AU Shippin' Out January 24-28: Dead Space 2

The original Dead Space was the product of EA's push in the late '00s to introduce a new generation of intellectual properties and was well received by the fans and critics alike, so it was no surprise to see that the megapublisher decided to press on with a sequel. Set amidst a human colony on one of Saturn's moons, Dead Space 2 continues the ill-fated story of Issac Clarke as he battles not only dementia, but also a new outbreak of necromorphs. This latest entry into the series also sees the introduction of online multiplayer for the first time, focusing only on objective-based team play. Dead Space 2 will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on January 27.

EA has a second sci-fi game hitting stores this week, with the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 arriving around Australia on Thursday after a slight delay due to the Queensland floods. While Xbox 360 and PC owners have been enjoying the game for almost a year now, PS3 owners can sleep soundly knowing that the version they'll be playing runs off the Mass Effect 3 engine, so it's a slightly refined experience. On top of that, all of the quest downloadable content that has been released will also come free on the Blu-ray disc.

Finally we've got the latest Mario-themed party game from Nintendo, in the form of Mario Sports Mix. Developed by Square Enix, the game sees the famous plumber take to the field in four different sports: basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, and dodgeball. Like the previous two games, Mario Sports Mix lands on Thursday.

To find out what else is out this week, see the list below:

January 27, 2011
Dead Space 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
Mario Sports Mix (Wii)