Now Playing: 11.10.2011

Fancy buying a video game or two this week? There’s a lot out there– and that’s where Nintendojo’s Now Playing column comes in. Check out the list, and lean back as we figure out just what these games are all about.

Note: titles in grey apply to Europe only.

Wii

November 8, 2011
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL (SVG Distribution)
Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey and Gallop Racer (Tecmo Koei)
Happy Feet Two: The Videogame (Warner Bros. Interactive)
Heavy Fire Afghanistan (Mastiff)
Kore Gang (Atari)
Leela (THQ)
Nickelodeon Dance (TAKE TWO Interactive)
Zumba Fitness 2 (Majesco)
uDraw Disney Princess: Enchanting Storybooks (THQ)
November 10, 2011
The Black Eyed Peas Experience (Ubisoft)
November 11, 2011
Deepak Chopra – Leela (THQ)
(Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)

WiiWare

November 10, 2011
Step Up! (GolemLabs & Zoozen)

3DS

November 8, 2011
Cave Story 3D (NIS America)
Happy Feet Two: The Videogame (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Michael Jackson The Experience (Ubisoft)
Outdoors Unleashed: Africa (Mastiff)
Outdoors Unleashed: Alaska (Mastiff)
PacMan Party (Namco-Bandai Games)
November 11, 2011
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)

Nintendo eShop

November 11, 2011
Freakyforms™: Your Creations, Alive! (Nintendo)

Nintendo Video

November 4, 2011
The Legend of Zelda Ballad of the Goddess (Nintendo)

Nintendo DS

November 8, 2011
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
Dagedar (GameMill)
Disney Princess: Enchanting Storybooks (THQ)
Happy Feet Two: The Videogame (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Puppies 3D (Ubisoft)
SpongeBob Surf and Skate Roadtrip (THQ)
Wappy Dog (Activision)
November 11, 2011
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo (Activision)
Winter in Blue Mountain (PAN Vision)

DSiWare

November 10, 2011
Bloons® TD (Digital Goldfish Ltd.)
Castle Conqueror – Heroes (CIRCLE Entertainment Ltd.)

So the big news this week, naturally, is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3— on Nintendo systems! The last installment of the Modern Warfare series– which garnered the second-biggest launch of all time, only to be surpassed by its successor this week— failed to reach Wii, with Reflex and Black Ops being the only games that showed up, so it’s nice to see that Modern Warfare 3 is on Nintendo systems. And they’re not developed by anyone different, either, although n-Space is taking the reins on the DS version– it’s got experience! Don’t worry! According to Metacritic, though, the Wii version has a, uh, a 1.4 user rating. That’s not even out of 5! That’s out of 10! Apparently the majority of two hundred people hated the game so much (or judged it prematurely) that they decided to give the game a 0 or a 1. Now that’s dedication to the cause! That’s console partisanship at its best. Or is it worst? Who knows– the “real” reviewers are mum on the topic, as far as Metacritic can tell at this early point in the numbers game. Apparently Wii sales of MW3 only made up 4% of its total sales, anyhow. Which, we guess, makes sense, because who’s gonna sell games when Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL releases on the same week? That’s retail suicide, that is.

We kid, of course. Actually, this week’s releases are pretty well-rounded! You’ve got the big names (Modern Warfare 3), the indie names (Cave Story 3D— though that game gets less indie with every single new release), and the tiny names (Castle Conqueror, a somewhat underrated game from CIRCLE Entertainment on the very underrated DSiWare). You even have the movie tie-ins, which hilariously enough is the only reason I ever know what movies are out nowadays. What’s that? A Happy Feet Two video game? I guess there must be a Happy Feet 2 movie out. I wonder if Elijah Wood’s in this one, too.

(The same thing applies to what kids like these days. Apparently they like robotic Wappy Dogs and Moshi Monsters? I’ve had worse.)

But this week is actually amazing in terms of the sheer number of games– past Now Playings recently haven’t had nearly as much. Our assumption is that everybody’s trying to shovel send out games as quickly as possible in the time before Super Mario Land 3D (which releases this Sunday! it’s not this week so it’s not on the list, but this Sunday!) takes over our lives. It’s especially difficult for devs because they can’t even do next week, since a certain Skyward Sword drops on the 20th. Is that jealousy I smell? Yeah, I think so.

On the bright side, we get games to play. First-party, second-party, or third-party, that’s good news for us!

Any of these games catch your eye? Gonna shoot up some other CoDders online? Let us know in the comments!