One of the problems with summer and its slow-paced release schedule is that game retailers just aren't feeling the rush to get smaller titles to stores. Last Tuesday's Atlus games, Summon Night and B-Daman, didn't get the overnight treatment that Monkeyball Adventures got, for example. This means they were probably available a bit earlier in some places and a bit later in others.
While this isn't a big deal during busier times of the year, when a week is filled almost entirely with titles like Pirates: Black Buccaneer and D1 Grand Prix, the prediction accuracy takes a noticeable hit. While Dead Rising is guaranteed to be there on Wednesday, I give about a 50/50 shot of Super Robot Taisen sitting on shelves beside it. We'll see how it goes, I guess.
Week of July 31 – August 5
Tuesday, August 1
Barnyard (PS2, GC, GBA)
Another in the unending stream of CGI-animated movie games.
B-Daman (GBA)
Anime-based combat marbles.
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story (GBA)
Arena-fighting action RPG.
Wednesday, August 2
Flatout 2 (PS2, Xbox, PC)
Redneck racing with a ton of minigames using ragdoll physics on the driver.
Super Monkeyball Adventure (PS2, GC)
Monkeyball goes from simple arcade to platform adventure.
Week of August 7 – August 12
Wednesday, August 9
D1 Grand Prix (PS2)
Budget-y racing.
Pirates: The Legend of Black Buccaneer (PS2)
The Legend of Black Katt gets a sequel. Rains of blood and boiling seas to follow.
Dead Rising (X360)
Quite possibly the single greatest zombie-killing game ever made.
Games Explosion (GBA)
Board games, not a C4-packed cartridge.
Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots (GBA)
One-on-one fighting in its most brutal form.
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation (GBA)
Turn-based battle strategy anime giant robots. Oh yes!
