Shippin' Out May 28-June 1: Halo 2 Vista, Forza 2, Shadowrun, Mario Party 8

After weeks of release lists dominated by licensed third-party blockbuster movie tie-ins, this week's slate of new games is headlined by first-party releases.

Microsoft has a trio of big offerings this week, with Halo 2 Vista officially arriving on PC game shelves (revised rating stickers and all), Forza Motorsport 2 racing to the Xbox 360, and online first-person shooter Shadowrun allowing PC and Xbox 360 players to reach out and frag one another. Halo 2 and Shadowrun will be the first two titles compatible with Games for Windows Live, Microsoft's PC counterpart to Xbox Live.

Meanwhile, Nintendo is holding its annual Mario Party come rain or shine, as Hudson adds motion-sensing minigames to the eighth installment of the franchise for its Wii debut.

Movie tie-ins couldn't be completely avoided, as Ubisoft is blitzing retailers with versions of its gaming adaptation of the computer-animated feature film Surf's Up. Versions of the game are set to arrive this week for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and even the GameCube.

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

MAY 28, 2007
The New York Times Crosswords (DS)
ActRaiser (Wii)
Kid Chameleon (Wii)
J.J. and Jeff (Wii)
LA Street Racing (PC)
Marine Sharpshooter III (PC)

MAY 29, 2007
Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
Shadowrun (Xbox 360, PC)
Mario Party 8 (Wii)
Tamagotchi Party On! (Wii)
Surf's Up (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2, GBA)
Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm (PS2)
Crush (PSP)
Legend of the Dragon (PSP)
Pony Friends (DS)

MAY 30, 2007
Mad Tracks (Xbox 360)
The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy (PC)

MAY 31, 2007
Halo 2 (PC)
Surf's Up (GameCube)

JUNE 1, 2007
Surf's Up (PC)