There’s not much in the way of quality new releases this week, unless that “quality’ is forgettable. Families with kids of Disney age may enjoy “Disney Sing It: Family Hits” (rated E, $40) on the Wii or PlayStation 3. It’s a karaoke game with the kind of stuff you’d expect such a game to have. But households without 10-year-old girls who like to sing might want to check out some of these older titles, all of which are on sale or got some sort of downloadable upgrade this week.
“Heroes of Newerth” (free to play this weekend on PC): This real-time strategy game based on the “Defense of the Ancients” scenario from “Warcraft III” is free to play until Monday. If you play stuff like “DotA” or Riot’s “League of Legends,” now’s probably the time to check it out. It’s even made my a studio with offices in Sonoma County.
“Castlevania: Harmony of Despair” (rated T, $15 Xbox Live Arcade download): This quirky throwback to 2D, side-scrolling “Castlevania” games of yore mixes it up by boasting six-player, online cooperative play. Even though it supports modern features such as online co-op and downloadable replays, the look of “Harmony of Despair” screams classic game. It’s got more 2D sprites than you can shake a stick at and a deliciously cheesy soundtrack. The reviews are, frankly, all over the place, but this is a game I’d happily try if I didn’t have a huge stack of stuff on my plate already. At $15, it’s probably going to have to be a sale purchase for me.
“ModNation Racers” (rated E, $60 for PS3): I enjoyed this kart-racing game that lets players design their own racers, karts and tracks, then share them online. One of the two major knocks I had against it was its insanely long load times. Well, Sony has finally patched the game, and Joystiq reports that the software fixes reduced loading times by a little more than 30 percent. Not bad, Sony.
“Eye of Judgment: Legends” (rated E10+, on sale for $15, PlayStation Network download for PlayStation Portable): The portable version of the PS3 cult hit is half-off this week. “EOJ: Legends” is a collectible card/strategy game where you summon monsters and do battle on a playing field that resembles a grid. It mercifully ditches the camera and cloth “game board” of its predecessor to show you all the action on-screen.
“Fat Princess” (rated T, on sale for $8, PlayStation Network download for PS3): This downloadable game plays like a capture the flag variant, with a princess substituting for the flag. The catch is that the team that’s captured the princess is feeding her cake, making her harder to evacuate.
