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Shippin' Out April 7-11: PC Assassin's Creed, Ikaruga, Portal

By Staff, GameSpotPosted Apr 8, 2008 4:16 pm PT

PC edition of Ubi's actioner and 360 port of classic shooter join Valve's newly a la carte Orange Box offerings--including Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode Pack.

One week after an April Fools' ship date scared off virtually every publisher, the North American release calendar is approaching something resembling normalcy. Why only "resembling"? Because the highest-profile releases for the week originally saw the light of day as part of last year's holiday gaming deluge.

Selling at a brisk rate on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 since November, Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed comes to Windows systems this week. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition on the PC is an extended version of its best-selling console counterpart, with four new types of investigation missions complementing the five preexisting ones. Otherwise, the game offers a similar experience to the critically lauded console editions, with 12th-century assassin Altair plying his trade during the third crusade in the Holy Land, with futuristic elements interwoven into the story for added intrigue.

While Ubisoft's PC edition brings Assassin's Creed to an even wider audience, Valve's offering this week is a bit of a head-scratcher. The Orange Box--which includes Half-Life 2, its first two expansions, Team Fortress 2, and Portal--is already available at retail and through Valve's digital distribution service Steam. While PC gamers are already able to buy the individual pieces of The Orange Box on Steam, EA wants to offer retail customers the same opportunity. As such, PC editions of Team Fortress 2, the award-winning Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Pack are all available at brick-and-mortar outlets this week for a respective $29.99, $19.99, and $29.99.

Aside from the aforementioned offerings, this week looks much like the last, with niche titles dominating the lineup. Fighter fans whose tastes skew toward pervy will be pleased to know Arcana Hearts has arrived for the PlayStation 2. Developed by Ecole and distributed by Atlus, Arcana Hearts offers a traditional 2D fighter experience, where players can select from one of 11 different female anime characters. Atlus will also be publishing Sting's postapocalyptic dungeon crawler Baroque for the Wii and PS2. Telltale's humorous episodic adventure series Sam & Max Season Two wraps up its PC run this week with What's New, Beelzebub?.

The niche-gaming theme extends into the downloadable circuit as well, as Treasure's fan-favorite arcade shoot-'em-up Ikaruga arrives on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Available for 800 Microsoft points ($10), Ikaruga is a vertical-scrolling shooter that offers the genre's hallmark punishing gameplay as well as highly detailed anime-style graphics. Several enhancements have been made to the XBLA edition of the game, including two-player co-op, high-definition visuals, and the ability to record gaming sessions.

Lastly, the Wii's Virtual Console has two new additions this week. Originally released for the NES in 1993, Yoshi's Cookie is a shape-matching puzzle game and runs for the standard rate of 500 Wii points ($5). Also pulled from the NES bygone days, baseball classic Bases Loaded is now part of the Wii's online library and can be purchased for 500 Wii points ($5).

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

APRIL 7, 2008
Bases Loaded (WII)
Nancy Drew: Double Dare 5 (PC)
Overclocked: A History of Violence (PC)
Yoshi's Cookie (WII)

APRIL 8, 2008
Assassin's Creed (PC)
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2 (PS2)
Plushees (DS)
Fab 5 Soccer (DS)
World Championship Cards (PS2)
Half-Life 2: Episode Pack (PC)
MiniCopter: Adventure Flight (WII)
Arcana Heart (PS2)
Portal (PC)
Team Fortress 2 (PC)
Baroque (PS2, WII)

APRIL 9, 2008
Ikaruga (Xbox 360)

APRIL 10, 2008
Sam & Max Episode 205: What's New, Beelzebub? (PC)

APRIL 11, 2008
Summer Sports: Paradise Island (WII)

32 Comments

  • Homerj

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 4:43 pm PT

    The EB nearest me got one whole Wii Baroque copy in today and I snagged it. Next time something niche like this comes up that I want, I'm definitely reserving.

  • zeppelin_64

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 4:38 pm PT

    i saw baroque and portal at eb today

  • cooldude03

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 9:31 am PT

    Yes Ikaruga. I've been waiting for this game, finally one of the best Gamecube Games comes to Xbox LIve. I've been waiting for this game for a long time.

  • dragonsama

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 7:08 am PT

    Arcana heart, Fatal Fury Vol 2 and Ikaruga. this is an awesome week to be a gamer!!!!

  • Homerj

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 6:33 am PT

    Baroque definitely fits the "niche" category, aparently so much so that so far not a single copy appears to have made it to my state. Hoping that today brings better luck. The 360 and the DS have been getting all the love when it comes to rpgs...the Wii is in desparate need of a few of its own.

  • joe_kitanosono

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 4:58 am PT

    Please ikaruga was no where near as good as radiant silvergun. Until they bring that out im not paying to repair my 360.

  • Avenger1324

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 3:24 am PT

    Shame assassins creed requires such a powerful pc to run it on

  • other44

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 11:46 pm PT

    assass cread

  • Lord_Daemon

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 11:11 pm PT

    Both Arcana Heart and Baroque definitely have my piqued my interest.

  • NeoNavarro

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 11:10 pm PT

    I wonder how Assassin's Creed will play on the PC? I hope the controls feel right...

  • MadlilMart

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 11:08 pm PT

    Isn't Mario Kart Wiii out on the 11th? I am fed up with waiting for AC

  • Kh1ndjal

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 10:48 pm PT

    assassin's creed for me

  • mcuth

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 10:28 pm PT

    IKA FREAKING RUGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    FINALLY!!!!!!!! THAT IS ONE AMAZING GAME.

  • wilk25

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 10:10 pm PT

    Assassin's Creed and portal

  • werc96

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 10:08 pm PT

    Ikaruga!!!! Finally!!

  • METALGEARNICK

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 7:17 pm PT

    THAT Ticks me off they should of added the directors cut stuff to consoles or at least made updates to get it .

  • bulletsword

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 7:13 pm PT

    I'm probably getting Ikaruga tomorrow. sounds awesome and I have some points i'm not using right now.

    but listen to me, Valve. Keep the Orange Box together. TF2 for $20-$30 alone is just wrong.

  • sphinx-shadow

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 5:39 pm PT

    Go Ikaruga!! Can't wait.

  • teufelherz

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 5:34 pm PT

    At long last!!! Ikaruga's coming!!! Need M$ points ASAP. Can't go on life without this one

  • ragdollsrock012

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 5:22 pm PT

    meh. Valve related things are good, but I'm not excited for the rest of it.

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