Agents are GO!!

It's new game day! I try not to buy more than one game a month (otherwise I end up not playing any of them to completion), but I had to make an exception today. I've been waiting on Gears of War since it was announced, which I believe was before the 360 itself made it to store shelves. I've only managed to play through the first act (of five) on the wuss difficulty level, but I'm already completely satisfied. The game delivers, and I can't wait to get some online co-op going, as your AI teammates can be rather brain-dead.

As you can see, I picked up the Collector's Edition, which comes packed in a black metal tin emblazoned with the red Gears logo. Included extras are a bonus disc (haven't checked it out yet) and a small hardcover art book titled "Destroyed Beauty". It also comes with a free 48-hour pass for Xbox Live. They're trying to get you hooked, and it'll probably work.

You can see the package's naked guts splayed to the left. The only item I'm disappointed with is the book. I was honestly expecting something a bit larger, and hoping for something on the scale of the art book packed with the World of Warcraft Collector's Edition. The content is good, though, and the package was worth the extra ten bucks.

Speaking of collector's editions, Bradygames has published a collector's edition of the Gears of War strategy guide. I am honestly not certain what the point of that is.

The other game I picked up is Elite Beat Agents, the US-localized version of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! I played the Japanese original to death, so when I found out that not only were iNiS putting together a US release, but that it would feature all new music and scenarios, I was overjoyed. This may as well be a sequel.

For those not familiar, EBA is a rhythm-based music game for the Nintendo DS that is played entirely with the stylus. You tap and drag things to the beat while terribly strange things happen in the background. That's a terrible description. Go read a review and watch some videos for a better idea. I'm going to go play.

Time for Some New Games

The Summer video game drought is almost over! The past few months have been almost unbearably dry for new releases on the two game systems that I actively care about (Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS). This Summer wasn’t quite as bad, as I had Oblivion to keep me company, but (after logging over 110 hours on the game) I eventually claimed all of the achievements for that one and put it away. To be honest, I was glad to get it out of my 360 and play something else. I did end up picking up a copy of Tomb Raider: Legend at some point. While not as technically impressive as many of the other 360 games, the gameplay is very good, which is certainly something refreshing for the Tomb Raider series. It reminds me an awful lot of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in terms of acrobatic features and the charm of the main character.

August is still looking pretty light for the DS, but the 360 is going to see a couple of major releases. At the top of my list is Dead Rising (August 8th), Capcom’s insane free-roaming zombie killfest. If you have a 360 and have not yet seen anything on this game, do yourself a favor and visit any game site and watch some video. It looks absolutely hilarious, and hopefully it will deliver.

Somewhat less intriguing is Ninety-Nine Nights (August 15th), which looks to follow in the footsteps of the Dynasty Warriors series. It appears to be a straightforward action title involving a single player against ridiculously-sized hordes of beasties. It’s pretty, but I fear it could get monotonous. Friends of mine in Japan (where the game has been out for a month or so) say that it gets pretty difficult towards the latter half of the game. Still, I’m going to wait for the reviews on this one.

At the end of the month, we’ll finally see the US release of Enchanted Arms (August 29th). I don’t know all that much about this one. What I do know is that it’s from From Software (who most recently dumped Chromehounds on us) and it’s the first Japanese RPG on the 360. This game has actually been available in Japan since just after the console’s launch. I’m expecting reviews in the high sixes to low eights on this one, but I do need that RPG fix…

The same day as Enchanted Arms releases, we should also see the release of Saint’s Row, which is an unabashed Grand Theft Auto clone. My interest in this one will depend entirely on the reviews. I’ve never been a huge fan of the GTA series, personally.

Oh, yeah, and August 2nd will finally see the release of this “Street Fighter II” game on Xbox Live Arcade (800 points/$10). I’m not sure what’s up with that one.

For the DS, the only August release that I’m concerned with is StarFox Command. I know next to nothing about this one, other than that it’s StarFox. To be honest, I haven’t heard many good thigns about it from those who were on the E3 show floor this year, but I’m still hopeful. Nintendo doesn’t often disappoint with their long-running franchises.

And, of course, here’s the fun part: I’m probably only going to buy one of these. If I were forced to choose (and I am), I’d most likely go after Dead Rising, as I’ve been looking forward to that one since the first time I saw it.