There’s only one game coming this week so let’s get that out of the way here and then get you started on what you need to get preordered, and where, for this summer.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (360, PS3) comes out this week. You’ve probably never heard of this, but it’s a reawakening of an SNES era game. Give it a shot. It’s probably going to be better than you think.
Now, since we’ve had a dry run the last few weeks, let’s get to what’s coming up:
The first two are film tie-ins and only one possible preorder bonus. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes on July 12th. Captain America: Super Soldier comes on July 19th. Both of these could be pretty terrible. But we’re all nerds here so some of you may be willing to overlook the bad gameplay just to experience your favorite franchises. Preordering Cap at GameStop can get you “The Ultimates Pack” for the 1942 Ultimates costume, Weaponize Ability, and Challenge Map.
The following week, on July 26th, there’s a game coming you may not have heard much about. Catherine is a very strange thing coming out of Japan. Your protagonist spends a lot of time in his boxers as he sorts out his relationship between two very different women, Catherine and Katherine. There’s also a lot of sheep that don’t make any sense yet. Preorders from Amazon and GameStop both get an art book and CD soundtrack. You should also check out the “Love is Over” deluxe edition. This is one of the better collector packs I’ve seen. It comes with a t-shirt, boxer shorts, pillow, and other collectibles. The drawback, the clothing items are only in men’s large.
August is starting a little slow, but if you’ve been liking the HD remaster collections there’s a new one to pick up on August 2nd. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD takes you back to Sam Fisher’s roots in high-def. I haven’t seen any preorder bonuses, but you get Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory for under $40. Do you really need bonuses too?
The next couple weeks of August pretty much sucks until August 23rd when Deus Ex Human Revolution hits. There are a couple of editions if you like boxed in bonuses. Preorders net you an additional mission, explosive pack, grenade launcher, and automatic lock hacker at Game Stop. Or you can get the Tactical Enhancement Pack (double barrel shotgun and extreme range sniper rifle) from Amazon.
One more slow week, then your annual football fix hits on August 30th with Madden NFL 12. Preorders get you special teams; where you preorder determines which ones. GameStop comes with the AFC and NFC All Star teams. Amazon gets you the All Rookies and All Sophomores teams plus a $20 credit. The $20 credit might make you decide to spend the extra money for the Hall of Fame edition. This special is limited to 125,000 units and gets you a hand-signed Marshall Faulk card plus the Ultimate Madden team with hall-of-famers and cover stars. By the way, taking a cue from Willy Wonka, one 360 copy and one PS3 copy will come with an 18k gold card. You don’t get a tour of a crazy candy shop with it, but it’s an incredibly exclusive collectible if you score it.
September starts with a game that made an internet splash with it’s first trailer. Unfortunately, everything we’ve seen from it since then makes it look like just another zombie game. Dead Island will be out on the 6th. Preorders from GameStop gets the Bloodbath Arena and exclusive “Ripper” weapon.
Other notables of September 6th are Warhammer 40K: Space Marine and Resistance 3.
The follow up week, September 13th, brings another HD collection with God of War: Origins Collection. This compiles the two great PSP games covering Kratos’ back story for $40. Again, no preorder bonuses. Apparently they don’t bother with them on HD collections.
XBox 360 gets an exclusive highlight for Spemtember 20th. Gears of War 3 is making fans impatient with the wait. Once again, plenty of special edition versions floating around. If you need to pick a store to preorder, it depends on what you want. GameStop has a multiplayer skin, Commando Dom. Amazon seems to have the better deal with the Savage Kantus skin and a $20 credit.
To finish out the quarter, let’s shift to a PS3 exclusive on Septmeber 27th. Once again, it’s another HD collection. The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection will be gorgeous. Both of these games were cult classics on the PS2 but didn’t become best sellers. To be honest, ICO drove me crazy with the stupid AI companion, but I’m in a very small minority. If you missed these two titles, take advantage of this collection. As normal, no preorder bonus with the collection but it is only $40.
As always, I make no guarantees how accurate any of this information is. That’s the risk of talking about future titles. Check back in a few months for the holiday season preorders. That’s bound to be a big one because game companies somehow think that retail shelves only exist in November and December.