By Nelson Schneider - 01/06/13 at 02:32 PM CT
Welcome to another look into the near future. Now that the Christmas rush is over, we’re left with games that could either be considered Early Birds or a month too late. Regardless of what we might think of the games released in January, it is never a particularly big month. Out of the whopping 7 games releasing this month, it looks like there might be a couple of good ones.
Now that Christmas is over, there is little reason for developers to release licensed games and shovelware. Un-savvy moms and dads of small children have already spent their game budgets for the next few months, so any titles in this category released NOW will get a chance to linger on store shelves and accumulate the nice layer of mold they deserve. That said, 505 Games is still bringing “Chimpact” to the corpse of the late DS. Seriously… it’s a touch-controlled game about a chimp that can only be played on a dead handheld. Why did they even bother?
Multi-platform games dominate the limited number of January releases. Two Beat ‘em Ups, in the form of “Anarchy Reigns” and a rebooted “Devil May Cry” complement Teen-rated FPS, “Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear,” and an HD collection of old “Hitman” games. Move along, folks. Nothing to see here!
Then there are the exclusives. The PS3 is finally getting a long-awaited chance as a second good RPG with “Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.” This collaboration between respected RPG developer, Level 5, and beloved anime movie director, Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, might be able to stand beside “Valkyria Chronicles.” Or it might be a “Tales of Graces f” style flop. Either way, it will likely attract a fanatical – yet tiny – fanbase who will love it unconditionally. The other noteworthy exclusive this month is coming to Steam: “The Cave,” an interesting-looking fusion of 2D Platforming and classic Adventure elements, made by the quirky minds at Double Fine using the Indie development model.
January 2013 looks like the least significant month since I started taking these glances into the near future. It’s also, thanks to the tiny number of releases, the first month in which I plan to play all of the exclusive releases… all TWO of them. “Ni No Kuni” and “The Cave” are on my list, the multi-platform dreck is not.
Backlog Embiggened: +2
