THIS WEEK’S RELEASES: SEPTEMBER 3RD – SEPTEMBER 9TH

Sorry for this post being so late today, but I’ve felt horrible all weekend and have spent much of the last three days in bed. In fact, out of the entire list of things I wanted to accomplish over this long weekend, the only thing that I did manage to accomplish was playing the hell out of the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta. Needless to say, while that has certainly been an enjoyable experience, I’d really rather have gotten down to working on my damned “to do” list.

This week’s release list would be pretty short if it weren’t for the massive influx of crapware PC titles, most of which will probably be on the list next week and the week after as well (Mission: Combat Force) – making these lists every week really has shown me why the big three all have royalty structures in place on their consoles – because without them, we’d probably see tons of this crap as on the consoles as well.

Well, it’s almost time to get off the soap box and on to this week’s highlights, but before I’d like to say one more word about the Call of Duty 4 beta – if you happen to see me playing and want to say “hello”, “love the site”, “you suck” or the like, please don’t be offended if I don’t answer you. It’s not that I’m ignoring you, it’s that in order to preserve my sanity, I’ve probably got my headset volume off and my mic muted.

• Medal of Honor: Airborne (360 & PC)
  • Electronic Arts drags out the Medal of Honor franchise for another go around. While I freely admit that I’m about as sick of World War II games as the rest of you, if a game is done right, I’ll enjoy it. Unfortunately, based on the demo, this one isn’t particularly good and given the glut of WWII shooters on the market, you’ve got a good reason to skip it. PlayStation 3 fans please note; the game is also coming to the PS3, but it’s currently slated for a November release.
• Resident Evil: The Essentials (PS2)
  • This one is a bundle of three of Capcom’s classic survival horror games. While I certainly would call Resident Evil Code: Veronica and Resident Evil 4 “essentials” of the series, I’m not quite sure where Outbreak fits in there.
• Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Pack (PC)
  • If case you skipped over LucasArts second take at the real time strategy genre, but always wanted to try it, this pack is geared towards you. For one price you get both the original Empire at War title along with the Forces of Corruption expansion pack. The structure of the original game seemed a little too rigid for my liking, so I’m going to advise you to download a demo first before you buy anything.
• John Woo Presents Stranglehold (360 & PC)
  • Finally, a title on the list that I can feel excited about. Stranglehold finally makes it’s way to retail this week, and if the game is anything like the demo, this one is going to be loads of fun. Take control of Inspector Tequilla and bring some crime lords to their knees in this spiritual successor to Woo’s Hard Boiled. There are a few things to note here – first, only the PlayStation 3 Collector’s Edition will include a copy of Hard Boiled, and second, the PS3 version will not be out until the middle of the month or so.
• The Sims 2: Bon Voyage (PC)
  • The Sims franchise continues to expand, and once again it’s time to take your Sims on vacation. Hi jinks ensue. I think I’d be able to get a lot more excited about these Sims expansions if Electronic Arts would at least price reduce the older ones when they launched a new one. I’ve got the original The Sims 2, and I certainly enjoy it, but the cost of keeping those guys housed gets damn expensive.
• Worms: Open Warfare 2 (DS & PSP)
  • It’s another Worms game. By now you should know if you like the series or not and make your decision accordingly.
• Xbox Live Messenger Kit (360)
  • Sure, this one isn’t a game, but it’s enough of a departure from Microsoft’s usual offerings that it’s worthy of a slot in this week’s list. For those of you unfamiliar with the device, it’s a keyboard attachment for your 360 controller that will let you type away to your heart’s content without having to connect a real keyboard to the Xbox 360. Some will say it’s a godsend, others will say it’s useless – it all comes down to how you use your 360 and how your home gaming are is set up. Personally, I like the idea and will be grabbing one of these. The downside here is that they only come in white, so Elite owners will have to deal with some color issues, as will purchasers of the new Halo 3 themed controllers that are hitting retail this week as well.

Beyond that, the pickings are pretty slim, but feel free to peruse the below list and see if you can find anything that suits your fancy.

• AnaCapri: The Dream – PC – 9/4/2007
• Da Vinci’s Secret – PC – 9/4/2007
• Mission: Combat Force – PC – 9/4/2007
• Panzer Killer – PC – 9/4/2007
• Seven Kingdoms: Conquest – PC – 9/4/2007
• Garfield: Nightmares – DS – 9/5/2007
• I Love Kittens – PC – 9/5/2007
• I Love Puppies – PC – 9/5/2007
• Left Behind: Eternal Forces Expansion Pack – PC – 9/5/2007
• Medal of Honor: Airborne – 360 – 9/5/2007
• Medal of Honor: Airborne – PC – 9/5/2007
• Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles 2 – PS2 – 9/5/2007
• Pirate’s Revenge – PC – 9/5/2007
• Resident Evil: The Essentials – PS2 – 9/5/2007
• Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened – PC – 9/5/2007
• Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Pack – PC – 9/5/2007
• The Sims 2: Bon Voyage – PC – 9/5/2007
• The Sims 2: Limited Edition Bundle – PC – 9/5/2007
• Worms: Open Warfare 2 – DS – 9/5/2007
• Worms: Open Warfare 2 – PSP – 9/5/2007
• Pool Party – WII – 9/6/2007
• Stranglehold – 360 – 9/6/2007
• Stranglehold Collector’s Edition – 360 – 9/6/2007
• Xbox Live Messenger Kit – 360 – 9/6/2007
• Hearts of Iron Anthology – PC – 9/8/2007
  

Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.