Shippin' Out Sept. 14-19: Warhammer Online

EA's fantasy MMOG part of busy week at retail that includes Rock Band 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Pure, Crysis Warhead, and more.

Incoming! Publishers are carpet bombing retailers this week with a flood of anticipated games for every major system.

Starting with the PC, this week sees a handful of the year's biggest launches. Warhammer fans were originally told in 2000 that the tabletop fantasy war game would be turned into a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, courtesy of Microsoft and Climax. Although that game fell before it ever reached the battlefield, the Warhammer MMOG license was picked up by Mythic in 2005, which was itself subsumed by Electronic Arts in 2006. After years of development, Warhammer Online goes live this week and takes its first shot at toppling Activision Blizzard's World of Warcraft from its "king of the MMO hill" position.

This week also sees a pair of new spin-offs from two of last year's most popular PC first-person shooters. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky serves as a prequel to the GSC Game World sci-fi shooter, while Crysis Warhead is a side story that gives players a second perspective on the events of the original.

Consoles are being similarly inundated with heavily hyped fare. MTV Games, Electronic Arts, and Harmonix started off the week with a bang by jointly releasing Rock Band 2 on the Xbox 360 on Sunday. Microsoft obtained a limited window of exclusivity from the companies, so PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii editions of the game won't arrive until later this year.

Another eagerly awaited console game landing in stores this week is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The LucasArts action game puts players in the robe of Darth Vader's secret Sith Apprentice, and integrates animation, artificial intelligence, and physics engines to let players witness the true power of the Force.

Some other notable retail releases include the Japanese RPG remake Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS; 2D fighter Battle Fantasia for the Xbox 360; Pure for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC; and Armored Core: For Answer on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

On the downloadable services, WiiWare welcomes the second episode of the Strong Bad series for 1,000 Wii points ($10), and the fragrantly assorted puzzler Potpourrii for 800 Wii points ($8). On the Xbox 360, this week's Live Arcade releases include Feeding Frenzy 2 and Domino Master, each selling for 800 Microsoft points ($10).

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

SEPTEMBER 14, 2008
Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (PC)
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS)
Dance Dance Revolution X (PS2)
Battle Fantasia (Xbox 360)
Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition (DS)
Yggdra Union (PSP)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 09: Legendary Adventures (PC)
Di-Gata Defenders (DS)
Mega Man 2 (Wii VC)
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free (PC, WiiWare)
Potpourrii (WiiWare)

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS)
Crysis Warhead (PC)
Pure (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
The Witcher Enhanced Edition (PC)
Line Rider 2: Unbound (DS, PC)
TNA iMPACT! (Wii)
Armored Core: For Answer (Xbox 360, PS3)
B-Boy (PSP)
Zoo Hospital (Wii)
Hell's Kitchen (PC)
The Price is Right (PC)
Red Bull BC One (DS)
My Secret World by Imagine (DS)
Unsolved Crimes (DS)
Animal Paradise (PC)
Speed Racer (PS2)
Everlight (PC)

SEPTEMBER 17, 2008
Domino Master (XBLA)
Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown (XBLA)
Pac-Man Power Pack (PS2)
Naruto Ultimate Collection (PS2)
Namco Classic Fighter Collection (PS2)

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
Igor (Wii, DS, PC)
Sony had not revealed the contents of its weekly Thursday update as of press time.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
Imagine Fashion Designer New York (DS)
Littlest Pet Shop (Wii)

25 Comments

  • okassar

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 1:18 pm PT

    Warhammer is just gonna PWN!

  • biokrysty

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 7:30 am PT

    yea clear sky and warhead wait for me because I'll come and get you

  • Foreward66

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 5:10 am PT

    i dont know if im gonna get Crysi warhead or stalker clear sky.....

  • Pete5506

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 11:01 pm PT

    I am getting four games the week, WOW!!

  • itwiz90

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 5:35 pm PT

    Wow, a lot of good stuff coming out.

  • durio

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 5:09 pm PT

    Stalker is one of the best games.. Those effin bugs.. The team releases it without working on it some more... a whole lot more.. Would've been a great game.

  • lewis4manu

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 1:47 pm PT

    So when is Pure coming out? It says the 16th here and under the actual game it says the 23rd! Today is the 16th and it didn't come in the post...

  • Stix_3200

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 11:16 am PT

    Thank GOD Hell's Kitchen game came out. This is the game we been waiting all year for!!!!!! GOTY candidate in the HOUSE.

  • pidow

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 9:56 am PT

    I'll take Crysis and Clear Sky out of this batch....to be continued!.

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 7:00 am PT

    Stalker was not exactly a top 5 FPS last year and there is about zero hype for this new one.

    The Star Wars, Pure, TNA Impact, and Warhead will all be mine. Might give Line Rider 2 a try on the DS.

  • the_real_VIP

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 6:37 am PT

    ... oh, and Dragon Quest IV on DS!

  • chickenmonkey

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 3:31 am PT

    I hope my Dragon Warrior IV is still worth something.

  • quintoncannatac

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 1:59 am PT

    the wii and ds and playsattion and xbox is the best

  • imyourdaddy

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 11:43 pm PT

    SOO MANY GAMES COMING OUT BUT SO LITTLE MONEY!

  • Wezker619

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 10:22 pm PT

    OH yeah Warhammer. It has to be better than lame AoC.

  • GodsPoison

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 9:46 pm PT

    Good week for all it seems! Ima bustin a enrgy guns cap in some mecha foo's @ss this week with AC4A!

  • jazilla

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 9:06 pm PT

    i like how they say that Warhammer is going to try and topple WoW. They just want a foot in the door. I don't play WoW, I play Guild Wars, and even I know that NO MMO maker is thinking they can top WoW. It's like a professional golfer thinking they have a chance at taking the Number 1 spot in the world rankings away from Tiger Woods. Nobody is that myopic. Stop insulting our intelligence with comments like that.

  • jason2guy

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 9:03 pm PT

    wow so many selections to choose from!

  • ShadowVari

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 8:23 pm PT

    Hmmm, I think I'll have to get Yggdra Union on the PSP soon, since I missed it on the GBA. And I didn't realize DQIV came out this soon...just another thing to pick up too.

  • Mystoksor

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 8:00 pm PT

    I tried WAR and didn't really like it. But it would be nice to see some real competition for Blizzard; they've seemed lazy as of late

  • the_real_VIP

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 7:40 pm PT

    Getting Crysis Warhead for sure.

  • Beastcake

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 7:28 pm PT

    I'm going to be unleashing the Force this week. =D

  • Franko_3

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 7:26 pm PT

    Big week for pc

  • CodingGenius Site moderator

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 7:23 pm PT

    There are some good games coming out, and I can hardly keep up with them.

  • thekronn07

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 6:34 pm PT

    Woot thats quite a few good games out now cant wait to get my hands on em'!!

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