Out This Week - 07/10/11
Rage! Dark Souls! NBA! Cursed!
It's been a long time coming. This week meaty shooter Rage emerges from the vaults of id Software - the makers of Doom, Quake and Castle Wolfenstein, no less.
But has id maintained its genre-changing level of quality? You'll be able to read Eurogamer editor Tom Bramwell's thoughts in our review tomorrow. There's also a talkthrough with him and yours truly on the way as well.
From the cutting edge of the FPS genre to a well-worn classic, the original Crysis arrives for PS3 and Xbox 360 this week, available to download for 1600 Microsoft Points or £15.99. It's a "modified and enhanced" version of the 2007 original's single-player campaign, with a few control tweaks and 3D support.
Also fighting for your money this week: Dark Souls - the rock hard recipient of 9/10 from Eurogamer earlier today. "Yes, the game is difficult and obtuse. But it is also simple and elegant, with intuitive controls and a snappy, unfussy interface," said reviews editor Oli Welsh.
Alternatively, Medieval hack and slash The Cursed Crusade also arrives on Friday. It has an evil Pope and Templar knights, if you like that sort of thing.
Xbox 360 gamers are due the delayed console version of Tropico 4, while Nintendo fans get Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, a continuation of the Pokemon-esque Dragon Quest sub-series.
It's another bustling week for virtual stores: co-operative stickup shooter Payday: The Heist arrives, as well as the honey badger-enhanced NBA Jam: On Fire Edition and goblin crowd-culler Orcs Must Die!
Sega oldies Space Channel 5 Part 2 and Sega Bass Fishing are scheduled to show their faces on XBLA tomorrow. Will they turn up on PS3 too? We'll have the final PSN launch list from Sony on Wednesday.
Update: Sony has announced a last-minute delay for Payday: The Heist - it will now launch later this month instead.
This Week in Shops!
Rage
- Developer: id Software
- Publisher: Bethesda
- Formats: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
What is it? id Software's long-awaited new shooter. What does Eurogamer think? Set your alarm clocks, Eurogamer's review will publish at 5.01am tomorrow morning.
Dark Souls
- Developer: From Software
- Publisher: Namco Bandai
- Formats: PS3, Xbox 360
What is it? Tough as nails dark fantasy role-player where you die an awful lot. What does Eurogamer think? "If entertainment is fun without failure and progress without pain, you'll have to find it somewhere else. But you'll be missing out on one of the best games of the year," Oli Welsh wrote in Eurogamer's 9/10 Dark Souls review.
What Else?
- Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DS)
- The Cursed Crusade (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Tropico 4 (Xbox 360)
- Crysis (PSN, Xbox Live Games on Demand)
- Sega Bass Fishing (XBLA)
- Space Channel 5 Part 2 (XBLA)
- NBA 2K12: (PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360)
- NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (PSN, XBLA)
- Orcs Must Die! (XBLA)
- Eufloria (PSN)
- PowerUp Heroes (Xbox 360 w/Kinect)
- Catrap (3DS Virtual Console)
Chart Predictions!
Each week one of the team steps up to foresee the future - to be specific, what next week's top five games will be in the UK all-formats chart. The following predictions are for the week beginning Friday, 7th October, to be reported the following Monday.
Tom Phillips, Website & Video Administrator, Eurogamer.net
"While Rage is sure to make a big splash, I can't see FIFA 12 unseated so soon. Still, the multi-platform id shooter should still beat platform-exclusive Gears 3 in its third week on sale. With plenty of positive scores behind it, Dark Souls will chart highly - but it is still a bit niche. It's a close call, but I think it'll squeak fourth ahead of F1 in fifth."
- FIFA 12
- Rage
- Gears of War 3
- Dark Souls
- F1 2011
Last week, Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley had a go. How did he do, loyal reader? Feast your eyes beneath.
| Position | The Truth | The Prediction | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIFA 12 | FIFA 12 | YES! |
| 2 | Gears of War 3 | Gears of War 3 | YES! |
| 3 | F1 2011 | F1 2011 | YES! |
| 4 | Zumba Fitness | Zumba Fitness | YES! |
| 5 | Dead Island | Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection | SO CLOSE! |
Your Chart Predictions!
Last week we asked you a tricksy question indeed - where FIFA would end up in this week's chart. But not FIFA 12 - no, we said FIFA 11. You were caught out in your droves, with 65 per cent of you predicting last year's effort would be top spot this week! Only 26 per cent of you read the question correctly, predicting a low chart finish. Teehee.
This time we'll make things plain and simple, as you obviously don't listen to a word we say banana. Where will Dark Souls chart next week?