MadWorld and Nintendo's New Play Control! games head a week with close to twenty releases. Rise Against heads to Guitar Hero, and fourteen songs head to Rock Band 2.
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad week as Sega's MadWorld leads the charge of a surprising glut of games in the middle of March. Also on Wii, Nintendo unleashes their New Play Control! series on North America with Mario Power Tennis and Pikmin, and EA releases two games as well, MySims Party and Trivial Pursuit. The rest of the Wii lineup contains Ubisoft's Grey's Anatomy, Zoo Games' M&M's Beach Party, and Valcon's Totally Spies: Totally Party.
MySims Party also makes an appearance on the DS along with Zubo, also from EA. XSeed's Avalon Code continues the recent rush of RPGs on DS. Ignition brings Docomodake BOING!, and Ubisoft brings Grey's Anatomy and My English Coach. Rounding out the DS release list is Activision Blizzard's Animal Planet: Emergency Vets, THQ's Dream Day Wedding Destination, Square Enix's My Pet Shop, and The Game Factory's World Championship Games.
Guitar Hero: World Tour gets three songs from Rise Against, including a song made exclusively for the game.
Rock Band 2 gets 14 songs ranging from Metallica and Wolfmother to David Bowie and Lucinda Williams.
Wii Games
Grey's AnatomyPublisher: Ubisoft Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Teen Release Date: March 10 Ubisoft's Grey's Anatomy takes the popular television show to the realm of video games. Featuring an all-new story, the game puts players in the shoes of their favorite doctors as they make important personal and professional decisions while performing delicate surgeries using the Wii Remote. |
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MadWorldPublisher: Sega Cost: $49.99 ESRB Rating: Mature Release Date: March 10 Developed by Platinum Games, MadWorld is an ultra-violent beat'em-up that is set in a black-and-white world with only one bright color: red, the color of blood. Using stylistic motion controls that involve putting sign posts through enemies' heads, players go through a variety of different areas as a participant in Death Watch, a television show featuring contestants fighting to the death. The game includes Bloodbath Challenges that range from Man Darts to the Death Press, and various over-the-top boss battles. It also features a story penned by Final Fantasy veteran Yasumi Matsuno. |
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M&M's Beach PartyPublisher: Zoo Games Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 M&M's Beach Party is filled with six different games starring the titular candy. Using the Wii Remote, the games range from sports like Volleyball and Kayaking to boardwalk games like Skee-Ball and Ring Toss. More games and features can be unlocked by collecting seashells in the game's single player mode. |
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MySims PartyPublisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $49.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 EA brings a brand new party game with 50 mini-games featuring characters from the MySims universe. Each character brings unique mini-games such as robo assault, extreme snowboarding, and "shaking your groovy thing" with DJ Candy during the Go-Go Dancing challenge. To add a unique flavor to the mini-games, there will also be quick play modes for players who wish to play the mini-games at lightning-fast speed. |
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New Play Control! Mario Power TennisPublisher: Nintendo Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 9 One of the first two games in Nintendo's New Play Control! Series, NPC! Mario Power Tennis is a remake of the 2004 GameCube game updated with Wii controls. Featuring an updated version of the Wii Sports Tennis controls, NPC! Mario Power Tennis brings everything from the original over and also allows players to use specific Wii motions to swing their racket to perform top spins, lobs, smashes, and more. |
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New Play Control! PikminPublisher: Nintendo Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 9 One of Nintendo's inaugural New Play Control! games, NPC! Pikmin gives the GameCube launch classic pointer controls. Pikmin is the story of the intrepid Olimar who's spaceship, the Dolphin, is knocked off course by an asteroid. Olimar lands on a mysterious planet that is riddled with poisonous oxygen and he must repair his ship with in 30 days. Along the way, he finds the lovable Pikmin and they help him out on his journey. In a new addition to the Wii remake, players can go back and start from specific days in Pikmin's 30 day structure instead of completely restarting. |
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Totally Spies: Totally PartyPublisher: Valcon Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 Valcon's Totally Spies: Totally Party takes the characters from the popular cartoon show and puts them into a boardgame. Featuring 35 mini-games and tons of unlockable outfits, players take the spies through a story mode and a multiplayer mode. Totally Party features the voices and animation from the cartoon. |
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Trival PursuitPublisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $39.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 EA and Hasbro team up to bring the famous board game to the Wii, up to four players can join in and play together simultaneously. Trivial Pursuit will feature three different modes: Classic, which lets you play the traditional board game; Clear the Board, which is meant for a single player experience; and Facts and Friends, where players can guess if the other player knows the answer for extra points. Trivial Pursuit features questions from categories such as Geography, Entertainment, History, Art & Literature, Science, Nature, Sports, and Leisure. |
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DS Games
Animal Planet: Emergency VetsPublisher: Activision Blizzard Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 Activision's latest in their Animal Planet line of video games focuses on emergency vets. Players have fifteen different vet mini-games to play, each with five difficulty levels. More than thirty animal species are available to be taken care of that range from cats and dogs to rabbits and ferrets. There are also various facts and questions directly from Animal Planet. |
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Avalon CodePublisher: Xseed Cost: $34.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ Release Date: March 10 Created by Matrix Software (the team that brought us Final Fantasy III for the DS), Avalon Code is an action RPG with a unique premise: the world is ending, so you must record everything worth keeping for when the world is re-created. Once something is recorded in the Book of Prophecy, you can use codes to affect its attributes (e.g. you can use a code on a monster that makes it weaker). RPG fans looking for something a little different may want to check it out. |
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Docomodake BOING!Publisher: Ignition Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 The Docomodake family is nowhere to be found on the day of their annual festival, and it's up to Papa Docomodake to overcome obstacles and challenges, find his family, and get to the festival. This puzzle-based platformer's gameplay twist is that Papa Docomodake can split into Minis, which allow him to fit into tight areas, get to higher points, and form bridges across dangerous terrain. The game also features the ability to send demos to friends using DS Download Play. |
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Dream Day Wedding DestinationPublisher: THQ Cost: $19.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 9 THQ's Dream Day Wedding Destination puts players in the shoes of a wedding planner who must plan the perfect wedding for three couples. They have to travel to the florist, go to the bridal shop, pick out the cake, and tell the tale of how the couples met. It also contains four different hidden object games such as Classic, Matching Pairs, Counting, and Find the Differences. |
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Grey's AnatomyPublisher: Ubisoft Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Teen Release Date: March 10 Ubisoft's Grey's Anatomy takes the popular television show to the realm of video games. Featuring an all-new story, the game puts players into the shoes of their favorite doctors as they make important personal and professional decisions and perform delicate surgeries using the DS touch screen. |
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My English Coach – Para HispanoparlantesPublisher: Ubisoft Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 My English Coach - Para Hispanoparlantes is designed for Spanish-speaking users looking to improve their English. Teaching you the language via mini-games, My English Coach includes exercises that explain the rules of grammar, how words are properly used, and how phrases are constructed. All of this is tracked on charts that map out your progress in an easy-to-read format. |
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My Pet ShopPublisher: Square Enix Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 Children and children-at-heart can now live their dreams of owning their own pet store in Square Enix's My Pet Shop, which teaches children how to be organized, responsible, and caring. Players live in Green Town where they help run a pet store. They can experience all the joys of pet ownership without having to physically own one. They can also learn how to feed, groom, and teach tricks to a wide variety of dogs and cats. |
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MySims PartyPublisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 EA's MySims Party has players picking four character teams and competing against each other in a variety of different games that test strength, endurance, speed, and luck. It offers 40 unique mini-games that take advantage of the capabilities of the DS. There is also support for two to four players in both single-card and multicard play. |
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World Championship GamesPublisher: The Game Factory Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 10 World Championship Games is a realistic track and field simulation featuring 14 varied track and field events playable in famous international stadiums. Events include 100 meters, long jump, pole vault, rapid fire pistol shooting, and archery. Once you master the events, you can test your skills in the ultimate test of human skill, strength, and endurance: the Decathlon. There is also online and wireless multiplayer enjoyment for up to four players. |
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Zubo
Publisher: Electronic Arts Cost: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ Release Date: March 10 EA's Zubo takes place on Zubalon, home to many animated inhabitants known as the Zubos. There is an evil force bent on world domination and it's the player's job to help the Zubos try to stop it. The dreaded enemies, the Zombos, are scattered throughout the world and with the aid of 55 different Zubos they must be defeated. Players can recruit the Zubos they meet, take care of them, and help them gain strength and skills. Zubo features a music-based RPG system similar to Elite Beat Agents that requires players to tap in time with the music's beats during battle. Also, players can challenge other Zubos in the game's multi-card multiplayer. |
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DLC
Guitar Hero: World Tour
This week's downloadable content comes from the modern punk rock band, Rise Against. The song "Death Blossoms" was recorded exclusively for the game, while the other two tracks come from the band's two previous albums. Each song is available now for 200 Wii Points ($2) each.
- "Audience of One" by Rise Against
- "Death Blossoms" by Rise Against
- "Ready to Fall" by Rise Against
Rock Band 2
Metallica leads the charge of this week's Rock Band 2 downloadable content with two songs, along with twelve others that include the February 24 downloadable content from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. Each song is available for 200 Wii Points ($2) each.
- "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" by the Clash
- "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie
- "3 Dimes Down" by Drive By Truckers
- "Why Do You Love Me?" by Garbage
- "Calling Dr. Love" by KISS
- "Can't Let Go" by Lucinda Williams
- "Blackened" by Metallica
- "Ride the Lightning" by Metallica
- "People Got a Lotta Nerve" by Neko Case
- "Time Bomb" by Old 97s
- "My Iron Lung" by Radiohead
- "Kool Thing" by Sonic Youth
- "Satellite Radio" by Steve Earle
- "Joker & the Thief" by Wolfmother
For Nintendo's Virtual Console and WiiWare releases for this week, check out our weekly article.
Chuck Jose, Jon Lindemann, and Lukasz Balicki contributed to this article
