Sunday Evening New Releases and ShackReviews

April 16, 2006 3:30 PM

Funcom's Dreamfall comes out this week. I have a feeling it's going to be really, really good. It's the sequel to The Longest Journey, one of the last great traditional graphic adventure games, but it's very different in gameplay from that title. If you've never been a fan of the point and click adventures, don't let that turn you off. It's more of a hybrid title, a full 3D world with various types of gameplay depending on the situation. For more, check out our full preview.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy XI comes out for Xbox 360. It definitely seems like one of the most multiplatform MMOs out there, now on three separate systems. I'm curious to see how it'll sell on 360.

Nintendo's Brain Age is also released this week. I have a feeling this title could do pretty well if Nintendo markets it right, but even if that happens it's going to take some time before it finds its audience.

This Week's New Releases

Xbox/X360

Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix | Tue. | X360)

Portable

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo | Tue. | DS)
World Poker Tour (Coresoft | Tue. | PSP, also PS2, Xbox, GBA in Oct. '05)
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship (Traveller's Tales | Tue. | PSP)

PC

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Headfirst | Tue. | PC, also Xbox in Oct. '05)
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: Special Edition (Capcom PS1 | Tue. | PC, also PS2 in Jan. '06)
Strategic Command 2: Blitzkrieg (Fury Software | Tue. | PC)

Multi

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Funcom | Tue. | Xbox, PC)
Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan (Square Enix | Tue. | PS2, PC)
Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords and More! (Crave Ent. | Tue. | PS2, PSP)
SnoCross 2 Featuring Blair Morgan (Sensory Sweep | Tue. | PS2, Xbox

Featured ShackReviews:

Tons of reviews this week, a big change from the recent trend. First off, Masem checks out Nautilus' Shadow Hearts: From the New World (PS2).
SixDemonBag returns with no less than three reviews: Monolith's Shogo: Mobile Armor Division (PC), Petroglyph's Star Wars: Empire at War (PC), and Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC).
Finally, manlyman has a review of Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Legend (PC).

Still working on cleaning up my back library of games. I finished up Yoshi's Island (SNES), and started working on The Legend of Zelda (NES). This weekend I got back into Ocarina of Time (N64).

Chris Remo

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 reply
April 16, 2006 3:43 PM

Any one know how soon questions/puzzles start repeating in Brain Age?
- Chris Remo
  
   reply
  April 16, 2006 3:51 PM
  
  For a lot of the game, that question doesn't really apply; ie, there's a section in which you solve simple multiplication equations as fast as possible, so of course there's going to be a lot of repetition since there is a finite number of simple multiplication problems. Really, that's a hard question to answer for most of the game. It's kind of hard to explain, but most of the puzzles aren't really "unique questions" that you'd refer to as repeating. It's more like a "mind treadmill" than an SAT or something.
  - ease_one
    
     reply
    April 16, 2006 4:10 PM
    
    I think I need this game
  - uh dead
    
     reply
    April 16, 2006 8:15 PM
    
    I like the term "mind treadmill", and I ask you if I may add it to my daily vocab?
- wild falcon
  
   reply
  April 16, 2006 9:56 PM
  
  Keep in mind though that the game is three-four puzzles that you have to do repeated times to unlock more puzzles, and that it maxes out at around 15 individual activities (Calculations x 20, Calc x 100, Head Count, etc.) that you can do each given day.
  
  While there isn't a limit on how many puzzles you can do, keep in mind that puzzle variety is somewhat limited.
  
  I still highly reccomend the game. It retails for $20 and everyone that has been playing (my parents/friends, other parents included) love the game.