Purple Picks

Purple Picks - Week Of 9/15/08

Week Of 9/15/08

By Mike Smith

Looking for a hot new game to play? You're in luck: this week holds one of the best selections of new video game releases there's been for months. Cast your eyes down the list for our Purple Picks of... no, not pickled peppers, but a selection of the week's top games -- for players both casual and keen -- but all with the Purple stamp of approval.

Rock Band 2

WATCH TRAILER

Are you ready to rock, again? Part music game, part epic social gaming breakthrough, MTV changed all the rules with last year's Rock Band. You only get to do that once per idea, of course, so don't expect Rock Band 2 to cause as much of a splash as the original did, but it's sure to sell well. Gameplay changes aren't all that many, but hey, would you pay $60 for 80-odd new tracks for Rock Band? 'Course you would, and so will we.


Star Wars: Force Unleashed

WATCH TRAILER

Schooom. Wraaaaang. Fwotooosh. Childish lightsaber impressions at the ready: it's a new Star Wars game. George Lucas's most famous franchise has seen some rough treatment from the world of video games over the years, but all signs are that Force Unleashed is one of its better outings. It casts the player as Darth Vader's apprentice, and packs some seriously cool technology that'll let you use the Force to thoroughly, er, force up all kinds of things. Don't miss it.



Cinema Tycoon 2

SEE GAME PAGE

Do you ever walk through the doors of your local multiplex, survey the bored-looking staff, trash-strewn floors, and grubby walls, and think: "You know, I could do a much better job of running this place"? Step up and put your (virtual) money where your (actual) mouth is in Cinema Tycoon, which -- as the name might suggest -- lets you run a movie theater.


Warhammer Online

WATCH TRAILER

Are you weary of World of Warcraft? Losing interest in Lord of the Rings Online? Sick of Second Life? Warhammer Online is next in line for fed-up massively-multiplayer RPG fans. It's set amid the rich, popular Games Workshop fantasy universe, offers robust questing and player-versus-player features -- and reports from the game's beta test period have been uniformly positive. Getting in on the ground floor of an online game is far and away the best way to play it, and this week you'll have a rare chance to do just that.

Pure

WATCH FEATURETTE

Star Wars, Warhammer and Rock Band all too nerdy for you? Hankering for something a little more "xtreme"? Off-road trick racer Pure is right up your street, assuming that street isn't so much of a street as a gravel pit, muddy field, desert, or similar surface conducive to ATV-riding mayhem. Pure harks from the development studio formerly known as Climax, original home of the critically acclaimed ATV Offroad Fury and Moto GP titles, so all signs are definitely pointing to this one being a diamond in the rough -- literally.

Best of the Rest

Posted: 16 Sep 2008