This week’s new releases! April 18th -24th

Wow. It actually looks like a fairly solid line up this week, if a little thin on the ground due to a shockingly unusual lack of new DS titles other than the much overdue 3DS launch title Puzzle Bobble Universe (curiously not under its usual European name of Bust-a-Move). Perhaps the shovelware DS money well has finally run dry? HAHAHA. But seriously, it’s back to boatloads of garbage after this so enjoy the quality titles while you can!

Highlights

Portal 2

A game that should need little introduction. The long awaited sequel to Valve’s 2007 landmark physics defying first person puzzler is finally hear. New features include a fully independent Co-Op mode, a much longer duration (one of the few complaints with the original) and a “gel” painting mechanic that adds an extra level of lateral thinking to the puzzles. Hopefully (but not definitely) it will also have a few more story hooks to the currently sleeping Half-Life franchise, this being the first game set in that universe in over 3 years.

Unsurprisingly you can obtain Portal 2 on the usual triumvirate of PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, but for once the PS3 version might be the ideal console platform of choice. Not only will the PS3 version directly integrate into the Steam PC servers for use with multiplayer (essentially isolating the 360 players from everyone else) and cloud saves, but every copy also comes with an exclusive code that unlocks the PC version for free! So even if you’re part of the “PC gamer master race” it might be worth picking up a copy for the PlayStation triple instead, at worst you can just flog it as a quick trade in and save yourself some money overall.

Mortal Kombat

What can i say? It’s Mortal Kombat, and its BACK. And by “BACK” I mean no more kidyfying the violence to appease publishers. This is a return to the savagely gory origins that turned what would have otherwise been a fairly standard fighting game into a buzz word for brutality. Oh! And it’s a pretty good fighting game too, just in case you were wondering.

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection

Another year, another remake of a SNES classic Final Fantasy game, and this time it’s Final Fantasy IV on the PSP. At the very least this is the EIGHTH time this has happened to FFIV, so what makes this one so important? Well the reason this is known as the “Complete Collection” is because it it features IV’s 2008 sequel The After Years, which had previously only been available on Japanese mobile phones and the Nintendo WiiWare store in a ridiculously expensive episodic format. Not only that, but the game features a(nother) major graphical enhancement over the original version as well as a brand new scenario called “Interlude” that helps bridge the 17 year gap between IV and The After Years.

Yawwwwn…. yeah it’s far from everyones cup of tea, but by the sound of it the legion of RPG fans who are, for some bizarre reason, absolutely crazy for IV will likely view this as the definitive must-have edition of the title. At least until Square Enix announce a 3DS/NGP remake anyway…..

Full schedule

Multiplatfrom
Mortal Kombat Xbox360/PS3
Operation Flashpoint: Red River PS3/Xbox360
Portal 2 PS3/PC/Xbox360
Virtua Tennis 4 Wii/PS3/Xbox360

PSP
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection

PC
Majesty 2 Collection
Black Mirror 3
Heroes Of Might & Magic Collection
The Next BIG Thing
Black Mirror III

Wii
Conduit 2

PS3
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs

3DS
Puzzle Bobble Universe