Shippin' Out January 8-12: Lost Planet, Arthur and the Invisibles

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jan 8, 2007 3:51 pm PT

[UPDATE] Capcom's long-awaited 360 shooter joins Atari's Euro-cartoon tie-in on this week's slim slate of new releases, which also features The Shield.

As is the case every year, the first weeks following the December holiday season offer little in the way of new game releases. The second seven-day period of 2007 is no exception, with less than a dozen new titles being offered up to the North American public.

Foremost among the week's offerings is Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the eagerly anticipated sci-fi shooter for the Xbox 360 that is due out on Friday. Capcom, the game's publisher, is hoping to emulate the success of another of its January releases, Resident Evil 4. Originally released for the GameCube in January 2005, the game, which was later ported to the PlayStation 2, went on to become a best seller and earned accolades, including GameSpot's Game of the Year award.

Parents not too keen on their younger children blasting frozen arachnids from space will have another option this week. Arthur and the Invisibles, Atari's adaptation of the Luc Besson-produced animated film, flutters onto a variety of platforms this week, including the PC, PS2, DS, and Game Boy Advance. Like its movie inspiration, the game follows the adventures of Arthur, a boy who gets shrunken down and discovers a tiny land inhabited by a race known as the Minimoys in his backyard.

Only two other games will arrive in retailers this week: the historic strategy title Heart of Empire: Rome (PC) and the not-so-eagerly anticipated horse-riding sim Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge (PC). However, four more prominent titles will be made available online, including Ms. Pac-Man on Xbox Live Arcade and a trifecta for classic game lovers on the Wii's Virtual console: Gradius (NES), Soldier Blade (TurboGrafx-16), and Dungeon Explorer (TG16).

[UPDATE] One last-minute addition to the week's slate was The Shield, Aspyr Media's PS2 and PC adaptation of the popular crime show on the FX cable network. The game was originally timed to coincide with the premiere of the show's sixth season, which has since been pushed back until later this year.

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

JANUARY 8, 2007
Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge (PC)
Gradius (Wii) (via Wii Virtual Console)
Soldier Blade (Wii) (via Wii Virtual Console)
Dungeon Explorer (Wii) (via Wii Virtual Console)

JANUARY 9, 2007
Arthur and the Invisibles (PC, PS2, DS, GBA)
Heart of Empire: Rome (PC)

JANUARY 10, 2007
Ms. Pac-Man (X360) (via Xbox Live)

JANUARY 12, 2007
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (X360)

56 Comments

  • pdo4545

    Posted Jan 24, 2007 8:03 am PT

    this game looks horrible, all disney games SUCK!

  • datniccah187

    Posted Jan 21, 2007 11:48 pm PT

    The Shield is possible the worst game ever.

  • Noodleman123

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 4:23 am PT

    I bought lost planet today and it is so much fun, not beter than gears of war but its so much fun, good graphics, good gameplay and personaly i think the gamespot review underated it abit, it should have gt a 9 not an 8.1, but everyone has there own opinion, goin to play lost planet now!

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 12:13 pm PT

    This was the only stuff released this week? Weak!

  • Alcotamaysees

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 3:48 pm PT

    I wonder why Lost Planet's been getting dissapointing reviews. Seemed pretty cool to me.

  • Noodleman123

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:36 am PT

    i watched the striler, looks pretty jam carret

  • Noodleman123

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:33 am PT

    Hey shuumuto, yeah mate whats that blue dragon ment to be like, i havent heard much about it, is it gonna be sick

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:09 pm PT

    Lost Planet sure as hell doesn't have any competition.

  • ShuuMutou

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:38 pm PT

    Bring on Blue Dragon. That is an RPG to be looking out for.

  • Noodleman123

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 2:07 pm PT

    Lost planet is definatley goin to have a lot of value, I cant wait to get it but i dont think its goin to be better than Gears Of War, no way, but i still love playing RPG, i love Oblivion, Yeah Battlemage

  • Jebril

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 1:23 pm PT

    Lost Planet is gonna be alright it won't be huge. I dunno the hype for this game ISNT IN YOUR FACE LIKE THIS TEXT!

  • okassar

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 1:17 pm PT

    Judging the demo,the weapons have no value,the enemies are too weak and it's such a confusing game.I warn anyone who even thinks they're going to buy that game.Games with bad demos usually end up bad.Quote me on that.

  • Legacyoftain

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 9:48 am PT

    Yea the reviews on Lost Planet seem a bit odd...this is gonna be one of those games where you just will have to be your own judge and just get it cuz it's as close as your gonna get to playing a sweet Starship Troopers game...

  • terrabreak13

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 8:51 am PT

    F*** IGN's review and any other review for that matter. I played both demos myself and they are absolutely sick. My mind was made up since E3 06.

  • Legacyoftain

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:46 am PT

    Arthur and the Invisibles is going to be a GREAT movie...better than Rocky VI or Black Christmas....move over 'Departed' this one has oscar gold written all over

  • makemeweak

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:35 am PT

    Can't wait to play Lost Planet - the demos were amazing!

    judgenxcutioner -
    "Wait a minute...another FPS for the 360??! Watta SURPRISE!"

    FYI it's not a FPS - the viewpoint is in third person, like in Gears of War.

  • axillia

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:16 am PT

    At least there's one good game for the week.

  • ReaperXxxx

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:47 am PT

    Screw Lost Planet, it's all about Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge baby!!! Yeah! Ride those horses! Lol...

  • V_Zarnold_N

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 5:57 am PT

    well Ms.Pac-man is fun... not worth 5 bucks but still fun... however i hate the first of the year because no really good games come out... im still waiting for games like assassins creed, army of two, and Halo 3

  • KingofTrolls

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:22 am PT

    It would be nice if both Microsoft and Nintendo would get it together on their Live Arcade and Virtual Console service. Very few good titles so far and so far and few between to keep people interested. Microsoft releases a 25+ year old crappy arcade racing game called "New Rally-X" and honestly this is just bad and who would pay for this. This week its "Ms Pac Man" I mean come on this is just crap nobody wants. Just get some good classic arcade games that can be played multiplayer at the same time.

    Nintendo has only released a couple of good titles thus far on the Virtual Console while they still continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel for crap we've never heard of or nobody wants.

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