On Shelves This Week: July 23 to July 28, 2007

If you still have some savings after purchasing the final installment in the Harry Potter book series last July 21, you might want to check up on this week’s game releases. It’s quite a big library to stir into your gaming cauldrons. In this week’s On Shelves lineup, we find Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy II: Anniversary Edition for the PSP. That game’s got a story epic enough to match the events at Hogwarts.

Console gamers can live on the fast lane this week with NASCAR 08 on the the PS3 and Xbox 360, while Wii owners get the thrills and horrors found in Escape from Bug Island – you might want to take some tips from Hagrid first though.

Those who want to go casual can pick up handheld games the likes of Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition and Chameleon: To Dye For! on the Nintendo DS. PSP owners though, who want to do an Ellen Ripley impersonation (“Get away from her, you b*tch!”), might want to opt for Alien Syndrome.

PC gamers could either take the high road or the low road, with intense action in the latest Combat Mission installment or a baseball game with Charlie Brown.

Get your checklists done; we’re heading off to Diagon Alley for some shopping this week!

Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. Decades since its original release, this PSP remake clocks the 20th Anniversary of the FF franchise. With improved graphics and CG cinematics from the FF Origins release, this iteration of the much re-released classic will revisit the story of orphaned Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon in their quest to overthrow the power-hungry emperor. FF fun-fact #18274: FFII is the first FF title to introduce the staple “Cid” character and the recurring chocobos.

• PSP – July 24
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Square Enix

Check out this week’s “On Shelves” list by clicking on the Full Article link below!

Buy: [Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition (PSP)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (Wii)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (PSP)]

If you still have some savings after purchasing the final installment in the Harry Potter book series last July 21, you might want to check up on this week’s game releases. It’s quite a big library to stir into your gaming cauldrons. In this week’s On Shelves lineup, we find Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy II: Anniversary Edition for the PSP. That game’s got a story epic enough to match the events at Hogwarts.

Console gamers can live on the fast lane this week with NASCAR 08 on the the PS3 and Xbox 360, while Wii owners get the thrills and horrors found in Escape from Bug Island – you might want to take some tips from Hagrid first though.

Those who want to go casual can pick up handheld games the likes of Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition and Chameleon: To Dye For! on the Nintendo DS. PSP owners though, who want to do an Ellen Ripley impersonation (“Get away from her, you b*tch!”), might want to opt for Alien Syndrome.

PC gamers could either take the high road or the low road, with intense action in the latest Combat Mission installment or a baseball game with Charlie Brown.

Get your checklists done; we’re heading off to Diagon Alley for some shopping this week!

Alien Syndrome. As a remake to the classic run-and-gun title, this PSP/Wii game is getting beefed up with, not just a big graphical boost into its bazookas, but an RPG twist to the gameplay as well. The story picks up a hundred years after the classic arcade shooter, and its Wii version boasts Wiimote+Nunchuk controls for interactive gameplay.

• PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Wii – July 24
• US$ 39.99 (PSP), US$ 49.99 (Wii)
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Totally Games and Sega

Chameleon: To Dye For!. Part-puzzle, part-art. This title will endear gamers, whether young or old, and artists, whether budding or veteran. Match colors on the grid to beat your opponent, whether in single-player Story Mode or wireless play.

• Nintendo DS – July 27
• US$ 19.99
• ESRB E (Everyone)
• UFO Interactive and Starfish

Combat Mission: Shock Force. Latest installment in the Combat Mission franchise, this title will have you trying to push back enemy forces in the war of terror. Set in Syria, this hypothetical scenario is as modern as it gets – complete with weapons from our current military technologies and strategies.

• PC – July 27
• US$ 39.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Battlefront

Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter’s Battle. Featuring a “Warrior Cards” system, this game boasts over a hundred different kinds of cards that allows gamers to summon heroes and characters from the Dynasty Warriors series to help the gamer beat their opponent into a bloody pulp of paper cuts.

• Nintendo DS – July 24
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB E (Everyone 10+)
• Koei

Escape from Bug Island. Known in Japan as Necro-Nesia, this survival horror will have you pitted against creepy crawlies that are about fifty times their regular size. Everyone waited for its release last May, but we’re finally getting to stomp some bugs this week.

• Wii – July 24
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Spike and Eidos Interactive

Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. Decades since its original release, this PSP remake clocks the 20th Anniversary of the FF franchise. With improved graphics and CG cinematics from the FF Origins release, this iteration of the much re-released classic will revisit the story of orphaned Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon in their quest to overthrow the power-hungry emperor. FF fun-fact #18274: FFII is the first FF title to introduce the staple “Cid” character and the recurring chocobos.

• PSP – July 24
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Square Enix

Full Metal Alchemist: Trading Card Game. Here’s a virtual spin-off title based on the actual Fullmetal Alchemist TCG as distributed by Press Pass Inc. Build your Theme Decks from various sets, each one revolving a different character like Maes Hughes, Scar, Roy Mustang, or Ed and Al Elric themselves.

• Nintendo DS – July 24
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Destineer

It’s the Big Game, Charlie Brown. Take a romp through minigames with the Peanuts gang, as Charlie Brown tries to recruit his friends for some ball on the diamond field. Players will also learn the basics of baseball along the way care of the various mini-games they get to play.

• PC – July 23
• US$ 19.99
• ESRB E (Everyone)
• The Web Production, Viva Media LLC

NASCAR 08. With engines revving up at the starting line, reaching the checkered flag is the only thing on everyone’s mind. This racer boasts next-gen graphics, online communities and competitions, and SIXAXIS steering (for the PS3-version) and DLC tracks and paint schemes (for the 360-version).

• Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS2 – July 23
• US$ 59.99 (360, PS3), US$ 39.99 (PS2)
• ESRB E (Everyone)
• EA Sports

Ride! Carnival Tycoon. Delayed once again from last week’s release, this game is in for quite a ride itself. This Tycoon title will have you testing your management-savvy on the fairgrounds.

• PC – July 23
• ESRB E Everyone
• ValueSoft

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword. Following the release of the Gold Edition last week, we now have this second expansion to complement the Civ IV experience.

• PC – July 23
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB E (Everyone 10+)
• 2K Games and Firaxis Games

Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition. Mind-bending its way into the grids this week is yet another Sudoku game, this time one which boasts a virtually infinite number of generated Sudoku puzzles, played in either 9×9 grids, 8×8, 6×6, or 4×4.

• Nintendo DS – July 24
• US$ 19.99
• ESRB E (Everyone)
• Telegames, Inc.

Buy: [Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition (PSP)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (Wii)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (PSP)]
Buy: [Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC)]
Buy: [Nascar 08 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Nascar 08 (PS3)]
Buy: [Escape From Bug Island (Wii)]
Buy: [Ride Carnival Tycoon (PC)]
Buy: [Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter’s Battle]