Here’s a look at what’s looking good this weekend, with an emphasis on new releases, sales or games that are otherwise relevant.
All your PlayStation 3 online games: As I’m writing this, service is slowly being restored across the PlayStation Network. The PSN isn’t completely back — you won’t be able to buy downloadable content, for example — but everyone in the U.S. should be playing games online soon, provided hackers don’t take the network down again. I’m looking forward to getting in some time with “Crysis 2’s” multiplayer, “Motorstorm Apocalypse,” “Mortal Kombat” and “SOCOM 4” in the coming weeks. How about you?
“Brink” (rated T, $60 for Xbox 360 and PS3, $50 for PC): As I laid out in my review this week, this game isn’t for everybody. If you’re looking for the next “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” you won’t find it here. But if you’re willing to put up with some bugs while Splash Damage and Bethesda Softworks fix them, you’ll find the makings of a fun, objective-based shooter that emphasizes teamwork in a way few games do. It’s still extremely buggy, but Bethesda applied a little salve to the wounds this week when it announced the game’s first downloadable content would be free as a sort of mea culpa.
“Lego Pirates of the Caribbean” (rated E10+, $50 on Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3, $40 on 3DS, $30 on DS and PlayStation Portable): I kind of got tired of the whole “Lego” franchise about four games ago, but if you haven’t grown weary of it — or if you have kids — the umpteenth game just came out this week. I still maintain that the best game released in the spirit of Legos is “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts,” which lets you build your own crazy vehicles to solve a number of challenges.
“BioShock 2” (rated M, $20 on Xbox 360, PS3 or PC) [review]: The downloadable content for my 2010 Game of the Year is half-off on Xbox Live Marketplace and, if you don’t have it, the game itself is on sale on Amazon for around $10 — a steal. Prices vary slightly by platform. As for the DLC, “Minerva’s Den” is pretty much a must-play, while “The Protector Trials” is an optional challenge-room-type deal.
“Borderlands” (rated M, $20 on Xbox 360): “The Secret Armory of General Knoxx” and “Claptrap’s Robot Revolution” add-ons are selling for $5, or half-off.
“Virtua Tennis 4” (rated E, $60 on PS3): I’m only listing the PS3 version because reviews suggest the core game hasn’t changed all that much from the last “Virtua Tennis.” “VT4,” however, does have 1:1 motion tracking of you use the PlayStation Move.
