New games this week: Tales of Vesperia edition

by Justin McElroy { Aug 25th 2008 at 8:00AM }

We had a little trouble picking our favorite release this week. Though Mario Super Sluggers made a compelling case, in the end, we had to go with the little game that helped the 360 rise, phoenix-like from the ashes in Japan (before, you know, it dug right back in to those comfy ashes the following week): Tales of Vesperia.

Portable players get some good news this week too with the handheld release of N+. Check the full list right after the break.

Gallery: Tales of Vesperia

Xbox 360:

Tales of Vesperia
Tiger Woods 09

XBLA:

Castle Crashers

PS3:

Disgaea 3: Absense of Justice
Tiger Woods 09
Ferrari Challenge
Vampire Rain: Altered Species

Nintendo Wii:

Mario Super Sluggers
Tiger Woods 09 All Play
Freddy Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery
Rebel Raiders
Pajama Sam in Don't Fear the Dark
Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
Ferrari Challenge

PS2:

Tiger Woods 09
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
DT Carnage
Shining Dragon

PSP:

Tiger Woods 09
N+
Fading Shadows
Pilot Academy

Nintendo DS:

MLB Power Pros 2008
Commando Steel Disaster
Digimon World Championship
Picto Image
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
The Quest Trio
From the Abyss
The Sims 2: Apartment Pets
N+
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
My Chinese Coach
Time Hollow

PC:

Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition
Future U: The SAT Prep
Adventure Anthology
Murder in the Abbey
The Sims 2 Apartment Life
GTR Evolution
Flat Out: Head On

Tags: new-games, newgames, tales-of-vesperia

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fonic @ Aug 25th 2008 8:19AM

Looking forward to Vesperia. Should be great. Super Sluggers looks like just another Mario sports title. Fun but unremarkable.

Xoviet chiK @ Aug 25th 2008 8:19AM

I guess it's Castle Crashers and N+ for NDSP for me.

I want Tales, but I finally purchased Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, and Lost Odyssey for Holiday / Game Release downtime, and... I'm already in over my head. This, and Infinite Undiscovery, will definitely have to wait until the Spring.

Xoviet chiK @ Aug 25th 2008 8:22AM

Ugh, Disgaea 3 too? Good grief, that'll be a next year for me too. That is if I can finish all this mess before Persona 4.

12-15 hour RPGs FTW. Fable II, where are you?

umm....hello??? @ Aug 25th 2008 9:39AM

yeah, I have a similar backlog of rpg's...I don't mind holding off purchasing single player games--something you can take your time with and not worrying whether people will be playing on xbl or psn a year from now (CoD4/Halo3/Burnout:Paradise/etc).

Am debating on CastleCrashers this week--still have some leftover MS points from Target's sale the other week.

Mr.ESC @ Aug 25th 2008 11:23AM

For me is Castle Crashers and I'm still waiting for Gears 2 and silent hill 5 although I could check Tales of Vesperia if I finish Oblivion in time.

Spectre91 @ Aug 25th 2008 8:25AM

forget Tales of Vesperia, I'm excited for all of those Humongous Entertainment ScummVM point an click adventure games on the Wii.

Jack of No Trades 85 @ Aug 25th 2008 8:25AM

Believe it or not, but I thought the Tiger Woods 09 demo was pretty fun.

I laughed so hard at this game. Next time when your on the green, purposly hit the ball away from the hole a couple of times and watch how mad the guy gets. Its super funny.

FOXHOUND @ Aug 25th 2008 9:35AM

I've been trying to bean the bystanders in game, but to no avail. :\

XLM @ Aug 25th 2008 12:09PM

I've beaned a couple of spectators. The react to getting hit and double over etc. Also befor swinging, some of the spectators try waving you off and point towards the hole.

good times.

Haggard @ Aug 25th 2008 8:25AM

You know what the biggest seller is gonna be on that list though?

The freakin' Sims -_-

FSK405K @ Aug 25th 2008 8:36AM

If you mean in the US, then yes. I guess otherwise that we're rooting for more 360s to hit Japan so it can sell more Vesperia.

zero2dash @ Aug 25th 2008 10:04AM

I have to buy [Sims] Apartment Life for my wife this week, sort of as a apology note for spending money on a Ps3 lately. =D

phr3qu3ncy441 @ Aug 25th 2008 8:26AM

man... still trying to finish up lost odyssey and now we've got disgaea 3 and tales coming out... then infinite undiscovery coming afterwards too.

i'll probably get them all, but damn, what a rpg overload fall/winter's gonna be (with last remnant, eternal sonata for ps3 and fable 2 coming out too).

Duke @ Aug 25th 2008 10:56AM

Yeah, I have a backlog of JRPG's right now, so I have to hold off on this one.

Now, here's the pick - Vampire Rain! A+

No, I'm kidding. I tried that on the 360 this weekend and wtf were they thinking? Its like they had a mission to make the least fun game they could.

Jack of No Trades 85 @ Aug 25th 2008 8:29AM

Wow, just in one week............

Tales of Vesperia
Castle Crashers
Disgaea 3

Like I have said before: Its a great time to be a gamer.

Kevin @ Aug 25th 2008 8:38AM

Oh Pajama Sam, haven't you ever heard of the Vashta Nerada. The dark is one of the scariest places EVER.

WRE @ Aug 25th 2008 9:12AM

These companies have no regard for gamers that own all three consoles and both handhelds. Give us some time to catch up, you bastards!

koehler83 @ Aug 25th 2008 9:43AM

I hope Vesperia goes the standard direction for Xbox exclusive RPGs and bombs. (Not because it's exclusivity, simply because the game is utter garbage! Most overhyped POS of the year. Disgaea 3 is a pretty close runner up though, with its PS2 graphics.)

I can't wait for Infinite Undiscovery next week though. I hope it actually makes it into stores in a reasonable amount of time. Square-Enix is useless when it comes to putting shit on shelves on time.

Fonic @ Aug 25th 2008 10:27AM

How is it garbage? And overhyped? By who? The game is barely a blip outside of Japan. And Disgaea is bad because it has poor graphics?
Don't be a tool.

juju187 @ Aug 25th 2008 11:40AM

so it ok for vesperia to bomb because its a xbox rpg, but Infinite Undiscovery is immune to it because you want it?
Fail -1

Fernando Rocker @ Aug 25th 2008 9:45AM

Tales of Vesperia and Super Mario Sluggers for me this week.

Probably N+ for the DS, depending on the price and reviews.

Badger_badger_badger @ Aug 25th 2008 9:52AM

Agh, first tales game I can't get (no 360)...

MC Double Def DP @ Aug 25th 2008 9:52AM

Maybe I'm just old, but WTF is up with these Wii releases? Pajama Sam? Dry Cereal? Freddy Fish: Kelp Seed?!?!?!?

zero2dash @ Aug 25th 2008 10:02AM

I'm used to skimming over the Wii releases 'cause there hasn't been anything that's interested me in a long time. But then I read your comment and said to myself "no way, he's gotta be joking; those aren't REAL games" and then I scrolled up and saw the Wii list and...

...well, ok then. *hmph* Umm...yeeeahh. =S

Fenix @ Aug 25th 2008 10:29AM

MC DDD

Same thing I say every fricken week. It's ridiculous...

Vcize @ Aug 25th 2008 10:32AM

Holy crap, even after reading your reply I didn't believe that those were real games, until I also scrolled up and took a look.

Jacksons @ Aug 25th 2008 10:43AM

Add me to the list of people that thought MC was joking. Pretty absurd.

Duke @ Aug 25th 2008 10:58AM

What's bad is that a Spongebob title in there would have been a AAA title.

Deeznuts420 @ Aug 25th 2008 11:03AM

funny guys...real funny, i almost believed you too....HOLY SH-

Raikage (GOLDEN Gun Of The Patriots) @ Aug 25th 2008 11:21AM

It's like a train wreck... I have to sell my Wii... Soon... Very soon...

Mr.ESC @ Aug 25th 2008 11:26AM

I guess we all have to hold on to Madworld,I haven't bought a Wii game in months now and the thing just there collecting dust.

Maybe if I had a Wifi connection at least I could be playing Megaman 2.

Mr Khan @ Aug 25th 2008 3:20PM

Right. Because Wii owners have to buy them

colinbell @ Aug 25th 2008 9:59AM

Too bad most of the people who might have liked this game will never play this game, while 95% of 360 owners will never buy this game.
It is a bit funny, when you think of all those comments at the beginning of the year about how FF and MGS should go multi-platform to boost sales, but all facts indicate that any RPG or non-shooter game MUST be on the PS3 to sell well, and developers of JRPGs or story-driven games might as well ignore the 360.
I wonder what the people at Mistwalker think of their decision to go 360-exclusive now, with both their games, especially the expensively made Lost odyssey, so totally trashed.

Vcize @ Aug 25th 2008 10:36AM

Yeah, because Mass Effect and Oblivion sold like total garbage. Oh wait, no they didn't.

But the funniest part about your post:

If you take the top 10 best selling games from each console...

Number of shooters in that list on the 360: 3
Number of shooters in that list on the PS3: 3

And that's NOT counting Uncharted as a shooter, which is questionable at best. Count that one as a shooter, and we're looking at a HIGHER percentage of the top 10 best selling PS3 games being shooters than on the 360.

Whoops.

ice~ @ Aug 25th 2008 11:28AM

Ohhh you got owned :\

Mr.ESC @ Aug 25th 2008 11:33AM

“story-driven games might as well ignore the 360.”

I don't what to say here but most of the games I bought for my x360 are Story Driven but yeah almost nobody played The Darkness back in the day and it was flippin good.

About RPG's well to be honest I really can't play long RPGs now since I have work and now my Studies and Jrpgs have this tendency of being long due random encounters and pretty much grinding also that JRPGs are not my cup of tea.

Yet Oblivion did sell well since most of my friends and a lot of guys in the xlive have it. I still have to finish it though.

killian @ Aug 25th 2008 10:12AM

Damn this game looks good is there any chance of it coming to PS3???

Boffo the Sock @ Aug 25th 2008 10:31AM

Fall is the new winter.

Phinehas @ Aug 25th 2008 11:35AM

"(before, you know, it dug right back in to those comfy ashes the following week)"

You know, you guys should read your own articles more often. You might start with the one where you talk about how the 360 is out of stock in Japan.

Boffo the Sock @ Aug 25th 2008 11:37AM

It seems that the writers at Joystiq understand economics less than John McCain.

capt_carl @ Aug 25th 2008 3:01PM

Castle Crashers for me for sure. Maybe Tales after I finally get around to checking out the demo. My RPG backlog is still pretty bad though:

Wild ARMs 5
Odin Sphere
Persona 3: FES
Knights of the Old Republic (found it used!)

AND I have to make time to play TF2, go to work, study for class...oh boy...