New Releases - 16/03/07

Before I get started with my regular release update, I have a quick note to say that as soon as my R4 Revolution flash cartridge arrives, I shall be delving into the wonderful world of Nintendo DS homebrew and I will most likely report my findings here. There's some very exciting stuff out there and new developments come up on a regular basis.

Without further ado, let's see if there's anything worth spending your cash on this week...

Nintendo DS



Phoenix Wright: Justice For All
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Rayman Raving Rabbids

Some interesting stuff for Nintendo's handheld this week. For me, Puzzle Quest is probably the most intriguing of the three because it promises to meld a Tetris style puzzler with RPG elements such as a storyline and levelling up. It could be good, it could blow goats, we'll have to wait and see. Raving Rayman Rabbids isn't the same game as the Wii mini game frenzy. Instead we have a return to the classic 2D platform genre that made him famous in the first place. While a mini game orientated package probably would have worked quite well, I welcome this more traditional game and look forward to giving it a try.

Finally, the original Phoenix Wright passed me by, which I plan to rectify some day as I keep hearing great things about the franchise. They've been likened to the classic graphic adventure games of yesteryear, which has always been one of my favourite types of game, but of course they also incorporate the unique strengths of the DS such as the touch screen and microphone.

PlayStation 2



Pac Man World Rally
Test Drive Unlimited

I do love a good kart racing game, but it has to be said most pretenders don't manage to beat Mario Kart in any of its guises when it comes down to it. I watched some video clips of Pac Man World Rally a while back and it has potential but whether it can live up to Nintendo's benchmark series remains in doubt.

Test Drive Unlimited gets released today on several formats, a few months after the original Xbox 360 version. It's a very ambitious game to try and port over to such comparatively under powered hardware as the PS2 and PSP, so I'm very curious to find out how good it's turned out.

Nintendo Wii



SSX Blur

Several weeks after appearing in the Import Corner, SSX Blur gets a European release this week. It looks like a rather stripped down version of SSX Out of Bounds, so if you already own that you may want to think twice about purchasing this as well. Perhaps the motion based controls will push it to another level?

Import Corner



Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Wii)
Wing Island (Wii)

A couple of cool looking games for the Wii this week. Cooking Mama is another one of those clever little games that originated on the DS (see also Trauma Center) being given a new lease of life. It features over 300 recipes and requires you to hold the remote in various poses, such as like a rolling pin to make pastry, or like a wooden spoon to stir a stew.

Wing Island could be the game that fans of Pilotwings and Pilotwings 64 have been waiting for, although it looks rather different from the screenshots I've seen. Holding the Wii remote like a paper airplane, it's your job to steer a formation of planes through hoops while performing various stunts. Looking good!

The RetroModern Gaming blog Pick of the Week
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
This game sounds different enough to be worth a look!