Game Releases - Week Of November 8th, 2004

Author: by Andrew Wilson, Simon Carless

This week's significantly enlarged set of pre-Christmas game releases cover both the top tier and obscure alike, at least in North America and Europe, topped out by Halo 2, which also debuts in Japan this week. Game releases in the United States: PlayStation 2: Guilty Gear Isuka, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw, The Urbz: Sims In The City, Samurai Warriors: Extreme Legends, Shaman King: Power of Spirit, Karaoke Revolution Volume 3, EyeToy: AntiGrav, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Jak 3, Gretzky NHL 2005, Rumble Roses, Karaoke Revolution Bundle 3, High Roller Casino, Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge, Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005, Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
Xbox: Halo 2, The Urbz: Sims In The City, Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge, Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events.
GameCube: Mario Power Tennis, The Urbz: Sims In The City, Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events.
PC: Shade: Wrath Of Angels, Medal Of Honor Pacific Assault, EverQuest II, The Polar Express, Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Legacy: Dark Shadows, Sudden Strike Resource War, Zoo Tycoon 2, City Of Heroes DVD Edition.
Game Boy Advance: The Urbz: Sims In The City, Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. With sales for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still going strong, this week, the U.S. market sees the gigantic launch of Halo 2 for the Xbox. Following the success of the first game, which has so far managed to sell over 5 million units, Halo 2 is expected to generate $100 million in sales during its first day, with analysts expecting total sales of 10 million units. That aside, there are also a number of big titles willing to tangle with Halo 2, including Sony Online's PC MMO sequel EverQuest II, EA's 'gritty' The Urbz: Sims In The City, Naughty Dog's completion of the Jak & Daxter trilogy, and even Nintendo's lovable Mario Power Tennis. Game releases in Europe: PlayStation 2: Metal Slug 3, Ratchet & Clank 3, Spyro: A Hero's Tail, The Getaway: Black Monday, The Urbz: Sims In The City, WWE Smackdown vs. RAW.
Xbox: Halo 2, Metal Slug 3, Spyro: A Hero's Tail, The Urbz: Sims In The City.
GameCube: Animaniacs, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Spyro: A Hero's Tail, The Urbz: Sims In The City.
PC: Axis & Allies, EverQuest II, Gates Of Troy, Men Of Valor, NBA Live 2005, Premier Manager 2004/2005, Return To Mysterious Island, Seal Of Evil, Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed, Totally Board Games.
Game Boy Advance: Animaniacs, Disney's Lilo & Stitch 2, Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures, Metal Slug Advance, The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Urbz: Sims In The City, Tron 2.0: Killer App. Almost as strong a performance as the U.S. market, the European market will also see the release of Halo 2 later in the week, and one or two interesting Europe-first games, particularly Sony's PS2 sequel The Getaway: Black Monday and Nintendo's franchise continuation, Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Game releases in Japan: PlayStation 2: Bokujou Monogatari: Oh! Wonderful Life, Brain Power Puzzles, Dragon Gangsters, Magna Carta, Shin Contra, Standard Daisenryaku: Dengekisen.
Xbox: Halo 2, Fatal Frame 2.
Game Boy Advance: Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories.
Dreamcast: King Of Fighters 2002. Compared to last week, this week's set of Japanese releases could best be described as relatively slim, but there are a few major titles, with Halo 2 slated for a November 11th, 2004 release, and the Disney-themed portable Square RPG Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories and Konami's franchise continuation Shin Contra, plus a King Of Fighters 2002 re-release on Sega's budget DreKore series for the Dreamcast.