Out This Week – 11/02/2011
TDU2! Stacking! Explodemon!
It's another low-key week for shops – but if you're hungry for something specific we may have a morsel of interest.
The headline new release is undoubtedly Atari Europe's long awaited racing simulation Test Drive Unlimited 2, from French studio Eden Games. The PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game is set on an open world tropical island packed with rich people. You're one of them. Vroom.
Elsewhere, the PlayStation 3 section of your local videogame shop should house at least one copy of Tecmo Koei oddity Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll. The action RPG is from Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force, so there's a pedigree of sorts behind it. But come Friday will it be more a case of Zill LOL? Yes, I've waited all week to say that.
And finally, it's a decent week for digital download fans. The latest from Tim Schafer's studio Double Fine is Stacking, which PlayStation Plus members get for free. PS3 owners are in for extra downloadable goodness with Explodemon!, the retro platformer from Curve studios.
This Week in Shops!
Test Drive Unlimited 2
- Developer: Eden Games
- Publisher: Atari Europe
- Formats: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
What is it? Open world simulation racer that's heavy on customisation and feeling bling. What does Eurogamer think? Oli went hands-on with Test Drive Unlimited 2 in November. "No other racer offers such a romantic, indulgent celebration of the open road," he said. "And no other racer has hairdressers, either." A review is scheduled to go live at 5pm UK time tomorrow, Tuesday 8th February.
What Else?
- Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll (PS3)
- Stacking (PSN, XBLA)
- Explodemon! (PSN)
- Winter Sports 2011 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
- Dr Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercise (Xbox 360, requires Kinect)
Chart Predictions!
Each week one of the team will step up to predict the UK all-formats chart. The following predicts the outcome for the week beginning Friday 11th February (to be reported on Monday 14th January).
Tom Phillips, Website & Video Administrator, Eurogamer.net
"Dead Space 2 looks happy to stick around and join FIFA, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty in their game of musical chairs for places in the top five - leaving a sparkling new entry the only way the chart's upper entries could see real change. But not this week. While plucky Stacking flies the flag for downloadable originality, this week's headline title is Test Drive Unlimited 2 - an odd beast with all the promise of a Need for Speed title, but the Ibizan flavour of a budget Thomas Cook holiday and the basic handling of a Fisher Price Sit n' Ride toy."
- FIFA 11
- Dead Space 2
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Just Dance 2
Eurogamer Reviews Editor Oli Welsh peered into his crystal ball last week. We've made a fancy table to show how he did.
| Position | The Truth | The Prediction | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Space 2 | Dead Space 2 | YES! |
| 2 | FIFA 11 | FIFA 11 | YES! |
| 3 | Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Call of Duty: Black Ops | WRONG! |
| 4 | Call of Duty: Black Ops | LittleBigPlanet 2 | WRONG! |
| 5 | LittleBigPlanet 2 | Mario Sports Mix | WRONG! |