Christmas is fast approaching, and the weeks release line-up is, as always, filled with numerous movie tie-ins, cartoon tie-ins, and a few decent hopefuls. Highlights this week include MGS: Portable Ops, and Castlevania, Portrait of Ruin.

Each week, the staff on Video Game Chat will highlight certain games which, to them, seems like promising titles, and offer their own insight into their expectations for the game.

Now, on to the releases! Please note that some release dates may vary. They're fickle like that.

DEC 4th, 2006
Barnyard (Wii)
Cartoon Network Racing (PS2, DS)
Hard Rock Casino (PSP)
Lionel Trains On Track (DS)
Mercury Meltdown Remix (PS2)

DECEMBER 5, 2006
The Ant Bully (Wii)
Brothers in Arms D-Day (PSP)
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Fight Night Round 3 (PS3)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (Wii)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)
Rayman Raving Rabbids (PS2)
Star Trek: Legacy (PC)
Star Wars: Lethal Alliance (PSP)
Zatch Bell!: Mamodo Fury (GC)

DEC 6th, 2006
Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)
RoboBlitz (X360)
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (PSP)

DEC 7th, 2006
Eye Toy Play 3 And Spy Toy (PS2)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines (PS3)

DEC 8th, 2006
18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin' (PC)
State of War: Warmonger (PC)
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Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)
- Insight by Seph Stampede

Some time ago, I purchased a PSP. A terribly overpriced handheld, admittedly, but I had several reasons factoring into my decision to get it. One of those reasons is Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. It was only a year ago that I discovered the Metal Gear series. Sure, I’d heard about it, but when my friend forced me to play through Snake Eater, and subsequently the other ‘Solid’ titles, I was captivated.

The tragedy of Big Boss has always seemed an interesting plot point to me, and it’s said that Portable Ops will delver further into his character and explore his motivations which will eventually lead him from hero to terrorist. It’ll be great to see Big Boss develop, made all the more alluring thanks to David Hayter’s voice acting, and the artistic direction of Ashley Wood. It’s also the first canonical Metal Gear game to appear on the PSP. I apply this to gameplay as well as story. While the Metal Gear Acid games introduced an interesting new perspective on the series, the gameplay was hardly what the fans have come to love. Portable Ops not only offers the classic style, but adds an all new recruitment mechanic allowing players to build a team of operatives and lead tactical assaults. An unexpected move, granted, but one I imagine will turn out to be highly successful.

To say I look forward to Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is a gross understatement. I expect it will be an intriguing take on the series at the very least, and certainly a very interesting continuation of Big Boss's story.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
- Insight by Words of Ivory

Castlevania is a series that I've always had a personal fondness for, but even the most dedicated of fans can't deny that the series has taken a bit of a battering in the last few years, especially during its transition to 3D.

The 2D games have largely been relegated to handheld consoles, but this is no bad thing in itself - Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow are very solid games in any respect, even if they don't live up to the stardard of the PS1 classic, Symphony of the Night.

Portrait of Ruin's unique selling point is the capacity to switch between two seperate characters during gameplay, each possessing different skills. The idea, one would presume, is to allow for a greater degree of strategy - unless each character is balanced well enough though, with enough variety of moves, this may turn out to be nothing more than a poor alternative to Soma's extensive skills list in Dawn of Sorrow.

I guess we'll find out in a few days...

Tags : new releases : release dates

Comments

By: Dragonsoul On: 03:13 Dec 9th, 2006 Offline	I didn't even know half those games existed. I need to stay in the loop more. :lol: I really need to get into the MGS series. This particular game sounds interesting. I've always wanted to learn more about characters and what makes them who they are. I really don't know if I'd buy the PSP for it but still...Niiice. As for PoR well, it looks cool, especially because of the ability to use both characters--something I don't recall seeing in any Castlevanias. The handheld Castlevanias have been relatively successful in comparison to their 3D counterparts. As for the other games I can't say I have much of an interest in them. Who knows, though, eh?

By: Corrine On: 06:51 Dec 10th, 2006 Offline	I really wish Castlevania could find a way to make a beautiful 3-d game, because it has so much potential to be totally awesome. But I'm going to check out that new DS game because I like the 2-d games just fine. Not interested in the MGS thing however.