Hopefully this Labor Day weekend finds you knocking back some cold beverages and enjoying delicious barbecue with family or friends. If you're like me, though, and not far from home, there's a little time for gaming, including the newest title in the gathering-friendly "Guitar Hero" franchise.
Some folks are already calling "Batman: Arkham Asylum" the greatest tie-in game ever. The fact that it's not directly tied to a movie release date or script probably has a lot to do with it.
"Shadow Complex" (rated T, $15 Xbox Live Arcade download): This downloadable title, the last of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade releases, looks better than anything releasing at retail this week. The two-dimensional shooter from Epic ("Gears of War") and Chair Entertainment ("Undertow") is styled after games like those in the "Castlevania" [...]
This week's What to Play pretty much begins and ends with the new "Madden NFL," which released Friday.
An extra long version of What to Play. Thanks to my recent computer woes and vacation, this week's installment features the highlights from the last three weeks.
You'd think with kids out of school for the summer, game publishers would be flooding the marketplace with quality titles looking to capture some of that summer job dollar. But you'd be wrong. "NCAA Football 10" is the only big retail release this week. Luckily, Sony and Microsoft are filling the void with some downloadable goodness.
Arcade baseball title "The Bigs 2" is the only big retail release, but a slew of new downloadable games plus a temporary sale of "N+" for $5 on Xbox Live keep things interesting.
The new release schedule is a bit light this week, but PC gamers should strongly consider downloading a massive bundle of 20 2K Games releases for a cool $54.
The Wii gets a first-person shooter that's said to have fantastic controls but lack heart. Over on the Xbox 360, the beta version of the Xbox Live game show "1 Vs. 100" is free to anyone with a 360 and a high-speed Internet connection through Sunday. "Fallout 3" gets another add-on on the PC and Xbox 360, and Electronic Arts rolls out the latest installment of its well-received boxing franchise.
The "Ghostbusters" game with appearances from most of the original cast members looms like a colossus over the gaming landscape this week. Plus, this console generation's first "Magic: The Gathering" card game comes to Xbox Live Arcade.