Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

Here we are at the start of the holiday season, and the Xbox 360 is getting a ton of quality releases in the month of October.  There are so many games that it will probably take begging the credit card holders for a limit increase to buy all the good games that are coming out for our favorite curvy white console.  Take a look at the back end of the month to see where all your money will be going. 

This month we only have the standard logo for our Xbox 360 article, but if you have any good looking 360 mods that you want to show off to the world, send them in and we will make sure to use them in our monthly Ones to Watch 360 article.  And with that we move on to the releases.

Mega Man 9 – Easily one of the most difficult games to come out in recent memory, Mega Man 9 takes the player back to a simpler time in gaming when graphics were secondary, and the challenge of victory was all that mattered.  Mega Man 9 combines extremely hard difficulty levels, along with old school 8 bit graphics to give the player the sense of playing a game on their original NES console.  The game is authentic down to the point of including game bugs purposely to recreate the feel of the old console favorites.  Some may find the game just to be far too difficult to beat, but for those that are looking for a challenge, you need go no further than this title.  Mega Man 9 is currently out on the Xbox Marketplace.

NBA 2K9 – NBA 2K9 is one of two basketball games that is coming out out this month on the 360.  Some of the new features that are gracing the 2K9 release include a Living roster feature, which will update the rosters of the game on a daily basis, looking at things like hot and cold streaks, scoring an many other patterns.  Some may find this to be a bit too much, but the sport franchises are getting to a point where the art is really coming close to imitating real life with features like this.  Also look for new animations to come with these updates to provide fresh new looks to the game on a regular basis.  Online play, including full 5 on 5 round out NBA 2K9′s feature set.  Look for the game on shelves October 7th.

NBA Live 09 – Electronic Arts returns to the basketball arena with a new engine and lots of new features including daily updates to the game that are put together by a team of statisticians.  These updates will provide players with an up to date basketball experience that will model the real life game.  A player on your team ends up with a season ending surgery -  it might be time to move to a new team.  The graphics are really looking top notch this time around, and we no longer have the oily sheen that last year’s sweat mechanics caused on each of the players.  Online play is here also with full 5 on 5 game play and the ability to put together tournaments.  Look for NBA Live 09 on shelves on October 7th.

Fracture – Lucasarts is bringing their Force physics back to planet Earth in their terrain deforming shooter, Fracture.  The game places you in the middle of a conflict between the Atlantic Alliance, which relies on cybernetic enhancements to do battle, while the Republic of Pacifica, who looks to genetic enhancements as a way to fight the opposition.  The two sides wage battle by terrain deformation, using the environment as a weapon.  Use landslides, earthquakes and other features of the terrain to kill your opponents, while moving the story of Jeff Brody, your character, along.  While the game has a lot of promise, there is a lot of conflict over whether this game will live up to the early hype that it received back in 2007.  Look for Fracture on shelves October 7th, 2008.

Saints Row 2 – Saints Row 2 takes the formula that worked perfectly in the first game and kicks it up several notches by adding full co-op campaign support, brand new environments for your character to visit and a ton of new character customizations.  Volition has also put a lot of fun items in the game to give it a light hearted feel that departs from the somewhat serious story that was in its competitor, GTA IV.  Rolling around the city in a hot dog suit, while dropping shells on a rival gang is quite hysterical.  Some might be a little burned out on the whole gang styled sandbox environments, and beyond the co-op, not much has been said about the multiplayer, which was the stand out feature of the first game.  Look for Saints Row 2 on October 14th.

Dead Space – Dead Space is looking to reinvent the survival horror genre by moving into space, and adding a unique mechanic called strategic dismemberment.  The game features a rather engrossing storyline, and clean interface that never seems to get in the way of what the game is trying to present to you.  The game also is looking to mix in new mechanics, like zero gravity environments and creatures that look like something that has evolved out of the mutation of humanity.  No multiplayer is to be found in this, so the story is going to have to be top notch to make up for that short fall.  Also, some have come to call it Bioshock in space, so it does have some pedigree to overcome to prove itself.  Look for Dead Space on October 14th.

Golden Axe – The Sega classic is back and in style with all new graphics and a new storyline as well.  The gameplay that you all love and remember is still there, with your character hacking and slashing their way through the game, while using some magic to bolster their fighting prowess.  You do have a dragon that you can use in the game, and it will reign fire down upon the enemy.  The game does remind me of some of the recent hank and slash games that are out there on the market, but I have to wonder if it will really get past the fact that there is no co-op play, and no multiplayer modes to speak of whatsoever.  Not a huge deal if the single player story and action is strong, but it does take away from the two-player fun of the original.  Look for Golden Axe on October 14th.

Fable II – Peter Molyneux unleashes this next opus in the Fable series, uniquely titled Fable II.  This time around, Fable II looks to capture the allure of the first game, while improving on the nuiances of the game.  Features that were missing in the first go around, have been implemented, and polished.  New to the game is the ability to marry, have children and many other social aspects that were missing from the first Fable.  Fable II also offers the player the chance to own a dog, that can help him with quests and to finding items.  Recently, it was announced that online co-op would not be in the release version of the game which might upset some gamers.  The option may be patched back into the game on the day of Fable II’s release, but it is not guaranteed.  Look for Fable II on October 21st.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles – It may of just been me, but I really did not get into the last version of Midnight Club, mostly because I just did not like the style of the game, and the driving mechanics seemed way off.  Rockstar went back to the drawing board and are ready to release Midnight Club: Los Angeles upon the gaming world.  This time around, we have a solid story, and one city to focus on, complete with real streets, and lots of real world Los Angeles landmarks to help you get around the city.  Car and motorcycle racing is available here, and the game just looks amazing.  I am still unsure about the multiplayer in the game as it has looked a little unstable at times, but there has been some time to fix it.  Look for Midnight Club: Los Angeles on October 20th.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – Spider-Man swings onto our 360 again, and this time he is going to do it in a game that looks like it might not suck.  This time around, the story allows for you to play as a good guy or as a villian, and introduces a new combat system that looks to make you feel like a superhero.  Your fighting is based on stringing together combos, while transitioning from one enemy to another.  It sounds average on paper, but watching it in practice shows off all the great moves and combos that can be performed by our hero.  The story is supposedly written by some of the writers at Marvel Comics, so this should help lend some autheticity to the storyline.  Spider-Man games have always been filled with promise and expectations only to let down when they are released.  Lets hope this time we have a game worthy of the title.  Look for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on October 21th.

Far Cry 2 – We finally are getting another Far Cry, but this game has no ties whatsoever to the previous installment of the game.  No tropical island, no Trigens and no convoluted story placing you in the middle of the action.  This time around Far Cry 2 takes you to the plains of Africa, where you are a mercenary for hire, along with several others that work with you, taking missions from the rival, warring factions.  Far Cry 2 looks to bathe the user in a level of immersion rarely found in a FPS, including weapon wearing, full day/night cycling, wounds that require the player to stop and heal them and even some vehicle combat.  All these features are great, but they may alienate the standard FPS player that just wants to run and gun.  Look for Far Cry 2 on October 21st.

Legendary – Looking for an FPS that forgoes the standard shoot ‘em up plot, and instead uses some ancient greek mythology to bring about the end of the modern world?  Well, Legendary is probably your ticket to fun.  You play Deckard, a prestigeous art thief that has been hired to steal a ornate jeweled box from a museum.  Deckard’s curiousity gets the best of him and he opens the box, not realizing that it is actually Pandora’s box, and with its opening, creatures are released upon the world to shepherd in the destruction of the world.  Unique to the game is its character deformation technology that shows creatures slowly being deformed by the weapons thay are being attacked with.  Also, they use random attack patterns to escape damage, which is a lot of fun to watch.  Look for Legendary on October 21st.

Fallout 3 – After a 10 year hiatus from the title and the rights of the series transfering from Interplay to Bethesda, we finally have a Fallout sequel.  Many have followed the development of the game, being that it has two beloved games that came out before it in the first two Fallout titles.  Fallout 3 is a radical shift from the first two titles, as it is played from a third person, over the shoulder perspective, and is in real time, not turned based combat.  Story has consumed Bethesda, trying to recapture the feel of the Fallout universe, while putting their own unique spin on the title.  Trying to balance the expectations of the original Fallout players, with new fans of the series will be tough to do, but so far it is looking quite promising.  Look for Fallout 3 on shelves October 28th.

Guitar Hero World Tour – After numerous sneek peaks and previews, the new experiment in the Guitar Hero universe has arrived, and it looks to attack at the jugular of its competition, Rock Band 2.  Packing in a ton of solid tracks, while adding new features like a complete music studio to create your own music tracks, there will be something for everyone in this title.  Easily the biggest draw for this title will be having the hard to get artists like Jimi Hendrix and The Eagles, which have always been difficult to sign for a game like this.  About the only downside that the game has right now is a bit of me too fatigue from those that may already have Rock Band 2.  But with a better track record with its instruments, Activision may have the game to beat this winter.  Look for Guitar Hero World Tour on October 26th.

Whew, that was a lot of typing this month.  Along with the above mentioned titles there are a few more that I can’t say I have enough of an opinion on like MotoGP and FIFA 09, because I have not really followed either on the 360.  Also, for those that were waiting for the instruments, the Rock Band 2 Deluxe pack will be available this month as well.  Look for it to run about $189.99 at most outlets.  Tune in next month for the November edition, when we will probably have even more titles to choose from.  Man is it a good time to be a gamer, and a sad time to be broke.