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Shippin' Out October 23-27: Ultimate Alliance, Dark Messiah of M&M

By Tor Thorsen

Comic and fantasy titles join F.E.A.R. and Guild Wars expansions and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam on this week's release calendar.

This week, news came that PC gamers who had been saving up to buy the Burning Crusade expansion to World of Warcraft would have some extra cash. The game, which was slated to ship next month, has now been pushed back until next year so its developer-publisher, Vivendi-owned Blizzard Entertainment, can put the "finishing touches" on the title.

But Blizzard's loss appears to be NCsoft's gain. This week, the Korean publisher is releasing the Nightfall expansion to its popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game Guild Wars--which, thanks to its free subscription model, is one of WOW's fiercest rivals. The T-for-Teen-rated expansion will arrive in stores Thursday for $49.99, at the same time as another eagerly awaited expansion, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point from Vivendi label Sierra Entertainment.

[UPDATE] However, perhaps the most anticipated PC game of the week comes from Ubisoft. The company has shipped Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, the long-awaited first-person fantasy actioner. The game will continue the first-person spin-off that began with Legends of Might and Magic and uses Valve Software's Source Engine, the same technology that powers Half-Life 2.

On the console front, the biggest releases for the week are all film tie-ins. Two are adaptations of popular computer-animated family offerings--DreamWorks Animation's Flushed Away (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and DS), which debuts in theaters on Friday, and the Xbox 360 version of Pixar's Cars, which hit most other consoles and portables earlier in the year.

The week will also see a game based on a much more adult movie hit the PS2, PC, and Xbox. That would be Reservoir Dogs, the Eidos adaptation of the 1992 comic crime thriller directed by Quentin Tarantino. However, those hoping to play as Steve Buscemi's Mr. Pink or Harvey Keitel's Mr. White are out of luck--the only member of the film's cast to lend his likeness and voice to the project is Michael Madsen--aka Mr. Blonde.

Speaking of tie-ins, Activision is releasing the latest entry in its library of games based on Marvel Comics. Much like the popular X-Men Legends series, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game that lets players don the form-fitting outfits of various Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man, Captain America, and the Norse god Thor. The game will hit the PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Game Boy Advance this week and will arrive on the Wii and PlayStation 3 next month.

The week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates may vary).

OCTOBER 23, 2006
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (PSP)
Cars (Xbox 360)
Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition (PC)
Magical Starsign (DS)
Poker Superstars II (PC)
Scrabble 2007 (PC)
Strawberry Shortcake: Strawberryland Games (DS)
Stronghold Legends (PC)
Teen Titans 2 (GBA)
Unreal Anthology (PC)

OCTOBER 24, 2006
.hack//G.U. vol. 1//Rebirth (PS2)
Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded (PSP)
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC)
Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 (PSP)
Eureka Seven - Vol 1: The New Wave (PS2)
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (PC)
Flushed Away (PS2, DS, GBA)
Fuel (Xbox, PC)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii)
Nacho Libre (Xbox, PC, PS2)
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island (PS2, GC, DS)
Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts (DS)
Phantasy Star Universe (Xbox 360, PC, PS2)
Reservoir Dogs (PS2, Xbox)
Scurge: Hive (DS)
Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (PC, PSP, Xbox)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (PC, PS2, GC, Xbox)
Star Trek: Tactical Assault (PSP, DS)
Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri (PS2)
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (GBA, DS)

OCTOBER 25, 2006
Dave Mirra BMX Challenge (PSP)

OCTOBER 26, 2006
Guild Wars Nightfall (PC)
ATV Offroad Fury Pro (PSP)

By Tor Thorsen

38 comments
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_Sam_
_Sam_

only if I had the money :( ....

faridmon
faridmon

Tony Hawk's Downhill jam, Mgaical Starsign, Scurge: Hive, .Hack//G.U.volume 1Rebirth, Phantasy Star Univers and Star Trek: Tactical Assalut for me, oh wait i live in Europe, damn

Gamepro2421
Gamepro2421

Tony's new game looks pretty cool, kinda dissapointed to hear that the online voice chat isn't real time tho...still another step in the right direction though.

Donkeljohn
Donkeljohn

Dudes! Strawberry Shortcake: Strawberryland Games !!!

dazman92
dazman92

still waiting for guitar hero 2...only 2 weeks left

s0l0123
s0l0123

Nothing screams BUY ME! from that list. Maybe the next week or 2.

cjcr_alexandru
cjcr_alexandru

A good week ahead. I'm most eagerly awaiting Dark Messiah and Double Agent.

SavoyPrime
SavoyPrime ranger

I might pick up .hack and PSU depending on reviews.

L33T_HitmaN
L33T_HitmaN

eh F.E.A.R is cool but other than that meh....

TekkenMaster606
TekkenMaster606

Not too impressive. Reservior Dogs, sure, Scarface got 6.4 and deserved lower. I bet it's crap too.

ivory_soul
ivory_soul

Finally some good games! This is probably the best week all month...ACX, ATV, Dave MIrra, Snoopy, Tony Hawk, PSU, FEAR, Unreal man this is a good week! Mostly looking forward to ACX.

somesthetic
somesthetic

Sweet, Strawberry Shortcake: Strawberryland Games! I've been waiting for that all year!

HXCDEW
HXCDEW

Why complaint about PSP when there are equally few DS games coming out?

zeroking420_666
zeroking420_666

I only see 5 games that are good . 1. Magical Starsign (DS) 2. dothack//G.U. vol. 1//Rebirth (PS2) 3. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance ( Xbox 360) 4. Phantasy Star Universe (Xbox 360) 5. Reservoir Dogs (PS2)

TintedChimes
TintedChimes

seriously slim pickings for the PSP, they have to stop coming out with one decent game every three to four months or I'm going to sell this nice shiny paper weight. Seriously, the titles better start rolling for the PSP because I'm tired of waiting.

PostedOval
PostedOval

I'm tempted to pick up Ace Combat X on the PSP. There's nothing else like it and it might be kinda fun.

Crew_SK
Crew_SK

@Charlie2688 Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is great, I can't wait for FEAR Extraction Point and Splinter Cell Double Agent. All these are PC Games, so if you're not a PC Gamer, you are probably right, there's nothing interesting for consoles these week.

WisdomLink
WisdomLink

This week's releases are looking great :D

TacNuke_Tyger
TacNuke_Tyger

None of these games even look remotely interesting.

finalcross
finalcross

Phantasy Star Online looks promising having briefly played the demo. Marvel should also be great on the 360, but I'm more anxious for next week - FIFA on 360 baby!!!

BioShockOwnz
BioShockOwnz

Some decent games this week. Here's what I'll be picking up: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC) F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (PC) Phantasy Star Universe (Xbox 360) Guild Wars Nightfall (PC)

jcloverboy
jcloverboy

Phantasy Star and Marvel on the Xbox 360 - been waiting a while for those two - can't wait til they are in stores.

LordAndrew
LordAndrew

There's some good games in there.

thekey
thekey

Phantasy star 360 Universe! WOOOOOOOO WHOOOO!!

gnrGrievous
gnrGrievous

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

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