First off, let me begin by apologizing for the tardy nature of this piece. D.J. Tatsujin, the normal writer of this article, had a personal situation that had to be handled immediately. Therefore, I’m pitching in relief this week, and trying to fit this in with an already loaded schedule. So to steal a line from George Carlin, “let’s do a fuckin’ show, huh?”
The biggest news to announce is a new Xbox LIVE Arcade game. Darwinia+ makes the journey over from the PC, and appears to combine Darwinia and Multiwinia. Playing the demo makes me wonder what the hell was wrong with me last year, when I lost interest quickly. The gameplay can best be described as an RTS meeting Robotron 2084. It’s got a few pacing issues, but otherwise, it’s a fun and addictive game. Darwinia+ costs 1200 Microsoft Points/$15, which is the same cost as the combined package that Steam has. Fifteen dollars seems a little high for XBLA games, but this one’s worth the cost.
Games on Demand added one game for North America: Street Fighter IV. This game really needs no introduction, though this is probably in advance of the release of Super Street Fighter IV. Both Alex Lucard and Mark B. reviewed it, if anyone still isn’t sold. The game costs $30 for American gamers. For Europe and the Oceanic countries, Halo Wars is out for £20.
In terms of Deals of the Week, three games got a discount, two of which are very good. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is getting a price cut from 1200/$15 to 800/$10. I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think we reviewed this one when it was released on any system; we have demo impressions, but I am a little dumbfounded that a site with Alex, Mark and DJ didn’t review MVC2. Rest assured, it’s WELL worth that cost. Also cut for the week, from 800/$10 to 400/$5 is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, the remake of the arcade and SNES classic, which itself was a sequel to the titular arcade game which changed the beat ’em-up genre forever. Other reviewers were low on the game, but don’t listen to those people; listen to our own Mark B. instead. At $5, that should be an easy purchase. Finally, Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao sees a price cut from 1200/$15 to 800/$10. After playing the demo, I’m wondering why this was $15 in the first place; it’s just a standard beat ’em-up with weird controls, a lot of cheap hits, and an interesting presentation. If you like games like Kung Fu for the NES, this might be worth $10, but I don’t think so. It should be noted that all of these deals are only for LIVE Gold members, because Microsoft cannot do anything from a business standpoint without being evil.
Finally, some smaller, minor notes: the final episode of this season’s 1v100 will be played tonight at 10PM EST/7PM PST, and will have a Halo theme. If you’re a Rock Band fan, the entire Rust in Peace album from Megadeath is available as DLC. I think Megadeath is to Heavy Metal what Ja Rule is to Rap, but fans will enjoy this. Finally, the Avatar Marketplace has Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. For anyone that likes paying for the right to be a walking billboard, there you go.
Until next time, this is Christopher Bowen, who wants to play MVC2 again for some reason.
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