Chums out this week: Friday 27 Feb 2009

[TezzRexx]

Killzone 2 (PS3)
The graphics may live up to the hype, but Sony's long awaited system seller doesn't play as good as it looks.

Populous DS (DS)
The original god sim returns via a strangely circulatory route from Japan.

Silent Hill: Homecoming (360/PS3/PC)
Delayed from Halloween, Konami's survival horror is unlikely to get the welcome home it was hoping for.

Halo Wars (360)
Reviewed today, Halo goes back to its roots with a real-time strategy that's high on accessibility but low on depth.

Boing! Docomodake (DS)
The name might be sales suicide but this platform puzzler looks quite good.

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii)
The Xbox 360 exclusive is ported to the Wii, but has it lost more than just the number of zombies on screen?

OneChanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (360)
Bikinis, zombies and samurai swords sounds like the perfect mixture – but the series doesn't have a good record.

Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers (Wii)
A sequel to the above, but largely the same deal except with more waggling.

Family Ski & Snowboard (Wii)
The first Family Ski made some good use of the Balance Board, hopefully this won't be as unfairly ignored.

Metal Slug 7 (DS)
The 2D shooter series continues on the DS, even if it doesn't necessarily seem the best format suited to the job.

Winter Sports 2009 (Wii/360/PS3/DS)
Hurrah! The Wii gets another mini-game compendium. Just what everyone wanted.

Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals (DS)
Disney's Pokemon wannabe has some of the best graphics on the system, but does it have the gameplay to match?

[Joose]

Halo Wars (360)
Reviewed today, Halo goes back to its roots with a real-time strategy that's high on accessibility but low on depth.

Played the demo. It looks shiny, but its about as basic as modern RTS's get. I predict it will only sell to people who:

A) Buy anything Halo related, regardless of quality
B) Don't read reviews.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

Played the demo. It looks shiny, but its about as basic as modern RTS's get. I predict it will only sell to people who:

A) Buy anything Halo related, regardless of quality
B) Don't read reviews.

75% of xbox owners then?

[Joose]

75% of xbox owners then?

Most likely

[Dog Pants]

Also, PCG say:

Empire TW: Brilliant
DoW2: Good
Saint's Row 2: Surprisingly good
Burnout Paradise: Good
Fear 2: Meh

[FatherJack]

Empire TW: Brilliant
Still 'unreleased' on Steam, despite me just having seen a copy in Tesco.

DoW2: Good
It is.

Saint's Row 2: Surprisingly good
Just grabbed a copy, for a mere £14. It's another one that requires you log in to Steam to play even if you bought the disc version. The 12G install is slightly faster, though.

Burnout Paradise: Good
I have the original on 360, so not sure there's justification to buy again.

Fear 2: Meh
Yeah, haven't really bothered with it. Not because I'm too scared, though.

[Fear]

I'd say Fear 2 is worth a dabble. It's not ground breaking - but it's good at what it does.

Maybe wait until it's £15 or in a steam offer/bundle.

[Dog Pants]

I can vouch for DoW2 if normal RTSs aren't your thing but you like tactical battles. I'd take Saint's Row 2 with a pinch of salt, as PCZ gave it 67%, but by the looks of things the character creation alone might be worth £14 to 5punkers.