This Week in Games: March 23-29, 2008

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March 24th, 2008 posted by Link in DS, General News, PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

This week sees a new iteration in the ever so over-saturated world of Final Fantasy VII, a game that initially looked to be one of the first next-gen releases before a series of Duke Nukem Forever-like delays, and a few other titles of interest. Is there anything in it for you? Hit the jump to find out.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
The final release in the new Final Fantasy VII saga (for now) puts you in the shoes of Zack, Cloud’s ex-SOLDIER buddy who appeared in various memory sequences in the original. Better yet, this is a full-fledged RPG, not a movie or crappy action game like other things we’ve seen from the FFVII universe. Anyone who played the original - and we can’t imagine why you’d play this one without doing so - knows all about Zack’s fate, so we’re wondering how that issue will pan out in his own game. In any case, it’s good to see the PSP getting some good titles after a year of domination by the DS.

Dark Sector (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Dark Sector is a third person action game by Digital Extremes. You might remember it from way back, as it was one of the first games revealed for next-gen consoles. It puts you in the shoes of a special-ops agent with “in-human abilities” against the setting of corruption in the Cold War. Reviewers haven’t really like the idea either so far, but it might be worth checking out. Maybe.

Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath (PC)
Just an expansion pack to the ever-growing RTS series. If you have the game already, you’ll want to check it out. If you didn’t see a reason to buy the C&C3 when it came out last year, this expansion pack doesn’t offer anything that will make you change your mind.

Viking: Battle for Asgard (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
This Sega-published, Creative Assembly-developed action strategy gorefest will likely be very hit or miss. The previews have shown tons of over-the-top chopping action, but unless the gameplay is deeper than a deluge of decapitations, it’s easy to see this getting old really quick.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (Nintendo DS)
The console hack and slash action game known for its difficulty gets scaled down to the DS. The biggest piece of news we’ve heard on this one is that it’s played with the stylus while holding the DS in book-mode (ala Brain Age). Fans of the series will be shocked at the “T” rating given by the ESRB, so it’s clearly watered down, but the general consensus of critics seems to be very positive. Worth checking out if you’re looking fora DS game that doesn’t involve training dogs or cooking dinner.

Also coming out this week is Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (PS2) and Various Shovelware You’ll See in the Bargain Bin at Wal-Mart (Wii).