AU Shippin' Out November 16-20: Assassin's Creed II

Headlining this week's releases from the shadows is Assassin's Creed II. Like in the first game, you'll spend the majority of your time reliving memories of Desmond's ancestors uncovered through a device that allows him to tap into his ancestor's DNA. The game is set in Italy during the Renaissance, and you play as Ezio Auditore di Firenze, a man out for revenge against a rival family after they murder your father and brothers. Like every good assassin, Ezio has a few gadgets up his sleeve to help him along the way, with some inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. Assassin's Creed II is due out on Thursday for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. If you're super keen to get the game and have a preorder with EB Games, selected stores around the country will be open at midnight for people to pick up their games, but be sure to check with your local store before heading along.

Despite the dubious honour of being banned twice before its launch, Left 4 Dead 2 will be coming out in Australia alongside the rest of the globe, albeit heavily edited for our region. Gone are the piles of dead zombie bodies, limb decapitation, bloody spray, and an uncommon riot police zombie type. If you're willing to look past the cuts, L4D2 brings four new survivor characters to the table, with the five campaigns set across New Orleans. New features include melee weapons and a story that links together the five campaigns. Expect to see Left 4 Dead 2 on store shelves on Thursday.

Sackboy makes the jump to the PSP this week with the mobile version launch of Little Big Planet. Similar to last year's PS3 game, LBP is a platformer starring adorable and customisable sack people. While the four-player co-op didn't make it into the port, the ability to create levels and distribute them has remained. Keep an eye out for Little Big Planet later this week.

November 19, 2009
Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360)
Assassin's Creed II (PS3, 360)
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (DS)
The Sims 3 World Adventures (PC)
EA Sports Active More Workouts (Wii)
Little Big Planet (PSP)
Monster 4x4: Stunt Racer (Wii)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Wii, DS, PS3, PSP, 360)
Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
Style Savvy (DS)

November 20, 2009
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (PS2, PSP)
Ghostbusters The Video Game (Wii, PC, PSP, 360)
F1 2009 (Wii, PSP)
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (PS3, 360)