What’s New In Games This Week

Again, we have some sequels, one to a game that hardly anyone played, and another for a game that everyone avoided due to it not bringing the goods. Along with a brand new IP that has already caused quite the stink...

What the world needs now is yet another sequel to a game that hardly anyone touched. Seriously! Though the original Okami's deal is a tad bit more complicated; came out for the PS2 originally, which hardly anyone ever touched, but was then exported to the Wii. Given the gameplay mechanics... which involves wielding an intergalactic paintbrush... you'd think the version where you waved a wand around would be the superior version, but long story short, it wasn't! In the end, the whole act of drawing just makes more sense on a handheld. It also involves riding around on the back of a celestial cub (the offspring of that annoying wolf from Marvel vs Capcom 3 to be exact) and fighting various demons and spirits from Japanese mythology in case you were wondering. DS

I think I speak for pretty much every fan of the series that, when the moment it was revealed that part 3 would be devoid of what makes a yakuza bad ass when all is said and done (that being the wooing of hot bar ladies) the need to play the game went immediately down the crapper. All that has changed, plus, Sega clearly got the message as well, cuz part 4 is finally bringing the full Yakuza experience stateside! You'll get to woo various ladies by engaging in chit-chat, buying them crap, and even playing ping pong with them! Oh, also, you get to run around town, beating the crap out of rival gang members, dealing with the law, and basically doing a billion other little things, hence why this game could easily be labelled as Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo. Plus, you get to play as multiple characters, including a cop for the first time ever. But all of that is secondary to the aforementioned ladies. Cuz it's always ALL about the ladies. PS3

Another contender to Call Of Duty's crown has officially entered the arena, and it's already been the source of much controversy. For those who haven't heard, it's all about those pesky North Koreans and how they manage get take over the world. Speaking as a Korean myself, I find it all pretty hilarious, the basic scenario that is presented: North Korea reuniting with South Korea, having enough manpower to completely overwhelm 50 states, and so forth. But what's most important is the game itself; produced by Kaos Studio, they only have one game underneath their belt, the throughly "its okay I guess" Frontlines: Fuel of War, though some of the early reviews thus far has been encouraging. BTW, expect one around here in the next couple of days. PS3, Xbox 360, PC