The games of summer 09

Beat the heat with GR's sunny suggestions

Words: Shane Patterson on June 19, 2009

Summer’s right around the corner (starting tomorrow in fact) and despite the glorious weather that comes with it, this time of year is usually thought of as the unsufferable months until the real games come out this winter.

Seriously, we’re getting tired of a hundred games flooding stores between October and December. Spread the love throughout the year, dummies!


Above: The official theme of the article

Despite the ridiculous release schedule, there are still a number of bitchin’ games trickling out through the summer months to keep you busy long enough to forget the nice days outside.


JUNE


THE BIG PICK

Fight Night Round 4 – PS3, 360
Release date: June 23

 
Sports games aren’t generally GR’s specialty, cup of tea, or favorite piece of ass, but when Fight Night Round 3 debuted as a launch title on the Xbox 360 almost four years ago, the title immediately became a hit. Think about it: how many times have you heard people go on about Round 3’s lifelike (at the time) next-gen graphics, the ease of the thumbstick-based controls or the smooth as butter sim/arcade-y gameplay? All the time, huh?

 
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Round 4 is one of our most eagerly anticipated games of the year. EA promises faster gameplay, an incredibly robust create-a-fighter mode, elimination of those stupid face-rubbing minigames, and star of The Hangover, Mike Tyson. Considering UFC 2009 Undisputed sold over a million copies in its first month, we bet casual AND sports fans are eagerly awaiting this future hit.


WHAT ELSE?

The Conduit – Wii
Release date: June 23

 
Haven’t been a hell of a lot of FPSes on Nintendo’s sleek machine since its launch, even though that’s one genre we thought we’d see a lot of. Developer High Voltage seeks to reinvigorate interest with this shooter set in Washington DC with an alien conspiracy to wrap your All Seeing Eye around. We dug the multiplayer and Battlestar Galactica’s Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin) voices the main dude.

Overlord II – PC, PS3, 360
Release date: June 23

 
The first was something of a cult hit and in the next week you’ll have more minions at your disposal. You play again as a badass with little monsters to do your bidding. Apparently, the increase in minion AI enables them to ride mounts and sail ships. Lazy bastards.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood – PC, PS3, 360
Release date: June 29

 
Yeah, we’ve seen what Modern Warfare 2 and ODST have in store for us later this year, but in the meantime why not journey back to the old west with the follow-up to the original criminally overlooked title? As GR head honcho Eric Bratcher wrote during the fallout of E3, “In one half-hour session, we shot up a bar, stormed out of town on a stolen stagecoach, traded hot lead with the sheriff’s posse as they galloped alongside us, and used a cannon to blow up a riverboat. Plus, it’s the only shooter this year that let us fan the hammers of two pistols at once.”


DON'T FORGET

Marvel vs Capcom 2 – Xbox Live, PSN
Release date: June 29

 
For about 20 bucks, you can get your hands on this classic, downloadable through the interwebs (no need to pay exorbitant fees for a physical disc!). You will be taken for a ride.

Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil – Wii
Release date: June 23

 
The Wii remake of the GameCube remake of the PS1 game that was ported to the DS and Sega Saturn makes its graceful re-re-re-debut. If you didn’t check it out 13 years ago, give it a shot now.

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Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PC, PSP, DS, Xbox, GameCube

58 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
  • saintpatrick

    saintpatrick  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    i cant wait for
    holy invasion of privacy, badman! what did i do to deserve this (what a clumsy name, i say just name it HIOP)
    shadow complex
    ODST
    scribblenauts
    and arkham
    ahhh, just thinking of owning them gets me excited
  • SuperGoomba64

    SuperGoomba64  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    All those good games coming out, And I only have a Wii and DS, Being a Nintendo Fan Sucks.:(
  • crimson_soulreaper305

    crimson_soulreaper305  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    wait a minnit! i thought blazblue was on ps3 AND 360. i distinctly remember hearing it and i saw the preorder box for both systems at a gamestop. also, i can't wait for blazblue,dissidia,Prof.Layton, and ODST t come out.
    Re@captcha: schools skimps, lol. funny as always
  • Diamondis

    Diamondis  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Orbital Shock Drop Troopers? Why is the game called ODST then? ._. Why not OSDT?
  • thatonekid1995

    thatonekid1995  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    46th!!! lol not really somthing to be proud of...
    Halo ODST is a definite buy me being a pro 360 and con ps3 person
    Halo Rules!!!
    Ps3 sucks!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!1!!1!!!!
  • winner2

    winner2  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    scribblenauts sounds like fun...lol a kraken fighting god.I cant wait to just write nuke and drop it on a city
  • Amnesiac

    Amnesiac  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    @WebSwinger: You no rike The Dark Knight?
  • x165

    x165  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    hell yah Marvel vs. Capcom
  • TheWebSwinger

    TheWebSwinger  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    "a Dark Knight game (which when you think about it, would not have lived up to that film at all)"

    Oh, right, because the film was just all that. *sigh*
  • CAPST3R

    CAPST3R  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    where the hell's operation flashpoint 2? you know, I wouldn't mind but YOU PUT IN TMNT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! WHAT THE HELL POSESSED YOU TO MISS THAT? IT'S AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER!
    idiots. humph.
    angry face off.
  • CAPST3R

    CAPST3R  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    HA! I looked at the words "the big pick" and my sight was blurred (something in my eye) and i thought it said "the big prick"! it might not sound funny, but it was.
    'whistle'
  • Demonflare

    Demonflare  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Oh and what the hell is a huge snake doing in Resident Evil? Oh well I'm not gonna buy it. :)

    And j.k. I've desided not to buy any of these games!
  • Demonflare

    Demonflare  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Lame, lame, boring, lame...

    I will say any game that isn't for the Wii is on my game list, I guess...
  • StupidTownColonStupidStateColon

    StupidTownColonStupidStateColon  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Marvel v. Capcom 2 comes out in June? I had the wrong date
  • Zeos

    Zeos  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Must...have...Batman Arkham Asylum....
  • Amnesiac

    Amnesiac  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Kinda surprised this wasn't mentioned, but Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 comes out on the DS on Sept. 29.

    Also, I can't get over how good Muramasa looks. Every time I see a screen of it, it's like someone is making sweet love to my eyes.
  • CH3BURASHKA

    CH3BURASHKA  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    All games put together minus Scribblenauts < Scribblenauts.

    reCaptcha: anybody's churlish (???)
  • yoreAtowel

    yoreAtowel  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    WAKA WAKA! lulz
  • garnsr

    garnsr  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    Looks like nothing I'm after until Beatles (on PS3, that is a pretty major omission. Maybe you're just taking Activision's lead and proclaiming that Sony platforms aren't worth worrying about.) I wish Shadow Complex were coming to PS3, but I guess I'll still have to buy it on 360 (I LOVE Metroidvania!)
    ReCaptcha: going britney Bad idea
  • BLACKICE

    BLACKICE  - 2 years, 7 months ago  - Report

    ODST will be the best game ever
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