Game Releases - Week of October 4th, 2004

Author: by Simon Carless, Brandon Sheffield

This week, the U.S. sees a moderate heaping of new releases, including debuts from Tony and Larry, whereas Europe has a lower volume, notably missing a Lounge Lizard. Meanwhile, the Japanese market sees just a few significant titles debut. -- Games released in the United States: PlayStation 2: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Mortal Kombat: Deception, ToCA Race Driver 2, Robotech: Invasion, Get On Da Mic, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, Conflict: Vietnam Xbox: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, ToCA Race Driver 2/Colin McRae Rally 04 Bundle, Robotech: Invasion, Yager, Syberia II, Conflict: Vietnam, SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, TriggerMan, Ultra Bust-A-Move, GameCube: Tony Hawk's Underground 2 PC: Evil Genius, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, Backyard Skateboarding, Singles: Flirt Up Your Life, Sportsman's Challenge, D-Day, Scrabble Online, Tribes: Vengeance, Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice, Conflict: Vietnam, Game Boy Advance: Mario Pinball Land, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Mega Man Zero 3, LEGO Knights King, Pokemon GBA Video: I Choose You / Squirtle Squad This week in the States, the major multi-platform releases seem to be Neversoft/Activision's Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deception, both continuations of previously successful franchises, but other significant titles include SCi/Take-Two's Conflict: Vietnam, and the return of a much more risque (but still censored compared to the forthcoming European releases) Larry in Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. Otherwise, a notable raft of PC exclusives include Demis Hassabis' Evil Genius, Irrational's cultish Tribes: Vengeance, and the smutty Singles: Flirt Up Your Life, proving the PC market is still alive and well, despite increasing console dominance. -- Games released in Europe: PlayStation 2: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Crash TwinSanity, FIFA Football 2005, Gradius V, NHL 2005 Xbox: Tony Hawk's Underground 2 , Fable, Crash TwinSanity, Club Football 2005, FIFA Football 2005 GameCube: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, FIFA Football 2005, NHL 2005 PC: Tony Hawk's Underground 2, FIFA Football 2005, Club Football 2005, Seal of Evil Game Boy Advance: FIFA Football 2005 The European market sees a similar wide release for Tony Hawk's Underground 2, likely one of the bigger selling worldwide titles for this holiday season, but also sees EA's massive-selling FIFA Football 2005 soccer franchise hit the streets, as well as the localized European debut of Xbox-exclusive RPG Fable. Elsewhere, Treasure/Konami's hardcore shmup Gradius V also has a chance to make a slightly less splashy entrance. -- Games released in Japan PlayStation 2: Berserk, Bomberman Battles, Final Approach, Gundam Seed: Oranai Ashita He, Uchuu Senkan Yamato, Tsuki wa Higashi ni Ha wa Nishi na: Operation Sanctuary, CR Pachinko Dokaben: Pachitte Chonmage Tatsujin 7, Star Wars: Battlefront Xbox: SNK vs Capcom Chaos, Star Wars: Battlefront GBA: Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki It's a fairly quiet week in Japan, with the major titles being a new Berzerk game from Yuke’s for PlayStation 2, SNK Vs. Capcom Chaos for Xbox Live, and a new Fire Emblem for the GBA. In other news, Bandai releases two more anime-based titles, while Hackberry and Alchemist fight a battle for the longest game titles in creation, and a similarly Star Wars-mad Japanese audience gets Xbox and PS2 SKUs of Pandemic's Star Wars: Battlefront. Sources: NCSX, Play Asia, GAME, EB Games