THIS WEEK’S RELEASES: FEBRUARY 18TH – FEBRUARY 24TH

Another week, another list… but wait… what’s that? There’s something different around here…

You’ve no doubt noticed the big window below this paragraph – well, thanks to the folks at Capcom, rather than just tell you about the pick of the week, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, you get to try it. That’s right, the flash box below includes a fully playable part of the beginning of the game. Enjoy!.

Now let’s take a closer look at some of this week’s more notable (and non-playable) releases;

• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)
  • Phoenix Wright takes a backseat for this continuation of the Ace Attorney series – this time designed with the Nintendo DS in mind!
• Dynasty Warriors 6 (360/PS3)
  • More big battle action with the Dynasty Warriors franchise.
• The Club (360/PC/PS3)
  • Bizarre Creations takes on the first person shooter tournament genre.

Below is the week’s full release list – also completely unplayable – unless you’re playing some gaming version of Scrabble.

• Abra Academy (PC) – 2/19/2008
• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS) – 2/19/2008
• Balloon Pop (WII) – 2/19/2008
• Carrier Strike Force (PC) – 2/19/2008
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (WII) – 2/20/2008
• Dungeon Explorer (DS) – 2/19/2008
• Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Ancient Arts (PSP) – 2/19/2008
• Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3) – 2/19/2008
• Dynasty Warriors 6 (360) – 2/20/2008
• FIFA Street 3 (360) – 2/19/2008
• FIFA Street 3 (DS) – 2/19/2008
• FIFA Street 3 (PS3) – 2/19/2008
• Forgotten Riddles: The Mayan Princess (PC) – 2/20/2008
• History Channel: Battle for the Pacific (360) – 2/20/2008
• History Channel: Battle for the Pacific (PS3) – 2/20/2008
• MX vs ATV: Untamed (WII) – 2/19/2008
• Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate (PC) – 2/19/2008
• Need for Speed: Pro Street (PSP) – 2/19/2008
• Pimp My Ride (WII) – 2/20/2008
• Pirateville (PC) – 2/19/2008
• Rhem 3: The Secret Library (PC) – 2/19/2008
• Spider-Man 3 Enhanced (PS2) – 2/20/2008
• The Club (360) – 2/20/2008
• The Club (PC) – 2/20/2008
• The Club (PS3) – 2/20/2008
• The Guild Universe (PC) – 2/20/2008

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

WARBEARS ADVENTURE: AN A.R. X-MAS NOW ONLINE

Earlier today, I stopped in on our friends the Warbears to see how their holidays were, and was surprised to find that our favorite fighting bears had taken on a mission of sorts while we were all drinking our eggnog. That's right, there's a new short Warbears adventure available at the series' official site – Adventure: An A.R. X-Mas lets us join up with Warbears as they do a little Christmas shopping. 

If you like graphic adventure/puzzle solving games, this free web-based series is certainly something to check out. Enjoy!

• Warbears – Official website
• Adventure: An A.R. X-Mas – Warbears

NEW WARBEARS ADVENTURE AVAILABLE ONLINE

It's been awhile since I've had anything new to report about our crime fighting friends the Warbears, but thankfully series creator Gionatan "Ioji" Iasio has been busy working on their latest adventure – and now it's ready for the world to play. Warbears: Mission 03 – An Oceanic Problem sees the ursine quartet responding to a distress signal coming from an offshore platform with a sinister secret…

"An S.O.S. signal from the Gas Platform in the Great Ocean! A new enemy surfaced with an evil plan. Will the Warbears be able to stop them?" – Warbears.com

As always. this Warbears adventure is a free, web based game, so if you like puzzle intensive graphic adventure games, you have absolutely no excuse not to check it out! 

• Warbears – Official website 

WEB GAMES: FREE RIDER

If you liked Line Rider, you’re probably going to really love this one. Free Rider takes the map creation concept from Line Rider and adds gameplay elements into the mix. In short, you can either create or import tracks for your rider to traverse, but the trick here is that you must use the keyboard to adjust your riders speed, shift his weight, do tricks and more. Perhaps the neatest feature of the title is the ability to go to the game’s forums, copy the code for maps that other players have made and then attempt to complete those maps yourself. While the game may not be all that and a bag of chips, it certainly deserves at least a mention – and a few minutes of any Line Rider fans time. Check it out at the links below.

• Free Rider – OneMoreLevel.com
• Free Rider Forums – OneMoreLevel.com

CUBRIUS

Back in the day, there was a game on the Sega Genesis called "Shove It!" where you took the role of a worker who had to maneuver boxes in a crowded warehouse. It was an interesting little puzzle game, and Cubrius reminds me of it quite a bit. The only difference is that Cubrius adds all kinds of special blocks to make the puzzles more devious. Since you’re already feeling brainy from playing Ultimate Sodoku, why not head on over to the Cubrius website and give it a shot?

ULTIMATE SODOKU

Don’t have a Nintendo DS but still wan’t to keep your brain sharp? Well then, here’s a free version of the classic numbers game Sodoku – one of the games included in Brain Age – Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. Click here to play it.

WARBEARS

Another not-so-new link, but Warbears is a little web based graphic adventure game that you shouldn’t miss. Help the Warbears team end a hostage situation in a bank and bring the baddies to justice. Head on over to Newgrounds to try this game by Gionatan Iasio.