Release Archives: WEEK OF FEBRUARY 14, 20062.14.2006 Age of Empires: Age of Kings Dev. Pub. Majesco MSRP: $29.99 System: DS Strategic warfare comes to the DS with this very competent little reworking of a well-respected PC franchise. Addictive turn-based combat goes hand-in-hand with deep city management and technology research. Even more in-depth than the almighty Advance Wars, and with equally great multiplayer. I'm sold. Exit Dev. Taito Pub. Ubisoft MSRP: $39.99 System: PSP Hmm, not sure where to start describing this one. You play as Mr. ESC, an escapologist, helping people get out of their houses during fires, earthquakes, etc. Side-scrolling goodness abounds, with fantastic hand-drawn visuals and great music to compliment. One hundred levels to begin with, with another hundred up for download soon after. A great, unique, compelling puzzle handheld experience. Full Auto Dev. Pseudo Interactive Pub. Sega MSRP: $59.99 System: 360 Burnout meets Twisted Metal meets Prince of Persia with mixed results. On the one hand, it's fast, good-looking racing with a completely destructible environment and a unwreck time-defying rewind feature. That is to say, it's incredibly gratifying for a couple of races. After that, not so much. Without so much as an attempt at story or anything to break up the monotony, it comes off as little more than a tech demo. It's certainly entertaining, but not fulfilling in the long run. Wait three more weeks for Burnout Revenge on the 360. Marc Ecko's Getting Up Dev. Atari Pub. Atari MSRP: $49.99 Systems: PS2, XBX I would usually dismiss this as urban culture cash-in crap, but from what i've played, and the passion that Mr. Ecko himself has actually put into the production, I'm actually more interested than ever for the final product. A bit of combat, lots of hopping around urban sprawl like a current-day Prince of Persia, and of course, graffiti. It still seems a tad too forced, but it's not for lack of sincerity (more from marketing). Give it a chance. State of Emergency 2 Dev. DC Studios Pub. SouthPeak Interactive MSRP: $39.99 System: PS2 Bleh. Now THIS is urban culture cash-in crap. Only slightly more palatable than the original, which everyone was grossly disillusioned by after buying anything Rockstar published following GTA3. Guns, vehicles with guns, and more guns. Waste your money on a smarter activity, like playing catch with cinderblocks. - Nick |
