Can you believe it? Summer’s over, fall is rushing in with its usual set of blockbuster games and you have to filter through them all. Which ones do I need to preorder for the best incentives? Which ones do I need but can wait for the holidays and should be on my Amazon wish list? Even if you’re on GameFly, there are a few games you’ll want on release day for the extra bonuses and to quash your own impatience. And, speaking of holiday wish lists, why not tell your friends and family to get you all of the games instead of just one or two by getting you a GameFly subscription. If you’re familiar with Netflix/Qwikster, you know the drill. I’ve had mine for about a year and now I can’t imagine gaming without it.
As for the breakdown, it’ll follow the typical format, usually one game per week. By default, the link will take you to Amazon, unless another retailer has a much better preorder incentive. Generally speaking, Amazon is tough to beat. Their add-ons, physical or digital, are competitive and they usually include an additional credit on a future games purchase. On the other hand, GameStop gives you a decent value for trading in older games to get the new ones cheaper, and Best Buy has one of the best incentives for one of my top games this quarter. It’s also important to remember that Gamestop has started giving double PowerUp points on top shelf games that are fully paid in advance. Choose carefully, and be sure to get the most out of your gaming dollars.
10/4/11
If you’re a hardcore FPS player or a difficulty masochist you have two obvious choices – Rage and Dark Souls, respectively. But the true geeks of Big Shiny Robot! are looking at only one game today, Spider-man: Edge of Time. The last game, Shattered Dimensions, was amazing and this new entry looks almost as good. You play as two Spider-Men, Amazing and 2099. Both are good choices, but I’ll miss the Noir segments. As for preordering, Amazon doesn’t have the extra credit deal, which means their one bonus costume (Future Foundation) loses out to GameStop‘s four Identity Crisis costumes (Dusk, Hornet, Prodigy, and Ricochet). Of course, all of these will eventually be available as DLC, but which one(s) do you want for free immediately?
10/11/11
This is seriously a bad week in a great quarter. Pretty much everything coming out can wait. But I do want to mention one title just because I thought it was fantastic from the moment I first heard about it. Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster from DoubleFine is such a brilliant idea. It’s an Kinect-eractive episode of Sesame Street. What more needs to be said? Except that I just made up that word, but I think it’s workable. Microsoft should buy it off me. The only preorder bonus I found was through GameStop (click the title), and they’re offering an HD movie rental via XBox Live with purchase. That’ll be good for a cartoon to go along with the kids’ game you just bought. Get this one and play it with your kids.
10/18/11
It should come as no surprise that Minute to Win It takes the top spot this week. What a great concept for a game. Take a stupid game show, and make an even more stupid interactive experience. Good job, SouthPeak Interactive. Hah! Seriously, this week’s game is one you should have a training program for to make sure you don’t sprain a thumb or get an awesomeness overload injury to your brain. Batman: Arkham City (Best Buy) is Rocksteady’s follow up to possibly the best superhero game ever made. And Best Buy scored huge with their incentive, locking in the exclusive Robin playable character. If Boy Wonder isn’t your thing, you can get the standard $10 credit and the Arkham City comic book from Amazon, or the Joker’s Challenge Carnival Map from GameStop.
10/25/11
The first of the big guns in the FPS market hits today so I have to feature it. But, if it’s not your bag, and your kids have had enough Sesame Street, take a look at Disney Universe. But I digress. Battlefield 3 is the clear winner this week. All preorders should get you the Back to Karkand expansion pack. Individual extras are also available from each retailer. Best Buy’s seems weakest with only eight multiplayer skins. GameStop’s Physical Warfare pack gets you the DAO-12 shotgun, Flash Suppressor, Type 88 LMG, and Flachette Ammo. Amazon’s bonus is the Dog Tag Pack that gets you a whole slew of Battlefield 2 bonus content, upgraded for the Frostbite 2.0 engine.
11/1/11
What a pretty date. Think someone’s going to take advantage of all those ones to boost their marketing campaign? You betcha. Same deal with a similar gimmick ten days later. Meantime, Nathan Drake is no Bruce Wayne, but Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is just as high on my list of must play games. Preorders vary a little bit, but only make a real difference in online play. Amazon expands your clip for the Para 9 and G-MAL, and also includes a carpet bombing kickback that lets you throw three grenades at once. GameStop eschews the clip expansion in favor of a pretty cool Penny Arcade poster and a Creepy Crawler kickback that turns you into a swarm of spiders (especially effective when battling arachnaphobes). Best Buy has a regeneration kickback, but no extra items.
11/8/11 & 11/11/11
The other side of the Battlefield 3 release is its biggest competitor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Oddly, the only preorder incentive I see is a wallpaper through Amazon and a $10 credit towards a “Turtle Beach Call of Duty:MW3 Ear Force gaming Headset.” Which is cool, if you wanted one of those anyway.
But this week also has a date with bunch of ones in it, and that’s too good a scam for marketers to pass up. So there’s another big title coming you won’t want to miss. Conveniently enough, I wouldn’t expect the audiences to overlap much between Modern Warfare 3 and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The universal preorder bonus is a physical map of the game world (also available in the collector’s edition), but Amazon ups the ante with their $10 credit.
Just for fun, this week gets a third nod. Coincidentally it’s the third family friendly title I’m recommending. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 continues melding bricks with another great multimedia franchise. Really, you can’t go wrong with LEGO games. They’re all the same, but they’re all fun. If you’re a miser, Amazon’s standard $10 credit is in effect. But I’m really liking GameStop’s Dumbledore’s Army T-Shirt with preorder.
11/15/11
As much as the nerd in me would like to showcase Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 this week, Capcom’s supidity and avarice with releasing the same game multiple times means I’m skipping it. Another honorable mention is Saint’s Row: The Third, which looks ridiculous but I’d be willing to highlight anyway if it weren’t for this week’s truly biggest game, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the third game in this quarter’s triumvirate of games I must play before someone gets hurt. The link will take you to GameStop, where preordering upgrades you to the Signature Edition (bonus single player mission, multiplayer character, three upgrades to weapon capacity, and a short animated film). Best Buy will get you the Crusader multiplayer skin, while it appears Amazon isn’t even offering their $10 credit.
11/20/11
It’s not a typical Tuesday release, but who cares what day you get it when it’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. No one has preorder offers up yet, but I’d expect them before release. In the meantime, double your PowerUp points at GameStop by pre-paying in full, or spend some of those $10 Amazon credits you’ve been earning.
12/20/11
The end of November tends to be the end of the big holiday releases. If you’ve already bought most of these games you have an open month to finish them. You should also be spending this time refining that Christmas list to make sure you get everything you’ve skipped for the last two months. Then again, you may have no friends left by the time Christmas rolls around. That’s because the MMO that will probably suck in everyone who’s been avoiding them for years comes out today. Star Wars: The Old Republic may even spell the end of Big Shiny Robot! as we are all Star Wars fans and very likely to succumb to this gaming trap. Worse yet, my lousy computer that could have saved me by not being able to run this game is swiftly dying, meaning I’ll probably have a much better system by release date. If you’re already planning to join the addiction, the only preorder incentive available as I write this is early access and an alternate lightsaber crystal from Amazon. The real junkies will, of course, be getting the collector’s edition for a generous collection of physical and digital extras.
And that about does it for 2011. Sure, I skipped a few great games. But in such a crowded market, one has to pick and choose. I hope you enjoy your holiday games. While you’re loading all of these games into your Amazon cart, don’t forget to pick out a few things for your spouse and children. If they don’t get presents, you don’t get any peace to play with yours.