I feel bad, having such a limited supply of funds, given how many amazing games have come out recently. And so this week I decided to run through some of the other video game magazines (my "competitors") to filter out the most honest reviews to help those of you who own a PS3 or Wii (don't worry ... I'll buy them eventually).
A quick note: I'm not relying on Gamepro.com because it turns out Gamepro is being shut down and folded into PCworld.com. Why, you ask? Because it turns out all of your little economics professors in high school were full of crap. Corporations are irrational. Gamepro.com was a great online site, and there's no possible way it was losing money, nor could there possibly be no solution for keeping such a popular online magazine alive.
Case in point: Electronic Gaming Monthly, probably the best video game magazine out there, with some of the best writing, too. Why was it shut down? That's a great question. I'd love to know, because I was a fan (one of more than 200,000) right up until its end and I still would be subscribing.
OK. Sorry. Digression complete. Enjoy these other cherry-picked reviews.
The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword
Wii
I picked the IGN review for this one because just about every review was the same. Bottom line: this game is excellent. It makes me incredibly jealous that I don't have a Wii to play this, although I suspect I'd have a hard time getting used to the crappy graphics after playing so so many hours on Skyrim.
Mario Kart 7
Wii
Mixed reviews on this one, but generally they all fall around the B or B- category. Here's the review from 1up, which has probably the lowest review out there. Based on the few minutes I played of it at the local game store (and my experience with previous games), a B- sounds about right. That isn't to say this game isn't incredibly fun and addictive, but game reviewers have a tendency to get tired really quick, and it doesn't sound like Mario Kart is switching things up at all.
Jurassic Park
360, PS3
I actually got to see a kid playing this game at a family party. I was surprised he even had it, given that I hadn't seen any mention of it on IGN. The kid asked me if I wanted to play, but I'd seen enough. This review sums it up pretty well.
Rayman Origins
360, PS3
I have no idea what this game is, nor do I have any interest in playing it. But from what I've read, it's actually a great platformer. Here's a link to the IGN review. Is this your kind of thing? Then you're probably going to like it.
