Coming Attractions 11.15.08: Unleash the Zombies!

Posted by Drew Robbins on 11.15.2008

The holiday storm of games releases continues, as Sonic Unleashed, Left 4 Dead, and Animal Crossing: City Folk all hit store shelves this week. Which one should occupy your free time this week? 411's Drew Robbins gives you his thoughts on another huge week in the games industry.

It is that time of week again, when you are forced off of your 360/PS3/Wii to read the amusing antics of Drew Robbins, voted "Most Amusing Man" by People magazine in the year 2008. In fact, I'll pay anyone who doesn't find me amusing $5*!

- While most of you were wrist deep in shooting games, I was beating up sweaty men with a sledgehammer…and then playing Smackdown vs. Raw. Ok, mostly just the Smackdown thing. Thank god one company put out a decent wrestling game this year, after the extreme disappointment known as TNA: Impact. Heck, disappointment is being generous. Most of my time, as usual, has been spent in the local multiplayer, but for the first time in the series, I've branched out into online matches. Mind you I've only played 9 matches, but I have won three of them. A grand majority of my victories were by playing the sneaky, dirty heel. Good thing none of my opponents were on voice, because the obscenities flooding from their mouths after I won a match by hitting Big Show with a belt after he hit his signature on the other opponent would have been overwhelming. Just so you know, Brian Kendrick is the greatest character added to the series in years, and any argument to the contrary is false.

- I was watching ESPN today (because I needed something to remind me what bad journalism is like) and something occurred to me. Someone mentioned how Jack Del Rio could be fired from the Jaguars if they fall apart. This has given me the greatest idea in the history of football. Alright, first and foremost, Jim Haslett has to suck for the rest of the year, so he doesn't get the Rams job, this is the easy part. Now, the Jaguars can only win about 1 more game for this mission to stay intact. Part three is Del Rio getting fired, and then finally the Rams (if they had brains) could pick him up. I don't just want, I demand for Jack Del Rio to get the Rams job. This needs to happen.

- When the dreaded Lich King drops into my mailbox, I will be thrown back into the dark grip of Blizzard once more. Yes, you read that right, I am returning to the World of Warcraft. Luckily, my friends still play so I won't be alone in my quest for 80, a quest which I can assure you will be long and frustrating.

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Coming Attractions Week 19

Week 19, huh? That makes next week's Coming Attractions the 20th Column Extravaganza. I'll try to make it special by, ummm…writing previews. Better previews, I assure you. We are also edging closer to the end of the gaming blizzard, which has been unkind to your beloved writer. Every week I go to EB Games website and see piles upon piles of fresh games in need of my previewing. I expected a week lighter on content for this column, but what I discovered was a bunch of games I forgot existed. Oh, Animal Crossing and Left 4 Dead come out as well…darn you, holiday season!

One last note, why the heck are so many games coming out on Sunday, this week?

Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) - You may be surprised to know that it has been an enormous six years since Animal Crossing first made its way to American stores. Who knew that a game with 64 graphics would go on to become so successful? The concept is fairly simple. You are a human, but everyone around you…well, they are animals. It seems like a furry's dream, but it has quite the wide appeal beyond that sect of humanity. Kids love it, adults love it, preteens pretend to hate it but, come on, we all know they love it.

A term often used in relation to Animal Crossing is "sims-esque," but this comparison is pretty inaccurate. The Sims is leading the life of a family by watching from the sidelines. Animal Crossing has you leading the life of a human in a strange land, with direct control, and centered on doing chores for your neighbors. Also, your character never dies, so the Sims comparison can seem out of whack when you actually look at the two games separately.

City Folk are the third edition of Animal Crossing, and it is probably the first Animal Crossing that actually changes thing. Now, when I say change, I'm not talking radical changes. They added a city section for shopping, the ability to pick your house location (and you don't share your house with people playing on your Wii), and WiiSpeak. These aren't really drastic changes, but likely more than enough to drag fans of the series back into the fold. WiiSpeak is an idea that people have been begging for from Nintendo for seemingly forever. The other additions are rather small; the city seems like a strange idea, since a lot of the appeal of Animal Crossing comes from the small-town feel. Having separate houses for local players is a very welcome addition, on the other hand.

My Opinion: Thumbs Up - I can say all I want about how the game is basically the same, but that wouldn't change the fact that a large majority of AC fans will be coming back for more of the same. Heck, I'll probably get it when Christmas comes and my wallet is a bit heavier. Nintendo encourages this return with the ability to move your DS character to the Wii, but I'm not sure that is something I see myself doing. Personally, I enjoy the feel of starting fresh, without any connection to my old villager who probably let his towns weeds get out of hand.



- Nope, haven't seen this before.

Sonic Unleashed (Wii/360) - What we have here is the tale of two hedgehogs, and no, I'm not referring to normal Sonic and the Werehog. My reference was actually to the studios behind Sonic Unleashed on the separate consoles. For Nintendo, you get Dimps, who are behind the Sonic Rush series. On the other hand, if you are a 360 or PS3 owner (why is the PS3 version releasing next month?), you get Sega…who are behind Sonic 2006, the worst game of this console generation. Seriously, Sonic kisses a girl, what the heck is up with that? As Mark Salmela once said (a week ago…), Sonic wasn't even good at kissing a girl. Sega, if you are going to do something stupid, you have to do it right.

So now I'm going to break down these two different versions, and I assure you, one of them will be broken down by the time this preview is wrapped up. Let us start on the Wii, an effort by Dimps to revive the series on consoles. 411's own Ramon Aranda declared it "awesome," which should enthuse Sonic fans sick of being tortured year-in and year-out. So what can you expect from this entry of the series? For one thing, the trailers demonstrate quite a bit of sections where holding right wins out. Aside from that complaint, the game looks to bring back Sonic's blazing speed and doesn't bastardize it like a certain game that came out in 2006.

What of the 360/PS3 version, how does it stack up? Not well, I must say from early indications. The game was delayed in Japan, and though Sega has withdrawn statements that it was because of quality issues, I'm fairly sure that the early statement of ‘quality issues' was absolutely correct. A few weeks back I stumbled upon a trailer for Sonic Unleashed on the 360, and right from the start it looked like garbage. At the very beginning, Sonic is talking to a new character, something that has never been done well in the series. After a long and painful cutscene where Sonic picks up ice cream, you are forced into the open-world gameplay. You read that right, open world…WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SEGA?! There is absolutely no reason for Sonic games to have an open world hub. It doesn't add to the experience, it just serves as a momentum buffer between the stages. "Oh boy, I get to run awkwardly around a city filled with humans to get to my next level!" Yes, that sounds really fun, if Sonic Adventure was your first Sonic game.

My Opinion: Wii Version: Thumbs Up, 360 Version: Two Thumbs Down - Glad to see that Sega ignores a lot of complaints regarding Sonic when they created the 360 version, but I'm ecstatic that Dimps is trying to return the series to its former greatness.


- Super Sonic will personally give you a swift kick in the pants if you buy anything other than the Wii version.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Multi) - My stance on the series as a whole is pretty well known on 411, Toddo seems to think that the mere mentioning of it will drive me into an insane rage. Fun fact, I hate Mortal Kombat much less than Derek. In fact, the other day I played Mortal Kombat II and, you know, I didn't hate it. Most of my opinions on MK were formed by the lousy last-gen iterations, where one of my friends was able to beat me by rapidly flailing on the attack button with his weapons pulled out. This year, Mortal Kombat is returning with a fierce desire to beat up some comic heroes. How could you blame them, I've always wanted to sucker punch Superman, so I guess seeing Scorpion do it is the next best thing.

If you have played Mortal Kombat in the past, then don't expect anything new from this series outside of DC's finest villains and heroes. Most matches will probably still end in button mashing, but I can't say that it is any different than Soul Calibur IV in that respect. Of course, if you like Mortal Kombat, you have probably come to embrace the button mashing style that accompanies all of Midway's games. One thing fans of the series won't be too happy about, though, is the toned down fatalities. My greatest argument in my war against Mortal Kombat is that the only reason people enjoy it is the blood and guts. DC Universe lacks the tremendous displays of violence seen in past games, something that is sure to turn off a lot of people.

What else can I say? It is Mortal Kombat, if you liked it before (for the right reasons), you will probably still like it, and if you are a staunch critic of the series like me, you will find yourself disdained with the overall package. Chances are though, you won't be able to hate a game near as much as usual when it features the Joker. Even I can't criticize that roster choice, if I play that game, I'm maining that sucker.

My Opinion: Ehh - Fun for fans of the series, others need not apply.



- Ok, I'll admit…that is bad ass.

Tomb Raider Underworld (Multi) - One of the more amusing stories in the game industry circles around Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider was a pretty big deal, featuring a female protagonist that well…caught the eyes of many gamers. The dirty little secret was that, for the most part, Tomb Raider sucked. As a franchise, it began to struggle for several years to come, until it shifted to Crystal Dynamics for developing. It seemed like Tomb Raider could never be good again, but Crystal Dynamics proved everyone wrong with Tomb Raider Legend, a game that even I will admit was pretty good.

To be honest, the changes to this game are pretty minor. Lara now has a new set of melee attacks that can either incapacitate the enemy or kill him, and hang from ledges while shooting, but those aren't exactly gameplay altering. One can assume that the major change of the game features Lara Croft venturing to the underworld? Mabye? Yes, I sincerely doubt that any company could find this to be a good story, so I doubt it will happen. But then again, they did make a game about Fifty Cent doing a concert in the Middle East…so anything can happen!

Tomb Raider is a lot like Prince of Persia with guns. The platforming is dumbed down a bit, and made more, ehh…enthusing for male gamers, but the gunplay makes up for these problems. For those who have played Ratchet, you'll know that the combat relies on jumping around erratically and shooting down your enemies. Basically the same thing applies to Tomb Raider, but a bit less chaotic.

My Opinion: Ehh (Rental) - After playing Tomb Raider Legend, I never felt the need to play it again, so I can't imagine a new version of the game being any different. Fun for one play through, but after that, you are pretty much finished.

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This Week's #1 Pick

Left 4 Dead (PC…360) - If you are surprised by this pick, you probably have never read this column, either that or I've never mentioned my extreme love for Team Fortress 2. Let's see, I bought TF2 back in April for the PC, and it has been played quite a bit since that time. Left 4 Dead is from the same studio, and looks to retain all of the fun of TF2 with the added factor of zombies. Something to note, though, is that Team Fortress 2 is an experience best had on the PC. Don't take this as bias, but there is really not competition between the two versions. The matchmaking on the 360 is lousy and unorganized, while the PC has dedicated servers, making it easier to just jump right into a match. It also allowed for you to pick a match with people, who aren't idiots, a filter Xbox Live and PSN sadly lack.

Imagine if you will a man who has not played a Valve game. You probably just jumped, but if not, you must be one of the dreaded few. Left 4 Dead is a first-person shooter, with an extra twist. Instead of rampaging through levels shooting down an evil group, you cooperate with three other survivors to take down a wave of zombies. Now, the other survivors can either be controlled by the treacherous AI, or by another player online. The latter is much preferred, since L4D is a game that relies heavily on working together with your partners. Going it alone won't get you far like it does in Halo; you need to move as a group, lest you be eaten alive by zombies. But let's say you get attacked by a zombie? While you might think that your life is done, L4D allows your buddies to bring you back a maximum of two times, and maintaining a three strikes-you're out policy.

Left 4 Dead spans over four different movies, which amount to about 5 levels each. Every time you play through the levels, it will change thanks to the game's director feature. If the campaign mode begins to get old, you can take your battle online in the versus multiplayer. One team will play as the survivors, and the other team will play as the zombies. What happens from there is pretty self-explanatory, and after each round the players will switch from humans to zombies.

My Opinion: Two Thumbs Up - Despite the multi-platform, I can say for sure that Left 4 Dead is an experience you want to have on the PC if possible. Valve's games have always been better on the good old keypad and mouse, and I don't see Left 4 Dead changing that.

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Quick Previews

Shawn White's Snowboarding (Multi) - Much as Activision tried to popularize skate boarding with Tony Hawk's name, Ubisoft is looking to do the same for Snowboarding with Shawn White. Unfortunately for them, there is no chance that this game will be better than SSX Trick/SSX 3, a task which is quite simply impossible.

Need for Speed Undercover (Multi) - Talk about games that haven't been in years! Need for Speed peaked early with the second iteration, dubbed Hot Pursuit, and has dropped off from there. Add that to the fact that Burnout is now the king of racing games, and I don't see how this game can possibly succeed.

NCAA Basketball 09 (Multi) - Screw this game, I want 2K's version back. Those games were great, EA just can't nail basketball like 2K does.

Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades (DS) - Did anyone see the commercial for this? It portrays a man meeting a mildly attractive female at some sort of café, and they are both playing Guitar Hero for the DS. Talk about things that will never happen in a million years. What amuses me is that the most unlikely part of this commercial is someone playing this game in public.

Tecmo Bowl Kickoff (DS) - Another old school resurrection…I hope this one pans out like Bionic Commando and Mega Man 9.

Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria (PC – Expansion) - Not only is LotR an online fantasy RPG, it also releases its expansion a few days after Blizzard released Lich King. I might understand this decision if WoW wasn't dominating the industry, but since that is far from the truth; this is just a stupid release date.

Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party (Wii) - Call me what you want, but I enjoy the Raving Rabbid games. Plus, some of the funds go towards Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed/Beyond Good and Evil…a cause that must be supported.

LIPS (360) - I'd love to bash this game but, the EBA makers are behind it, and I can't say anything bad about them.

Legendary (PC) - This game certainly isn't legendary for its quality…

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Console War Scoreboard

A Left 4 Dead victory brings the PC back into range of the 360, but at this point, I think it is pretty much over.

Xbox 360 10
PS3 7
PC 6
Wii 4
DS 3
PS2 2
PSP 0

Oh, and the PSP has about six weeks left to end the running joke, and I don't see anything that can stop its momentum of suckitude.

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Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 – 360/PS3) - Sonic 2006 showed a lot of promise early on, as every level was played through as a hedgehog. There was no bull crap "collect the emeralds" missions or anything like that, so how could they screw this up? I can pinpoint the exact moment, if you would like, when I realized that Sonic 2006 was pure garbage. The first level was on the beach, and at first you were dashing through the level as Sonic. I was enjoying myself in a Sonic game like I hadn't in years, but then it came to an abrupt stop. Sonic ran and then the camera switched…and I was controlling Tails. Don't get me wrong, I certainly have nothing against Tails, but this part slows the game way down and got rid of all of the fun in a hurry. From this point on, I did not enjoy Sonic 2006. Every level was buggy, Shadow and Silver proved exactly why Sonic should never add new characters, and to make things worse, everything was connected by an open world hub. What is worse is that you actually had to do things in the hub…annoying things. If a Sonic game forces me to go find a guy in town to talk to, I instantly know that it is unworthy of my time. Sonic is not Grand Theft Auto, there should not be missions where I look for people with only the intent of talking to them.

The worst crime of all, though, comes at the end. Sonic kisses a girl. This is where I realized that Sega probably doesn't care what I think, they have moved towards the fans who want Sonic to have emotions, or think Shadow is an actual good character (Pro tip: he isn't). Take a look at Mario, Sonic's former rival who occupied the same genre as the blue hedgehog. Mario has moved to 3D, but maintains everything that made it fun, and doesn't try to ruin the formula by throwing in a story. Sega has done the exact opposite with the Sonic franchise, and Sonic 2006 just reinforced this point in a big way.

Related To - Sonic Unleashed
My Rating - 0 out of 5



- This character is responsible for the downfall of Sonic, I HATE Shadow

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Reader Feedback

Eric - Grunty is better than Bowser…I'll say it loud and I'll say it proud. If I had to, I'd shout it from the rooftops. Bowser is only considered better because of tradition, for basically the same reasons that the BCS always has Ohio State as one of the top teams.

Chris Vicari - My excitement for Left 4 Dead is two-fold. First and foremost, the game looks awesome. The second reason is that once Left 4 Dead is out, they can finally get back to work on TF2 updates. Where is my spy update, Valve?!

Myess - I'm confused and infuriated by the name change of Winning Eleven, but it isn't like I play soccer games, so my complaining means just about nothing.

Red Cloud - Gears 2 does look pretty good, though it is basically the same thing we all played 2 years ago, but with a Horde mode.

bimbi - The demo for Mirror's Edge certainly was awesome, but the early reviews aren't too positive. Though, don't make a habit of listening to the reviews, I'm still strongly recommending everyone to at least rent the game.

As to your other comment, I too miss the good days of Rare. Viva Pinata is fine, but certainly lacking when compared to the classics Rare put out when they were with Nintendo.

Fallout Boy - Imagine that, the guy with the name Fallout Boy thinks Fallout 3 is the best game ever. Even if it sucked, you would have been in love with the game. All that said, the game does look pretty good.

Mattitude v.24 - Your equation of "Koopa King Bowser > Sephiroth > Petey Pirana > Grunty the Old Gross Pedo-Witch." is flawed, because Sephiroth is not better than anything. Not even better than a kick in the pants, and that is saying something.

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The 411

The 10th Hour by Chris Lansdell. Lansdell takes over for Derek this week and gives us the top 10 retro games. The only one on this list that I've played is Knights of the Round, a game which I can assure you is very awesome

The Full Circle by Joe Roche. I'd like to encourage all of my readers to make fun of Joe's Patriots, as they lost this week against the Jets.

DMM: The Future of Gaming by Ramon Aranda. Ramon checks in with an article regarding the physics engine known as DMM. This article is filled with videos that show great signs for the future.

Nintendophiles by Theo Fraser. Theo gives us a mini-review of the new Smackdown on the Wii. From what I hear, this version is a large improvement over last year…but I still prefer the control pad for my wrestling games.

Achievement Unlocked by Rod Oracheski. This week Rod focuses on the NXE, and seems to think that nobody gets excited by UI. Rod, I don't think you know me that well…much like physics; I've become obsessed with UI in my games.

Working Title by Jordan Williams. The Ogre classifies gamer types this week, which do you fall into? If you are the cheap gamer, just keep in mind that I don't care for you at all.

The PC Spotlight by Chris Vicari. 711 apparently has a bad habit of giving out games early, which makes me angry that I don't have one near me. Why does 7/11 give out games in the first place? A gas station seems like a weird place to sell games…

The Hall of Shame by Vincent Chiucchi. He lists the worst game cartoons, but misses out on the Mortal Kombat cartoon. That, my friends, was pure torture.

The PC Centric Extravaganza by Chris Evans. Chris reinforces my point that Left 4 Dead is awesome. Pretty much the whole 411 staff agrees with me, this game will rock your world.

411 Games Podcast starring Ramon Aranda, Mark Salmela, Jacob Lopez, Sean Garmer, and Drew Robbins. Hey, I'm in it, so it can't be bad! We talked about Sonic Unleashed, Gears 2, and above all else, Streets of Fury.

That is all for this week, leave your feedback below in the comments section or send me an email at [e-mail].