Wiikly Wii Releases: 3/9-3/15

Welcome to the second edition of the Wiikly Wii Releases! Here we will let you know about all the great Wii titles coming out this week and give you some information to help you pick the game that’s right for you. When applicable, we’ll choose one game to be the “MyWiiNews Pick of the Week,” a game that stands out among all the others as the title that takes the crown for that week. Without further ado, let’s look at what’s coming out this week.

Octomania
Atlus– March 11th

Do you enjoy aquatic creatures? Does the idea of a wall of octopuses and sea urchins excite you like no other? Can you take a break long enough from doing nothing in Endless Ocean to play a puzzle game? If you’ve answered yes to any of these three needless questions, Octomania just may be for you.

Designed by Puyo Puyo creator Moo Niitani, Octomania bridges the gap between the undersea and the puzzling with hundreds of stages of octopus-eliminating fun. Take turns battling the CPU and advancing throughout the story mode, or hop online to throw down with your fellow Octomanians. Since a puzzle game is only as fun as its puzzles, this little video here should tell you whether or not it would be your cup of tea.

If your on the fence with Octomania, its extremely welcoming entrance price of $19.99 should be enough for you to take the plunge. Either way, more quality budget titles are always welcome, so hats off to Atlus for bringing it to us cheap.
House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return
Sega - March 11th

If House of the Dead could be surmised in three words, it would probably have to be something along the lines of “Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!” Needlessly said, this new collection of the last two House of the Dead titles offers more of the same zombie-massacring action that lightgun fans love, but if you’re not a zombie kind of guy, you’rre probably not going to find much to like here. The games hardly look better than Dreamcast ports, and the game doesn’t offer much extra content to justify its $30 price point, but hey, that’s a whole lotta killing for $30!

Fans of the series won’t find much new in the bundle pack, but the game has been reformulated to respond masterfully to the Wiimote’s capabilities, making it a fun way to get a little more bang for your buck if you bought the Zapper add on a few months back. If you missed these titles a while back and can’t find them at your local used games shop, think about giving them a go this round on the Wii.

George of the Jungle: Search for the Secret
Crave Entertainment – March 11th

George is back, and he’s looking even more cartoony than ever! Whether or not this is a massive setback from the masterful Brendan Frasier adaptation from 10 years ago is up for discussion, but the mediocrity of this title is not. Of course you’ll probably be vine-swinging your way to the inner depths of the jungle, gently laying hoardes of baddies to rest while platforming your way to the goal, but will it really matter?

Chances are, no. But this game wasn’t exactly designed for people like myself, so I’ll leave the decision up to you. It’s a game that’s based on the latest iteration of an age-old cartoon, so those who are fans of the series or enjoy watching children’s television should take the time to watch a video and see if it’s something that’s up their alley. If it’s not, you’d probably be better off playing through Mario Galaxy again for your necessary platforming fix.
And now for our long-awaited…

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Nintendo – March 9th

Arguably the biggest title of this year, Super Smash Brothers Brawl finally hit stores this Sunday, making it the single reason that practically every Wii owner is currently offline. Will anyone even read this? Who knows, but the important thing is that the game is here, and it’s absolutely AWESOME.

I don’t really think I can say much more about this game that hasn’t been said already throughout the site, but if you have no clue what this game is about, take a peek at this YouTube video to understand how one videogame can hold so much awesome.

For those still looking for their elusive copy, I suggest you look in some of the more unconventional places. My local Costco had approximately 100 copies for $43 a piece, so get out there and find your copy! Word on the street is that other nontraditional gaming outlets, like Longs Drugs, certain supermarkets, and your local pharmacy/store may have a copy, so don’t quit looking. You have to play this game, so get out there and put up some friend codes!