New Home Video & Video Game Releases – Week of July 29, 2012

Featured Release:  Kingdom Hearts 3D – Dream Drop Distance

When listening to video game podcasts, I often hear discussion of Square Enix.  Precisely, discussion is on what exactly the company is doing…  Fans have been clamoring for a sequel to the PlayStation 2 hit Kingdom Hearts 2, which was released 7 years ago.  Instead of developing a console title for this generation, Square has been focusing the franchise on portable titles, with 2009’s DS title 358/2 Days, 2010’s PSP game Birth by Sleep, and last year’s DS title Re:coded.

Once again, Square sticks with the portable environment, bringing their classic franchise to the third-dimension with today’s release of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.  For those new to Kingdom Hearts, the games blend the worlds of Square’s Final Fantasy franchise with that of classic Disney animation.  In this newest title, characters Sora and Riku train under Yen Sid (the sorcerer from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – not the crappy Nicolas Cage movie, but the iconic segment from 1940’s Fantasia…  Also, “Disney” spelled backwards.).

The game was originally released in Japan in March and has been receiving generally favorable reviews.  While I personally have always been interested in the series, the only title of the Kingdom Hearts franchise I’ve played was Birth by Sleep, which I didn’t particularly care for.  The series gameplay is heavily influenced by its RPG-centric forefather Final Fantasy.  But if you’re a fan of that game and Disney – NOTE: You don’t play as a Disney character, you play as a character that inhabits the same universe as them – you’ll probably love these games and the opportunity to further explore the environs of many classic films.

(Editor’s Note:  I think I know why Square doesn’t have time to make Kingdom Hearts 3…  They’re too busy making up incredibly stupid names for their games.  Ugh, so bad!)

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS hits store shelves today.

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New Home Video Releases

• The Carol Burnett Show – The Ultimate Collection (DVD)
• Detention (BR/DVD)
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (DVD)
• Hatfields and McCoys (BR/DVD)
• Marvel Anime: Blade – The Complete Series (DVD)
• Marvel Anime: Wolverine – The Complete Series (DVD)
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Collection (DVD)
• Misfits – Season One (DVD)
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Volume XXIV (DVD)
• Total Recall – Mind-Bending Edition (BR)
• Transformers Prime: One Shall Stand (DVD)
• The Weight of the Nation (DVD)

New Video Game Releases

• A Virus Named Tom (PC
• Bust-N-Rush (PC)
• Deadlight (X360)
• Grand Theft Auto III (PS3)
• Hitman: Sniper Challenge (PC)
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
• Orcs Must Die 2 (PC)
• Risen 2: Dark Waters (PS3/X360)
• War of the Monsters (PS3)

Upcoming releases provided by IGN.com – DVD/Blu-Ray | Video Games