Release Archives: WEEK OF DECEMBER 14, 200412.14.2004 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 Dev. Dimps Pub. Atari MSRP: $29.99 Systems: GC With the recent release of Budokai 3 for the PS2, will anyone care about this? More importantly, do I care? It seems to be well-liked by fans of the show, but for everyone else it's just an irrelevant fighting game. If third party companies aren't going to properly support the Gamecube, they could at least not rub it in our faces with boring ports of old games. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Dev. Ubisoft Pub. Ubisoft MSRP: $19.99 Systems: XBX CBS and Ubisoft aren't exactly the likeliest of partners, but apparently this game is a lot less lame than it sounds. The bulk of the game involves solving crimes by gathering evidence, speaking to witnesses, checking out the titular crime scene, and figuring out various clues. The gameplay plays out mostly through menus and various graphical interfaces, which fits things much better than a lame shooter would have. There are only five cases to solve, but hey, all the actors leant their voices and a writer from the show wrote the script, so as least you're getting a solid recreation for your twenty bucks. GunGriffon: Allied Strike Dev. Game Arts Pub. Tecmo MSRP: $49.99 Systems: XBX Releasing this at full price doesn't seem like the best move considering the bound-to-be superior Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf comes out later this month, with similarly fast mech-shooting action. Everything you'd expect in a game like this is fairly well-represented: customization, several types of mechs, solo and online play, etc. It's just not a very exciting release when it will be made obsolete within weeks of it's release (if it wasn't already). Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 DS Dev. EA Pub. EA MSRP: $39.99 Systems: DS The most realistic golf game, now on every system imaginable. The DS gives you touch-screen access to the swing-meter, adding an even more visceral touch. That's about it. Boooooring. Note: This is quite obviously a historically lame week of game releases, so no one gets game of the week. - Nick |
