This Week's Releases: Command & Conquer 3, Shivering Isles

Gamasutra's regular round-up of worldwide video game releases takes a look at every game title we know to be shipping to stores this week, in an exclusively compiled list. PC gamers in the United States and the UK have have both Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Shivering Isles to contend with this week, while Medal of Honor: Vanguard takes on the console front in both regions. Japan, meanwhile, will have its hands full with the upgraded Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+, while adventurous importers could find a lot to like in the Korea-born DJ Max Portable 2. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending March 31, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

Command & Conquer 3 headlines as this week's most anticipated new release across all platforms in the United States, with both the regular edition and the limited "Kane Edition" currently generating a healthy number of preorders at Amazon and other retailers. Other popular releases ranking high in IGN's GamerMetrics reported awareness and purchase intent include a PS3 port of the five-month-old Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent and two different ports of Medal of Honor: Vanguard. The Red Star should also finally see release this week, following years of delays, cancellations, and last-minute setbacks. The Red Star was one of the more famous casualties left in the wake of Acclaim's announcement of bankruptcy in 2004, and its pending release has been subject of rumors and uncertainty in the years since. Whether the game will be as well-received in 2007 as it was at E3 of 2004 is unknown, though it should be interesting to see if The Red Star's resurrection pays off for publisher XS Games. [Bethesda's Shivering Isles expansion pack for Oblivion is also available for the Xbox 360 this week, alongside a retail PC release, but the X360 version is download-only, since, as the company's Pete Hines explains: "The 360 does not allow stand-alone expansions to work with another existing product, making the only option to be to download."] Games Released in Europe:

Few region-exclusive titles can be found among this week's European offerings aside from a couple of lower-profile PC releases, but the sheer volume of titles soon to be available across all platforms should have plenty to offer for gamers in the UK. High-profile releases like Command & Conquer 3 and Medal of Honor: Vanguard should appeal to a large audience, while niche titles like Metal Slug Anthology and Earth Defence Force 2017 will please gamers looking for something different. Games Released in Japan:

The highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ will make its Japanese debut this week, featuring both an enhanced and extended version of Kingdom Hearts II and a 3D remake of the Game Boy Advance title Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Nintendo's edutainment sequel Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo Duke is also gathering preorder momentum in the days leading up to its release, as is IE Institute's TOEIC Test DS Training. One of the week's biggest overseas releases won't see official release in Japan, however. Astute importers and fans of the rhythm genre have been awaiting the debut of DJ Max Portable 2, a PSP title set for release exclusively in Korea. As one of the few PSP games to feature rhythm-based gameplay, the original DJ Max Portable quickly became a favorite at many online import game retailers, and the sequel is expected to meet with similarly high demand upon its release at the end of the month. [About IGN GamerMetrics: IGN GamerMetrics is an interactive tool designed to report the real-time behavior and interests of visitors to IGN Entertainment's network of gaming enthusiast web sites. Using data collected from IGN's readers, GamerMetrics shows the levels of consumer awareness, engagement, and purchase intent in every video game title released in the U.S. market.]