shadow Complex and the Turtles in Time remake are still on the way? Must feel good to own a 360 right about now.

Todd Vote: Fans of Fighting Games Let me elaborate; in the last couple months fight fans have been treated to two excellent titles in UFC Undisputed 2009, and Fight Night Round 4. The reason figh game fans are the winner of the month, is because in July it was announced that there will be updates for both of the titles to fix some glaring (in some opinions) problems. Button mapping for Fight Night, and hopefully eliminating the quitters from the online of UFC.

Theo Fraser: XBOX LIVE Users The Summer of Arcade has provided gamers with a wealth of top titles to dig their teeth into this Summer, with Marvel vs Capcom 2 and TMNT: TiT heading up Microsoft's offerings, not to mention the addictive ‘Splosion Man. July didn't bring any particular ‘must-haves' to the Virtual Console, but Microsoft kept their consumers happy with this excellent line-up of titles. It's a good time to be an XBLA user.

Lee Price: Ghostbusters: The Game It has been a bit of a rollercoaster getting Ghostbusters out. From its announcement and the furore that created to the news that Activision were dropping it and then that Atari were picking it up, to say that this game's development was bumpy would be an understatement. Buts its here and its proven to be a huge hit for Atari, selling in excess of 1 million copies. Guess Activision were wrong for believing it wouldn't be a big seller.

Sean Garmer: XBOX LIVE Users Well this month sees another big release in the Turtles in Time remake, with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 coming out the week before that as well. The Summer Arcade has done well this year and it will continue for another few weeks as well. So looks the downloadable games may be a big deal for August.



Biggest Loser of the Month:




Adam Larck: Take-Two Interactive It's been a hard year for Take Two when it comes to games. First, Red Dead Redemption and Mafia II gets delayed, then the company announces the delay of their big game this year: Bioshock 2. It's now listed to come out early next year. The day after this was announced, the company's stock took a big hit. Here's hoping the delay pays off for Take Two and Bioshock 2.

Drew Robbins: The Holiday Season What was shaping up to be a huge winter release schedule only a month ago has since been decimated. It all kicked off with the delay of Bioshock 2, then another game from Take-Two, Red Dead Redemption. If that wasn't bad enough, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2 were also on the receiving end of delays, leaving only a few big-name titles coming this winter.

Todd Vote: Take-Two Interactive Delays abound for Take Two in July. Red Dead Redemption has been pushed back, and I've been looking forward to this since I finished playing Red Dead Revolver. Add in the delay of Bioshock 2, and it wasn't a good month for Take Two. Hopefully they can get whatever kinks caused the delays taken care of and deliver us better quality games because of it.

Theo Fraser: Holiday Season The Holiday line-up is getting leaner and leaner by the minute, thanks to various delays across the board on all platforms. Bioshock 2 is certainly one of the big losses, and I'd also wager that Nintendo are more than a little gutted that Red Steel 2 has slipped into 2010, as I imagine they were banking on Ubisoft's exclusive shooter to maintain their grasp on the waning hardcore crowd over the Winter season. Ultimately, as I discussed a few weeks ago in Fact or Fiction, gamers are being left with less variety and choice this Christmas, and that sucks.

Lee Price: Western Yakuza Fans This is a personal one for me because I absolutly adore the Yakuza series. There aren't many games that can match the cinematic feel, and the fighting system is delightfully brutal. This month came the announcement that SEGA are working on Yakuza 4. Should be good news. However SEGA haven't even started work on a UK or US version of Yakuza 3, so the announcement of a new Yakuza game creates fresh doubt as to whether we will ever see Yakuza 3 in the West. I am not impressed.

Sean Garmer: Activision Though their sales figures were much better than expected, its for their stupid lawsuit against EA and Double Fine to block Brutal Legend from releasing that has them losing this month. Activision declined to release Brutal Legend and then another company takes it, lets Double Fine make it into its current state, and it garners a lot of buzz at E3 too. This prompts Activision to file the lawsuit, this is ridiculous. So you make a mistake and let Brutal Legend go then because it makes a buzz you decide to stop it from coming out? Really, that's bad business and just plain jealously. The fact that Activision even considered to just make this game a part of the Guitar Hero franchise shows how bad its gotten for the folks at Activision. With Harmonix's Rock Band Network announced as well, Activision really needs to start looking at their strategy because it may get thrown back in their face.



Classic Game of the Month:



Adam Larck: Tetris I just got an urge to play this game one weekend and just spent hours on it. It reminded me of how much I loved this puzzle game during my early years of gaming and what really got me hooked.

Drew Robbins: TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (SNES) Yeah, its about to come out on the Xbox, but being without that particular console I had to go old-school to enjoy this great beat-em-up classic. So many great memories of renting this game and kicking some foot clan ass with my buddies. Can't wait to see this game get its fresh coat of paint next month, even if I probably won't be able to play it for quite a while.

Todd Vote: Excitebike 64 I need an AC adapter for my Nintendo 64, because I've been wanting to bust out some Excite Bike 64.

Theo Fraser: The Curse of Monkey Island (PC) The recent release of Tales of Monkey Island brought back fond memories of the LucasArts adventure series, and Curse was one of the series' highpoints.

Lee Price: Final Fantasy IX (PS 1) I've gotten addicted to this underrated gem all over again, and so should you. I'd place it right up there with FFVII and reckon it is streets ahead of FFVIII. I just love it to bits so look for it sometime in the future in the Retronomicon (cheap plug!) because its sure to feature there at some point.

Sean Garmer: Super Mario World (SNES) I started playing this the other day from the beginning and all the sudden found myself immersed in it all over again. Not only one of the best Mario games ever, but also just flat out one of the best platformers ever. Its also one of those games that anyone can play, and I still get asked a bunch by family "Hey, you still got that Mario game?" And this game is rather old.



Best Game of July


Adam Larck: Splosion Man (XBOX Live Arcade) I was going to go with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 here, but this game has just blown me away with its depth and how fun it's been.

Drew Robbins: Battlefield 1943 (PC) I pretty much have to hand it to this game because it's the only new title I played during July. At $15, it's hard to argue that this game isn't worth the money. The Frostbite engine (found in Battlefield: Bad Company) provided some pretty interesting moments, and I greatly enjoyed the pacific setting of the game. It's a blast, and it will be interesting to see if this multiplayer-only download experience is a sign of good things to come in the near future.

Todd Vote: Splosion Man (XBOX Live Arcade) is probably the most addictive platform puzzler I have played since Portal. The game is a blast, with innovative level designs, and larger than life boss fights. Add in the fact that the co-op of the game is a completely different experience, and you have a winner.

Theo Fraser: Wii Sports Resort (Wii) OK, this isn't going to be a popular choice with the hardcore crowd, but I genuinely think this title deserves some recognition. If I were to ‘tout the company line', I could extol its virtues in once again capturing the casual market, but it goes beyond that; Wii Sports Resort is actually fun! I defy you to pick up your Wii remote, swing it around a bit in Swordplay and not crack a smile! Alright, each event may be no more than a glorified tech demo, but they work so well, and there's enough variety to keep you coming back months down the line, and that's without even touching the amount of fun you can have in multiplayer. I also have to give credit to the innovation. Sure, Prototype was a good game, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. The level of control in Wii Sports Resort is unprecedented and provides us with an experience unlike any other. And we finally get to see the Wii in action as it was originally intended, with 1:1 motion control. That spells ‘winner' in my book.

Lee Price: Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (PC) I absolutly adore the Monkey Island series, so the news that the original game was being updated in glorious HD and with the voice cast included pretty much inspired frenetic happy dancing on my part. So far I haven't been disappointed.

Sean Garmer: N/A I didn't play any new games this month so I abstain.


Overall Winner: Splosion Man (XBOX Live Arcade), So with two votes the win is for a Live Arcade title in Splosion Man. It won an award from 411 at E3 and obviously for good reason.




What Are you Currently Playing:


Adam Larck: Splosion Man, Sacred 2, Call of Duty: World at War, Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

Drew Robbins: Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Mario Kart Wii, Bionic Commando: ReArmed, Spiderman 2

Todd Vote: UFC Undisputed 2009, Splosion Man, Call of Duty 4(Modern Warfare 2 can't come soon enough), and I recently rented Prototype. It's not to shabby. Alex Mercer is a badass.

Theo Fraser: Mass Effect (PC), Wii Sports Resort, Professor Layton & The Curious Village (DS).

Lee Price: Final Fantasy IX, Football Manager 2009, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Dead Space, Wario Ware, Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

Sean Garmer: Rock Band 2 (XBOX 360), FIFA 09 (XBOX 360), Halo (XBOX), Mirror's Edge (XBOX 360), Magical Starsign (Nintendo DS)



Here are the list of games coming out in the month of August. I realize this is out a week after the month began. Regardless, I give out the information two weeks in advance to the guys, so we apologize if we didn't get to talk about a game you were expecting to come out this month. If you are interested in any games that are talked about in the column, feel free to do more research on them.



List of Games:



Games that came out last week:


Singstar: Queen (PS3 & PS2 Music Game, SCEA)




Adam Larck: I've played a few of these games before on the PS2 (mainly when my friends were drunk to see how bad they would sing). It looks like most of the bigger hits from the group will be on there. This may be a good rental for the singers of Rock Band groups to get the other members into singing.

Theo Fraser: This has been out in the UK for quite some time now, and as far as these things go, it's pretty good. Naturally, it doesn't bring anything new to the series, but the Queen catalogue is an awesome addition to any party.

Sean Garmer: I love Queen, and anyone else that likes to sing and loves the band should pick this up. If you don't like either, then obviously this is not the game for you.



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (XBOX 360 LIVE Arcade Action Game, Ubisoft) -3D Remake of the Arcade version of Turtles in Time.




Adam Larck: I had a lot of fun with this game on Super NES with my friend. Now that the game has four-player online co-op, I look for that fun to return quickly. For only $15, this is a good pickup for people looking for one of the best TMNT games out there to play.

Drew Robbins: I already discussed how much I enjoy the original, and when I took over the 10th Hour a few months back I listed the original Turtles game as my 10th favorite game of all time. So…yeah I'm pretty excited for this game, and would love to see more beat-em-ups get a graphical makeover. Streets of Rage, anyone?

Todd Vote: Oh Shell yeah! I loved TMNT: The Arcade game, but never had much of a chance to play this one. I can't wait. Is the $15 price tag a bit much? It might be, but it's the damn turtles!

Sean Garmer: Though the reviews are all bad because people can't seem to be able to enjoy an old game for what it is, I wouldn't just pay attention to the reviews you see. Microsoft lowered the price to 10 bucks, and though its really simple and easy, if you enjoyed the original, i don't see why you wouldn't enjoy it now.





Games coming out this week:



C.O.R.E. (Nintendo DS 3D Shooter Graffiti Entertainment)





Theo Fraser: Originally scheduled for a release back in February, this one hit a roadblock of some sorts for an unspecified reason, but it finally sees the light of day 6 months on. Let's hope that time was put to good use, ironing out any cracks in the otherwise polished exterior of this impressive-looking FPS. It's got the graphical sheen of something like MOON, but has it got more depth and variety? That's the key question right now, although diehard FPS fans likely won't be disappointed.



Madden NFL 10 (All Systems except DS & PC Football Simulation, EA)




Adam Larck: I'll be honest, I'm not the best person to talk about Madden. I never rush out to buy every new iteration, and sometimes don't even get the games when they drop down huge in price. That being said, Madden 10 looks like it could change that for me. I may get this game a lot sooner this year due to the Online Franchise mode. It just looks interesting for big groups on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to have a full franchise and see who the best player is.

Drew Robbins: Last year, with a few recommendations to purchase the game, Madden 09 change my outlook on the series. The Madden IQ system was great, making playing the computer actually pretty enjoyable. I put more time into this game than anything else last year. I actually just put my reserve down on this game, and it seems like it could be the Madden game that finally erases the ghost of NFL 2K5 that has been haunting the franchise.

Todd Vote: Has it been a year already? Is this once again nothing but a roster update with a new coat of paint? I haven't bought a Madden title since 2006… I think… It's not that I have anything in particular against the games, and I am a fan of football. But when it comes to games, I prefer to be able to pick up and play. Madden has become so deep that there is to much for me to try and keep track of, which causes head explosions.




Sean Garmer: I was one of the people who got Madden fever last year with all the updates they did, I was doing the EA live report when they announced online franchise at the press conference I went nuts. It's pretty much Fantasy Football except in a more real form because you get to have a direct result on who wins the games in your league. That alone will probably be enough for many to pick up the game, as well as the online co-op, I'll be reviewing the game for 411, so look for a full review, hopefully soon after the release.



Phantom Brave: We Meet Again (Nintendo Wii RPG NIS America)




Adam Larck: I beat this strategy-RPG game on the PlayStation 2, and it looks like an almost identical game coming to the Wii. NIS knows what they are doing with RPG's, so fans on the Wii that have never tried this before may want to pick this game up, as the Wii has so little RPG offerings. For people who have played this before, there's nothing new here to warrant a new game pickup.

Drew Robbins: Of all the NIS franchises to get a port to the Wii, Phantom Brave? Where is the love for La Pucelle? Phantom Brave was probably the most annoying game of all time, being one of those games that people always walk in on you playing at the worst possible moments. Hopefully the Wii version is a little better.

Sean Garmer: This is a reworking of the PS2 original with a new story and new characters for the Wii release. I'm usually a fan of anything NIS releases, and considering that it probably isn't very easy to find the original Phantom Brave PS2 game on anything but Ebay, it might be worth a look for Wii RPG fans.






Games coming out the week of August 16th:



Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger (XBOX 360 & PC FPS/RTS Evolve Games)




Todd Vote: I am absolutely torn on this one. I'm a fan of FPS games, but not of RTS titles. The format of combining the two genres is very interesting though, so this one will probably be on the renter list for me as well.



Shadow Complex (XBOX 360 LIVE Arcade 2D/3D Side-Scrolling Shooter Epic Games)




Adam Larck: I have mixed feelings about this game. It sounds great in theory, because I've heard it being compared to Super Metroid and Castlevania. However, the company that's designing this have not really had any big games come out before. I'd recommend trying the trial of this Arcade game first before actually picking it up to see if you like the style or not.

Drew Robbins: Its one thing for a DLC game to be featured in Microsoft's Press Conference, but to be one of the big games that got people talking? Wow, Shadow Complex has the potential to be huge. Braid stole the show during last year's Summer of Arcade, and it looks like Shadow Complex could very well do the same thing this year.

Todd Vote: Yes. I will be picking up this game as the Summer of Arcade rolls on. I'm torn on the developer, I hated Undertow, but loved Advent Rising, so that's good enough to at least try the demo. I figure I will go one better and end up buying this one.

Sean Garmer: Another one of those downloadable games that makes me wish I had a bigger hard drive to buy it, But alas, until I can muster 150 bucks to buy a 120 GB hard drive it will have to wait, I love side scrolling almost anything and this should be another good addition to the Summer of Arcade.



Spectrobes: Origins (Nintendo Wii RPG Disney Interactive)




Sean Garmer: I played this at E3 and never having played the first one I was surprised by this Action-RPG title. It's a little bit of Pokemon mixed in with regular RPG fare, as well as finding fossils too. With the last game doing ok on the DS, I would expect the Wii title to do well too.



Wolfenstein (XBOX 360, PS3, PC FPS Raven Software)




Adam Larck: The Wolfenstein series has gone through quite a few reimaginings. The graphics and videos have looked good for the game, but there hasn't really been much said about how the game plays. Another thing I haven't heard anything about is the multiplayer. Some screenshots had gotten leaked earlier this year, but the company has kept hushed up about the actual play. You may want to rent or pass on this one, as better shooters will be out later this year.

Todd Vote: I really wasn't all to hip on the original games, but that was because I didn't appreciate the FPS genre until Call of Duty, and Halo 3. Now I have this understanding that about half of the FPS games that release will be junk. My senses tell me this is not going to be one of the crappy ones.

Theo Fraser: I wouldn't call myself a massive fan of the Wolfenstein series, but I've enjoyed what I've played. This one has the appeal of a massively improved engine, with an upgraded version of id Software's id Tech 4 engine put to use, and if I'm to get particularly geeky about it all, I'll admit I'm rather excited about seeing this new "Deferred Shading" that makes shadows...uh...nice and shadowy. Yes.

Lee Price: As you've probably guessed from the Retronomicon, I'm a huge retro head when it comes to games. So how could I not be excited for the return of the game that gave us the First Person Shooter genre? I'm hoping this will be better than the fairly average Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but we shall see.



Games coming out the week of August 23rd:



Batman: Arkham Asylum (XBOX 360, PS3, PC Action Game, Eidos)- PS3 gets extra Joker DLC




Adam Larck: I want to like this game. The videos have looked great, the environments look stunning and the combat seems like it will be fluid. However, I remember past Batman games and have a lot of doubt in my mind. I will probably be renting this game first to see how the game actually plays before making a decision to buy or avoid the game.

Drew Robbins: People seem to be fully embracing this game a bit prematurely. Maybe Dark Knight Fever still has hold on most people, but to me this just looks like a boring action-stealth game. None of the footage looked too impressive to me, making me feel that this could end up being the disappointment of the year for many.

Todd Vote: YES! This game has looked bad-ass from the get go. I can't wait to play it. Damn you PS3 owners for getting the playable Joker. How long before I have to pay to download him?

Sean Garmer: I played this at E3 too and I had a ton of fun with it. This will not be a weak Batman game, this is gonna kick all sorts of ass and I'm sure many already have this on their preorder lists. The combat is fluid, I'm sure there is gonna be hidden stuff we haven't seen yet, and the environments all look awesome too.


Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP Fighting Game, Square-Enix)




Adam Larck: I've been waiting for this one for a while. It actually gives me a reason to bust out my PSP again. I was a fan of the Squaresoft game Ehrgeiz for PSX, and this looks to be better with a cast of only Final Fantasy characters. The fighting style seems simplistic and easy to pick up. For owners of a PSP, I say pick this one up. After all, what big games have been out recently to actually buy for the PSP?

Drew Robbins: My disdain for Final Fantasy as a franchise has been well documented, and I'm not sure that a transition to a fighting game has changed that. Remember Ehrgeiz? It was that Squaresoft fighter featuring a few characters from Final Fantasy VII. If it's anything like that, consider me even more apathetic towards the game.

Theo Fraser: A fighting game, pitting some of the more famous Final Fantasy characters against one another in a battle to the death? Sounds like a winner to me. Well actually, it's not a fight to the death; in typical FF style, there's some crazy-assed quest to rescue a bunch of crystals, but whatever, the main concept is pretty cool. With Golbez and Kefka (two of the most widely acclaimed villains in the entire series) on board as playable characters, old school fans should be pretty happy, and of course the FF7 fanboys can relive their 1997 glory days, pitting Cloud and Sephiroth against each other one more time. I doubt there's much here for the non-FF fan, but franchise aficionados will probably go crazy for it.

Sean Garmer: This will be the last time I mention E3 on this roundtable, but I played this and along with JDL and Jeff Harris were the ones that led to this getting the 411 best E3 award for best PSP game. It is with good reason too, I was skeptical went I stepped up to the platform to get a shot at playing the title. However, once I did some moves with Cloud and started busting up some of my foes with various moves I was intensly hooked. After I got done I wished I had a PSP, it also helps I'm a huge fan of FF, but putting that aside it is a very good fighter and people should pick this up.


Black College Football Experience- Doug Williams Edition (XBOX 360 Football Simulation, Aspyr)




Todd Vote: What? Are they serious with this? Why? Are they actually trying to combine sports games and rhythm games with this one? I don't want my bone crunching football action to be broken up by Guitar Hero style mini-games. While the history lesson this could provide is a great opportunity, I'm thinkin it might be better to just read about it, instead of going through god-awful mini-games.

Sean Garmer: This is a neat little concept to give some colleges that are probably unknown to many folks some due. The ability to play some stuff like the drumlines do with Rockband/Guitar Hero instruments is adds nice variety to what is usually a dull half-time experience. Using the Unreal 3 engine is a nice idea, but will the football on the field hold up to cultural experience they are trying to bring to gamers? We shall have to see.


Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (Nintendo Wii Strategy Game, Natsume)




Adam Larck: You know, I thought this game was good on SNES and N64. It seems to have gone down a bit in quality in recent years. For fans of simulation games (or farming crops), you may want to check this game out to see how the motion sensor controls will work with Harvest Moon. For the rest of the gamers out there, there is plenty of other games to keep you busy this week.



Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (Nintendo DS Puzzle Game, Level 5)




Adam Larck: After hearing that Japan was getting ready to get the fourth game in this series, I started getting anxious to see when the States would get the sequel. Thankfully, it's this month. For people who like brainteasers, this game is definitely worth a pick up. For other people, you may want to wait a bit for this game, because the artistic style in this game is worth a look as well.

Drew Robbins: The Professor with the best hat in gaming is back, and I can't wait. Portable gaming isn't exactly my cup of tea, but it's these smaller experiences that you can pick up and play for a few minutes that I tend to enjoy. The first game was filled with great and inventive puzzles, and I'm expecting more of the same here.

Theo Fraser: I've only recently been turned onto the Professor Layton titles, but they are fantastic, if puzzle/adventures are your kind of thing. The puzzles are often woven very well into the proceedings, which make the playing experience flow exceptionally well. This doesn't look to stray too far from what worked well in the original, so expect the same sort of thing, albeit with a whole host of new puzzles to boggle your mind. Fans can keep their fingers crossed that this sells well, as that alone will guarantee us seeing the third instalment reach the West.

Sean Garmer: Whether its the well done art, the story that is interwoven with mind bending puzzles, or the fact that is just an all-around great game that fits the portable system, The second Professor Layton should be another title that delivers for the DS. Anyone that is a fan of puzzles, mysteries, or adventure titles should give this a hard look.


I know the next Sunday is technically August 30, but Games won't come out until at least September 2nd of that month, so that means it counts as the first week of September.


Well, that is all for this month's roundtable. join the staff and myself next month as the gaming season starts to pick up big time. Until then, enjoy this month of gaming.