Release This: Chulip Con Carnage

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. Heavy-hitters like Ghost Rider and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters headline this week's U.S. releases, while Europe plays catch-up with older hits like Excite Truck and Mario Slam Basketball. Japan, meanwhile, is set to receive a sequel to last year's successful Bleach DS, along with a strong PSP lineup that includes the likes of Lumines II and Tales of Destiny 2. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending February 17, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

While titles like Wii Play, the comic book-licensed Ghost Rider and PSP platformer Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters are all attracting their fair share of attention, Natsume's Chulip stands out as a particularly remarkable release. After being released in Japan almost five years ago, Chulip will finally see American shores on Valentine's Day, after years of delays and rumored cancellations. There may be a noticeable lack of next-gen offerings in this week's chart, but next week will see the release of anticipated titles for each of the major platforms -- Sonic and the Secret Rings for Nintendo's Wii, Virtua Fighter 5 for the PlayStation 3, and Crackdown for Xbox 360. Games Released in Europe: Europe's release list for the week features several titles previously released in the U.S., including Fuzion Frenzy 2, Excite Truck, and Mario Slam Basketball (a.k.a. Mario Hoops 3 On 3). Scattered in among these big-name releases and sequels are cult hits like God Hand, along with curious exclusives like Robin Hood's Quest, The Snow Queen Quest, and Postman Pat. The week's offerings, in all, may be fairly underwhelming, but next week promises a much more exciting lineup. The European version of Final Fantasy XII is expected to drop near the end of February, and titles like Crackdown and the exclusive first English release of Kororinpa should keep European gamers entertained for weeks to come. Games Released in Japan: Japan's release list for this week consists chiefly of anime-licensed titles and text-based adventure games, few of which stand out in particular. The Treasure-developed Bleach DS 2nd could be of interest to gamers who enjoyed last year's Bleach DS: Souten ni Kakeru Unmei, however, while the PSP has a pair of noteworthy titles in the ported-from-PS2 RPG Tales of Destiny 2 and a reworked version of Lumines II. Next week should see the debut of Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami for the Nintendo Wii, along with a selection of several other awaited releases. [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.]