Shippin' Out June 23-27: Bad Company, Guitar Hero DS

June 23, 2008 12:39PM PDT

Alone in the Dark, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and a handful of high-profile ports join a deluge of new releases.

Publishers have spent the last two weeks holding on to their big releases so as not to go head-to-head with Konami's PlayStation 3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Having given Solid Snake's latest a fair bit of breathing room, those publishers are pushing their titles onto shelves en masse this week.

Starting off the week on a loud note, Electronic Arts brings its Battlefield series of military shooters to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with a twist. In addition to the multiplayer-minded online action of previous installments (with support for up to 24 players), Bad Company includes a story-based single-player campaign aiming to inject some dark humor into the war game genre.

Bad Company is by no means the only anticipated game on deck this week. Atari's return to the seminal survival horror series Alone in the Dark also arrives on the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, and PC, while Activision takes its Guitar Hero franchise on the road with On Tour for the DS (complete with plug-in fret board peripheral).

DS gamers looking for something a little slower paced than Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" on expert can kick back with Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. The turn-based strategy role-playing game follows in the footsteps of previous Tactics titles, putting players in control of a young boy transported to the world of Ivalice and in search of a way back to his home.

A number of ports are also set to hit stores this week, allowing some older games to find new fans. Two PC real-time strategy games are arriving on the Xbox 360, with console-ized editions of Supreme Commander and Command & Conquer: Kane's Wrath both making the transition to the living room. Meanwhile, Harmonix's Rock Band makes a belated appearance on the Wii after rocking gamers on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PlayStation 2 last year, and Overlord appears on the PlayStation 3 with a "Raising Hell" subtitle.

Finally, games are getting a little political, as Wideload Games is releasing satirical minigame collection Hail to the Chimp on the PS3 and Xbox 360, while the PC release of The Political Machine 2008 will allow gamers to relive the current election cycle in all its arduous glory.

On the downloadable services, Nintendo is introducing High Voltage Software's multiplayer arcade-style shooter Gyrostarr for 700 Wii points ($7). The Virtual Console adds Sega Master System mascot game Alex Kidd in Miracle World for 500 Wii points ($5) and the Neo Geo side-scrolling beat-'em-up Burning Fight for 900 points ($9).

Over on Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft is adding a pair of new games. First up is False Alarm, the gaming debut for Sega's gory-yet-adorable Happy Tree Friends. Strategy fans can also pick up Ticket to Ride, an adaptation of the railroad-themed card game for up to four players. Both games will sell for 800 Microsoft points ($10).

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

JUNE 23, 2008
Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360)
Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)
Supreme Commander (X360)
Alone in the Dark (X360, Wii, PC, PS2)
Rock Band (Wii)
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS)
Top Spin 3 (X360, PS3, Wii, DS)
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (X360)
Gyrostarr (Wii Ware)
American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge (DS)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Wii VC)
Burning Fight (Wii VC)

JUNE 24, 2008
Hellboy: Science of Evil (X360, PS3, PSP)
WALL-E (Wii, PS3, X360, PS2, PSP, DS, PC)
Supreme Ruler 2020 (PC)
Hail to the Chimp (X360)
Overlord: Raising Hell (PS3)
The Political Machine 2008 (PC)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (PSP)
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian (DS)
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja (DS)
Operation Darkness (X360)
Big Beach Sports (Wii)
Cake Mania 2 (DS)
My Weight Loss Coach (DS)
Gourmet Chef (DS)
Midnight Play Pack (DS)
Elements (PC)
Baseball Mogul 2009 (PC)
Cocoto Kart Racer (Wii)
Jeep Thrills (PS2)

JUNE 25, 2008
Happy Tree Friends False Alarm (XBLA)
Ticket to Ride (XBLA)

JUNE 26, 2008
Hail to the Chimp (PS3)
Smart Kid's Gameclub (DS)
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm (PC)

By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Follow Follow @BrendanSinclair

38 comments

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sniperboy_recon

Hate the snipers!!!! U shoot somebody they dont die But it is kinda fun destroying stuff

xMADxDOGx

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

anarchy69yoda

i mite be the only one but i want to play happy tree friends so bad

David_Kniffin

I'm curious about Alone In The Dark... I wonder if it's any good... I'll read some reviews...

combatsoldier

WOW i forgot that alone in the dark is finally out.

Vaco_P

My job started selling Rock Band and Guitar Hero on Sunday...

realSHOTKILL

omg you 360 fanboys are so dumb. console bashing is so 2007. PS3 has MGS4...so shutup. rated 10...best game ive ever played. Battlefield: Bad Company for me.

combatsoldier

Go battlefield.

godzillavskong

Well the Battlefield demo was great. That frostbite engine is pretty amazing. I'll be picking that one up in a week or two. It seems like more and more quality games are being released before I have a chance to beat the other ones that I am playing or just bought. Not to mention the gamers who own 2 or 3 consoles. Trying to buy Blu-rays and MGS4 for my PS3 and trying to keep up with the steady releases of good 360 titles. I need a second job.

xchiefmegadethx

Alone in the dark 360 for me! what no ps3 version delayed to the end of year you say... 360 all the way,we get our games now not later haha

nyoroism

I hope Guitar Hero: On Tour gets a good score here. I've been playing it, and even though the songlist isn't large by any means, it's a whole lot of fun.

shujikun07

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

finaleve

major_cain > If you read the headline, it says Shipping out June 23-27. Note that it doesnt specify exactly what is being released in the headline, just the days that games will be released.

technowiz999

It's a good week for gamers everywhere =) Need more PC games though

ctg867

*Is still playing MGS4* No budget for BF: Bad Company or Alone in the Dark. Maybe when I get another job. Hey, I'm 16 and I'm gonna try and enjoy my Summer. Let me be lazy for a little bit before I go job hunting.

-GhostMLD-

wow 360 games completely outnumber ps3 releases!

ocdog45

ill be playing bad company and ff TA

ItsEvolution

Rock Band Wii has sold out everywhere here already. I can't believe so many people were amped about a game that everyone else has had since November. How many people only own a Wii and not at least a PS2 also?

maverick_76

I got scared for a second there. I thought that they were not going to have Alone in the dark on the PS3, I was like "I could've sworn I saw it the other day for PS3." Whew, that was a close call.

RHCPfan24

Cool list. Probably gonna get Battlefield and GH: On Tour. Maybe Ticket to Ride on XBLA.

Ranteal

Its all about Cake Mania 2 Everything else= EPIC FAIL

gnbfd

eww Rock Band Wii. A crappy port of a crappy port. What fun. GH:On Tour is first on my list. Still haven't play the Battlefield:BC demo from PSN Alone in the Dark came out today? Where have I been for the past year? OMFGROFL a Happy Tree Friends game.

PhantomPhoot

Battlefield looks awesome. Guitar Hero: On Tour is a godsend, however. I've always wanted to play Guitar Hero on a four hour plane flight.

SSBFan12

Guitar Hero: On Tour, Rock band, and Gyrostarr

Stalker700

AiTD,FTW!

IKRITaiNT

Battlefields destructable enviroments give me wood

major_cain

I think they just need to stop saying when games are "shipping" out. It seems to confuse a lot of people, including myself, making it seem that it would be available to buy that day. They just need to say when a game is out in retail stores, not when its being sent to them.

Adultgmr77

Battlefield

combatsoldier

I heard bad company is supposed to be the best multiplayer game out. We shall see. Right now im loving metal gear.

Pete5506

I'm going to rent Bad Company

LURCH87

battlefield

raahsnavj

Ticket To Ride is a pretty good board game... I wonder if the Europe rules will be included... The worst part of the game is counting up the points and fiddling with cards, so this might be a very good adaptation for those that want a good board game in XBLA. Alone in the Dark had my attention for a while, but all it is getting is so-so reviews in Europe. But there seems to be a lot of recognizable titles this week...

Skat137321

Alone and the dark and Hellboy are the ones I want

nnn2004

we have 2 good games now battlefield & alone in the dark.

Jaresk

This is annoying! I'm waiting for Battlefield: Bad Company, almost all sites says that it's coming today, except for the official site saying that it will come out the 25th, Gamespot made a new earlier saying that also, and now, their saying that it's coming out today. This is driving me crazy! Does it come out today or the 25th? I hope the game is any good... Edit: I think I get it... SHIPPING out...

BioShockOwnz

Alone In The Dark and The Political Machine 2008 for me. :)

CVM_123

the only good game on the list i think is battlefied bad company

kos1085

Can't wait to play Final fantasy tactics A2

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