This Week in Games (February 15 – February 21): Previews

Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Wii, PS3, 360, PS2)(February 17th)

Disney continues to capitalize on their big-hit franchise by releasing name branded High School Musical everything. “High School Musical” is the singing and dancing movie craze that has engulfed teens in its grasp. This game is the third iteration in the “Sing It: HSM” series with each game releasing sometime after its movie. A microphone peripheral is an option for 10 more dollars because it’s a karaoke based video game. There are 25 songs spanning all three movies with old and new crowd favorites ranging from “We’re All in This Together” to “I Want It All”. Another difference in this version is the background videos that accompany the scrolling lyrics. Instead of the music videos like in previous games, scenes from the movie play. High School Musical fans can expect this on store shelves this coming Tuesday at $39.99 w/mic and $29.99 w/o. For the PS2, it’s $29.99 and $19.99 respectively.

Street Fighter IV (PS3, 360) (February 17th)

The long awaited release for Capcom’s most storied franchise is finally upon us. “Street Fighter IV” is the continued journey of Street Fighter 2 with high-res 3D graphics on a 2D playing field. There are 17 playable characters with 12 SF2 characters reprising their roles and 4 brand new characters, Abel, Crimson Viper, Rufus, and El Fuerte. In the home version, the 3 bosses (Seth, Akuma, and Gouken) will be playable, and 6 characters will appear (Dan, Fei-Long, Sakura, Cammy, Gen, and Rose). The core fighting gameplay is still there, but some new additions have been added with ‘Focus Attacks’ and ‘Ultra Combos’. ‘Focus Attacks’ are simply counter attacks that the player can activate by pressing or holding the medium punch and kick buttons. The duration of the button hold determines the strength of the attack. ‘Ultra Combos’ have a special bar that fills up when one absorbs damage, and it delivers, well, an ultra combo of punches and kicks. Capcom’s highly anticipated fighter will be releasing at a store near you for both next-gen consoles at $59.99.


Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (360) (February 17th)

The first batch of episodic content for “GTA IV” is hitting stores this week exclusively for the Xbox 360. Along with the new bag of weapons and vehicles, the player will assume the role of Johnny Klebitz, a member of the LOST motorcycle gang. In “GTA IV”, the main character, Niko, encountered the LOST gang in one of his missions, but “GTA IV” and its expansion pack are two separate entities. There will be some similarities that Johnny will encounter, but they will be in Johnny’s perspective. Some of the new weapons will be grenade launchers and an sawed-off shotgun. Weapons won’t be the only new add-ons because new multiplayer modes have been added. Some of the new modes are ‘Chopper vs. Chopper’ and a variation of certain modes in ‘GTA IV’. Rockstar’s episodic pack will hit stores on Tuesday for $19.99, but there will be no disc because it is a download code. Disclaimer: The ‘GTA IV’ disc is required to play ‘The Lost and Damned’.