GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Shippin' Out December 3-7: Golden Compass, Alvin and the Chipmunks

Holiday-movie tie-ins headline a week that also sees DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Godzilla, and Jenga on the Wii; Eternal Champions, Dynastic Hero, and Zanac on the Virtual Console.

35 Comments

As was the case last week, the gaming industry continues its slow descent into the new year by giving off a few last hoorahs and tying up some loose ends. Leading the first full week of December is Sega's holiday-movie tie-in The Golden Compass for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC. Sega's first adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass follows the travails of Lyra, her shape-shifting demon accomplice Pan, and an articulate polar bear.

While the Jason Lee-led Alvin and the Chipmunks won't be in theaters until next week, Brash Entertainment is priming the waters this week with the multiplatform game tie-in. Brash, which formed earlier this year with the professed intention of focusing on film-to-game adaptations, is targeting best-selling platforms the Wii, DS, PS2, and PC with its kid-friendly rhythm game starring squirrelly crooners Alvin, Simon...Theodore.

As Atari frantically treads water in an effort to see the light of one more year, the publisher is releasing a handful of titles that have already appeared on other systems to the Wii. With its PS2 counterpart arriving at the end of November, Pipeworks Software's Godzilla Unleashed squares off a veritable who's who of seismic monsters in urban environments. While Atari's coveted Dragon Ball Z license remains in limbo, the publisher's power level is still high enough to unleash Budokai Tenkaichi 3 onto the Wii, with more than 160 Z-fighters in tow. Atari will also be stacking Jenga World Tour onto retail shelves this week.

With the bargain-bin Arcade Hits landing this week as part of the fall Xbox 360 fall dashboard update, Microsoft is taking a week off from its weekly Wednesday release. However, the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console continues its steady revival of legacy-generation classics. Eternal Champions is a violent 2D fighter that not-so-discreetly borrows its visceral approach to the genre from Midway's Mortal Kombat series, and is available for 800 Wii points ($8). Also available on the VC this week is Hudson's action role-playing game The Dynastic Hero for 800 Wii points ($8) and Zanac, a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up for 500 Wii points ($5).

This week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates may vary).

DECEMBER 3, 2007
American Girl: Julie Finds a Way (DS)
Band of Bugs (PC)
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Wii)
Eternal Champions (Wii VC)
Manga Fighter (PC)
The Dynastic Hero (Wii VC)
Ultimate Duck Hunting (Wii)
Zanac (Wii VC)

DECEMBER 4, 2007
Alvin and the Chipmunks (Wii, DS, PS2, PC)
Atari Classics Evolved (PSP)
Beowulf (PSP)
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 (X360)
Draglade (DS)
Left Brain Right Brain (DS)
Pocket Pets (DS)
The Golden Compass (X360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS, PC)
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 (DS)

DECEMBER 5, 2007
Godzilla Unleashed (Wii)

DECEMBER 6, 2007
Warriors of the Lost Empire (PSP)

DECEMBER 7, 2007
Jenga World Tour (Wii)
Myth Makers: Super Kart GP (Wii)

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 35 comments about this story