This Month in Gaming - April 2011

A new month is here, bringing with it a fresh batch of game releases. While those April showers are coming down outside, here are some new titles to keep you cozy inside:

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D [3DS] - April 10th

You may be one of the people who ran out to pick up the brand new Nintendo 3DS handheld, gawking at the technical achievement of glasses-less 3D. If so, you've probably also noticed that there aren't too many game choices available yet. Well, that will partially change this month with the release of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D. At its heart, it is a remake of Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, the critically acclaimed stealth/espionage action game from 2005.

Unfortunately, it might not be the answer to your 3DS prayers, as it has been available in Japan since March 17th and has garnered some pretty bland reviews. If you have played the original game, it may be worth skipping this title as it apparently offers virtually nothing new to the main campaign. To make matters worse, it is inexplicably missing any multiplayer component at all, a feature that went a long way to make Chaos Theory so impressive, and a missed opportunity to play on the otherwise socially smart 3DS.

On the other hand, if you're a newly-branded 3DS junkie and you just want something new to play, and particularly if you've never played Splinter Cell Chaos Theory before, that might be enough to make Splinter Cell 3D worth your cash. Regardless, approach this title cautiously.

• Patapon 3 [PSP] - April 12th

The original Patapon is considered a classic for the Sony PSP handheld system. It is a cross between a rhythm game and a strategy game where the player assumes an omnipresent god-like role ruling over a tribe of Patapon warriors. Commands are doled out to the warriors using the face buttons as "talking drums," beat in differing succession along with music to assign various commands.

Patapon was released in February of 2008 and was very well-received from critics and gamers alike, earning a Metascore of 86. The sequel Patapon 2 followed in May of 2009 and introduced cooperative multiplayer gameplay to the series, and this month's release of Patapon 3 is said to have a greater focus on multiplayer itself while introducing a competitive mode with up to eight players.

Sony is planning to release their new handheld system to the world at the end of this year to compete with the Nintendo 3DS. Consequently, there are only a handful of big-time titles left for release on the current-gen PSP. Patapon 3 is one of them. If you own a PSP and are looking for some new content, this is a game that you will want to take a close look at this year.

• Portal 2 [PC, Mac, PS3, X360] - April 19th

The first Portal title was an unexpected hit. As part of The Orange Box, a compilation of hit games from developer Valve that hinged primarily on the Half-Life 2 series, Portal was a veritable "extra," a humorous first-person puzzle game set in the Half-Life universe but apart from its main plot. However, Portal proved infectious and spawned a legion of fans from its clever puzzles and memorable humor (the cake is a lie!).

Portal was a relatively short game and almost served as simply a demonstration of its inventive puzzle mechanic, but Portal 2 promises to be a fully-featured, full-length game. It also introduces multiplayer cooperative gameplay to the now-series, and the head spins just thinking about the sorts of puzzles that could come about as a result. Portal 2 is one of the most anticipated titles of the year, let alone the month, so fix your eyes on this one.

As a quick aside, note that the Playstation 3 version of the game includes the PC version of the game with its purchase as a downloadable item, which may very well make this particular console version the flagship iteration of Portal 2.

• Mortal Kombat [PS3, X360] - April 19th

Mortal Kombat has become a household name in the fighting game genre since the series' inception in 1992, partly because of its brutal and controversial depiction of gore and violence, and partly because of its addictive gameplay elements. It has seen the release of many titles, but the reception of the last several titles has been inconsistent, as the gameplay mechanics have evolved drastically over time, for better or worse.

The newest game in the series, once again titled simply Mortal Kombat, is a love letter to fans of its earliest iterations. The action takes place on a 3D landscape, but the gameplay is decidedly 2D, akin to that of the first three Mortal Kombat games. Classic stages such as "The Pit" make a return in this version, and virtually every recognizeable character from each of the titles makes an appearance. There are 26 characters in the game at release and two more to be offered as downloadable content.

Any fan of the first three games in the series will definitely want to check this out. The gameplay is decidedly old-school with all the flash and flair possible on modern HD consoles. And for any fans of the popular God of War series of games, it's also worth noting that the Playstation 3 version will offer Kratos as a playable character in versus mode.

• Conduit 2 [Wii] - April 19th

One of the very few anticipated Nintendo Wii exclusives coming out in 2011 sees its release this month in Conduit 2. Its prequel, The Conduit, was released in June of 2009 and was touted as the definitive first-person shooter experience on the Nintendo Wii. Built on the proprietary Quantum3 engine, it brought bump mapping, reflection and refraction, and gloss and detail mapping to the console at a level not previously seen. In laymans terms, it looked unusually good for a game on a console that maxes out at the low resolution of 480p. The Conduit also supported online multiplayer matches with up to 12 players and voice chat capability.

While its technical achievements and multiplayer gameplay earned positive remarks, the single player campaign received mixed reviews at best. However, Conduit 2 promises superior control by supporting the console's MotionPlus and Classic Controller peripherals, and the most recent playable preview build at E3 2010 garnered positive reviews stemmed from said improvements. The PS3, Xbox 360, and PC generally host the best of the FPS experiences, but for fans of the genre living in Wii-only households, Conduit 2 may be a game worth watching for.

• SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs [PS3] - April 19th

For those unfamiliar with the series, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs is a third-person squad-based tactical war series that has seen four games for the Playstation 2, four games for the PSP, and one for the Sony Ericsson cell phone. It is lauded for its addictive multiplayer gameplay and a legitimate sequel for the Playstation 3 has been anticipated for some time, since the last console iteration from developer Zipper Interactive was a Playstation 2 title from November of 2006.

SOCOM 4 is technically not the first entry of the SOCOM series for the Playstation 3. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation was released for the Playstation 3 in October of 2008, but was developed by Slant Six Games rather than Zipper Interactive, the developer of the popular iterations on the Playstation 2. The result was an especially buggy experience plagued by lag that was not so positively received. SOCOM 4 is the first of the series for the Playstation 3 that is developed by Zipper Interactive, so hopes are significantly higher for this title.

SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs is said to feature 32-player multiplayer combat, and also will support the Playstation Move motion controller.

There you have a spattering of this month's releases to digest while doing a bit of April budgeting. There's something new for everyone regardless of what console you have available in your home.

Pick up these video games at these local video game retailers:

• , 545 South Broad St., Lansdale. (215) 368-1955
• GameStop, 1551 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale. (215) 631-1230
• , 2333 W. Main St., Lansdale. (215) 855-4280
• GameStop, 801 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales. (215) 412-2900
• GameStop, Montgomery Mall, North Wales. (215) 362-2036
• Toys R Us, 2 Airport Square, North Wales. (215) 368-8050
• Best Buy, 801 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales. (215) 855-3528