Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Price: $49.99 || Official Site
The hottest, yellow-armored chick in all of video gamedom is balling up and rolling onto Wii for another escapade of alien ass kicking and duct exploration. Other M sports a revamped control scheme that lets you free roam 3rd person when holding the Wiimote old school and 1st person when pointing it at the screen, a very cool enhancement that adds an extra layer of awesome to an already successful formula. Fans of the series who don’t appreciate anime and/or Japanese porn may find the cut scenes too drawn out, which figures, because this time Samus talks...and talks...and talks. It doesn’t hurt the game overall but it did make us yearn for the days of concise explanations on a datascreen. The plot remains compelling despite its storytelling shortcomings and Samus is as badass as ever, especially in the midst of some of the best boss battles in the franchise. This entry won’t disappoint long time fans and seeing what’s underneath the suit won’t disappoint our Japanese-Pornophile friends either. Behave, fellas.
Number of Beers to Enjoy: 1, just for nostalgia’s sake.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (XBLA)
Price: 400 points || Official Site
Coming as the bridge between the original and its sequel, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is the XBLA-only prologue to one of fall’s most anticipated non-FPS games that arrives at the end of the month. It’s a single player campaign, sorta like your love life, that maps out how our hero, Chuck, and his daughter, Katey, wound up in a world where stuffing meat with explosives and attaching chainsaws to boat oars seem like good ideas. What you’re really getting from Case Zero is a taste of the good stuff for a small fee just to get you hooked, sorta like crack, which is appropriate because wrench-smashing a zombie into a puddle gets to be incredibly addicting. Oh yeah, all the cash you earn and leveling up you do in Case Zero carries over too. See you in rehab.
Number of Beers to Enjoy: 4 and a teaspoon of sugar to help the anti-zombie medicine go down.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition (XBOX 360, PS3)
Price: $59.99 || Official Site
For anyone that’s been paying for DLC to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2, this may be a kick in the nuts. Everybody else, your nuts are safe (for now) and you’re in for a treat because EA is pumping out the Ultimate Edition this week that includes the game, all the latest DLC and throws in the Live Arcade/PSN game Battlefield 1943 for good measure. BC2 became a fan favorite earlier this year and will probably weather the upcoming online whirlwind of Reach and Black Ops so throwing down for a copy with all the frills isn’t a bad idea. Just make sure you also want in on the upcoming ‘Nam expansion pack because we hear that Hanoi is beautiful in the winter.
Number of Beers to Enjoy: 8 if you’ve been paying for DLC all along (sorry ‘bout your nuts, dude.)