Purple Picks

Purple Picks - Week of 12/9/08

Week Of 12/9/08

By Mike Smith

Unless you're into obscure Japanese RPGs, it's a quiet week in mainstream game stores. Luckily, the week is also packed with a slew of downloadable hits-to-be. Chief among them is the latest spin-off in the staggeringly successful Diner Dash series, so if you're looking for an awesome way to kill a few hours, look no further.

Top Three

Fitness Dash

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Just in time for those slow December hours at work comes this athletic Diner Dash spin-off. It's an oh-so-familiar tale of a town that grows fat gulping down hot dogs and french fries at the local diner, and a savvy businesswoman who spots an opening in the market. Can you beat DinerTown back into shape?



Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

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Roughly translated, that means "Japanese role-playing game you probably don't care about." But you probably should, because it's really good. It's releasing on the PlayStation 2 (remember those?) this week, and stars a youth with a double life: one as a regular high school kid in a country town, and one as an intrepid adventurer who enters a midnight TV channel in an attempt to solve a string of murders.



Build A Lot DS

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Do your bit to prop up the country's floundering economy by redeveloping and revitalizing a struggling neighborhood. What's that? You lost all your money day trading? Sorry for your bad luck. If you can scrape together the asking price, do your bit to prop up struggling Nintendo DS game makers instead, and snag this real-estate management game.



Best of the Rest

  • Prince of Persia:
    The Prince hops, skips, and jumps his way to the PC.
  • Hidden Expedition: Amazon:
    Can you survive a voyage through the world's most popular online retailer? Find out.
  • Mortimer Beckett: Time Paradox:
    What would happen if you went back in time and married your own granny? This is just one of many time paradoxes that are not addressed in the latest Mortimer Beckett, a history-hopping hidden-object game.
  • Cate West: The Vanishing Files:
    This hidden-object classic hits the DS this week. We'd tell you what we thought of it, but the cartridge vanished.
  • Alice Greenfingers 2:
    Find out what color your digits are in the sequel to last year's popular gardening game.
  • Mushroom Age:
    A brief period between the Bronze Age and the Asparagus Age. Also a time-traveling adventure, new this week.
  • Alabama Smith in Escape from Pompeii:
    In the Big Book of Great Historical Ideas, escaping from Pompeii is rated #1. Find out why in this archaeological challenge.
  • Delicious: Emily's Tea Garden:
    Time-manage your way to deliciousness with Emily's Tea Garden.
  • Sonic Unleashed:
    Sonic's latest adventure runs onto the PS3 this week.
  • Lavender's Botanicals:
    Grow your own herbal business empire with Lavender.
  • Kudos 2:
    Be your own person in this Sims-like life simulator.
  • My Tribe:
    Develop a desert island into a prospering village.

Posted: 9 Dec 2008