Square Enix has confirmed plans to ship Dawn of Mana for the PlayStation 2 on May 22 in North America. This game marks the next chapter in the company’s World of Mana collection of games. The RPG will mark the series’ first foray into 3D, and will include “new characters and environments” as well as “familiar monsters and elemental spirits from previous Mana titles.”
In addition, the game will, for a limited time, be offered alongside a Breath of Mana sampler disc featuring musical selections from the soundtrack originally released in Japan. While specific selections have not been disclosed, it’s probably safe to assume that the disc will include Dawn of Mana’s title track by Ryuichi Sakamoto. This gift will be given to those who pick up the game from Amazon, Game Crazy, GameStop and EB Games.
In addition, Heroes of Mana, a new real-time strategy game developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS, will ship in North America during late summer 2007. Apart from this different take on the evolving Mana tree, the game will also feature a ranking system tracked by the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
On the surface, Spectrobes appears to be nothing more than Disney does PokA
Few games are more adept at invoking the unadulterated bliss of online multiplayer mayhem than Worms, the long-running 2D franchise from Team 17. Now making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade, Worms is showing off the strategic depth that can underlie a seemingly simple and childish affair. Controlling your four-strong squad of custom cutesy combatants, your goal is to be the last player standing in pure deathmatch. At your disposal are a variety of creative armaments with varying levels of destructive and utilitarian potential. The game is turn-based, making strategy and precision a much bigger priority than a twitchy thumbstick.
Worms for Xbox Live Arcade is a simplified affair, even for Worms, and this may cause long-time fans of the series to bristle at the prospect of plunking down the $10 price of admission. The weapons set is a little bare compared to what some might be used to (the absence of the Holy Hand Grenade might amount to sacrilege amongst a certain sect), but it is serviceable while still making the acquisition of weapons crates a vital strategy. The fundamental weapons are all still in place, and to Team 17’s credit, they function as smoothly as I’ve ever seen. The physics on the grenades in particular have been tweaked to make it easier to land one right in an enemy worm’s face, which players will come to appreciate with time. The game also suffers a bit for a lack of variety in the level themes, but not too much. Worms looks absolutely fantastic in high-definition, which might not seem to say much given the simplicity of the visuals, but it’s a treat to look at nonetheless.
There are twenty challenges to complete against the AI, and while they are good practice and worth the trouble for the achievement points, they’re really ancillary to the multiplayer mode. Playing Worms with three other friends feels like equal parts chat room, video game, and unscripted comedy. Strange and amusing turns of events are pretty much par for the course, and nearly every round I’ve played has been accompanied by a laughing fit. It’s just not every day when you see a Worm named Uncle Jesse attempt to blow up another worm named Batman with an exploding sheep and accidentally send himself careening across the map into the ocean.
The only real complaint to be had with Worms is that they are charging $10 for what feels like $5 worth of features. I don’t doubt that the game will receive downloadable updates in the future, but it’s with those future fees in mind that 800 marketplace points feels a little steep now. Still, there isn’t anything like Worms on the marketplace right now, and if you can muster a group of friends to play the game with you, it’s well worth the time and effort. Worms is a fantastic game, and it belongs in your list of Arcade games. It’s that simple.
Sam and Max are now into their fourth episode – Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die!. Those that have been following the series should know what to expect by now: lovable Sam and Max quipping at each other and to others about every culturally significant and current topic under the sun as they make their way through yet another variety of puzzles which are, again, mostly conversation-driven. Thankfully, the dialogue in this series has been so robust, it alone is reason enough to keep gamers coming back, and this latest episode is no different, though perhaps a bit better.
The only real complaint I’ve had regarding the previous episodes has been that the puzzles were relatively easy and that the game is fairly repetitive in some respects. This fourth episode tries to distance itself from that somewhat by beginning at the White House itself, but it is a short-lived glee, unfortunately, as this episode still requires players to drive back toward their office and interact with Bosco and Sybil. Nothing against these characters, but it is getting tiresome that they are so often integral to the puzzles, but often have little to do with the plot. Without spoiling, though, fans should enjoy their involvement this time around, and even through my general unwillingness to entertain their antics again, I felt their inclusion this time around to be a bit more respectable. Oddly, though, the office itself plays more of a role than in previous episodes.
I suppose that is understandable at this point as, though the episodes certainly work individually, the puzzles do occasionally rely on knowledge of the previous episodes (and there really isn’t much of a reason to not have played the earlier episodes anyway). This six-episode season has a common arc running through it, and though each episode is self-contained, items discovered in a previous episode often carry over to the next. The bug (literal and in the spytronics sense) is perhaps my favorite and the way it is used in this episode just adds to the hilarity.
Overall, there’s not much new to say about the series: it is classic Sam and Max. Abe Lincoln Must Die! strikes all the right chords, and tickles the funny-bone expertly. For fans, this episode will probably be your favorite. New folk that just want to try the series out might want to start here as it is the best example of this season. It does make me wish for a new venue – the distortion of the White House, and the colossal Abe Lincoln statue that Max must campaign against (yes, indeed), are novelties that Purcell and company are expert at.
Battleship and submarine games are getting rarer and rarer, and are nearly nonexistent on today’s consoles. Having played so many naval games over the years, I was eager to test out Battlestations: Midway, which is something of a A
