<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[March 2010&#8217;s interesting game&nbsp;releases]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>Well, not surprisingly, February 2010 <em>flew</em> by, and here we are in good ol&#8217; March. The snow is melting, it&#8217;s raining a lot more in New Jersey, and warmer weather is just around the corner. As are some big, big videogame releases. Here&#8217;s the ones that interest me the most this month&#8230;</p>
<h4>Sonic Classic Collection &#8211; March 2 (Nintendo DS)</h4>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="603" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/march-2010s-interesting-game-releases/soniccollectionds/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg" data-orig-size="500,450" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="sonicCollectionDS" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-603" title="sonicCollectionDS" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=400&#038;h=360" alt="" width="400" height="360" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=400&amp;h=360 400w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=150&amp;h=135 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg?w=300&amp;h=270 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/soniccollectionds.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">The recent announcement about <strong>Sonic the Hedgehog 4</strong> has caused a rift between fans. Or maybe that should be &#8220;fans.&#8221; I don&#8217;t know. These people really hate the project, despite knowing very little of it, and want to boycott the game <em>the moment</em> it comes out. Umm. To me, it looks like classic Sonic with shinier skin for current gen consoles. Not the worst thing in the world. But enough about that. I&#8217;m more curious to see how the original Sonic games in <strong>Sonic Classic Collection</strong> play on a Nintendo DS. Can the framerate keep up? And one would hope there isn&#8217;t too much touchscreen integration.</p>
<h4>Final Fantasy XIII &#8211; March 9 (360, PS3)</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="602" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/march-2010s-interesting-game-releases/finalfantasy13battle-2/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg" data-orig-size="580,326" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="finalfantasy13battle" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=580" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-602" title="finalfantasy13battle" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=499&#038;h=281" alt="" width="499" height="281" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=499&amp;h=281 499w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=150&amp;h=84 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg?w=300&amp;h=169 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/finalfantasy13battle.jpg 580w" sizes="(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px" /></p>
<p>I have some love/hate issues with many <strong>Final Fantasy</strong> games, and the ones I really enjoy are generally not the ones others felt were the best in the series. I&#8217;m talking about <strong>Final Fantasy IX</strong> and <strong>Final Fantasy XII</strong>. One was a throwback to olden days with mages and castles, and the other a mix of MMORPG aesthetics and unburdened freedom. This one, however, looks pretty, but is being touted as extremely linear. <a href="http://www.actionbutton.net/?p=630">ActionButton totally ripped it a new one.</a> Still, my curiousity has been itched, and I&#8217;m definitely pleased to see it as a multiplatform release.</p>
<h4 id="mediaTitle">Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening &#8211; March 16 (PC, PS3, 360)</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="604" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/march-2010s-interesting-game-releases/daoawakening/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg" data-orig-size="606,341" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="DAOAwakening" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=606" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-604" title="DAOAwakening" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=500&#038;h=281" alt="" width="500" height="281" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=500&amp;h=281 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=150&amp;h=84 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg?w=300&amp;h=169 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/daoawakening.jpg 606w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>Having only logged about 12 hours in <strong>Dragon Age: Origins</strong> at the moment, I&#8217;m both happy and nervous about more game content. I mean, the original is <em>huge</em> as is, and it&#8217;ll be a long time before I see all there is to see. I guess though, in the grand scheme of things, it&#8217;s not the worst thing in the world, going back to Ferelden for more slaughtering, more persuading, more sexy times. I just won&#8217;t be rushing out to pick this up until I&#8217;ve exhausted what I&#8217;ve got now.</p>
<h4>God of War III &#8211; March 16 (PS3)</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="605" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/march-2010s-interesting-game-releases/godofwar3/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg" data-orig-size="590,349" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="godofwar3" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=590" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-605" title="godofwar3" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=500&#038;h=295" alt="" width="500" height="295" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=500&amp;h=295 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=150&amp;h=89 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg?w=300&amp;h=177 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/godofwar3.jpg 590w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t own a Playstation 3, but that can&#8217;t keep me away. If anything, <strong>God of War III</strong>&#8216;s imminent release has only opened Pandora&#8217;s Box and reminded me that I&#8217;ve still not beaten <strong>God of War</strong>, stuck on that final battle against Ares. Sigh. He&#8217;s a tough god, I&#8217;ll give him that. But a bit cheap. I can only side-roll so many times before he takes me down.</p>
<p>&#8230;</p>
<p>Not sure if I&#8217;ll ultimately make a purchase this month though as I&#8217;ve still got a ton of other games to play, many that I only just started. <em>Ahem</em>, <strong>Dragon Age: Origins</strong>, <em>ahem ahem</em>, <strong>Grand Theft Auto IV</strong> <em>ahem.</em> We&#8217;ll see&#8230;</p>
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