The January Drought

[Velorath]

While February should actually see a number of games released (DMC4, Lost Odyssey, possibly Smash Bros. and Left 4 Dead, Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power, Twisted Metal: Head On, Baroque, Culdcept Saga, etc...), which games being released in the post-Christmas dead zone of January might actually be worth a purchase?

The release schedule for the month is as follows (might edit this later to drop in developers):

Xbox 360:

1/8
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
NFL Tour

1/22
Burnout Paradise


Playstation 3

1/8
NFL Tour

1/22
Burnout Paradise


Playstation 2

1/8
World Champion Paintball
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Beginning of Destiny
Harvey Birdman
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel

1/29
Iridium Runners


PSP

1/8
Harvey Birdman

1/15
FlatOut: Head On

1/22
Rainbow Islands Revolution

1/29
Bomberman Land
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice


Wii

1/2
Classic British Motor Racing
Rig Racer 2
Monster Trux Offroad

1/8
Harvey Birdman
Kidz Sports Ice Hockey
Kidz Sports International Soccer
Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

1/15
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence
Furu Furu Park
Nitrobike
Samurai Warriors Katana

1/18
London Taxi: Rush Hour

1/22
Endless Ocean
Kawasaki Jetski
One Piece Unlimited Adventure
No More Heroes

1/29
Bomberman Land


DS

1/21
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

1/23
Mega Brain Boost

1/30
Pet Pals: Animal Doctor


PC

1/8
Sims: Carnival BumperBlast
Sims: Carnival SnapCity

1/10
Sam & Max -- Season 2 Episode #2: Moai Better Blues

1/15
Carrier Strike Force
History Channel: Lost Worlds
FlatOut: Head On
Battlefield 2142 Deluxe Edition
Rail Simulator

1/22
Pirates of the Burning Sea
Mission: WWI Combat

1/29
Sims 2: Castaway Stories

[Velorath]

Personally, I'll at least be picking up Burnout (although even as a fan of the series, the demo didn't do a lot for me.  From what I've heard of the Kingdom Under Fire series, they tend to be pretty average, though in a month like this, that might be enough to get my money if I get bored enough.  POTBS didn't grab me enough in the beta to get me to purchase a retail copy.

Oh, and no fewer than 6 of those Wii titles are budget games being shoveled out by Destineer.

[Azazel]

Burnout is the only thing on that list that holds any interest for me.

Not that this is a bad thing, I have too many unplayed games as is.

[schild]

The demo for Burnout made me completely uninterested. Will let Ookii decide on that one.

[Velorath]

I need to get around to downloading the Kingdom Under Fire demo off of Live at some point.  Sounds like it might be a decent game if you like co-op.

[Ookii]

Those motherfuckers made Burnout like fucking GTA or Test Drive Unlimited or some shit.

I DO NOT WANT TO DRIVE MY CAR TO THE REPAIR SHOP, IT'S BURNOUT FOR GODSAKES.

[schild]

And there we have our answer.

[Riggswolfe]

Edit: Wrong thread. D'oh!

[Jain Zar]

Rainbow Islands should be a good pickup.

And I could swear the game series crafted by God's own hands, Advance Wars, is due for the DS on the 21st...

[Velorath]

Rainbow Islands should be a good pickup.

And I could swear the game series crafted by God's own hands, Advance Wars, is due for the DS on the 21st...

Looks like you're right.  I was checking multiple release dates lists, and a couple of them apparently didn't list it, but I'll edit it in.

[Moaner]

The Burnout demo seemed like a mixed bag to me.  I like the way the cars handle now and the graphics are nice.  But, no retry sucks ass and the stunt shit seems stupid.  I hope the full game is better because I'll probably pick it up to play online with my Burnout-crazed friend.

For some reason I thought DMC4 was a January release.   

[sidereal]

I need to get around to downloading the Kingdom Under Fire demo off of Live at some point.  Sounds like it might be a decent game if you like co-op.

I did and was sad.  I didn't do any research but assumed that it would be a sequel to (duh) KuF: Crusaders and Heroes, which were very fun tactical games with armies and formations and FLAME ARROWS and other goodness.  This new thing is an 'action RPG' and. . yeah, whatever.  What the fuck?

[Margalis]

Endless Ocean sounds kind of neat and relaxing, don't know much about it though.

I'm not digging the new visual style of Advance Wars but the other games are great so who knows.

[Azazel]

And there we have our answer.

I may have to try out the demo. Test Drive Unlimited? Drive to the repair shop? GTA?

[schild]

You drive around a city like GTA or TDU and you find missions. And then you do them. Instead of being the penultimate car crash arcade game, burnout is Just Another Racing Game now.

[Azazel]

Hm, this is a potentially bad thing. Even though the different editions could be slightly better or worse, Burnout was usually a pretty safe bet. Time to check that demo...

[Velorath]

The Burnout demo seemed like a mixed bag to me.  I like the way the cars handle now and the graphics are nice.  But, no retry sucks ass and the stunt shit seems stupid.  I hope the full game is better because I'll probably pick it up to play online with my Burnout-crazed friend.

For some reason I thought DMC4 was a January release.   

DMC4 is Feb. 5th, so not too much longer (although I personally don't know whether or not I'll pick it up.

As for Burnout, I don't really like how they replaced Crash Mode with stunts.  Crash Mode was the reason I bought the last two Burnout games because it's one of the few "party games" that I've really gotten into.

[HaemishM]

You drive around a city like GTA or TDU and you find missions. And then you do them.

Gah, that's one of the things that pissed me off about Midnight Club 3 and Need for Speed: Carbon. I wanted to race, not drive around aimlessly to find a place to race. Not every game needs to be GTA.

[Morfiend]

You drive around a city like GTA or TDU and you find missions. And then you do them.

Gah, that's one of the things that pissed me off about Midnight Club 3 and Need for Speed: Carbon. I wanted to race, not drive around aimlessly to find a place to race. Not every game needs to be GTA.

Amen brother. I think free roaming games should stick to games where you can get out of your car.

[Rendakor]

I like free roaming racing games. GTA clones never have a) good enough racing controls or b) upgradeable/customizable cars. I like "driving fast" more than "racing" I suppose.

[Strazos]

I need to get around to downloading the Kingdom Under Fire demo off of Live at some point.  Sounds like it might be a decent game if you like co-op.

I did and was sad.  I didn't do any research but assumed that it would be a sequel to (duh) KuF: Crusaders and Heroes, which were very fun tactical games with armies and formations and FLAME ARROWS and other goodness.  This new thing is an 'action RPG' and. . yeah, whatever.  What the fuck?

WTF?

[Velorath]

I need to get around to downloading the Kingdom Under Fire demo off of Live at some point.  Sounds like it might be a decent game if you like co-op.

I did and was sad.  I didn't do any research but assumed that it would be a sequel to (duh) KuF: Crusaders and Heroes, which were very fun tactical games with armies and formations and FLAME ARROWS and other goodness.  This new thing is an 'action RPG' and. . yeah, whatever.  What the fuck?

WTF?

Yeah, I'd much rather have a tactical game than an action RPG.  Still... 4 player co-op action rpg during a slow month, from a developer that has a track record of games that are at least mostly average.  Logically though, I know I should just save my money for February, which is going to be a big month (I've put together a release date list for Feb. too, but I'll post it up later in the month).

[Velorath]

No More Heroes is being given an earlier than expected release, and is now scheduled for Jan. 22.