Spring brings a slew of new video-game titles
Bored with those video games you got for Christmas? Here's a rundown of new titles sure to keep your thumbs sore
Ah, spring. A time when lovebirds sing, flowers bloom and baseball parks come alive with the chatter of hopeful fans.
Spring also brings punches to the face, high-speed smashups, blown-off body parts and a surprising variety of colorful expletives (exclaimed after a missed putt or an untimely death). Luckily, it's all in the name of fun. And, unless you count a bruised ego from getting pummeled by your 12-year-old nephew, no one really gets hurt playing a video game.
Now that those titles Santa brought for Christmas are starting to get a bit stale, here's a look ahead at some highlights of the spring video-game season.
Fight Night Champion
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: EA Sports
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Tuesday
Price: $59.95
The sequel to Fight Night: Round 4, Fight Night Champion is a darker, grittier take on the popular boxing franchise. In fact, it is the first EA Sports title released in America to be stamped with a Mature rating by the ESRB. Gamers fight as or against more than 50 pugilists from the past and present, including such legends as George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. The developers promise superior physics than in previous games, resulting in more precise and better controlled hits. Also, advanced computer A.I. means that individual muscle groups while become tired with repeated use (boxers are encouraged to vary their attacks). A new Championship mode puts players through the paces of an interactive story line.
WWE All-Stars
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Publisher: THQ
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: March 29
Price: $59.99 (PS3, Xbox 360) $49.99 (Wii) $39.99 (PS2)
Offering arcade-style action designed to appeal to a broad audience (picture a wrestling game with NBA Jam or NFL Blitz sensibilities), WWE All-Stars features stylized, physically exaggerated versions of such legends and current superstars as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena and Rey Mysterio. Each wrestler is equipped with a variety of standard and over-the-top moves, such as punches, sweeps, a freeze maneuver and/or a bicycle kick. Depending on the wrestler's class (Acrobat, Big Man, Brawler or Grappler), he can execute such moves as springboard attacks, super powerful hits, unblockable charged attacks or grapple combos. Each WWE All-Stars wrestler has a fighting-gamelike health bar, helping keep matches relatively brief.
NASCAR 2011: The Game
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Publisher: Activision
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: March 29
Price: $59.99 (PS3, Xbox 360) $49.99 (Wii)
Oozing with high-octane realism, NASCAR 2011: The Game is loaded down with fun features, including 22 tracks, customizable car designs, damage modeling (meaning car dents are visible), pit stops (for quickly changing tires and refueling) and spotters (who provide invaluable tips). A special Career mode lets players compete against 42 other drivers (including such celebs as Danica Patrick and Jeff Gordon) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Everyone loves a good multicar smashup, and in this regard NASCAR 2011 does not disappoint as cars get thrown into the air, barrel-roll over one another and shatter to pieces all over the track. Many of the titles on this list feature online play, and this game is no different, offering up to 16-player races.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Publisher: EA Sports
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: March 29
Price: $59.95 (PS3, Xbox 360) $49.95 (Wii)
The Masters at Augusta National is essentially the Super Bowl of professional golf, pitting great golfers against one another on the greens for greenbacks and the fabled green jacket. For the first time, armchair athletes can be an interactive part of the action. In addition to Augusta National, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 features 15 secondary (though still nice) championship courses, including Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. Other features include Masters Moments, Tiger at the Masters, The Caddie Experience and an all-new Career mode. This long-running series began on the Sega Genesis in 1991 with PGA Tour Golf. Tiger Woods, now trying to get back on the winning track, hopped aboard in 1999 with Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf (PlayStation).
Sorcery
Platform: PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sony
ESRB rating: Pending
Release date: April 2
Price: $39.99
Designed for the PlayStation Move, which in this case acts as a magic wand, Sorcery is an adventure quest through the dungeons, catacombs, castles and towns of the hazardous Faerie Kingdom. Players assume the role of a fledgling apprentice, working his way to becoming a master wizard. Gameplay consists of rescuing kidnapped children, solving puzzles, brewing elixirs, recovering ancient knowledge, talking with townsfolk and using a variety of spells to battle monsters. Said spells include storms, fireballs, ice, walls of fire and the like. For a more powerful attack, spells can be combined, and players can even shoot around corners and transform into magical creatures. Sorcery borrows from previous games (including Harry Potter), but the motion-based control technique should put a fresh spin on things.
Duke Nukem Forever
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: 2K Games
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: April 3
Price: $59.99
The sequel to Duke Nukem 3D (1996), Duke Nukem Forever features the type of bawdy humor and first-person shooter that action fans of the long-running series have come to expect. (The original Duke Nukem debuted in 1991.) Players guide the irreverent, cigar-smoking Duke as he walks, runs (yes, there is a sprint button) and uses a pistol, a shotgun, a Ripper Chaingun and other weapons to battle aliens approaching from all directions. Duke also punches, talks trash, drives a truck and even plays a little pinball. In development hell since 1997, Duke Nukem Forever has a convoluted production history involving countless delays, complications and even a lawsuit. Amusingly, various in-game scenarios make reference to the title's extreme lateness.
Mortal Kombat
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: April 19
Price: $59.99
The follow-up to the Teen-rated Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, this new iteration in the popular Mortal Kombat one-on-one fighting franchise takes the series back to its gloriously gory, bloody good roots (the original Mortal Kombat, released to the arcades in 1992 and home systems in 1993, created controversy, helping lead to Senate hearings about violence in video games and the resultant ESRB content ratings). Like the original "Mortal Kombat" trilogy, this game features a 2-D fighting plane. Also returning are gruesome fatalities ("Finish Him!"), special moves (of course) and such classic characters as Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage. God of War fans will be thrilled to know that Kratos is playable in the PS3 version.
Brink
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
ESRB rating: Pending
Release date: May 17
Price: $59.99
A first-person shooter set in a dystopian future, Brink takes place on a floating city called The Ark, in which two warring factions -- the Security and the Resistance -- battle it out for ultimate control. Gamers, playing as a customizable member of either group, must complete a variety of dynamically generated objectives and missions based on the gamer's role, location, condition, teammates and battle status. A special one-button control system (called a "SMART" button) makes guiding the protagonist a snap. Other features include unlockable outfits and weapons, customizable weapons (silencers, grenade launchers and the like), character classes and RPG-like character development. It was developed by Splash Damage, the company responsible for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.
L.A. Noire
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Rockstar Games
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: May 17
Price: $59.99
Set in post-World War II Los Angeles, L. A. Noire, as its title suggests, is imbued with the look and feel of classic Hollywood film noir, complete with moral ambiguity, corrupt police officers, jazz music, drug usage, sleazy nightclubs and, of course, gunplay. The open-ended (though relatively linear) action puts players in the role of a good (i.e. noncorrupt) cop, examining objects, gathering and writing down clues, collecting evidence, grilling witnesses, chasing suspects, engaging in Grand Theft Auto-style shootouts and much more. The essential gameplay elements evoke some of the old action/adventure titles of the late 1980s, but the stunningly rich graphics, especially regarding the more than 300 characters involved (played by real actors), are clearly state of the art.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Publisher: Disney Interactive
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: May 17
Price: $49.95
Scheduled for release in conjunction with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean lets players guide toy renditions of Jack Sparrow and company (there are more than 70 playable characters in all) through story lines and settings from the new movie (along with the first three films in the series). Gameplay is similar to previous Lego titles, such as Lego Batman and Lego Star Wars, with one or two players walking, jumping, solving puzzles, piecing together various items and engaging in comical, lighthearted battles. Given the pirate theme, much of the action involves swordplay. Fans of both franchises -- Lego and Pirates of the Caribbean -- should at least give this game a rental when it becomes available.
A gamer since "Pong" was considered the latest and greatest in electronic entertainment, Brett Weiss is the author of "Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984" and "Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988."
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