On Shelves This Week: May 25 to 31, 2008

Last week’s game releases introduced a lot of fun games, such as Dr. Mario DX and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. This week, however, is the week for game ports, with Mac getting its own conversion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), the Nintendo DS getting the arcade classic Super Dodgeball Brawlers, and many others.

* Article originally posted May 26, 2008 at 12:37AM

Last week saw the release of gaming’s sleeper hits, which include Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, as well as some commercial successes like Nintendo’s phenomenal Wii Fit. This week won’t see any flash-bang releases, but these new titles are no less deserving of gamers’ attention and game time.

PC gamers will finally get Bioware‘s Mass Effect, while Mac users will get their own taste of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). With many exceptional ports coming out this week, it’s going to be fun and games for everyone, regardless of what machine you own. Let’s kick off this week’s list right now with…

Mass Effect. The Windows reiteration of BioWare’s oft-mentioned and highly-publicized title finally hits the shelves, giving PC gamers a chance to experience Commander Shepard’s exploits in the well-written space opera wrought with interspecies relations gone awry.

• PC – May 28, 2008
• US$ 49.99
• ESRB Mature
• BioWare and Microsoft

Stronghold Crusader Extreme. Stronghold‘s update to the Stronghold: Crusader expansion lends monarchs the ability to have a 10,000-strong army of warriors. New structures and missions are also added to this castle sim expansion.

• PC – May 28, 2008
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB Teen
• Gamecock Media Group and Firefly Studios

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Id Software’s first-person shooter for the Windows platform makes its way into the PS3 and Xbox 360 territory. The wars between the Global Defense Force and the Strogg are given a spin on the console releases, which have slight differences that set them apart from other versions.

• PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – May 27, 2008
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB Teen
• id Software and Splash Damage

Everyone’s Pokemon Ranch. It’s nigh impossible for Nintendo to offer a new gaming service without Pokemon, so – not surprisingly – the WiiWare gets its own Pokemon title. In Everyone’s Pokemon Ranch, players can collect Pokemon and keep them in a ranch. There’s also a neat bonus: if you play Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, there’s an option for you to transfer your Pokemon from your DS for you to tend in your own Poke-ranch.

• Wii – May 26, 2008
• Nintendo

Death Jr. II: Root of Evil. DJ and Pandora’s adventure finally gets ported to the Nintendo Wii console. Join Death Jr. and his friend as they hunt down Furi, the evil entity borne out of a cocoon that was supposed to be used for their science experiment in this crazy platformer.

• Wii – May 27, 2008
• ESRB Teen
• Backbone Entertainment

Neverwinter Nights: Mysteries of Westgate. After a considerable delay, Neverwinter Nights 2′s latest adventure pack finally takes adventurers to Westgate, where they will encounter Night Masks and other nefarious villains.

• PC – May 27, 2008
• ESRB Teen
• Atari and Ossian Studios

Monkey King: The Legend Begins. We’ve seen a lot of games, TV series and Japanese anime taking material from the tale of the Monkey King, but who cares? We like them all, and this cute Wii shooter by Tommo is no exception. Ride the clouds and fly your way through baddies, blasting them all into oblivion.

• Wii – May 27, 2008
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB Everyone
• Tommo and UFO Entertainment

A Vampyre Story. As Mona de Lafitte in this fun point-and-click adventure game by Autumn Moon Entertainment, it is up to you to fulfill your dream of becoming an opera singer. Sounds easy? Not if you’re the object of a pitiful vampire’s affections and got turned into a vampire yourself.

• PC – May 2008
• Autumn Moon Entertainment and Crimson Cow

LOL. A spin-off to Nintendo DS’ Pictochat application, LOL lets Nintendo DS owners grab friends to play word and picture challenges with each other. There’s really no set rules to this party games: just get the game, get friends who own their own DS (no need for them to own a copy of LOL), and play.

• Nintendo DS – May 30, 2008
• ESRB Everyone
• Agetec

Emergency Heroes. Play as your childhood heroes in this driving title for the Wii. Take your pick: become a police officer, fire fighter, or any of our everyday heroes and drive your way to rescue missions.

• Wii – May 27, 2008
• US$ 39.99
• ESRB Everyone 10+
• Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Barcelona

Super Dodgeball Brawlers. The campy arcade classic Super Dodgeball finally hits the Nintendo DS handheld. In Super Dodgeball Brawlers, players enter a national dodgeball tournament that will decide who enters – yes – a worldwide dodgeball tourney powered up with special attacks.

• Nintendo DS – May 27, 2008
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB Everyone
• Aksys

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Fight the Russian ultranationalists in this grim take on a war-torn alternate-universe Europe in this first-person shooter by Infinity Ward. A welcome addition to the Mac library of games, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare gets its own Mac conversion, thanks to Aspyr.

• Mac – May 2008
• US$ 49.99
• ESRB Mature
• Infinity Ward and Aspyr

* Article originally posted May 26, 2008 at 12:37AM

Buy: [Mass Effect (PC)]
Buy: [Stronghold Crusader Extreme (PC)]
Buy: [Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PS3),(Xbox360)]
Buy: [Monkey King: The Legend Begins (Wii)]
Buy: [Emergency Heroes (Wii)]
Buy: [Super Dodgeball Brawlers (DS)]
Buy: [Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Mac)]