$20 Game of the Week

As I promised, this week I’m doubling up on the $20 GOTW. One game brings back something that hasn’t been seen since the days of the SNES: a pack in game. The other is yet another good gaming compilation that may seem familiar to some PSP owners. If you have yet to spend the money grandpa gave you for X-mas, here are a few good cheap games.

Wii Sports (Wii)
As you can see, I’ve chosen to take the easy way out. This game is free (with the purchase of a Wii), so how much more cheap can you get than that? For those of you who don’t keep up with gaming media, Wii sports is basically 5 minigames that utilize the hand and gesture movements of the Wiimote. You can choose from Baseball, Boxing, Bowling, Golf, and Tennis. Although the sports aren’t very deep on options (for instance, Tennis only offers doubles and Baseball is only 3 innings long and won’t let you field the ball), they still get quite addictive, and it’s an excellent way to get players introduced to the system as well as attract casual players. I hope EA and 2k sports are paying attention to the baseball and boxing, as they could easily improve on the playing mechanics here for next year’s editions of their sports titles.

Capcom Classics Collection Vol 2 (PS2, Xbox)
Capcom is arguably one of the most prolific developers and publishers in gaming. Thier track record goes back the the early 80s. Since then, they have produced many classic franchises such as Mega Man, Onimusha, Devil May Cry, and Final Fight. They revolutionized the fighting game genre with Street Fighter, and did the same for the survival horror genre with Resident Evil. Last fall, capcom released a compilation of their arcade hits, and now we have a follow up.

The major issue with this game obviously is that most of the games here appeared on “Capcom Classics Collection Remixed” which was released earlier this year on PSP. For those that played it, the only new games here are King of the Dragons, Knights of the Round (2 middle ages beat em ups with RPG style leveling up), Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and Ecco Fighters. The rest of the lineup, although it may seem familiar, isn’t bad at all however. It offers hits such as Strider, Captain Commando, Three Wonders, and Black Tiger. Also, new bonus features, such as remixed music, the ability to save anywhere, and a version of Quiz and Dragons that only deals with Capcom titles make up for any feelings of familiarity. Like the first title, this game is an excellent gift to give any old school fan, or if you want to show the kids what real games were like when you were young.