The Hidden Review 2007

Also in keeping with Christmas tradition, here's the best and worst of 2007:

Best overall game - Okami

This game which is compared to many of the Zelda games is just sublime. The graphics and the music go a long way into making this a complete package and the gameplay elements fit together to create a 40 hour adventure that I personally will never forget. The fact that it's coming to the Nintendo Wii ensures that it will have another crack at the market. I just hope it isn't ruined because this game doesn't deserve a bad port with Wii controls added on just because we all want it.

Best PS2 game - Okami

Pest PSP game - Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

A game of Bejeweled mixed with RPG elements. The concept sounds crazy but the game was as addictive and many hours can be lost to just walking the map. An essential buy for handheld owners.

Best DS game - More Brain Training

I'll admit that I haven't had much of a chance to use my new DS but this is the big highlight of the console. I enjoyed it immensely and played it religiously. 42 All Time Classics deserved to win this but it was out in 2006 and doesn't qualify...

Best Wii game - Wii Sports

As with the DS, I haven't had much of a chance to play the Wii either but as with Brain Training, I also played Wii Sports religiously. It probably shouldn't win as it was out last year but it's tricky to judge when it is released so close to Christmas!

Biggest Disappointment - Final Fantasy XII

The story was poor and the battling was plain boring. Maybe I expected too much of this game. I had every right to be as it's been out for so long in the US. However, that doesn't excuse the lack of fun I had playing this game.

PSP in the future - Patapon
DS in the future - The World Ends With You
PS2 in the future - Odin Sphere
PS3 in the future - Little Big Planet
Wii in the future - Zack & Wiki
360 in the future - Infinite Undiscovery

That's the review complete. Unless some ground breaking news comes up, this is the last post of 2007 (minus the weekly review). See you in 2008!

Have a great Christmas and a happy new year!

HiddenAway

The hidden game guide 2008

It's that time of year. Stockings are filled, presents are opened, special nativity plays are run and it's freezing cold. So, what better time than now to look at the games you should be looking at next year! Here are some of the "less famous" games that you can look forward to next year!

Patapon - PSP - Early 2008

Okami - Wii - 2008

Odin Sphere - PS2 - First half 2008

Everybody's Golf 5 - PS3 - First half 2008

Zack & Wiki - Wii - January 2008

Little Big Planet - PS3 - Late 2008

The World Ends With You - DS - Spring 2008

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - DS - February 2008

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - DS - First half 2008

Echochrome - PS3/PSP - 2008

Also, we hope to hear more about:

ICO 3 - PS3 - 2009
Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 2009/2010
White Knight Story - PS3 - 2010
Steambot Chronicles 2 - PS3 - 2009
Galactrix - No known formats - 2008/2009
Nobi Nobi Boy - PS3 - 2009
Operation: Darkness - XBox360 - 2009
Valkyrie of the Battlefield - PS3 - 2009
The Last Remnant - PS3/XBox360 - 2009/2010
Infinite Undiscovery - XBox360 - 2009/2010

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core arrives in March for the US

A quick post to announce that for the importers among you, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will be released in the US on 25th March 2008. The game, when coincided with the release of a special edition PSP Lite and the release of the PSP Lite itself, sold quite a lot of copies in it's first 2 weeks.

Also announced for the US were the following:

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors - Wii - 26th February 2008
Final Fantasy Crystal Cronicles: Ring of Fates - DS - 11th March 2008
The World Ends With You - DS - Spring 2008

Source: Kotaku

Trailers: Patapon blow out

There's no denying it. I absolutely can't wait for Patapon. At all. I've been waiting too long. Have I made that clear yet? It's getting so hard waiting for this that I'm going to link to IGN! Have some short fun videos from me! If you only watch one, make it the last one. Tree dancing wins!

Kill the beast!



Game Introduction



The Dancing Tree!

Last week (10th to 16th December)

Christmas is coming and news is scarce. However, there was still something to shout about. Yes, Patapon has been confirmed for Europe and the US in around February 2008. Then, a trailer of Disgaea 3 showed up, a game where the maximum level is 9999 and the damage limit is err uncountable! Sony then gave us more good news as Everybody's Golf 5 for the PS3 was finally confirmed for Europe and the US. How can it take so long to localise a golf game?! Finally, the final (judging by lack of exciting releases next week and the week after) UK release list of 2007.

This week's UK releases (14th to 20th December)

Every Thursday, I report on what is being released this week on all consoles. Releases are subject to last minute delays and changes.

PLAYSTATION 3
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion - Game of the Year

WII
The Legend of Spyro - The Eternal Night

PLAYSTATION 2
Mr Bean

PC GAMES
Space Force - Captains
The Golden Compass

PSP
Beowulf
Disgaea - Afternoon of Darkness
The Golden Compass
Wipeout Pulse

Source: Eurogamer

Everybody's Golf 5 chips up to Europe and US

It's been almost an eternity for this game to arrive after the Japanese release but the wait is almost over. The US recently announced that EG5 (Hot Shots Golf 5 in the US) was coming out in March 2008 and Sony Europe also confirmed that they hope to bring the game here around the same time. EG5 is the PS3 incarnation of the great EG series and supports online play (so did EG4 on the PS2 but I didn't have online facilities back then).

Source: Eurogamer

Trailer: Disgaea 3 trailer

This trailer is apparently on the Japanese PSN so you may get some better quality there. For those of us who are just dreaming about PS3's and Disgaea, we'll have to make do with a Gametrailers trailer...

Oh, and remember that PSP fans can get a dose of Disgaea this week when Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is unleashed on Friday.



Source: NeoGAF

Edit: Gametrailers have the new trailer up and I trust their quality a lot more than Youtube obviously...

Jealousy ensues as Patapon is up for US release in February [Update: Europe too]

The American people can celebrate hard as Patapon was given a release (month) date of February 2008. The game, from the makers of LocoRoco, sees the little Patapon characters fighting all sorts of things based on the sounds of drums. It's up to you to direct them on how to fight or advance.

Annoyingly, there's no confirmation of a European release yet (hence the jealousy) but you certainly shouldn't be worried. This news story did come after SCEE went home for the night. Surely it'll be announced tomorrow. Please?!

[Update: The game has been confirmed for Europe in "a similar time-frame" to the US version. It is fully confirmed for Europe, delayed or not]

Source: Joystiq, Eurogamer

Last week (3rd to 9th December)

Well, with Christmas coming up, news stories are thin on the ground. This week did see the rolling Square-Enix train of releases continue with a European release announcement of the previously titled "It's a Wonderful World" (now called "The World Ends With You"). Then, there was more clarification of the Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings release date for Europe as it was apparently put at 15th February 2008. The week was helped along with the first official trailer for Patapon which comes out in Japan this month. Finally, we had a standard list of this week's UK releases.

This week's UK releases (7th to 13th December)

Every Thursday, I report on what is being released this week on all consoles. Releases are subject to last minute delays and changes.

PLAYSTATION 3
Medal of Honor - Airborne
SingStar
Timeshift
Uncharted - Drakes Fortune
World Series of Poker - Battle of the Bracelets

XBOX 360
Dancing Stage Universe
Soldier of Fortune - Payback

WII
Alan Hansen Sports Challenge
Alvin and The Chipmunks
Catz
Cheggers Party Quiz
Cranium
Dogz
Pokemon Battle Revolution
Tomb Raider - Anniversary
Who Wants to be a Millionaire

PLAYSTATION 2
Alvin and The Chipmunks
Mr Bean
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force Evolution

PC GAMES
Juiced 2 - Hot Import Nights
Soldier of Fortune - Payback
Sudden Strike 3
The Golden Compass

DS
Alvin and The Chipmunks
MYST
Steel Horizon
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
Warhammer 40000 - Squad Command

PSP
NBA Live 08
Pimp My Ride
Pursuit Force - Extreme Justice
SOCOM: Tactical Strike
Sonic Rivals 2
Telly Addicts
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2

Source: Eurogamer

Trailer: Official Patapon trailer [Updated]

The official Patapon website had a huge update recently, and includes a new video of the game. Unfortunately, it took me a few attempts to finally watch it all from the site (thank goodness for VideoLAN). From what I could see though, there was a lot to do and a lot to think about. The game is released in Japan on 20th December 2007. A February release is rumoured for Europe.

To get to the trailer, go to the website, click "Enter", then click the special menu (hover over the bottom part of the pop-up to see the menu) and click Movie. Good luck loading it!

[Update: Gametrailers video embedded below!]

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings release date fully set

More news from the RPG giants, Square-Enix as they fully confirmed the release date for FFXII: Revenant Wings. The game was already set for a 2008 release in Europe but now it looks to be coming on February 15th 2008. Start planning some time off!

Source: Pocket Gamer

It's a Wonderful World when Square-Enix like Europe

You heard that right everyone. It's A Wonderful World is approaching Europe in Spring 2008. Except it's not going to be called that. Nope, it's instead going to be called "The World Ends With You".

Ugh. Oh well, at least it's coming. I was a little worried when things went quiet...

Source: Cubed3

Last week (26th November to 2nd December)

Well, in comparison to last week's "last week", this won't take very long.

The week started with a 30 second teaser of Fragile, a new post apocolyptic RPG for the Wii. Then came news of Coded Soul coming to the PSP, with hints of a link-up to PS3's Folklore. Then we had a slew of releases from the UK.

Arguably the biggest news of the week was the announcement that Square-Enix were bringing over Odin Sphere for the Europeans in early 2008. This 2D-ish RPG, while criticised for its slowdown during major battles, has been receiving a lot of praise for the graphical style and gameplay. Finally, there was the introduction video from Yggdra Union for the PSP. Although, you shouldn't be seduced by the graphics exhibited in the trailer, I don't mind if you get seduced by the music which is the best I've heard from a trailer for a while.