Quantcast

The games of summer 09

Beat the heat with GR's sunny suggestions

Words: Shane Patterson, GamesRadar US

JULY


THE BIG PICK

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger –PS3
Release date: June 30 (that’s almost July)

 
You might wonder why we chose a game you’ve likely never heard of as our top pick for July. Let’s drop some truth bombs on you. BlazBlue is a new 2D fighter from Arc System Works, better known as the geniuses behind the ultra-crazy Guilty Gear games. If you were a fan of those, then you know to expect tight gameplay and gorgeous visuals.

 
BB meshes high resolution character art and breathtaking 3D backdrops seamlessly, thereby pushing the limits of what 2D fighters can achieve. Street Fighter IV made the leap into full 3D earlier this year (and last year in the arcades), which is why we’re almost sure BlazBlue will go overlooked. Do us a favor and check this one out.

WHAT ELSE?

Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1 – Wii, PC
Release date: July 7

 
Older gamers should definitely be excited for a trip back to when games were legitimately funny with a new Monkey Island adventure. But the best thing is that we get two MI games this summer. First, Tales is an episodic game from Telltale Games. You might remember Telltale from its work on the Sam & Max games, as well as Strongbad and Wallace & Gromit. We know. It’s not LucasArts, but check out this FAQ on the the official site explaining the Telltale team’s hilarious defense [http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland/faq]. Also, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be released at an undisclosed date this summer for Xbox Live and PC.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled - Xbox Live
Release date: July 22

 
Another throwback to an older game, TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (also known as the best Turtles game ever from the SNES) gets an HD upgrade and looks more than excellent. Seriously, we played that shit for hours. It’s one of the best beat-em-ups ever made and is set up for four players to bound through the Big Apple, laying waste to multi-colored foot clan soldiers and classic bosses like Krang (in the weird human suit), Tokka and Rahzar (from the second movie) and Super Shredder. Buy it.

Wii Sports Resort – Wii
Release date: July 26

 
As of March 2009, Wii Sports is the best-selling video game of all time with 45.71 million copies sold. ALL TIME. That is insane. And while we at GR have grown considerably cool towards the Wii and its playable disc of tech demos, we can’t deny the unbelievable popularity of the first Sports release. Besides being bundled with the system (in America at least), the game’s charm lies within its simplicity. Sports Resort is kind of a sequel to the first game, contains 12 games this time and comes bundled with Wii Motion Plus, that little dongle that should’ve given the Wii Remote 1:1 capability almost three years ago.

DON'T FORGET

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? – PSP
Release date: July 7

 
A dungeon creator where you play as the bad guy, raising minions to destroy the good guy? Hell yes. A demo is out on the PlayStation Network right now. Try it.

NCAA Football 10 – Probably a bunch of systems, probably
Release date: July 14


Above: Go Trojans! 

Not sure why EA Sports games are given such a bad rap by most folks, considering they sell millions each year and bring tons of money into the video game industry. Add to that, but games such as NCAA Football extend the gaming demographic to a higher age (like mid-30s for example) without needing to add silly motion controls to sell well. Oh, NCAA contains the new Season Showdown enabling you to compete against online opponents for credits and TeamBuilder, where team customization hits a new level of extreme.


 
58 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
MechGyver  - 5 months 11 days ago 
There“s no better time to be spent loked inside home playing video games than Summer...01010110101...1o1....
RebornKusabi  - 5 months 11 days ago 
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 bitches!
RebornKusabi  - 5 months 11 days ago 
Ah, Binary- I hate you so goddamn much that it drove me to switch my degree courses to get around you.

So long Computer Security and Computer Programming, hello Information Technology!
jballboy88  - 5 months 11 days ago 
AHHH!!!! FOR BEATLES ROCK BAND YOU GUYS FORGOT TO LABEL IT FOR PS3 ALSO!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!
iluvmyDS  - 5 months 11 days ago 
FOUR PAGES?! How can I possibly read all that.

Joking.
iluvmyDS  - 5 months 11 days ago 
My god I'm excited for Turtles In Time, I NEED a good beat-em-up.
iluvmyDS  - 5 months 11 days ago 
I will argue that Scribblenauts will be one of the best DS games of '09.
crumbdunky  - 5 months 11 days ago 
I might share some enthusiasm for Shadow Complex if Cliffy hadn't looked and sounded so MONUMENTALLY bored when he showed us it at E3.

And will I break Scibblenauts if I want to tke on every puzzle using words like tits, ass and nob? 'Cos I assure you THATS what EVERYONE will want to do.

And I don't counr September as summer and you should know that. In fact, being English, I'm, unsure about the existence of this season at all.
thor0997  - 5 months 11 days ago 
I love some Overlord. It was simple action and story but I love the Minions. Funny little ass holes that they are.
Cyberninja  - 5 months 11 days ago 
im going to buy the bundle for fan service the game since i dont have a psp yet that plus the new souliclaibur my is going to have some copition that plus birth by sleep is for psp
nik41507  - 5 months 11 days ago 
11TH!!
NeoKef  - 5 months 11 days ago 
1600 for Marvel vs Capcom 2? I was hoping it would be cheaper since SSFIITHR was 1200 points and 800 for the original SSFII. While the original Soul Calibur (sorry if I misspelled) is 1200 and the Special Edition of Fatal Fury for 400 points.
FierceDeity  - 5 months 11 days ago 
ahahah take you for a ride
MvC2 was so bloody awesome
Ded  - 5 months 11 days ago 
I thought BlazBlue was on the 360 as well..? I'm still hoping for a Europe release :( sigh.
Unoriginal  - 5 months 11 days ago 
Wow July is kinda weak.
I still can't stop drooling over Muramasa

Nice informative article but the "theme song" is horrible. The lyrics make no sense at all.
LittleTaco  - 5 months 11 days ago 
My favorite game from last summer (that i actually bought) was bad company, if i buy a game that is realeased this summer i hope i enjoy it as much as battlefield!
TheKingsAssassin  - 5 months 11 days ago 
you forgot About I Am Alive(august)
reCaptcha: Lafayette goldfarb
BLACKICE  - 5 months 11 days ago 
ODST will be the best game ever
alfonso.hdez  - 5 months 11 days ago 
Damn, I already feel my poor wallet bleeding. Also, the HALO a game joke was so bad it was actually really funny :P
animeman  - 5 months 11 days ago 
I hadnt even herd of Dissidia: Final Fantasy until now. I cant wait for it to come out.
Related Games
BlazBlue
PS3
Xbox
Xbox
Gamecube
GameCube