This is a nice quiet week...oh wait, I'm looking at a different week! Big releases in all the categories I list in these posts, so get ready. As usual, I have my pick of the week in every category.
Games
Playstation 3 System (11/17)
The system we've all opined about (and every eBay seller's fantasy) is ready to drop on Friday. Sony has said they hope to exceed expectations, but I'm willing to bet the amount of systems available will be 400k or lower. For those that pre-ordered at EB/Gamestop I wish you luck and hope your local store goes chronologically and not sell to those that spent more on the system/games/accessories as you. I'll make a post later on talking about my feelings with the PS3 and Wii about to drop.
PS3 Ported Games
This includes such games as NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Tony Hawk's Project 8 (sans online), Call of Duty 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Need for Speed: Carbon, NBA Live 07, NHL 07 and Tiger Woods 07. I may have forgotten some, but it will be interesting to see how they stack up against their 360 counterparts.
Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
It is a busy games release week because of the Playstation 3 and this easily tops the choices coming out of the PS3's launch. IGN's review gave it a 9.1, although it was a poorly written article. I await Gamespot's take on it since I find they run generally at the same wavelength I do. I think no matter what this game receives my Game of the Week endorsement even though I may not play it for a long time.
Final Fantasy III (DS)
This game was also in the running for the GotW award, but with the PS3 avalanche coming in the same week it gets relegated to a note from me. I've heard good things about this 3D re-imagining of FF3 and I hope it turns out nicely. I don't have a DS as of yet, but this is yet another reason to think about picking one up.
Genji: Days of the Blade (PS3)
I think the various reviews (Gamespot 6.4, IGN 6.0) that are out there now pretty much sum up the game. It looks nice, but doesn't play so well. I give a big Rent It to this one for those of you that get a PS3 and keep it.
Ridge Racer 7 (PS3)
So, this morning I run across this forum thread at Evil Avatar that compares screens from RR7 with those of RR6 on the 360 last year. This proves of course that Ridge Racer 7 is actually Ridge Racer 6 renamed (there may possibly be more tracks though). This isn't the best game to be making comparisons on since it isn't a game that will graphically wow you, but it is interesting to see which system does graphics better. I just wanted to point this out, but you should certainly Rent this game.
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (PS3)
This game could be good given how well the PSP game was received. This game also started the whole Xfire controversy where people were thinking the PS3 online component was run by Xfire, but Sony had just used Xfire for this game. I'll talk more about the online capabilities of PS3 and how disjointed it is in another post. I think this game looks interesting and may be a good Buy.
Sonic the Hedgehog (360/PS3)
This game is going to suck if it is anything like the 360 demo that came out a bit ago. Sonic was once on top of the world, but with each successive release since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast the quality has been going to pot. If the graphics are pretty good I could see this game being a good comparison of the graphical power of the 360 vs. the PS3...I just think the game is going to suck big time. This game may go into the Skip It territory, but you may want to rent as well.
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (360/PS2)
I have not gotten my new issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, but they supposedly reviewed this game and scored it a 7.5. I don't know if EGM is still doing the 3 reviewer thing or not since this issue was supposed to see big changes, but if 7.5 is the average of the 3 reviewers I'd say that is pretty good for a wrestling game. IGN also reviewed it and gave it an 8.0. My only problem with that is that IGN also gave the Xbox RAW games reviews in the 9s and neither game was THAT good. I say Rent It on this one.
Movies/DVDs
The Da Vinci Code (DVD)
Easily my DVD Pick of the Week. I enjoyed this movie a lot, although it is obviously not as good as the similarly themed National Treasure. I think it is certainly worth a rental and maybe even a purchase.
Family Guy Vol. 4 (DVD)
Pick this up to continue your collection of Family Guy DVDs. I don't think this second part of the 4th season is as good as the other seasons, but it is still some quality viewing.
James Bond: Casino Royale (Theater)
Easily my Theater Pick of the Week. I know many people out there can't get used to a blond Bond, but give Daniel Craig a chance! I think this movie looks really good and hopefully it can rejuvenate the franchise via a reboot.
Happy Feet (Theaters)
Another computer animated movie, this time starring penguins. I have no clue whether this movie will be good or not, but they certainly are advertising it everywhere (even at Blockbuster!). The concept sounds interesting, but when I think of computer animation pioneers I don't really think of Warner Bros. in the same class as Pixar or Dreamworks.
Comics
Civil War #5
Comic Book Pick of the Week. Nothing gets the blood flowing more than another Civil War release from Marvel as it ramps up toward the end of the series. I'm not very high on Civil War, but I certainly await to see how much more Millar can push the future of Marvel. Spider-Man is front and center on the cover and I just hope Millar and JMS don't ruin Peter forever by the end of this series.
Astonishing X-Men #18
"Torn" reaches its conclusion. Will we find out the story behind Emma and the White Queen and how they can be or not be the same person? The sad part in all of this is that the next arc is the last one that Whedon will be working on, but the good news is he also moves into writing for Runaways.
Cable and Deadpool #34
I cannot stress how good and funny this series is. I think it goes largely unnoticed like She-Hulk does and I hope some people can drop a major book they don't enjoy reading for this book.
Iron Man #13
The series finally moves into Civil War territory. Hopefully this book will go at length to explain exactly why Tony Stark isn't the biggest ass in the Marvel Universe. Right now he and Reed Richards are striving for the title of biggest ass around. I think an explaination is well in order in this case.
Moon Knight #6
The first arc finally reaches its conclusion. I think this opening arc has been rather slow in execution and I hope this last chapter pushes toward the next arc.
New Avengers #25
Another Civil War tie in and only 1 month until the story about Wanda Maximoff and Clint Barton. Is it sad that I'm more excited about that issue than this one? The solicitation says that Tony is ready for the final battle...be he makes a "fatal mistake" that he will pay for. I'll believe it when I see it.
Thunderbolts #108
It is sad that this team is going to go the way of the wind to be replaced by more A-list villians, but hopefully they will go out with a bang. In this issue the conclusion to the fight between Zemo and Grandmaster reaches its end.
What If? Spider-Man: The Other
I am very interested in this issue simply because I like to see what the other way would have been for this arc. I didn't enjoy the Avengers Disassembled What If? much, but hopefully this will be different with Peter David writing it.
Action Comics #845
Part 2 of "Last Son", the Geoff Johns/Richard Donner team-up. I liked the first chapter and can only hope the goodness continues here.
Birds of Prey #100
The series reaches a new milestone as Oracle needs to look for some new recruits. I love this series and am sad that Black Canary has left, but hopefully new and exciting stories are ahead.