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Thursday, November 13, 2008

PSN, WiiWare, XBLA: ESRB Add Summaries To Their Website, Releasing New Information On Unannounced Games

esrbratings.jpgWith the holiday season coming up, it appears that the ESRB have decided to become more forward with their rating system. Now on their website, games that require descriptors will now have a summary about the game as well as anything that may offend in the game.

While this is all good for the mothers out there, it has also allowed us to look a little deeper on those games that have been rated, but don't know much about. Games that haven't even been announced have gotten their own summary too.

For instance, The Incredible Machine for XBLA was rated and suggests that the unnannounced game will be working in a 3D plane, while the original was only on a 2D plane. WiiWare title Jungle Speed is apparently able to work with up to 8 people, suggesting online play, and Tiki Towers is a game that allows you to build structures with monkey helpers.

Below is a good list of all the ones I could find that had something interesting added to them. Thanks to Shard for pointing some of these out to me.

XBLA

The Incredible Machine

"The Incredible Machine is a spatial puzzle game in which players solve challenges and brain teasers involving everyday objects on a 3-D plane. Players interact with various objects and grids to guide balls into holes or to use miscellaneous items (e.g., a car, mouse, or curved pipe) to meet the objective of each level."

Dorito's Dash of Destruction

"Dash of Destruction is an action game in which players can either drive a truck around a city and make deliveries or control a dinosaur that chases a fast-moving truck carrying a load of Doritos chips. Trucks can hit buildings and other vehicles while avoiding being caught by the T-Rex. As the Dinosaur, players can destroy any obstacle in the city, but doing so will slow the T-Rex down in its pursuit of the delivery truck. When players fail to complete the required objective, the words "you suck" are displayed on screen."

Le Tour de France 2008

"In this sports simulation game, Le Tour de France 2008, players select a professional bicyclist to be part of a team that competes in the Tour de France. Players can 'attack' (accelerate beyond the pack), become the 'poursuivant' (pursuers of the leaders), or blend into the 'peloton' (pack of bicyclists) to help capitalize on each team member's strength."

Yo-Ho Kablammo!

"Yo-Ho Kablammo! is a collection of multi-player mini-games (i.e., 'party games') in which players compete in various pirate-themed contests. Mini-games include priming mines, shooting and sinking other ships, collecting treasures, and being the last man standing. Mild explosions are depicted when enemy ships are sunk and defeated."

Merv Griffin's Crosswords

"Merv Griffin's Crosswords is a game show simulation in which players can compete against others in attempts to solve crossword puzzles. Successful answers are rewarded with "money" in varying amounts; unsuccessful answers result in deductions. Some clues include references to sexuality (e.g., "smut," "lustful," "randy," and "libido") and tobacco products (e.g., "cigar," and "cigarette")."

UNO Rush

"Uno Rush is a multiplayer card game in which players compete using variant rules on the card game of Uno.With four overall modes of play (Standard, Partner, Elimination and House Rules) the game progresses over multiple rounds until a target score is reached."

3D Ultra™ Minigolf Adventures 2

"3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures 2 challenges the player with fantasy courses and environments. Users must play through traditional golf bunkers, as well as obstacles like bombs, spiders, and a knight in armor."

Blazing Birds

"Blazing Birds is a fantasy sports game based on badminton. Players control futuristic robots that compete in matches, using high-energy power shots to score points."

PSN

Magic Ball

"Magic Ball is an arcade game in which players rebound a ball to break apart 3D objects from a playing field. 'Power-ups' allow players to fire a variety of weapons (machine guns, lasers, and canons) to assist in clearing the field. One power-up grants a "drunken ball" attribute (i.e., erratic patterns) and can be obtained by picking up a bubbling champagne bottle."

Astro Tripper

"Astro Tripper is an action space shooter in which players control a small ship as it shoots its way through colorful levels of geometric and vaguely animal-shaped enemies. The ship can obtain several types of weapons through power-ups and enemies occasionally return projectile fire. Ship and enemy explosions are depicted with moderate intensity and sound effects."

Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer

"Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer is a side-scrolling action game in which players must defend a city from alien/robot attackers using a small spacecraft. The player controls a spaceship that shoots at attacking robots, ships, insects, and geometric shapes."

PowerUp Forever

"Powerup Forever is an arcade-style shooter game in which players control a small ship that engages swarms of organic-based robot creatures and objects in constant combat. Players navigate their ship through various abstract and colorful environments, accumulating points for every enemy destroyed. Enemy creatures display mild explosions and debris when defeated."

Mahjong Tales™: Ancient Wisdom

"Mahjong Tales(TM): Ancient Wisdom is a puzzle game in which players match tiles of the same design to clear them from a play area. Five traditional Chinese stories on panels during gameplay."

WiiWare

Jungle Speed

"Jungle Speed is a multi-player card game in which players try to get rid of the cards in their hands by quickly matching symbols and grabbing a totem when certain conditions are met. Animal avatars represent the players, and the game can be played with up to eight people."

Bruiser and Scratch

"Bruiser and Scratch is a puzzle game in which players control two characters that are lost in a world of life-sized puzzle boards. Players solve a variety of 3D slide puzzles through various whimsical environments, including 'spooky boards' and 'zen mountains.'"

Tiki Towers

"Tiki Towers is a puzzle game in which players build structures using monkey helpers. Players can use rain, lightning and power-ups to keep whimsical enemies (tribal chiefs, monster plants) from disrupting the construction."

Fun! Fun! Minigolf

"Fun! Fun! Minigolf is a simulated miniature golf game in which players choose a variety of colorful courses from which to compete. The game offers 27 holes of miniature golf which can be played on 3 different continents."

Sandy Beach

"Sandy Beach is a sand castle-building game that takes place on a beach. Players build virtual sand castles, while repelling waves of whimsical crabs. Makeshift cannons can be built to fire tiny pellets at the incoming crabs, which flip over and disappear when defeated."

Pit Crew Panic

"Pit Crew Panic is an action game in which players control a 'pit crew' that repairs a wide variety of objects (e.g., a toilet, military tank and bulldozer). The objective is to clean and repair the objects in an efficient and timely manner, while avoiding hazards such as 'green goo' that might hinder the player's progress."

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