JOE’s Gaming Round Up

JOE's Gaming Round-up features the conundrum of whether to buy Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat this week, while Sonic the Hedgehog returns... again.

JOE

JOE’s Gaming Round-up features the conundrum of whether to buy Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat this week, while Sonic the Hedgehog returns… again.

By Emmet Purcell

Welcome to another week of JOE’s videogame round-up. As always, we’re looking to provide you with up-to-the-minute news, download reviews, weekly charts and forthcoming release dates on a weekly basis.

So if there’s anything you think we’re leaving out, or would like us to shine a spotlight on, feel free to leave a comment below.

News

Sonic Generations announced

The Sonic on the left has a lot to answer for…

Like a bunch of battered housewives, each year SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog fans believe that “this year, it’ll be different” and that the blue hedgehog will return to his past glories. Each year, such hope is dashed anew. Hence the announcement of Sonic Generations this week should be blithely dismissed, or at least viewed with suspicion. Rather annoyingly, however, it sounds great.

Designed to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog‘s 20th anniversary, Generations has players take control of one of two Sonics: the classic Mega Drive Sonic (who looks just like his early 1990s self) and today’s, less prolific Sonic. 90s Sonic’s gameplay consists of 2D levels, while modern Sonic’s gameplay has the 3D third-person gameplay that began with Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. Neat idea, eh?

Sonic Team veteran Takashi Iizuka couldn’t contain his excitement for Generations this week, stating, “For the past few years the Sonic team has been thinking about what they could do to celebrate Sonic’s twentieth anniversary. What they can do for the fans.

“We haven’t just been thinking about how to create a game for 2011, we have been thinking about how best to create a game for this single opportunity – and make the best of this opportunity and Sonic’s twentieth anniversary.”

Sony cease PSPgo production?

A great looking console that sadly never stood a chance

A Japanese blog run by a supposed Sony employee has suggested that the company’s ill-fated PSP revision, PSPgo, has ceased production. The console, which arrived in 2009, has suffered a tough time at retail since launch, with some stores refusing to stock the handheld as it lacks a UMD drive and depends on digital downloads only.

After an original report appeared on games daily Eurogamer, Sony contacted the site to rebut any such reports, stating, “Before the end of the year we are launching NGP, our next generation portable device, which we believe will revolutionise portable gaming.

“In the meantime, the current generation of PSPs continue to be in demand, especially since the introduction of our value for money, Essentials range of games and we will continue to meet that demand.” As you can see, Sony’s response neither confirms nor denys such rumours of production halts, which is more telling than anything in the actual statement itself.

Download of the Week

The Fancy Pants Adventure (800 MS Pts from Xbox Live Arcade, €10.00 from PSN)

Yes, the graphics are simplistic, but that’s the point!

Already a huge Flash hit, The Fancy Pants Adventure arrives on XBLA and PSN this week to an unsuspecting console audience. With a charming and fluid stickman art style and competitive side-scrolling gameplay, Fancy Pants is a riotious title that can best be described as a cross between Super Smash Bros and LittleBigPlanet. Who wouldn’t want to play that?

Friday Releases 22/04/11

The Laurel & Hardy of sci-fi tinged video games?

This week has been eagerly anticipated for plenty of reasons. Valve fans finally get their hands on what might be the future 2011 game of the year in the mind-bending, co-op-featuring Portal 2, while 1990s fighting fans get to revel in the glorious reboot of Mortal Kombat.

We’ve had extensive hands-on time with either and our suggestion to both series fans that can’t choose between both titles is simple – get both. Sure, it’s going to be an expensive Friday but early reviews suggest both developers haven’t let down their rabid fanbase one iota.

Out this Friday:

Xbox 360

The Fancy Pants Adventure (XBLA)

Mortal Kombat

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Portal 2

Section 8: Prejudice (XBLA)

Playstation 3

Mortal Kombat

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Portal 2

SOCOM: Special Forces