Game releases 16-20 March
Nintendo’s Wii has been associated, and rightly so, with kiddy looking party games such as Wii Sports. Titles released on the Wii which can be considered as appealing to hardcore gamers are very few indeed. Even those few are pretty much cartoony looking e.g. Super Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. Apart from the absolutely dreadful Manhunt 2 and the excellent House of the Dead: Overkill I don’t think there are any other notable games with mature content out there.
But in 2008 the first screenshots and trailers of MadWorld were released and I was blown away by the art style of the game. A black and white visual style, with red being the only other colour. It brings to mind Sin City both dye to its visual style but also because of the violence. The game is incredibly gory with acts like breaking bodies in half, driving road signs into other character’s heads being just a small taste of what the game is all about.
The Wii’s hardware capabilities are considerably more limited than those of the 360 and PS3. Developers should start experimenting with different visual art styles which can compensate for these limitations. PlatinumGames, the developers of MadWorld, have clearly shown that it can be done.
Mad World is my mature game of the week.
(Eurogamer review 7/10 and 1UP review A-)
Similar to MadWorld invading the world of kiddy gaming is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars‘ release on Nintendo’s other console, the DS. With the DS’ installed base expect this one to be another huge seller for Rockstar.
In other news, Sony recently admitted that it had neglected its handheld console, the PSP, in 2008 and that it would fix that in 2009 by releasing high quality games. Resistance: Retribution is one of those games. If you own a PSP and haven’t switched it on recently, now might be a good time to do so.
Release List
360
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
PS3
Singstar: Queen
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
Wii
Madworld
Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut
Castlevania: Judgement
Go Diego Do! Great Dinosaur Rescue
PC
Bella Sara
Chrysis: Maximum Edition
Tm Clancy’s H.A.W.X
DS
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Henry Hatsworh in the Puzzling Adventure
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut
Pass your driving theory test
Wonder Pets: Save the Animals
Scrabble 2009
Petz: My Baby Panda
EA Spors Football Academy
Go Diego Do! Great Dinosaur Rescue
Bag DS Lite Camp Rock
Bad DS Lit Fairies 2
Bella Sara
Calvin Tucker’s Rednceck Jamboree
Kit DS Lite Camp Rock
Pool Hall Pro
PSP
Resistance: Retribution
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (Platinum)
Lego Indiana Jone: The Original Adventures (Platinum)
PS2
Go Diego Do! Great Dinosaur Rescue
Jelly Belly: Ballistic Beans
Singstar: Queen
