Shippin' Out June 5-11: Red Faction: Armageddon, Infamous 2

Tomorrow marks the start of the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and while many new games are being announced over the next few days, several high-profile releases are due this week.

Leading the pack this week is Volition's well-reviewed Red Faction: Armageddon for the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. Where 2009's Red Faction: Guerrilla focused on Alec Mason's rebellion against the oppressive Earth Defense Force, Armageddon shifts the focus and ups the stakes. The game picks up roughly 50 years later and focuses on Darius Mason, Alec's grandson. When the younger Mason accidentally unleashes a planet-threatening evil on Mars, it's up to Darius and his grandfather's old rebel group, the Red Faction, to clean up the mess.

Gamers can go to Mars this week in Armageddon.

As in previous Red Faction games, cleaning up a big mess will require making an even bigger mess, thanks to a focus on physics-based destruction. Armageddon will provide players some new surroundings to explosively customize, from ice caves to lava flows.

Gamers looking to continue the pursuits of action hero/antihero Cole can pick up Infamous 2 this Tuesday for the PlayStation 3. The game sees Cole leave the metropolis of Empire City and travel to New Marais, a city based on New Orleans. Along the way, he faces the same narrative duality of choosing to either help or hinder humankind. Once he arrives at his destination, he must face an evil entity simply called "the Beast."

Also out this week is Call of Duty: Black Ops' Escalation add-on for the PlayStation 3. The Escalation pack sports four multiplayer maps: Hotel, set on top of a luxury hotel and casino in old Havana; Convoy, which offers up close-quarters combat when a US military convoy is ambushed; Zoo, set in a derelict Soviet-era animal park; and Stockpile, which is set in a small Russian town that contains secret facilities housing weapons of mass destruction.

The downloadable add-on also features a "Call of the Dead" level. The zombie-slaughtering co-op level will feature a storyline inspired by famed horror director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and features a '70s movie aesthetic that sees four action stars fending off hordes of undead around a ghost ship. It will feature the voices and likenesses of actors Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Danny Trejo (Machete), and Romero himself.

Another new first-person shooter map pack out this week is the Fire Sale add-on for THQ's near-future shooter Homefront. The content arrives exclusively for the Xbox 360 on Tuesday and includes two new competitive multiplayer arenas that are set deep within America's ruins. Accompanying the release of that map pack will be a free download of the 870 express shotgun, as well as a gratis Homefront Xbox 360 theme.

Debuting this Tuesday for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC will be Operation Flashpoint: Red River. The latest in the modern first-person shooter series, the game's 10-mission campaign will be playable by up to four players in co-op. Additionally, a new Fireteam Engagements mode will present skirmishes for up to four players, including one where players face waves of enemies and another where they extract marines from a downed helicopter.

Fans of the Green Lantern DC Comics series can pick up a tie-in game this Tuesday, a full week and a half ahead of the Ryan Reynolds-led film Green Lantern, due out June 17. Titled Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, the game will be the first title from the publisher created for the 3DS, Nintendo's glasses-free 3D-enabled handheld. That version, along with the regular DS installment, was developed by Griptonite Games.

The Double Helix-developed Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will also be released with glasses- and 3D HDTV-required stereoscopic 3D support. According to its publisher, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is inspired by the film and sees gamers taking control of the emerald superhero as he and his mentor, Sinestro, take on the Manhunters as part of a bid to "restore intergalactic order."

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

TUESDAY, JUNE 7
Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters--X360, PSP, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS--Warner Bros. Homefront: Fire Sale--X360--THQ
Infamous 2--PS3--SCEA
Kevin Van Dam Fishing--PS3--Zoo Games
Operation Flashpoint: Red River--X360, PS3, PC--Codemasters
Red Faction: Armageddon--PS3, X360, PC--THQ

FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Escalation--PS3--Activision