On Shelves This Week: June 29 to July 5, 2008

So what’s going to be in our videogaming menu starting this week? A whole lot of DS games once again, we tell you, though there’s a few gems or two in the Nintendo handheld rough on Tuesday. There’s a music rhythm game for almost every console out there, plus a couple new additions to the portfolio of PC games. Somehow we’re also seeing another relaunching of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 the “Refresh” edition. We don’t know why it’s re-listed, but it is. The full list follows at the full story.

Shipping to shelves this week are a plethora of DS games, though a few PC, PS3 and Wii titles attempt to add variety to the videogame releases scheduled from June 29 (because we missed a few) to July 5. You might even see a few familiar games making a comeback, though the real head-turners are probably ’round the bend. So we guess this is another one of those average weeks.

At least there’s Metal Gear Solid 4 to tide through, if you haven’t finished it yet. Or you could be headhunting for every scrap information you can squeeze out of the new games announced last week.

But just in case you’re looking for a quick enjoyment to tide you over these few days, you could try the new Guitar Hero titles lined up. The list follows, arranged in chronological order:

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith – What can we say? Under the care of Activision, you couldn’t have expected that the publisher wouldn’t have another serving of it’s highly-prized music rhythm game franchise.

Created by the same guys who gave us Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, NeverSoft (Vicarious Visions for the Wii version, Budcat Creations for the PS2), Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii) is a tad bit more focused on the songs of “The Bad Boys of Boston.”

But not limiting the portfolio to just Aerosmith’s songs, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith also collected songs that majorly influenced the band in many ways than one. If you didn’t get yourself a working Guitar Hero instrument to play with, the price for entering the riff-ripping now might be off-putting for some.

• PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360 – June 29, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teen
• PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 Bundle: US$ 99.99; PS2 Regular Bundle: US$ 89.99, PS2 Aerosmith 2 Bundle: US$ 109.99; PS2 Aerosmith Kramer Bundle: US$ 89.99
• PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Regular: US$ 59.99; PlayStation 2, Wii Regular: US$ 49.99
• Activision

The Immortals of Terra: A Perry Rhodan Adventure – Though the mainstream of PC games have taken to just the prime three genres – FPS, RTS, and RPG – the PC scene is rife with more than just guns, swords, and vespene gas.

One of the first genres to have ever taken off on the PC was the adventure genre, and 3d-io’s The Immortals of Terra are just one of many games under that genre that continue to relive the legacies that was embodied by Zork, Gabriel Knight, and Blade Runner – just to name a few.

Like Jack Keane, The Immortals of Terra was the fruits of labor of an independent gaming studio in Europe, though thanks to the aid of publisher Take-Two Interactive, it’s now a reality for many adventure gaming fans on Windows. This is the U.S. release title, which you should note is exactly the same as the UK version: Rhodan: The Adventure.

Featuring one of the most spectacular visuals undoubtedly able to rival those of Mass Effect, The Immortals of Terra is bound to grasp you with the lure of its futuristic story and its embedded mysteries. But it’s not 3D, so despite its great graphical appeal, it’s forgiving in the hardware requirements front.

• Windows 2000, XP, and above – June 30, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teen
• Windows Retail: US$ 19.99
• Take-Two Interactive

Journey to the Center of the Earth – As THQ’s bid for concentrating on movie-to-game adaptations, Journey to the Center of the Earth is a lone one. In fact, you could have expected that this project would spur more titles split evenly among the game consoles, but we’re only expected to see the Nintendo DS version hit shelves on Monday. Maybe the other versions will follow suit. Or not. Who’s to say?

As you would expect, this action game will try to tie down the movie coming up this July 11, 2008, though that’s all we can say before crossing the line coupled with the words “no spoilers, bub!” True to some game adaptations out there, however, Journey to the Center of the Earth will allow the play of all the movie’s characters.

• Nintendo DS – June 30, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teen
• Nintendo DS: US$ 29.99
• THQ

1 vs. 100 – Oh come on. You know you could have half-expected a Nintendo DS version of the popular game show to roll out eventually. Picking up where Endemol left viewers off, casual gamers can now participate in the game show that pits you against a centurion of others in the witty battle for US$ 1 million. Cold. Hard. Cash.

Leave it to the guys of Destination Software to offer their help in bringing 1 vs. 100 hosted by Bob Saget to Nintendo’s handheld, but we would have expected a Wii version as well. Oh well – beggars can’t be choosers.

• Nintendo DS – June 30, 2008
• ESRB rated E for Everyone
• Nintendo DS: US$ 19.99
• Destination Software

Roogoo – Scooby Doo, is that roo – err I mean you? Those who search for Xbox LIVE Arcade’s incoming would argue otherwise, because as SouthPeak Interactive would have it, this is SpiderMonk Entertainment’s puzzle game mean for casual gaming on the next-gen console and PC.

Released sometime earlier, the XBLA version just cost gamers about US$ 10. Unfortunately for retail PC gamers, this one’s going to net 10 more bucks from your pocket.

Roogoo is no simple puzzle game, however: there’s a good share of skill, timing, and hand-eye coordination involved – something that could make even a hardcore gamer surprised that their mother could reach the tenth level.

The magic of Roogoo is in its spinning discs with shaped cut outs. Align a cut out in all the discs in time with a shaped object’s fall, and you could be the savior the planet Roo’s been waiting for.

• Windows – June 30, 2008
• ESRB rated RP for Rating Pending
• Windows Retail: US$ 19.99
• SouthPeak Interactive

Purr Pals – No it’s not Catz. Well, it is in a sense, but it’s in no way hoping to cater to that market. Instead, Purr Pals is what you could call the feline adaptation of Nintendogs. Take the bow-wows out, and plop in the meow-meows – if there was any way to describe it generally.

Crave Entertainment, folks who brought us the remake of Battlezone to the PC (that being, the Rise of the Black Dogs one), has added a couple more options and steps that aren’t available in Nintendo’s own pet simulator. From adoption to rearing, Purr Pals is pretty much you would expect from Baby Pals (another one of their games) – except in place of a little toddler is a mewing kitty.

• Nintendo DS – June 30, 2008
• ESRB rated E for Everyone
• Nintendo DS – US$ 29.99
• Crave Entertainment

Gears of War Refresh – Yeah, we know – we’ve listed this before, but apparently, the repackaged game’s bound to be shipped this week. Like we’ve covered before, it’s supposed to have the latest build of Gears of War on the Xbox 360, plus some bonus content in the form of multiplayer maps, themes, and gamer pictures (those you could get for MS Points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace). Oh and there’s that Gears of War 2 preview.

Nothing new to add, except that it’s expected to ship to pre-order customers this Tuesday.

• Xbox 360 – July 1, 2008
• ESRB rated M for Mature
• Xbox 360 – US$ 39.99
• Microsoft Game Studios

Ducati Moto – Brought to us by Bethesda Softworks, those who don’t want to listen to Fallout‘s fans, Vir2L Studios’ Ducati Moto racing is just what you’d expect of a typical arcade racer. Though it picks up one of the biggest brands in the motorcycle market, it’s no serious simulation – Ducati Moto is just fun racing on predefined circuits using the brand’s premiere racing motorcycles.

Which one, you ask? We’re not sure, however, but the cover art does portray the Ducati Superbike. We’re inclined to think will that the Superbike will be your only choice for racing.

• Nintendo DS – July 1, 2008
• ESRB rated E for Everyone
• Nintendo DS – US$ 19.99
• Bethesda Softworks

AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! – Wait, wasn’t this already released? True, but that was the Nintendo Wii version that EuroGamer’s Ellie Gibson parted some bittersweet words with. This here is the Nintendo DS equivalent, and according to the info we gathered, AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! is a development effort from Vir2L Studios again by way of Bethesda.

Duckpin bowling with friends over Wi-Fi while on the go is probably the number one reason you might consider picking this bowling game up. Otherwise, feel free to course through single player game modes similar to the Wii version, which includes a practice mode for beginners.

• Nintendo DS – July 1, 2008
• ESRB rated E for Everyone
• Nintendo DS – US$ 19.99
• Bethesda Softworks

Hail to the Chimp – Okay, there’s a lot of deja vu that’s creeping up somehow. We’ve eyed this game last week, but that was Gamecock’s party rendition for the Xbox 360. PlayStation 3 gamers get their version shipped to retail shelves on Tuesday.

As with the Xbox 360 version, this is a high-definition party game for friends, family, and politically-inclined intellectuals – if something so ironic was possible.

Participate in the animal kingdom’s version of a presidential race, and try not to take it seriously – Wideload Games’ Hail to the Chimp is just a comical parody on political campaigns, after all.

• PlayStation 3 – July 1, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teens
• PlayStation 3: US$ 39.99
• Gamecock Media

Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 – Last but definitely not least is the dramatic, interactive take on medical emergencies first offered on the Nintendo Wii, and now available on the Nintendo DS.

Atlus took their sweet time suturing up this sweet gem, but the surgical simulation seems intent on letting DS fans continue investigating the killer virus that was GUILT and the mysteries behind it.

So what say you? Care to give Dr. Stiles and Nurse Thompson another go? Because as with Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the DS, you’ll only need 30 Washingtons to unearth the reasons of GUILT’s emergence.

• Nintendo DS – July 1, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teens
• Nintendo DS: US$ 29.99
• Atlus

Dungeon Runners – What can we say? It’s simply a free-to-play MMORPG with every love for the addicting facets of dungeon crawling – only this time you’ve got tons of friends to tag along. Think an virtual Dungeons and Dragons run, only this time no dice and no Dungeon Master to wait on. Everything is dynamically created on the fly.

Dungeon Runners has actually been a long time running since the turn of the millennium, though it wasn’t actually a medieval dash. It’s been in closed beta some two years ago, and we’re actually happy to say it’s finally launching this Friday. Of course, the game is naturally free to one and all, but for US$ 4.99, you could get an enhanced experienced with premium features.

Take note though: there’s nothing that NCsoft is barring f2p players from – inside or outside the game. It’s just that the fee could allow the player more storage space, a higher chance to pick up sweet loot (plus the ability to grab the rarest of them all), and there would be no more ads to bug ya.

Other than that, it’s fair game for everyone. If you buy the retail version, though, you instantly get half a year’s worth of premium features. For those outside of the US and Europe, pick up a copy from PlayNC instead.

• Windows – July 2, 2008
• ESRB rated T for Teen
• Windows Retail: US$ 19.99; Download: Free; Premium Subscription: US$ 4.99 per month
• NCsoft

Fading Shadows – The title sounds intriguing, but try not to get too carried away with your imagination – Ivolgamus’ Fading Shadows is not a mystery-thriller game but a puzzle platformer to exclusively release on the PlayStation Portable. The people behind Falling Stars for the PS2 and PC have once again tied to fitting words to create an enigmatic title for a rather intellectually deceiving game.

The concept is very unique: you, the player, must control a beam of light that in turn will guide a crystal tear to the end of very challenging levels. It sounds pretty simple, but then there are obstacles to overcome, and in order to compensate for a few of them, you’ll have to contend with the crystal tear’s material-changing powers.

Though Falling Shadows is releasing this week, take note that right now we can’t even extract a sure price tag for the game. What we’ve listed below is an estimate based on the European retail tag.

• PlayStation Portable – July 3, 2008
• ESRB rated E for Everyone
• PlayStation Portable: US$ ~29.99 (GBP 15.67)
• Agetec (US)

Buy: [ Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Regular (PlayStation 3), (Wii), (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle (PlayStation 3), (Wii), (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ The Immortals of Terra: A Perry Rhodan Adventure (Windows) ]
Buy: [ Journey to the Center of the Earth (DS) ]
Buy: [ 1 vs. 100 (DS) ]
Buy: [ Roogoo (Windows) ]
Buy: [ Purr Pals (DS) ]
Buy: [ Gears of War Refresh (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ Ducati Moto (DS) ]
Buy: [ AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! (DS) ]
Buy: [ Hail to the Chimp (PlayStation 3) ]
Buy: [ Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (DS) ]
Buy: [ Dungeon Runners (Windows – for US residents only) ]