Ones To Watch on PS3, PSP for November 2009
Ok here’s the thing: I don’t care about the huge military-themed, cross-platform shooter coming to the PS3 this month. It’ll get its spot of ink below, don’t worry, but I’m highlighting the three exclusive franchises returning to PlayStation platforms this month first.
The God of War Collection lands on November 17th as a new experiment: a reissue of two PlayStation 2 games in high definition on a single Blu-ray PlayStation 3 disc. The remastering of the top-selling God Of War and God Of War II includes the addition of Trophy support. Sales of this collection will be watched closely – it takes quite a bit of work to remaster games like this, but if it sells well we might see other Sony PS2 franchises reappear like this on the PS3. I’m a huge fan of the franchise, partly because of the brutally satisfying gameplay, partly because of the mostly-consistent mythological backdrop, so this is a must-buy for me. Of note: this is a $40 game.
The PlayStation Portable gets the PS3′s most recognizable mascot this month with its very own version of LittleBigPlanet. While you’ll be able to make and share your own levels in LBP on the PSP, you’re going to be playing them alone since multiplayer didn’t make it into this game. I’m being cheeky by mentioning this would be a $40 game as well since PSP games tend to debut at this price.
Also hitting the PlayStation 3 this month is Buzz! Quiz World on the 10th. I’ve become a fan of the original Buzz! Quiz TV on the PlayStation 3 and it’s just about the only game my non-gamer wife will play with me on the system. Of note: this also is a $40 game if you already have the buzzers from the first game, or $60 if you need the buzzers too. And in case you’re wondering the buzzers aren’t Bluetooth devices. They need a USB dongle to work.
What else is hitting the systems this month?
PlayStation 3
EA and Bioware are bringing a new fantasy franchise to market this month with Dragon Age: Origins on the 3rd, something some have theorized might have been a D&D game that never quite got the license. As a fully single player adventure it’s already got DLC lined up for it. As someone who’s still thoroughly enjoying Sacred 2 on the PS3 I might be interested in this game at one point, but not quite yet.
LEGO Rock Band also comes in on the 3rd, taking what should have been a filter in Rock Band 2 – the option for kid-friendly songs only – and putting it in a whole different game. Still, LEGOs are LEGOs and it could sell a few copies this holiday season. It’ll also add a whole different submenu to the already large set of PlayStation Store weekly update music game DLC menus.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed — Ultimate Sith Edition comes in on November 4th, and having spent some time with the original I’m not interested in this one. The controls and camera just felt too complex in this one, and since this only adds some additional missions as far as I can tell it’s not something I’ll be going after anytime soon.
That elephant in the room I mentioned is, of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game’s going to have midnight retailer openings and throngs of fans waiting to ventilate each other online, and as I said I couldn’t care less. I’m all in favor of stimulating the retail and game development economy, though, don’t get me wrong, so go ahead and buy it with abandon!
I found the story and feel of the original Assassin’s Creed game to be slow and unwieldy, and it gave me a very strong Half-Life 2 vibe which made me think I knew where the story was going very early on. I quickly lost interest, so its sequel coming on the 17th doesn’t have my interest.
A former Xbox 360 exclusive, the Scene It franchise also comes to the PS3 this month (making me wonder if it did ok over there) with Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen!. More party games are always welcome on the console but I haven’t been following this one.
PlayStation Portable
The PSP gets some new blood this month with its first proper Jak and Daxter game, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier. High Impact Games’ take on the franchise Naughty Dog previously took 3 runs at on the PlayStation 2 already has a demo on the PlayStation Store, so feel free to scoop that up and give it a look. It lands on November 3rd on both the PSP and the PS2, of all things.
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines takes the first game’s storyline in a new direction, apparently, and does it portably. We’ll have to see how it fares alongside its sequel bigger brother on the 17th.
Lastly, about a month later than its PS3 and Xbox 360 older brother, the PSP version of Tekken 6 comes in on November 24th. Tekken’s got a very good track record with Dark Resurrection on the PSP, so this could be a really stellar fighter.
That covers it for the big deals hitting PlayStation platforms this month. Did I miss anything you’re after? Let me know what and why in the comments below.
Tags: Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, buzz quiz tv, Buzz! Quiz World, call of duty, call of duty: modern warfare 2, dragon age: origins, god of war, God of War Collection, God of War II, Jak and Daxter, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, littlebigplanet, playstation 3, playstation portable, PS3, PSP, Star Wars: the Force Unleashed, tekken 6
5 Comments »
Leave a comment!
After my birthday on November 8th, I'm going to pick up the new Ratchet, and I'll probably pre-order God of War Collection to prepare for God of War III, since I never played the original two. Also, I'm not sure if I want to pick up Assassin's Creed II for 360 or PS3. On the 360 I have achievements and the comfort of playing in my own room, but with PS3 I get to play on an HDTV. Quite the conundrum. For sure, though, I'm picking up Modern Warfare 2 and Borderlands on 360.
From what I've read Quiz World will support the DLC packs already released for Quiz TV, which is cool. It sounds like World adds in a few features sorely missing from TV, such as the ability to shuffle up the game types. Although I'm bitter because I am THIS CLOSE to Platinuming Quiz TV.
I think I'll end up getting LEGO Rock Band just for the sheer novelty and $10 exportable track list. The existing DLC is semi-compatible… some songs will be available in LEGO, some won't, based on content. Seems like a waste of resources and a cause of consumer confusion to maintain separate store listings, when Harmonix could just trust parents to not play certain songs in front of the kids. And really, we're talking about songs here, not videos, songs that already come as radio-safe edits by default!
Hell yeah, this ain't no Singstar which has mostly unedited songs in its tracklist. Well, they do edit out the harder stuff, but it is funny what still makes it in. I am also going to get Lego Rock Band on the 360, but I am conflicted with Buzz Quiz World. I want it, but it will eventually suffer what all quiz games go through, and that is question repetition. And I am too cheap to continue buying add-in packs.
From what I've read Quiz World will support the DLC packs already released for Quiz TV, which is cool. It sounds like World adds in a few features sorely missing from TV, such as the ability to shuffle up the game types. Although I'm bitter because I am THIS CLOSE to Platinuming Quiz TV.
I think I'll end up getting LEGO Rock Band just for the sheer novelty and $10 exportable track list. The existing DLC is semi-compatible… some songs will be available in LEGO, some won't, based on content. Seems like a waste of resources and a cause of consumer confusion to maintain separate store listings, when Harmonix could just trust parents to not play certain songs in front of the kids. And really, we're talking about songs here, not videos, songs that already come as radio-safe edits by default!
Hell yeah, this ain't no Singstar which has mostly unedited songs in its tracklist. Well, they do edit out the harder stuff, but it is funny what still makes it in. I am also going to get Lego Rock Band on the 360, but I am conflicted with Buzz Quiz World. I want it, but it will eventually suffer what all quiz games go through, and that is question repetition. And I am too cheap to continue buying add-in packs.