12/10/2006

Gotta Catch 'em all

Several big titles out for the Wii this week, potentially the biggest being Konami's sleeper title Elebits. Sure, it's definitely an oddball title, but it could easily be the next quirky hit like Animal Crossing or Katamari Damacy. It's also the first Wii game to feature some form of online functionality as you can use the level editor to create new levels and send them to people on your friends list. But these oddball titles sometimes don't completely deliver on concept, so I may be waiting til I get some sort of general consensus, especially with Zelda & Rayman still keeping me plenty busy.

FPS Wii fans should also be excited as Far Cry hits this week. Hopefully, it'll follow in the footsteps of Call of Duty 3 and make good use of the Wii's setup as opposed to the disappointing Red Steel.

Anybody looking for some classic side-scrolling gameplay should check out Metal Slug Anthology. Metal Slug offers some seriously hardcore old school gameplay, but this is one of those titles where it seems that co-op online play would greatly benefit and help drive sales beyond those who will basically buy it for a good dose of nostalgia.

Finally, those tired of playing the fun but limited Wii Golf out of Wii sports will get a crack at a full-fledged golf game in Super Swing Golf. It's no Tiger Woods, but who wants a stuffy realistic golf sim when you can have a more fun Hot Shots-inspired game?

The Xbox 360 has a potentially huge title out this week as well as Trekkies everywhere are drooling over Star Trek Legacy. easily the most ambitious Trek game to date, as you can play several races and all the captains from the various shows (although why anyone would want to play as Janeway or Archer is beyond me) in massive ship battles. One thing that seems to be noticeably absent is anything outside of ship battles, though. Being able to beam aboard starships and have phaser fights or explore planets on away missions should be an integral part of any Star Trek game. Well, let's hope the developers got the ship combat right so they can focus on those other features for the sequel if it takes off.

Is competitive gaming going legit? As legit as something on late Saturday afternoon can be! The World series of Video Games has gotten a major broadcast deal with CBS and a couple of cable outlets to broadcast regular episodes of the competition. But aren't video games boring to just watch? I'd say the same thing about Baseball, Golf, Poker, Bowling, NASCAR, etc. Besides, geeks like me will show up in force in the Nielsen ratings to try and get this thing off the ground, so it should at least have a better chance at succeeding than the XFL.

Your Christmas... thing of today is also your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: CANDY CANE CRISIS

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