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Shippin' Out September 1-7: Spore, Mercs 2, Viva Pinata 2

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Sep 2, 2008 4:40 pm PT

Headliners join arcade FaceBreaker, NFL Head Coach, and downloadable titles Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, Shred Nebula, and My Aquarium.

As ambitious as it is an enigma to most audiences, Spore is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2008. Will Wright's first original post-Sims game, the evolution simulator first wowed rapt audiences at the 2005 Game Developers Conference. This June, gamers were given their first taste of the title with the Spore Creature Creator, a marketing tool/hype builder that has yielded more than 3.2 million user-created and uploaded life-forms to date. This week, Spore's journey coalesces with the release of the PC, Mac, and DS editions of the game. Only just the beginning of the Spore franchise, however, a Wii version of the game has been officially confirmed, and EA has hinted more console versions are under serious consideration.

A mercenary's life is never an easy one, and that goes doubly so for the Pandemic-developed Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Announced well before EA acquired the BioWare-Pandemic superdeveloper in 2007, the controversy-rich Mercenaries 2 was initially penciled in as a PlayStation 3 exclusive for release during the loaded holiday 2007 shopping season. Those details didn't last long, however, as Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PC editions of the killer-for-hire shooter were soon added, and EA abruptly bumped the game first to Q1 2008 last September, and then again to August so as to ensure the "game is 100 percent polished." GameSpot's review will offer its take on whether Pandemic was able to make good with that extra time tomorrow.

Another highly publicized sequel, Rare's Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, joins Mercenaries 2 this week. As detailed in GameSpot's full review, the Xbox 360-exclusive family title successfully picks up where the last left off, offering more papier-mache critters and new ways to cultivate their vibrant gardens. Microsoft's console will also see a pair of Xbox Live Arcade titles this week: Blazing Lizard's Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball and Crunchtime Games' shoot-'em-up Shred Nebula. Both downloadable titles can be purchased for 800 Microsoft points ($10).

Sports gamers will be treated to both ends of the realism spectrum this week, courtesy once again of Electronic Arts. For sim gamers, EA will follow up its Madden NFL 09 with NFL Head Coach 09. Debuting as part of the Madden NFL collector's edition in August, the game sees a stand-alone release on the Xbox 360 and PS3 this week. Gamers pining for an update to the classic Punch-Out!! experience may be interested in FaceBreaker. An arcade-style boxing game, FaceBreaker will practice its brand of the sweet science on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Nintendo's online storefront returns with its standard allotment of two Virtual Console and one original WiiWare title this week. Hudson's latest venture for Nintendo WiiWare reaches out to the console's broad audience with the underwater marina sim My Aquarium (500 Wii points, $5). Delving deeper into its own classic gaming catalog, Nintendo's Clu Clu Land (500 Wii points, $5) and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (800 Wii points, $8) have been added to the Virtual Console this week.

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

AUGUST 31, 2008
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (X360, PS3, PS2)

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008
Clu Clu Land (Wii VC)
Combat Mission: Shock Force - Marines (PC)
Ford Racing: Off Road (Wii, PC)
Guitar Praise (PC)
My Aquarium (WiiWare)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Wii VC)

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
Baseball Mogul 2009 (PC)
Defendin DePenguin (Wii, DS)
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage (PC)
GTR Evolution (PC)
PictoImage (DS)
Rapala Fishing Frenzy (X360, PS3, Wii)
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Battle March (X360, PC)
Vampire Rain: Altered Species (PS3)
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (X360)
Wizard101 (PC)

SEPTEMBER 3, 2008
NFL Head Coach 09 (X360, PS3)
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball (XBLA)
Shred Nebula (XBLA)

SEPTEMBER 4, 2008
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC)
My Dream Job: Babysitter (PC)

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008
FaceBreaker (X360, PS3)

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008
Spore (PC, Mac, DS)

91 Comments

  • klugenbeel

    Posted Sep 11, 2008 8:41 am PT

    AHAHAHAHAHA! FaceBreaker by EA, sucks? NO WAY! EA making a crappy game, who would have thought! lol

  • zyxomma100

    Posted Sep 4, 2008 6:56 am PT

    Viva Pinata is out. I'm so excited. The first game is one of the best current-gen games out there.

  • breed101

    Posted Sep 4, 2008 12:09 am PT

    Mercs 2 doens't come out till thursday the 11th in Australia

  • Blackstaff

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 9:03 pm PT

    I can't wait for Spore, but I also want Merc 2 for the PC... and 90% of the websites lied to me and said it'd be out on Sunday!

  • dravarol

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 5:34 pm PT

    ay

  • darktro

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 4:56 pm PT

    spore is rally the game im looking for i will look into mario rpg hopeful the game will run on my pc the demo did so the game should to.......right?

  • Rolemodel1822

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    Definitely going to be picking up a copy of Spore.

  • Mor-GanX

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 4:17 pm PT

    SSSSSSPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRE!!!!

  • CapinKirk

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 3:34 pm PT

    Spore-tastic!

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 3:15 pm PT

    NOTE: In case it's not self-evident, avoid My Aquarium at all costs. That's money better spent on Super Mario RPG.

  • MetalMan300

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 3:04 pm PT

    Warhammer FTW!

  • Midgetmen

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 2:47 pm PT

    FACEBREAKER SON!!! Can't wait to get it and destroy my friends in it!

  • swaty056

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 2:40 pm PT

    yea baby, spore is finally coming!

  • Gladestone1

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 2:34 pm PT

    Spore bring it on..My nights are going to be enjoyable an than star wars

  • Sacif

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 1:28 pm PT

    I just picked up mercs 2 and Infinite undiscovery yesterday, good games so far, nothing else really interested me this week.

  • LivingDeadNinja

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 12:41 pm PT

    Only Super Mario RPG for me, though that's more than enough to make the whole month a huge success to me!

    I might look into Mercenaries 2...

  • lanmanna

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 12:38 pm PT

    I want Viva Pinata 2. It is going to be underrated, as you commenters have proved so far. Mercs 2 looks sweet as well. I also want Spore, but I doubt it will run on my PC.

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 12:13 pm PT

    The only thinsg worth mentioning in this article was Spore and Super Mario RPG....i missed that game.

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