The Ones to Watch - April 2011

April is a bit of a bad month for gaming.  The holidays are long over, so the gift cards have run out.  E3 is right around the corner to get everybody excited about the fall releases, so people keep their cards close to their chests, and it's just really lackluster all the way around this time of the year.  Fortunately there's a couple gems in the desert, so let's take a look.

Patapon 3 - 4/12/11 - PSP

Every so often I like to throw the handhelds a bone.  There's some fantastic games that hit the portable systems, and the Patapon series is one of them.  It's unique rhythm based gameplay mixed with an RTS make it a great portable game.  If you have a PSP it's definitely worth a look.


Portal 2 - 4/19/11 - Multi-Platform

Valve is one of my favorite developers, despite their inability to release things in a timely manner.  But let's face it, the great ones get to play by their own rules.  Portal 2 is the follow up to the completely under the radar smash hit Portal that buyers of the Orange Box were pleased as punch to get to play.  The original could have been a toss-away game, but GlaDOS turned the game from just fun to over the top game of the year material.  This will be another triumph for Valve.  I'm making a note here right now, HUGE SUCCESS.


Mortal Kombat - 4/19/11 - Multi-Platform

Back in the 90's, Street Fighter single-handedly added another decade to the lifespan of the American arcade.  Shortly after it's success, Midway thought they could put out their own fighting game, throw in the chance to decapitate your opponent at the end of a fight, and completed for the top spot for the next several years.  Now, Street Fighter 4 has breathed new life into the 2D fighting game market, and shortly after it's success, Mortal Kombat follows in its footsteps with its own reboot.  Will it be able to hold up to the new standard?  We shall see.


That's it folks.  That's April in gaming.  There's a couple titles that could be interesting, like Darkspore or the new Driver, but based on previous experience with prior titles in the series, they likely won't amount to much of anything.  May has some promise so check back here in a month's time to see what will be worth watching then.  Until then, Happy Gaming!