Game Releases - Week Of November 15th, 2004

Author: by Andrew Wilson, Simon Carless

With the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday nearly upon us, this week sees another massive North American release list, and a similarly significant amount of debuts in Europe and, to a smaller extent, in Japan. The most notable new game? Following near-mythical delays, Valve's highly anticipated PC title Half-Life 2 made its debut across the Steam 'content delivery' service and retail outlets in America. As well as the mass of releases for existing systems, including Metal Gear Solid 3, Metroid Prime 2, and Need For Speed Underground 2, there's only a few days to go until the release of the Nintendo DS handheld and its attendant software, so the amount of new titles isn't likely to let up soon. Game releases in the United States: PlayStation 2: Need For Speed Underground 2, Pinball Hall Of Fame, Capcom Fighting Evolution, King Arthur, Call Of Duty: Finest Hour, Fight Club, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Backyard Wrestling 2, Crash ‘N’ Burn, Castle Shikigami 2, Choro-Q, ESPN College Hoops 2K5, Alien Hominid, NCAA March Madness 2005, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, World Championship Poker, Atari Anthology
Xbox: Need For Speed Underground 2, Crash 'N' Burn, Pinball Hall Of Fame, Atari Anthology, Demon Stone, Godzilla: Save The Earth, King Arthur, Blinx 2, ESPN College Hoops 2K5, NCAA March Madness 2005, Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventure, Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2, Top Gear RPM Tuning
GameCube: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Call Of Duty: Finest Hour, Baten Kaitos, Scaler, King Arthur, Viewtiful Joe 2, MC Groovz Bundle
PC: Need For Speed Underground 2, Half-Life 2, CSI Miami, Joint Ops: Escalation, Sonic Heroes, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines
Game Boy Advance: Beyblade G Revolution, Yu Yu Hakusho Tournament Tactics, Fear Factor: Unleashed, Pac-Man World While the hype behind Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is still strong, this week’s top title in North America is without a doubt Half-Life 2 for PC , with the similarly Source engine-powered Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines also debuting. However, there's a plethora of other top titles to choose from, including GameCube exclusive Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Viewtiful Joe, Konami's junglicious Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PlayStation 2, and the multi-format Need For Speed Underground 2, as well as quirkier, no less worthy titles that include Alien Hominid. Game releases in Europe: PlayStation 2: Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighborhood, Disney Move, Garfield, King Of Fighters 00/01, Megaman X Command Mission, Mortal Kombat Deception, Need For Speed Underground 2, RPM Tuning, SingStar Party, Worms Forts: Under Siege
Xbox: Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighborhood, Godzilla: Save The Earth, Need For Speed Underground 2, Pool Shark 2, Worms Forts: Under Siege, Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn Of Destiny
GameCube: Megaman X Command Mission, Need For Speed Underground 2, Tales Of Symphonia, Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom
PC: Blitzkrieg: Rolling Thunder, Lineage II, Medal Of Honor - Pacific Assault, Medal Of Honor - Pacific Assault Director's Edition, Need For Speed Underground 2, Rise Of Nations Gold Edition, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Worms Forts: Under Siege
Game Boy Advance: Counter Punch, Defender Of The Crown, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Need For Speed Underground 2, Street Jam, Wings Advance, WWE Survivor Series The European schedules are also reasonably packed this week, with notable debuts including EA's street racing title Need For Speed Underground 2, Namco's lush Tales Of Symphonia for GameCube, the Sony-developed SingStar Party karaoke title for PlayStation 2 and, rather neatly, a number of Cinemaware re-releases for Game Boy Advance, including Defender Of The Crown and Wings Advance. Game releases in Japan: PlayStation 2: Beatmania IIDX 8th Style, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Dance Dance Revolution Festival, Detective Conan: Inheritance Of Britain, PC Genjin - the Best, Pop 'n Music 10, Zoids Struggle
GameCube: Naruto Gekitou Ninja 3, Mario Party 6
Game Boy Advance: Metal Slug Advance This week was another relatively slow one in Japan, although for fans of Konami's Bemani series, it's a minor feast, with new PlayStation 2 entries in the DDR, Beatmani, and Pop 'n Music series. Also of note - Nintendo’s Mario Party 6 for GC, completed with pack-in microphone, and SNK going portable with Metal Slug Advance for GBA, plus the rabid fan-friendly Naruto Gekitou Ninja 3 anime-licensed fighter for GameCube. Sources: NCSX, Play Asia, GAME, EB Games