Gallery: Valkyria Chronicles II

As promised, a small but nice set of VC II screens. I love how well the excellently versatile Canvas Engine has translated to the PSP and from what I'm hearing from someone who picked up the game yesterday, the gameplay is "pretty cool" as well. Hell, it SHOULD be, as the original was one of the best PS3 "sleepers" to date as well as an excellent strategy game in its own right. I'm sort of surprised there's no Valkyria game on the DS yet, but on the other hand, it's great to see the PSP get yet another great release, right?

Anyway, I've no time to be jealous of friends gaming away while I toil (and I ain't got time to bleed, either) - I just have enough time to post an update or three a day. So there...

As I keep saying: 2010 is shaping up to be the best year for Sony's handheld so far.

Ys Seven Now Available At Retail

It's been absolutely the best year to date for the PSP in terms of high quality games and yes, here's yet another one well worth your hard-earned money. XSEED Games has announced that its latest RPG, Falcom's epic Ys Seven is now available at retailers across North America. The game comes in three formats: a standard UMD edition ($29.99), a Premium Edition ($49.99) or as a digital download from the PlayStation Network Store ($29.99). Below is a pic of the Premium Edition, which features the following items:

Release Calendar: 10/12 - 10/16/2009

Small but MIGHTY selection of games in stores this week. ROCK is the word of the week, folks. Brütal Legend totally rocks (and harder than many of you think - go play it and see for yourselves), Ju-on will rock you under the couch and Half-Minute Hero will rock your PSP 'til the battery blows up. Uncharted 2's killer visuals and massive scale will rock your world and there are a hell of a lot of rocks all over Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition's Wasteland landscape.

Akysys Games never, ever replied to my email request for a copy of Hero's Saga: Laevatein Tactics, but I'm not going to throw a rock through their window (yet). I'll have to make do with MagnaCarta 2 on the 360 with its rock-hard battles and Unreal 3-powered visuals or maybe enjoy Where the Wild Things Are, where I hear you jump over a lot of rocks. In Afrika, you'd best find a nice big rock to hide next to, lest you disturb that lion you're trying to photograph.. that wouldn't be a good thing at all!

10/12/2009
Cars Race-O-Rama (DS/DSi/PS2/PS3/PSP/Wii/Xbox 360)
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition (PS3/Xbox 360)
NBA 2K10 (PC)

10/13/2009
A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
Afrika (PS3)
Brütal Legend (PS3/Xbox 360)
Cake Mania 3 (DS/DSi)
Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition (PC/PS3/Xbox 360)
Fate: The Traitor Soul (PC)
Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
Hero’s Saga: Laevatein Tactics (DS/DSi)
Ju-on: The Grudge (Wii)
MagnaCarta 2 (Xbox 360)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS/DSi/Wii)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Where the Wild Things Are (DS/DSi/PS3/Wii/Xbox 360)

10/16/2009
Shimano Xtreme Fishing (Wii)

Release Calendar: 10/4 - 10/9/2009

Big week for a few titles and it's only going to get better from here - let's take a trip, shall we:

Demon's Souls is of course, my pick of the week, if not the year for PS3 owners (go read my review), but if you're not into the insane level of challenge this one provides and perhaps require something a lot less intense (and family friendly), Natsume's Afrika might very well be up your alley. Think of this grand photo safari adventure as a passport-less trip and a really cool way to see a bit of nature (and interact with it without getting eaten alive or trampled). Fifty bucks for an African Safari and you don't need to get shots? Sign me up!

For you shooter fans, try and play Codemasters' superb tactical FPS Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising as if it's a mere run 'n gun and you'll be in for a very quick trip to the morgue for you and your squad mates. And, hey - isn't it a total trip to see a new Star Wars game show up on every console and portable platform? Wii owners even get a few special peripherals to help them enjoy their version of Clone Wars: Republic Heroes.

A Boy and His Blob is a trip of a different sort, as this remake of the NES classic goes a long way in reinvigorating that nostalgia vibe. Trippy might describe elements of Obscure: The Aftermath, a survival horror game that's inspired by teen slasher flicks and horror games, while tripping over something trappy in SAW could cause poor Detective Tapp to lose his life. Finally, don't trip on that balance board when playing Wii Fit Plus or Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum or else that busted femur will have you laid up in bed exercising your stylus hand in the DS version of The Biggest Loser instead.

Wait... an exercise game for a handheld system? Er... hmmm... I don't even know what to say about that... Anyway, here's this week's list:

10/04/2009
Wii Fit Plus (Wii)

10/05/2009
Obscure: The Aftermath (PSP/PSPgo)
Squeeballs Party (DS/DSi/Wii)

10/06/2009
A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
Afrika (PS3)
A Witch's Tale (DS/DSi)
The Biggest Loser (DS/DSi/Wii)
Cabela's Outdoor Adventures (PC)
Demon's Souls/Demon's Souls Limited Collector's Edition (PS3)
Disney Sing It: Pop Hits (PS2/PS3/Wii)
Fate: The Traitor Soul (PC)
Game Party 3 (Wii)
Imagine: Zookeeper (DS/DSi)
Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 (Wii)
Naruto Shippuden Legends: Akatsuki (PSP/PSPgo)
NBA 2K10 (PS2/PS3/PSP/PSPgo/Xbox 360)
NBA 10: The Inside (PSP/PSPgo)
NBA Live 10 (PS3/PSP/PSPgo/Xbox 360)
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (PC/PS3/Xbox 360)
SAW (PS3/Xbox 360)
The Sims 2 Best of Business Collection (PC)
Star Wars: Clone Wars Republic Heroes (DS/DSi/PC/PS2/PS3/PSP/PSPgo/Xbox 360/Wii)
Spore Hero (Wii)
Spore Hero Arena (DS/DSi)

10/09/2009
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (PS2)
Shimano Xtreme Fishing (Wii)

In addition, Valve's Steam download service now has the following EA PC games available for download NOW:

Need for Speed: SHIFT
Battlefield 2: Complete Collection
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Godfather
Godfather 2
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising

Release Calendar: 9/28 - 10/2

Here we go - pretty much from this week onward, it's going to be crazy in terms of new releases. Lots of top quality stuff this week along with a few sleepers.

Dead Space Extraction should creep you out with not only how good it looks "for a Wii game" but also with some really scary moments that give the game a nicely cinematic feel. Obscure: The Aftermath brings the teen horror flick to the PSP in fine form with co-op play and lots of monsters trying to kill the hell out of you and your AI (or second player controlled) partner.

Give Tornado Outbreak a whirl (it's a lot of fun and not a Katamari Forever clone at all), Valhalla Knights Eldar Saga should please RPG fans who love to grind away for levels, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road DS is one of the best-looking games on the handheld and a unique entry level JRPG variation on the classic book and film. Risen looks and plays wonderfully, so give it a try if you're a PC role-player (360 owners have a few months more to wait for their version).

Midnight Club Los Angeles: Complete Edition is a great deal for racing fans of any stripe. Speaking of racers, if history is any indication, Gran Turismo PSP might boost up sales on the handheld a bit (as well as sell a few more PSP GO! units), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will wow the Square-heads while Battle of Giants: Dragons and Undead Knights look intriguing to me... I'll have to look into getting review copies on those two.

Anyway, here you go:

9/28/2009
Midnight Club Los Angeles: Complete Edition (PS3/Xbox 360)

9/29/2009
Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition (Wii)
BCFX: The Doug Williams Edition (Xbox 360)
Battle of Giants: Dragons (DS/DSi)
Beaterator (PSP)
The Curse of Monkey Island: Lair of the Leviathan (PC)*
Deca Sports 2 (Wii)
Family Feud 2010 Edition (DS/DSi/PC/Wii)
Fallen Earth: Welcome to Apocalypse (PC)
Imagine: Salon Stylist (DS/DSi)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS/DSi)
Left 4 Dead: Crash Course (PC/Xbox 360)*
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (Xbox 360)
My Sims Agents (DS/DSi/Wii)
Tornado Outbreak (PS3/Wii/Xbox 360)
Undead Knights (PSP)
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road (DS/DSi)

9/30/2009
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii)

10/01/2009
Dreamer: Top Model (DS/DSi)
Gran Turismo (PSP/PSP GO)
PSP GO

10/02/2009
Risen (PC)

* available via download only

Release Calendar: 9/14 - 9/18

Yikes, I DID say it was going to be a busy week for games, soooo, here goes:

9/14/2009
Art Academy: First Semester (DS/DSi)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS/DSi)
Mart Racer (Wii)
My Boyfriend (DS/DSi)
Oscar in Toyland (DS/DSi)
Princess in Love (DS/DSi)
Spaceball: Revolution (Wii)
Texas Hold 'em Poker (Wii)

9/15/2009
Age of Empires III: Complete Collection (PC)
Animal Planet: Vet Life (DS/DSi/Wii)
Ant Nation (DS/DSi)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC )
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS/DSi)
Chicken Blaster (DS/DSi/Wii)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (DS/DSi/PC/PS3/PSP/360/Wii)
Dreamer: Top Model (DS/DSi)
Heroes Over Europe (PS3/360)
Learn Geography (DS/DSi)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (DS/DSi/PS2/PS3/PSP/Wii/360)
Monster Trucks Mayhem (Wii)
NHL 2K10 (PS2/PS3/Wii/36o)
NHL 10 (PS3/360)
Need for Speed: Shift (PC/PS3/PSP/360)
Our House (DS/DSi)
Our House Party (Wii)
Pacific Liberator (Wii)
Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection (PS3/360)
Qubed: Lumines Live! (Xbox 360)
RACE On (PC)
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC)
Resident Evil 5 (PC)
Runes of Magic Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy (PC)
Scribblenauts (DS/DSi)
Time of Shadows (PC)
Tornado Outbreak (PS3/Wii/360)
Toy Story Mania (Wii)
WET (PS3/360)
Women's Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon (PC)

9/16/2009
Panzer General: Allied Assault (360)

9/17/2009
Madballs in Babo: Invasion (PC)

9/18/2009
Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim (PC)
Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold (PC)