MAY GAME RELEASE CALANDAR

WRITTEN BY: MIKE PULLANO

May is a big month for games and big is an understatement. To make your gaming life easier I’ve written up a list of the marquee titles and the need-to-know details about each title. Then at the bottom I rank them all so it’s even easier to pick the cream of the crop. Click the link below to get the full rundown.

Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake

Release Date: 5/4 PLATFORMS: PSP

The Skinny:  The frantic class based multiplayer makes it’s way to the PSP. It’s fun, fast and simple which makes it perfect for the pick up and play elements of a handheld game. The original Fat Princess on PS3 got a Metacritic of 79 so expect more of the same.

Iron Man 2

Release Date: 5/4 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: It’s a movie tie in game but it’s also a Marvel game so that warrants mentioning. That means there is always potential and despite how bad the game is it’ll sell a few copies. The first one is terrible so I would suggest keeping your distance.

ModNation Racers

Release Date: 5/4 PLATFORMS: PS3, PSP

The Skinny: Mario Kart meets Little Big Planet. This game is slowly growing buzz. It’s light hearted and childish appearance may dissuade some but don’t overlook the fact that it’s wildly creative and a surprisingly deep racer. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is probably going to be the best racing game on the market for the month of May and maybe even the year.

Lost Planet 2

Release Date: 5/11 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: Monster Hunter with aliens, space marines and mechs. A third person shooter with a strong online and co-op feature. The enemies are big which makes taking them down that much more fun. Like the first game I expect Lost Planet 2 to be fun but nothing that is going to take over the market. Expect it to be a high 70’s to low 80’s on Metacritic.

Skate 3

Release Date: 5/11 PLATFORMS: PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: The official dethroner of the Tony Hawk franchise. The Skate series has made skateboarding games fun again with the unique dual analog stick controls and a more realistic version of skateboarding. Skate 2 improved on the formula of the original but didn’t add anything mind blowing to the game. I think the third iteration will do the same slowly decline their overall review scores. The original Skate clocked in at 85 on Metacritic, Skate 2 at 84 and I expect Skate 3 to be somewhere around 81-82 as the formula slowly grows unoriginal.

Alan Wake

Release Date: 5/18 PLATFORMS: XBOX 360

The Skinny: Alan Wake has been in development since the dawn of time and it has a lot of hype to live up to. It’s a third person shooter that tries to incorporate more elements of a psychological thriller than your average game. I expect it to be one of the better games of the month but not the best. This is a good game for people who like a good dose of story with their third person shooters. I’m calling a 88 Metacritic for this one.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Release Date: 5/18 PLATFORMS: EVERYTHING

The Skinny: Another movie tie in. That’s never a good sign but then again the Prince of Persia series as been remarkably consistent. There is no escaping solid combat and well-executed platforming. Excluding the handheld releases (which I don’t even consider games) all of the Prince of Persia games rock mid 80’s Metacritic scores which means this movie tie in might not be HORRIBLE. I still think it will be the worst game in the franchise because of the rushed release date but I’m predicting it’s around a 75-80 Metacritic score.

Red Dead Redemption

Release Date: 5/18 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: Rockstar, the makers of Grand Theft Auto don’t mess around. They are all about quality and not quantity. They don’t release a lot of games but when they do they are good. Rockstar is the master of the open world game so you can expect Red Dead Redemption to feel just as exciting and alive as any Grand Theft Auto game. Mix that will their cool characters, an intriguing story and I’d say RDR has a good chance to be the best game of the month. My Metacritic prediction is a 94, maybe even higher!

Split/Second

Release Date: 5/18 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: This is not your standard racing game. It’s explosive. As opposed to realism or Mario Kart style power ups Split/Second uses an explosive environment to throw obstacles at the racers. It’s an interesting idea but I don’t think the basic mechanics will live up to other AAA racers like Burnout or Ridge Racer. I think if you are fan of the Burnout franchise this title might be worth a look but I’d suggest a rent over a buy. I’m calling it at a 73 Metacritic.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Release Date: 5/23 PLATFORMS: Wii

The Skinny: First things first, there aren’t bad Mario games. The plumber is a true professional and nearly every title with his name attached to it is going to end up in Game of the Year talks. The original Super Mario Galaxy was fun, creative and patented Mario. The originality of the Galaxy idea won’t be as strong this time around but it’s guaranteed to be an extremely enjoyable experienced. You couple that with that fact Mario always receives unnaturally positive reviews I expect this to be the highest scoring game of the month with a 95+ on Metacritic.

Blur

Release Date: 5/25 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: Competing with two other racing game releases this month Blur falls somewhere between the two in terms of gameplay and presentation. Realism mixed with Mario Kart and Twisted Metal Style power ups. It’s not as pretty as Split/Second and it’s not as creative as ModNation Racers. Personally I think the gameplay style it just a few too many years behind the popularity curve. I don’t think it’ll be a bad game, but it's just not that alluring. I’m thinking a 69-70 on Metacritic.

UFC Undisputed 2010

Release Date: 5/25 PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, XBOX 360

The Skinny: THQ is trying to make a yearly release schedule for the Undisputed franchise as they follow up their ’09 release with the new iteration, UFC Undisputed 2010. The first game was remarkably deep but it also mastered the satisfying feeling that comes with knocking a guy out cold and sending his mouth guard flying across the octagon. Very few developers are able to release a sequel within a year that drastically improves upon the original game. Due to success of ’09 I think UCF Undisputed will sell better but with the short development time the game will merely be refined as opposed to perfected. +2 to the original Metacritic bringing UFC Undisputed 2010 to a solid 85-86.

CONCLUSION: All of that info doesn’t help you much if you still can’t decide what to buy. Here’s my list. Buy them in that order!

RANK ‘EM:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 5/23 (Metacritic Prediction 95+)

Red Dead Redemption 5/18 (Metacritic Prediction 94+)

Alan Wake 5/18 (Metacritic Prediction 88)

ModNation Racers 5/4 (Metacritic Prediction 87)

UFC Undisputed 2010 5/25 (Metacritic Prediction 85-86)

Lost Planet 2 5/11 (Metacritic Prediction 81)

Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake 5/4 (Metacritic Prediction 80)

Skate 3 5/11 (Metacritic Prediction 82)

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands 5/18 (Metacritic Prediction 75-80)
Split/Second 5/18 (Metacritic Prediction 73)

Blur 5/25 (Metacritic Prediction 69-70)

Iron Man 2 5/4 (Metacritic Prediction 65)