It's a relatively quiet month with a few big releases happening, but nothing too exciting. Outside of Final Fantasy IV, of course.
If I missed a game you really want coverage on then simply send your write up to me (via PM). If it's good enough and follows proper formatting I'll add it here with credit to you! Check the "Other Releases" section at the bottom and see the bolded games to see what games I would want write ups for but am not all too qualified to do myself. You can also do write-ups for games not bolded or games I didn't even list. Sometimes things slip my eye.
Some rules and stuff.
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Platform: PSP
Developed by: Square Enix
Published by: Square Enix
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Europe), April 28th (Australia)
Genre: RPG
My Hype Level: Boing!
GBAtemp Hype Level: Popular with the PSP community
As some of you may or may not know, FFIV is my favorite Final Fantasy game. I'm not a big fan of the series but IV is a classic. The characters are good, the battle system is the first iteration of it in the Final Fantasy series, and overall its a great RPG. I found the DS version highly disappointing, with mediocre visuals making it feel drawn out it seemed, and still find the GBA version the best to play currently. The Complete Collection updates the graphics but still keeping it in 2D style, adds some cutscenes, and also provides The After Years and a storyline to bridge FFIV to The After Years. FFIV fans should rejoice, this looks to be the best version yet. And for Christ's sake, stop bitching about FFV and FFVI. No one cares.
FFIV: CC is already dumped in Japanese but has English and French language options, so enjoy!
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Patapon 3
Platform: PSP
Developed by: Pyramid/Sony Computer Entertainment
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: April 12th (North America), April 15th (Europe), April 28th (Japan)
Genre: Rhythm/Strategy
My Hype Level: Not interested, I don't like Patapon.
GBAtemp Hype Level: There's a lot of Patapon fans.
My sources were wrong last month and this is actually getting released this month. So it's the same write up as last month, just different dates.
I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't like Patapon. It just felt so boring and just not fun. An interesting take on both strategy and rhythm games for sure, but it's just something that doesn't feel like it needs to be together. There's much better rhythm games I'd want to play and much better strategy games I'd want to play.
[/p]
Mortal Kombat
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Developed by: NetherRealm Studios
Published by: Warner Bros. Interactive
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Europe)
Genre: Fighting
My Hype Level: Yeah, no, already got better fighting games.
GBAtemp Hype Level: Some hype.
Honestly, I don't see the appeal to Mortal Kombat. People talk about it but it never seems to get that "god-tier" fighting game status that Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom does. I just don't see Mortal Kombat holding up in the world of fighting games this generation like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, etc. It doesn't help that the only person whose been wanting it amongst people I know is some idiot "bro" gamer.
[/p]
Portal 2
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developed by: Nuclear Monkey Software/Valve
Published by: Valve
Release date: April 18th (North America), April 21st (Europe, Australia)
Genre: Puzzle
My Hype Level: A kinda "do want" but probably won't bother
GBAtemp Hype Level: IT'S PORTAL
There's nothing really wrong with Portal. It was a fun game. It had witty writing, clever puzzles, and some nice concepts in it. I played it, I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it never really gripped me as much as its fan following. Portal 2 sets out to take what was originally just a side game to a package containing one of the PC's most popular FPS games and one of the most famous FPA games of all time and make it a game of its own. It's longer, meatier, and has a bunch of new stuff in it. I mean, I want it, but it's not high on my list at all. I probably won't pick it up until it's like $20. There's just bigger fish to fry.
[/p]
Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD
Platform: Playstation 3
Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Published by: Ubisoft
Release date: April 19th (North America)
Genre: Action
My Hype Level: They're pretty good
GBAtemp Hype Level: Meh.
For some reason the PS3 is getting a bagillion ports/remakes of last gen games. It started with God of War and expanded to Sly Cooper, Tomb Raider, and of course Prince of Persia. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You're getting 3 good titles with slightly better graphics and some trophies from last gen for around $30. Not bad. Prince of Persia was pretty nice last gen and was a lot of fun, so it's a pretty safe buy here.
[/p]
SOCOM 4
Platform: Playstation 3
Developed by: Zipper Interactive
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Australia)
Genre: Third person shooter
My Hype Level: Never played SOCOM
GBAtemp Hype Level: Not big around here
SOCOM was, from the view of critics, "the" multiplayer game of the PS2 era. Almost every review I read on it goes on and on about the multiplayer. While I never played the multiplayer, I'll give it credit for being a third person shooter game in an era beginning to become dominated by FPS games. Now in an era completely dominated by FPS games, SOCOM 4 still stays in its third person perspective and should hopefully be better than the ridiculous bland TPS competitor this generation, Gears of War (which I can't see why anyone would like).
[/p]
Conduit 2
Platform: Wii
Developed by: High Voltage Software
Published by: Sega
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Australia), April 22nd (Europe)
Genre: FPS
My Hype Level: I'll try it
GBAtemp Hype Level: Some yays and some boos
HVS, the dev behind this game, at first kinda came off as a good looking third party developer. They were pushing to make the Wii attempt to compete with HD consoles with their kinda-sorta rip offs of console games. But things went downhill. Gladiator AD, which looked highly impressive at first, turned to the mediocre and completely gimped Tournament of Legends, which dropped with little notice. The Grinder turned from an ambitious zombie killing frenzy to a multiconsole half-assed game delayed by a long year for no real reason. The Conduit itself wasn't bad. The storyline was mediocre and the single player was kinda average but the multiplayer online was still pretty fun. Conduit 2, dropping the "the" from the title, seems to take the series in a good looking direction, mainly with the splitscreen (since the Wii is severely lacking fun splitscreen FPS games, with the only two good ones being Quantum of Solace and Goldeneye). But HVS has let us down before and seem to be going down a slippery slope, but hopefully Conduit 2 will restore some confidence in them.
Plus the boxart is a lot better than that first one. Thank god my copy is the much better looking Gamestop exclusive version.
[/p]
Other titles
- Persona 2: Tsumi: 4/14 (Japan)
- Battle and Get! Pokemon Typing DS: 4/21 (Japan)
- Operation Flashpoint: Red River: 4/21 (Europe, Australia), 4/26 (North America)
As you can tell its a surprisingly bland month. Submissions are appreciated. At least next month has like Duke Nukem Forever or something.
Stay classy!
If I missed a game you really want coverage on then simply send your write up to me (via PM). If it's good enough and follows proper formatting I'll add it here with credit to you! Check the "Other Releases" section at the bottom and see the bolded games to see what games I would want write ups for but am not all too qualified to do myself. You can also do write-ups for games not bolded or games I didn't even list. Sometimes things slip my eye.
Some rules and stuff.
- No flaming. If I list a game you don't like, too bad. If I don't, too bad.
- This is mainly North American releases, sorry. I'll, on occasion, do a European or Japanese release if it's big enough and not already out in America.
- If a game is already released in English and is being released again for another region, I won't bother adding it. Like say if Half Life 2: Episode 3 was out in America in April (it won't) and it came out in May in Europe, I won't list it for May. I'll also do the same if a game was released in English (aka Europe or America) and is being released in Japan.
- I get my dates from GameFaqs, Wikipedia, and IGN, so if a date is wrong don't blame me. You can, of course, point it out and ask me to fix it if you have the right date.
- This is mainly North American releases, sorry. I'll, on occasion, do a European or Japanese release if it's big enough and not already out in America.
- If a game is already released in English and is being released again for another region, I won't bother adding it. Like say if Half Life 2: Episode 3 was out in America in April (it won't) and it came out in May in Europe, I won't list it for May. I'll also do the same if a game was released in English (aka Europe or America) and is being released in Japan.
- I get my dates from GameFaqs, Wikipedia, and IGN, so if a date is wrong don't blame me. You can, of course, point it out and ask me to fix it if you have the right date.
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Platform: PSP
Developed by: Square Enix
Published by: Square Enix
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Europe), April 28th (Australia)
Genre: RPG
My Hype Level: Boing!
GBAtemp Hype Level: Popular with the PSP community
As some of you may or may not know, FFIV is my favorite Final Fantasy game. I'm not a big fan of the series but IV is a classic. The characters are good, the battle system is the first iteration of it in the Final Fantasy series, and overall its a great RPG. I found the DS version highly disappointing, with mediocre visuals making it feel drawn out it seemed, and still find the GBA version the best to play currently. The Complete Collection updates the graphics but still keeping it in 2D style, adds some cutscenes, and also provides The After Years and a storyline to bridge FFIV to The After Years. FFIV fans should rejoice, this looks to be the best version yet. And for Christ's sake, stop bitching about FFV and FFVI. No one cares.
FFIV: CC is already dumped in Japanese but has English and French language options, so enjoy!
[/p]
Patapon 3
Platform: PSP
Developed by: Pyramid/Sony Computer Entertainment
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: April 12th (North America), April 15th (Europe), April 28th (Japan)
Genre: Rhythm/Strategy
My Hype Level: Not interested, I don't like Patapon.
GBAtemp Hype Level: There's a lot of Patapon fans.
My sources were wrong last month and this is actually getting released this month. So it's the same write up as last month, just different dates.
I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't like Patapon. It just felt so boring and just not fun. An interesting take on both strategy and rhythm games for sure, but it's just something that doesn't feel like it needs to be together. There's much better rhythm games I'd want to play and much better strategy games I'd want to play.
[/p]
Mortal Kombat
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Developed by: NetherRealm Studios
Published by: Warner Bros. Interactive
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Europe)
Genre: Fighting
My Hype Level: Yeah, no, already got better fighting games.
GBAtemp Hype Level: Some hype.
Honestly, I don't see the appeal to Mortal Kombat. People talk about it but it never seems to get that "god-tier" fighting game status that Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom does. I just don't see Mortal Kombat holding up in the world of fighting games this generation like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, etc. It doesn't help that the only person whose been wanting it amongst people I know is some idiot "bro" gamer.
[/p]
Portal 2
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developed by: Nuclear Monkey Software/Valve
Published by: Valve
Release date: April 18th (North America), April 21st (Europe, Australia)
Genre: Puzzle
My Hype Level: A kinda "do want" but probably won't bother
GBAtemp Hype Level: IT'S PORTAL
There's nothing really wrong with Portal. It was a fun game. It had witty writing, clever puzzles, and some nice concepts in it. I played it, I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it never really gripped me as much as its fan following. Portal 2 sets out to take what was originally just a side game to a package containing one of the PC's most popular FPS games and one of the most famous FPA games of all time and make it a game of its own. It's longer, meatier, and has a bunch of new stuff in it. I mean, I want it, but it's not high on my list at all. I probably won't pick it up until it's like $20. There's just bigger fish to fry.
[/p]
Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD
Platform: Playstation 3
Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Published by: Ubisoft
Release date: April 19th (North America)
Genre: Action
My Hype Level: They're pretty good
GBAtemp Hype Level: Meh.
For some reason the PS3 is getting a bagillion ports/remakes of last gen games. It started with God of War and expanded to Sly Cooper, Tomb Raider, and of course Prince of Persia. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You're getting 3 good titles with slightly better graphics and some trophies from last gen for around $30. Not bad. Prince of Persia was pretty nice last gen and was a lot of fun, so it's a pretty safe buy here.
[/p]
SOCOM 4
Platform: Playstation 3
Developed by: Zipper Interactive
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Australia)
Genre: Third person shooter
My Hype Level: Never played SOCOM
GBAtemp Hype Level: Not big around here
SOCOM was, from the view of critics, "the" multiplayer game of the PS2 era. Almost every review I read on it goes on and on about the multiplayer. While I never played the multiplayer, I'll give it credit for being a third person shooter game in an era beginning to become dominated by FPS games. Now in an era completely dominated by FPS games, SOCOM 4 still stays in its third person perspective and should hopefully be better than the ridiculous bland TPS competitor this generation, Gears of War (which I can't see why anyone would like).
[/p]
Conduit 2
Platform: Wii
Developed by: High Voltage Software
Published by: Sega
Release date: April 19th (North America), April 21st (Australia), April 22nd (Europe)
Genre: FPS
My Hype Level: I'll try it
GBAtemp Hype Level: Some yays and some boos
HVS, the dev behind this game, at first kinda came off as a good looking third party developer. They were pushing to make the Wii attempt to compete with HD consoles with their kinda-sorta rip offs of console games. But things went downhill. Gladiator AD, which looked highly impressive at first, turned to the mediocre and completely gimped Tournament of Legends, which dropped with little notice. The Grinder turned from an ambitious zombie killing frenzy to a multiconsole half-assed game delayed by a long year for no real reason. The Conduit itself wasn't bad. The storyline was mediocre and the single player was kinda average but the multiplayer online was still pretty fun. Conduit 2, dropping the "the" from the title, seems to take the series in a good looking direction, mainly with the splitscreen (since the Wii is severely lacking fun splitscreen FPS games, with the only two good ones being Quantum of Solace and Goldeneye). But HVS has let us down before and seem to be going down a slippery slope, but hopefully Conduit 2 will restore some confidence in them.
Plus the boxart is a lot better than that first one. Thank god my copy is the much better looking Gamestop exclusive version.
[/p]
Other titles
- Persona 2: Tsumi: 4/14 (Japan)
- Battle and Get! Pokemon Typing DS: 4/21 (Japan)
- Operation Flashpoint: Red River: 4/21 (Europe, Australia), 4/26 (North America)
As you can tell its a surprisingly bland month. Submissions are appreciated. At least next month has like Duke Nukem Forever or something.
Stay classy!
