The Week In Games

We see a slight lull before the storm of next week, but there are still a few new releases to get excited about this week.

Guitar Hero: Metallica is something of a given for fans of the band and the series. Battlestations Pacific, Virtua Tennis 2009 and the new City of Heroes expansion are all solid.

For those anticipating the new Terminator game, however, you might want to try before you buy.

What are you picking up this week?

New releases for the w/c May 25:

Battlestations Pacific (360, PC)
What Is it? Flight/ship combat game with strategic overtones set in World War II’s Pacific theatre.
Should You Care? A solid entry in a seriously underpopulated genre, but perhaps better suited to the 360 than PC.

City of Heroes: Architect Edition (PC)
What Is it? Re-release of the superhero themed MMO now bundled with the user-generated content ability of the Architect add-on.
Should You Care? The Architect pack has proved a hit with existing players, so now would be a good time to get on board.

Guitar Hero: Metallica (360, PS3, PS2, Wii)
What Is it? Guitar Hero. But with Metallica. Oh, and some other bands. But mostly Metallica.
Should You Care? Beware of hand cramps caused by all the 8-minute songs.

Jewel Quest Solitaire (DS)
What Is it? The Solitaire card game mashed up with a match-three puzzle game.
Should You Care? No idea if it’s any good, but the theory seems sound.

Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper (PC)
What Is it? Old-school point-and-click adventuring.
Should You Care? For diehard genre fans only.

Sports Island 2 (Wii)
What Is it? Another mini-game waggle-thon on the Wii.
Should You Care? Sigh.

Terminator Salvation (360, PS3, PC)
What Is it? Third-person shooter with obligatory cover mechanic based on the imminent new Christian Bale movie.
Should You Care? This (very) poor man’s Gears of War is barely worth a rental, even for Terminator fans.

Virtua Tennis 2009 (360, PS3)
What Is it? Waggle-free version of Sega’s veteran racquet and ball simulation.
Should You Care? Everyone needs a good tennis game and, if you don’t have Top Spin, get this.