Release This: Call of Duty 4, LEGO Star Wars Highlight Major U.S. Release Week

Gamasutra's regular round-up of worldwide video game releases, "Release This!", takes a look at every game title we know to be shipping to stores this week, in an exclusively compiled list. Call of Duty 4 and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga stand out as highlights in this week's busy U.S. release schedule. Europe will enjoy an exclusive first look at the Nintendo-published Endless Ocean, meanwhile, as Japan gears up for the release of Mario Party DS. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending November 10th, 2007. Games Released in the United States: Call of Duty 4 drops in on retailers in the United States, arriving as the most-preordered title among this week's offerings at Amazon. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is also proving to be a popular preorder choice across multiple platforms, while Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games on the Nintendo Wii has seen a sharp increase in presales in the days leading up to its release. PC owners, meanwhile, will receive a pair of awaited ports in Gears of War and Viva Pinata, both of which promise expanded content over their Xbox 360 counterparts. On portables, the anticipated Silent Hill series prequel Silent Hill Origins will make its PSP debut, and the Nintendo DS will see a broad selection of titles that span multiple genres. Among these, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has been generating positive buzz among RPG fans, and niche efforts like Puzzle de Harvest Moon and the rhythm-action title Ontamarama ensure even greater depth in this week's variety of new releases. Games Released in Europe: Gamers in the UK will enjoy a worldwide exclusive first look at several key titles this week. In addition to receiving WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 a few days prior to their scheduled U.S. releases, the Nintendo-published Endless Ocean will also make its English-localized debut in Europe this week. Originally released as Forever Blue in Japan in August, a U.S. version of Endless Ocean is not expected to see release until late January. Games Released in Japan: While the United States and Europe experience another busy release week in preparation for the holiday season, Japan's release schedule sees a sudden downturn. This week's list is highlighted by the release of Mario Party DS, which ranks high in presales at Amazon.co.jp. Other anticipated releases include Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle and Minna no Golf Ba Vol. 4, though few other titles appear to be gathering much prerelease anticipation in comparison.