Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

For better or for worse, this month sees the North American Wii debut of Gamecube rehashes Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. Better if you never owned a Gamecube, but worse if you did. What else is due for Nintendo’s twin towers of power in March?

Let’s start with the Wii…

March 9
I’ll admit to getting swept up in 2001-era nostalgia when I watched the promo video for New Play Control! Pikmin. Yes, this is a Gamecube launch title, but it is a damn good one, and by all accounts the Wii controls are a positive boon.

New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis will be the lesser sibling, although if you’re bored with the no-frills Wii Sports Tennis, you may want to give it a shot.

March 10
Time for Madworld! This over-the-top gorefest hopes to single-handedly shatter the Wii’s good boy image. Will it be hardcore enough to win over the haters?

March 24
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time shows up on both Wii and DS… its hopes resting on the bizarre premise of cross-platform play between the two.

Major Minor’s Majestic March, from Team PaRappa, arrives to slake that marching band thirst you’ve nursed since high school.

March 29
Guitar Hero: Metallica lands on Wii… will it allow for Mii bands like World Tour?

Incidentally, the number of Wii games shipping in March that contain the word “party” is three. That’s pretty good.

Now, on the DS…

March 17
The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars ‘jacks your DS Lite with all the Liberty City that could smash into a game card.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure stirs platforming and puzzling into a intriguing brew.

Jumping over from the PC, TrackMania DS brings with it the game-defining racetrack editor.

March 22
Nintendo completes the DS Pokemon trilogy with Pokemon Platinum. I don’t usually go for the third-wheel Poke-releases, but Platinum seems to have the most amount of added content yet.

March 24
Adventure gamers have two reasons to celebrate: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (also on Wii) and Lux Pain.

March 31
Tokyo Beatdown brings 1970s action-drama and Final Fight-esque gameplay to the DS.

If you thought Trauma Center was too nerve-rattling, you may want to try Touch Mechanic, which is pretty much Trauma Center on cars.

Mama returns to her greatest system with Gardening Mama… seriously, the Wii Cooking Mama games are not a patch on the tactile interactions of the DS Mamas.

Number of DS games shipping in March that contain the word “chicken”: four. I don’t get it either.