Mass Effect 3 (6th on 360, PS3 & PC)

I’ve stayed away from a lot of Mass Effect 3 stuff. I didn’t download the demo, I’ve steered clear of the spoilers about the “From Ashes” DLC and have almost completely abstained from anything Mass Effect-related. I haven’t even watched the above trailer yet. I think I only watched the voice actor video.

All that considered, I’ll be talking about this game quite a bit on episode 117 of the podcast. Stay tuned!

Street Fighter x Tekken (6th on 360 & PS3)

I remember back when Zelda, Spawn and Heihachi appearing in Soul Calibur 2 was a big deal. Now, there’s just full-blown combination games like this one of 2 of the most dominant fighting games of the past decade plus. Take elements that make both games great, a mix of characters and mash’em together. This game leans more heavily towards Street Fighters style, though a future Tekken x Street Fighter will be made later for those who prefer Tekken’s overall style.

There’s been a lot of anger over the recent reveal that the game’s 12 DLC characters are actually locked on-disc content. I think there’s a problem with DLC in that developers and consumers haven’t worked together enough to figure out a way to implement DLC that is both effective and fair. That being said, I think Capcom has been the worst about this in their fighting games by only making 1 costume included in discs and selling them in packs for a rather obscene price.

Journey (13th on PSN)

Thatgamecompany makes games that almost soothe the soul; I really enjoyed their sophomore effort Flower. After the heavy drama and intergalactic action of ME3 or the flying fists of Street Fighter x Tekken, Journey seems like a relaxing trip across a desert with amazing visuals (just spend a couple minutes watching the video). The online component is kind of unique since it purposefully does not allow communication and forces players to non-verbally work together.

PS Plus members (like myself) can download it on the 6th.

Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Storn Generations (13th on 360 & PS3)

It’s more Naruto fighting goodness, which is really the main thing I want to bring up. It’s in my opinion a great fighting franchise. Fun and energetic and beautiful to watch all the action, Naruto won’t quite get the proper recognition as a fighting game due to the fact that it’s based off an anime. The fighting anime games have come some way since the PSX Dragonball Z games, and CyberConnect2 should be respected for the fine job they’ve done with the Naruto games.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (20th on 360 & PS3)

steev: This is a hit or miss game for the Resident Evil franchise. I am interested in this game, but I am nervous to invest in such a huge deviation from the current games. RE is known for their stop and shoot game mechanics. It adds intensity to the game and makes you think more before attacking a horde. Once the reviews come out for the game then I might feel more confident, but as it stands I don’t have much interest in this game. However, I do like the idea behind the multiplayer, but I question whether or not it has the ability to bring players back for more. It only took RE5 six months for the multiplayer to become empty and with RE6 coming out later this year I can only imagine how fast this game’s multiplayer will go dead. That is really the mistake of RE:ORC. There shouldn’t be two major RE games in one year. If you are going to buy only one RE game this year, then stick to 6.

Ninja Gaiden 3 (20th on 360 & PS3)

For those of you that like your games tough and your cameras difficult to control, Ninja Gaiden 3 is for you. Going into Ryu’s past could be the best story in the series, and the extra gore should cover the screen in red.

Kid Icarus Uprising (23rd on 3DS)

My main reason for still having a 3DS. I remember Pit appearing at E3 2010 and just thinking how Nintendo had won E3, but things change so quickly. With as much fast-paced action going on, the Circle Pad Pro might be a necessary peripheral.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 still has yet to come out and there were some other games like Brave Default, but I’m not so sure if those are enough for me. I’ll just have to wait and see.

Other releases in March:

  • Unit 13 (6th on Vita)
  • MLB 2012 The Show (6th on PS3 & Vita)
  • MLB 2K12 (6th on all systems)
  • Mario Party 9 (11th on Wii)
  • Yakuza Dead Souls (12th on PS3)
  • Silent Hill HD Collection (20th on 360 & PS3)
  • Tiger Woods 13 (27th on 360 & PS3)