I’m grabbing Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, the downloadable prologue to Capcom’s game of zombie humiliation. It’s much more than a demo, detailing events that take place before the full game, but it does serve as an effective taster of what’s to come. At 400 Microsoft Points, how can you say no?
I’ve yet to play Metroid: Other M, but to judge from the first wave of reviews it’s not the ham-fisted disaster many have prophecised. Team Ninja seem to have designed an excellent 2D Metroid game that only occasionally lapses with ill-advised moments of first-person camera work. The story presentation – via regular cinematics that show Samus talking with other people – is a clear departure for the series that may alienate traditional fans, but I suspect it’s merely going to be a matter of personal preference.
I’m also getting Valkyria Chronicles 2 because the first one remains perhaps my favourite PS3 experience to date. But I’ll give HAWX and Rugby League a miss as neither are in genres of which I’m a fan.
What are you picking up this week?
New releases for the w/c August 30:
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (360)
What Is It? Prologue to September’s full survival-comedy sequel that gives more background to hero Chuck’s story.
Should You Care? It’s 360-exclusive, so PS3 owners should convince themselves they don’t care, at least until the full game comes out.
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
What Is It? Nintendo’s sci-fi adventure returns (mostly) to its 2D roots after the first-person Prime series, giving the most traditional Metroid game in years…
Should You Care? Except for all the non-traditional cut-scenes, dialogue and the fact Samus now has squadmates.
Rugby League Live (360, PS3)
What Is It? The first ever Rugby League game for the HD consoles.
Should You Care? It’s fundamentally the same as the recent Wii (and before that, the PS2) version, but with better graphics.
Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2 (360)
What Is It? Flight combat that focuses on action over authenticity.
Should You Care? 360 owners can get a little excited by their one week headstart over the rest.
Valkyria Chronicles II (PSP)
What Is It? Gorgeous tactical RPG makes the transition from PS3 original to PSP follow-up.
Should You Care? A strong contender for handheld game of the year.
Mr Waffle
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:05 AMYou know, the fifty billion different preorder versions of Dead Rising 2 have actually made me less interested in the game… every second news post about the game was about some thing I wouldn’t get if I bought from x or y store, which really put me off.
Chuloopa
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:11 AMOne thing for me this week and nothing else exists in my eyes… Dead Rising – Case Zero
I have been holding my breath for this one, and it will feel glorious to breath in it’s blood-stained beauty when it hits Live.
Just a warning, David – Expect your reader reviews to be overflowing with Dead Rising 2 – Case Zero. :P
At that price you know EVERYONE will be having a punt at being the next Siskel or Ebert…
Chuloopa
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:18 AMOh, i just noticed Valkyria Chronicles II is a PSP game…
Seeing as everyone is always going ape-shit bonkers about the first one on PS3, this makes it very enticing for me… One problem remains, however, i don’t own a PS3 – therefore i have never played the first.
So this begs the question, His Royal Goosiness (and everyone else), would i need to have played the original to enjoy/understand the new handheld iteration?
David Wildgoose
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:39 AMI wouldn’t think so. It’s set in the same world, but two years after the events of the first game and with a mostly new cast of characters. You’ll be fine.
Chuloopa
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:51 AMNeat!!! Cheers G-man!
Corey Lee
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:08 AMBuy it and you’ll see why everyone goes nuts over it. It’s a beautiful game with anime-esqe characters are tolerable and wicked turn-based, real time gameplay.
Still, I wasn’t even aware this game was coming out this week. Reminds me of when the first game on PS3 was released and nobody at the time ever played it or could find a copy.
Stone
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:26 AMAs I do have a PS3 but haven’t played the original Valkyria Chronicles, is it safe to assume the first one is worth a look in before trying the sequel?
veddermandan
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:08 AMCase Zero is good but not great. The weapon combining isnt that great although the options are limited (not much stuff available to combine). It’s not as easy as it should be though, and it took a little while to work out.
Its really similar to the first Dead Rising. Heaps and heaps of zombies to kill, which is really fun. And it was pretty hard to kill them. Each zombie took around 3-4 hits to kill.
Will deffinatly keep the Zombie lovers happy for a while.
Is there a limit to killing endless amounts of zombies? I don’t think there is, and i am yet to find it.
NotoriousR
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:17 AM“Should You Care? It’s 360-exclusive, so PS3 owners should convince themselves they don’t care.”
Yeah….it’s going to be crap….nobody needs some stupid prologue……*sob*
matt30822
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:28 AMWhat’s This? A reason to buy one of my first PSP games in over 4 years? YAY!
Tom
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:41 AMDead Rising 2: Case Zero is a definite pickup. Not only will it get me hyped about the full title, but for 400MSP it’s a steal!
AdamD
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 9:47 AMI will probably end up getting Dead Rising 2 on PS3 but 400 points is way to good to pass up, even if it means missing out on whatever the prologue game will unlock.
Michael Barnes
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:13 AMCase Zero and Other M for me, Im interested in Hawx 2 but I wouldn’t pay rrp for it.
Strange
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:30 AMFinally more Valkyria Chronicles. Yay!
Probably pick up Case Zero as well. That price makes it almost impossible to refuse.
luis
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:52 AMWhat the fuck, i thought dead rising 2 was coming out on ps3?!
fuck me, at least i spent all my game money on the partner’s fuel supply. No money, no game, no sadness.
Chuloopa
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:08 AMIt is… just not the Prologue game… it’s an Xbox Live exclusive…
Steven Bogos
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:14 AMGoing to get DR2 prologue. Dead Rising is one of my favourite games, and IMO, the best 360 exclusive (yes, even better than Halo and Gears of War). Like people have said, 400ms is pocket change, If you have an Xbox and you don’t download this game, you’re missing out big time!
Metroid: Other M is something else I’ve pre-ordered and am looking forward to. From what I’ve heard, apart from a few issues surrounding the wii-mote only control scheme it’s a spectacular game!
Corey Lee
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:22 AMDead Rising is on Wii as well if memory serves me correctly.
But yeah, I’m interested in Other M. Saw gameplay for it on youtube and it looks like Team Ninja did a pretty ok job.
Chuloopa
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:41 AMNope.. what you’re thinking of is Dead Rising: Chop till you drop… which was a pretty average Wii take on the game, but not the same game. It also featured much less zombies and much more guns – and from what i’ve been told, less fun.
James Mac
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:50 AMOn the strength of the demo alone… I’ll be avoiding H.A.W.X.2 at least until my desire for anything close to another Ace Combat game gets the better of me.
I really didn’t enjoy Dead Rising… so I may pick up Case Zero to see if this is any better.
EzyLee
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:10 PMI’m picking up Rugby League Live.
Hahaha, who am I kidding, that game looks shit!
Joshua Brown
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:10 PMAll i want is F1 2010 this month, that is it. That game will be fantastic.
Daniel Tyler
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:24 PMI’m looking at my wallet and I want to cry
Braaains
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:56 PMI still don’t understand why they’d make the DR2 prologue 360-exclusive? Given that a lot of 360 owners have already played the original, they pretty much know what to expect. It’s the PS3 owners that haven’t played the first one that would need to be sold on the game since they haven’t already tried it.
Does anybody know if there will be a demo of DR2 itself? Or is the prologue thing a timed exclusive that will be released on PS3 later?
Sylerel
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 1:18 PMI’m waiting until the life-destroyer that is Civ 5 comes out later this month. Looking forward to the oneturnites.
Matthew Murphy
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 3:02 PMOther M looks cool but I’ll have to try it out first as I’m not sold on the control scheme.
Dead Rising 2, not remotely interested in this prologue but I may check out the full game when it comes out.
I’m getting Valkyria Chronicles II this week as I pre-ordered it off GAME’s online store for $64.
Sam Timmins
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 3:19 PMWell, it’s the 30th, and well past lunchtime.
Still no Case Zero for XBL.
Where is it Dave? O.o
David Wildgoose
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 4:42 PMCase Zero’s out on the 31st, so look for it to land tomorrow evening.
oggob
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 8:24 PMPulled at the last minute… No Case 0 for you!
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/08/30/dead_rising_2_case_0_delay/
Capcom announced today a last minute delay in the availability of Dead Rising 2 Case 0.
The Xbox 360-only precursor to Dead Rising 2 was scheduled to hit Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow (August 31). Capcom has now marked the game’s release date as TBA.
As reason for the delay, the company said that it discovered some things in the demo part of the game that would not be appropriate for a free sampler.
UPDATE 19:07:
Famitsu.com was told by Capcom that the Case 0 delay will not affect the retail release of DR2. Capcom also told the site that the issue at hand exclusively applies to the part of Case 0 that’s playable for free.
As for what exactly is wrong with the demo, Capcom did not get too specific, but the issue appears to involve violence content.
Steven Bogos
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 3:32 PMDave, When’s the actual release date of Case Zero in Aus? Some places are telling me August 31st, others are saying September 2nd.
David Wildgoose
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 4:42 PMIt’ll be out tomorrow evening. Not sure what time exactly though.
Choc
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 4:12 PMJust picked up NRL today from EB (to see if its alright, so street date smash dave, its out nationwide now.
YapoWapo
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 4:20 PMI put a pre-order own by trading in some games towards Metroid at EB. They had it out the back – the dude showed me a copy of it, and I held it, but alas I need to wait til Thursday :(