Early Swirly – New Releases This Week: 12-13-2010

Another light load of new releases as we hit the mid-point of December.   The good buys this week come mostly via the online stores.  Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam and Europa Univeralis III: Divine Wind are both expansions for their respective original titles. LittleBigPlanet loves get to lick their chops with Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves.  Plus, we get plenty of nostaliga with the Super Mario Bros. All-Stars collection and the long-awaited downloadable release of X-Men: The Arcade Game.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam – Microsoft Windows (PC), Playstation 3 (PS3), Xbox 360

Downloadable content (DLC) can sometimes not be worth the price of admission with shooter games, but Vietnam comes with  15 new weapons, 6 new vehicles and  4 (eventually 5) new multiplayer maps.

“Skimming the treetops in your helicopter, Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” blasts through its loudspeakers. Down in the jungles and rice fields below, the enemy is waiting for a chance to take you down with their T54 tanks and RPG launchers. Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 just made the journey to a new place and time — back to the 60′s and the infamous Vietnam War.”

Find out more about it here: Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Europa Universalis III: Divine Wind – Microsoft Windows (PC)

Much like the Civilization series, Europa Univeralis is focused around history and is not for everybody.  For many, there are much better ways to spend their gaming hours but we don’t judge our community (especially because they help pay our bills…via Google ads and buying stuff on Amazon through our site…no shame in plugging advertisements).

Some of the expansion features: “New graphical style, with detailed and beautiful map, including lots of new provinces. Play as any of the four major daimyo’s in Japan and vie for influence over the Emperor and control over the Shogunate. Enhanced diplomacy, with more options for alliances and peace negotiation. Dozens of new culture-specific types of buildings, where you have greater control over the development of your provinces. More realistic development of trade, with control over strategic resources giving bonuses.”

Find out more about this expansion at the Official Website.

Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves - Playstation Network (PSN)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2X4njSFv8s

This little demo for what LittleBigPlanet lovers are going to get in LittleBigPlanet 2 is for the Playstation Move only unfortunately.  Those who already preordered or plan on getting LBP2 should know that this stand alone game comes with LittleBigPlanet 2 (January 18, 2011). Also note: this is a stand alone title that does not require you to own LittleBigPlanet or LittleBigPlanet 2…which you should own.

“Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves contains a brand new 10 level theme – a dinosaur dominated land where the Evil Big Rex is king. You are on a mission to take on challenges engineered by Terrance Dactyl – and you’re going to need help. So put on your bear skins and grab up to four mates to navigate the tricky terrain of tropical jungle and erupting volcanoes – the player with the PlayStation Move controller leads the way, flicking switches and triggering platforms to help the others, using DualShock Controllers, through each level.”

LittleBigPlanet fans can enjoy this appetizer, but the main event comes January 2011.

Super Mario Bros. All-Stars (25th Anniversary Edition) – Nintendo Wii
Included in the bundle is Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3.  This pack was originally released on the SNES, and for Wii owners who haven’t already bought these games, this might be worth picking up.  It is very late in the game for such a bundle to come out, but when you are honoring the great Mario you have to accept it for what it is.  Now if only Link could get some love so we wouldn’t see situations like this.

“Rediscover classic Mario™ memories with the Super Mario All-Stars™ Limited Edition package. Packed with exciting content, it’s a must-have collectible for any Mario fan—available at a great value and for a limited time only. Check out never-before-seen original artwork, and reading revealing interviews with series creators [and] 20 tracks of classic Mario music and sound effects”
You won’t find much more about this bundle at the official website, but we will supply it anyway: Super Mario Bros. All-Stars.

X-Men: The Arcade Game – Playstation Network (PSN), Xbox Live Arcade (XBL)

When the Ninja Turtles arcade game hit Xbox Live, half of the arcade rats were satisfied.  For many longtime gamers, this one is a long time coming.  Over the years, we have all yearned for the powerful cry of Colossus. With the wait finally over, both old and new gamers can enjoy one of the best arcade games to be released over the past 30 years.

“Experience the classic 1992 X-Men arcade game right in the comfort of your own home! Choose from some of your favorite classic X-Men characters including: Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, or Dazzler. Fight your way through hundreds of Sentinels and battle classic super villains such as Pyro, The Blob, Wendigo, Nimrod, The White Queen, Juggernaut, Mystique and the Master of Magnetism himself, Magneto!”

If only we knew how to type out Colossus’s scream: X-Men: The Arcade Game

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