Two shades of family gaming come to the fore this week as another Hollywood blockbuster gets its usual videogame tie-in. Transformers 2 hits the movies this week and there’s a version of the game on every system you could possible own.
As you’d expect the majority of the titles carry a Teen rating, including the Wii. But the DS gets special treatment with two E-rated titles – Decepticons & Autobots. Each title is essentially the same and the only thing distinguishing the two versions is that you fight as a heroic Autobot in one and an evil Decepticon in the other.
On the other side of the coin, the less-than-successful Spore gets an expansion pack in the shape of some Galactic Adventures on the PC. This lets you create customizable quest-led adventures for your space-stage civilizations amongst other things. It also turns the game into a far more linear adventure experience than the open, evolutionary experience of the original. It seems to have more potential to appeal to a casual audience as many of the quests and tasks can be done quickly. The visuals were already appealing and streamlining this underrated game has my interest piqued.
Moving on to the handhelds we have Lego Battles released this week and carrying on the Lego videogame franchise. This time there’s no licensed involved and instead we have a Real-Time-Strategy game on our hands. Usually these types of games are complex and overwhelming experiences. But in the Lego world it appears to be far more accessible and easy to grasp. There’s still nothing quite like controlling Lego dudes in a videogame and this appears to be a perfect match for the DS.
Pick of the week – Lego Battles (DS)
US Release List
Wii
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (T)
Little League World Series 2009 (E)
DS
Lego Battles (E)
DinoPets DS (E)
Little League World Series 2009 (E)
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (T)
PSP
Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite (T)
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (E)
Pangya: Fantasy Golf (E)
PS3 & Xbox360
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (T)
PS2
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (T)
PC
Spore: Galactic Adventures (E)
UK Release List
Wii
Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (15)
Kidz Sports: Crazy Mini Gold (3+) – Compatible with Wii MotionPlus
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (PG)
Truck Racer (3+)
DS
Lego Battles (3+)
Guitar Hero: On Tour – Modern Hits (3+)
Classic Word Games (3+)
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (PG)
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (7+)
PSP
Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite (PG)
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (PG)
Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? (7+)
PS3 & Xbox360
Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (15)
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (PG)
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (7+)
PS2
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (PG)
Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (15)
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (7+)
PC
Spore: Galactic Adventures (12+)
