TWiG 2008-09-22: The Established vs. The Innovative

de Blob for the Wii

Oh, oh yes, that…that’s nice. Look at all of those games coming out this week. And it’s only going to get busier. This is truly my favorite time of year.

When the release list starts to get as clogged up as this week’s looks, it tends to take something either well-established and highly anticipated or something innovative and head-turning to stand out from the pack. I’m happy to say that this week we have what looks to be a fine example of the latter, as THQ’s de Blob is released for the Wii. If Wikipedia is to be believed (and I’m prone to believing it), de Blob had its origins as a class project, got noticed by THQ, and got turned into a full-fledged retail game. The mechanic of it seems perfect fo the Wii, as you roll around your blob of an avatar, dipping yourself into paint cans and rolling all over a city gone monochrome. As you color the city, the music for that city slowly reveals itself, as painting the buildings and the scenery certain colors unlocks instrumental tracks that all fit together as theme music.

They even came up with
appropriately awful box art!

Those tired of the Wii’s innovation being reduced to added waggle must be thrilled to be getting something, from a third party no less, that actually manages to not look like something we’ve seen before. The last time a third party gave us something truly interesting-looking that would take advantage of the control scheme of the Wii was…Elebits, maybe? Needless to say, de Blob will be a welcome sight for Wii owners on the shelves of whatever stores they frequent.

On the more well-established side, it might be considered just a little bit insane just how much I’m looking forward to trying out Mega Man 9. Yes, I’m fully aware that it’s probably going to feel just like the other Mega Man games I’ve got sitting around for the NES. Yes, I’m also fully aware that I may break whatever controller I use to play the thing. Don’t care. Modern retro that actually tries to stay retro? No HD graphics, no remade levels, no pandering to modern gamers used to cakewalks? Yes, it’s just a completely new Mega Man adventure from the ground up. Sign me up.

Lego Batman on the Xbox 360

Lego Batman comes out for a pile of formats this week — they had me when they released the footage of Harley Quinn. A couple of non-traditional (read: no plain old cars allowed) racers are on the scene, as Baja: Edge of Control and Pure share shelf space and target audiences, and both look like they stand a decent chance of being rather entertaining. There’s also a little, tiny part of me that wants to get my hands on the Hamtaro game (with the properly nonsensical title of Hi! Hamtaro Ham-Ham Challenge). Remember Hamtaro? The hyperkinetic hamster that actually invaded the WB for a while? Oh, the memories, of staring at the television screen in slackjawed wonder/amusement/terror.

Obviously, there’s plenty coming out this week. What are you picking up? Scope out the full release list and a trailer for de Blob after…the jump.

PS2:

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009 (23 September)

Dragon Ball Z: Trilogy (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Pipe Mania (23 September)

SingStar Pop Vol. 2 (23 September)

Warriors Orochi 2 (23 September)

PS3:

Baja: Edge of Control (22 September)

Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway (23 September)

BUZZ! Quiz TV (23 September)

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009 (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Pure (23 September)

Wipeout HD (25 September)

PSP:

B-Boy (23 September)

Buzz! Master Quiz (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Pipe Mania (23 September)

Wii:

de Blob (22 September)

Mega Man 9 (22 September)

SimCity Creator (22 September)

Wario Land: Shake It! (22 September)

Battle Rage: The Robot Wars (23 September)

Brothers in Arms: Double Time (23 September)

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009 (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked (23 September)

Margot’s Word Brain (23 September)

Samba de Amigo (23 September)

Ultimate Shooting Collection (23 September)

Zoo Hospital (23 September)

DS:

Di-Gata Defenders (22 September)

DropCast (22 September)

Kirby Super Star Ultra (22 September)

SimCity Creator (22 September)

Barbie: Eye For Style (23 September)

Dinosaur King (23 September)

Disgaea DS (23 September)

Hi! HamTaro Ham-Ham Challenge (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Margot’s Word Brain (23 September)

My Japanese Coach (23 September)

My SAT Coach (23 September)

Pipe Mania (23 September)

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (23 September)

Shaun the Sheep (23 September)

Time Hollow (23 September)

Xbox 360:

Baja: Edge of Control (22 September)

Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway (23 September)

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009 (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Pure (23 September)

Warriors Orochi 2 (23 September)

Duke Nukem 3D (24 September)

Mega Man 9 (24 September)

PC:

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (22 September)

Barbie: Eye For Style (23 September)

Dark Horizon (23 September)

Everlight (23 September)

Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition (23 September)

Ford Racing: Off Road (23 September)

Hell’s Kitchen (23 September)

Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge (23 September)

King’s Bounty: The Legend (23 September)

Lego Batman (23 September)

Line Rider 2: Unbound (23 September)

The Price is Right (23 September)