lthough it's still probably best to stand upwind of most of this month's video game releases, things have improved substantially during this fourth week of January. Let's take a quick look at a few of the new titles that will be gracing the shelves of your local retailer.
Advance Wars has been redefining turn-based war gaming ever since the series' debut on the GameBoy Advance. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is the fourth game for the franchise (and the second to appear on the Nintendo DS). Though some may miss Dual Strike's multi-screen battlefields, a more mature theme and a near-complete graphical overhaul should do a lot to keep the series fresh.
There are Japanese developers, and there are Japanese developers. SUDA51 (Goichi Suda) and his team at Grasshopper Manufacture certainly fall into the latter group. Practically unheard of in the States prior to the release of Killer7 on the GameCube, Grasshopper and its unique brand of style returns with No More Heroes on the Wii. Part slapstick, part art piece and all action, this one looks to deliver on a number of levels. So long as the execution's as good as the concept, this might be the title that more mature Wii action gamers have been clamoring for.
Also hitting the Nintendo Wii this week is Arika's Endless Ocean. Though the jury's still out on whether this title should really be classified as a "game" (considering the only objective is raw exploration), the graphics look stunning and the ocean environments are apparently huge in scope. As someone who spent hours hunting for flowers in the countryside in Oblivion, I'm pretty excited to revisit that same sense of wonderment in an underwater (and bear-free) setting.
Don't own a Nintendo platform? Not to worry. PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers will be cutting through traffic and dinging doors for weeks to come thanks to Criterion Games and Burnout Paradise. Although the core gameplay remains intact, this Burnout features a totally redesigned hub — menus and selection screens have mostly been replaced by the seamless streets and byways of Paradise City itself.
PC gamers are able to explore a completely new massively multiplayer realm this week with the release of Pirates of the Burning Sea. There are a staggering number of ships to sail and islands to discover in Pirates' waterworld. Provided the game's engine holds up under scrutiny, I have a sneaking suspicion that this title may fuel one of the more interesting MMO communities we've yet seen.
