Shippin' Out June 28-July 4: Call of Juarez prequel, Harry Potter

On July 15, Warner Bros.' film adaptation of the sixth Harry Potter book will premiere across North America. But before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits the silver screen, EA's game tie-in will reach the public with its Tuesday release.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the eponymous wizard follows the single-player storyline of the book while participating in multiplayer wand duels, amateur alchemy, and quidditch. The game's release likely comes as a relief for EA, who had to delay Half-Blood Prince out of its holiday quarter last year following Warner Bros.' decision to bump the film to this summer. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will ship on the Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360.

Those who enjoy guns over wands may alternatively be interested in Ubisoft's Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. As the prequel to 2007's Call of Juarez, Bound in Blood takes place toward the end of the Civil War, with brothers Ray and Billy deserting from the Confederate Army and heading to the Wild West. This first-person shooter features a multiplayer mode with all-new features, including five initial playable classes and eight unlockable ones like spy, duelist, and gunsmith. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood will be available for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Mega Man Star Force 3 is the third installment in the action role-playing series and adds a new noise change mechanic that randomly affects Mega Man and his surroundings. Following previous installments of the Star Force series, Star Force 3 comes in two varieties: Black Ace and Red Joker. Similar to the strategy behind Nintendo's Pokemon series, the two versions have unique differences that can be shared using the Wi-Fi networking capabilities of the DS.

Preceding the release of the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs film by a day, Activision's game of the same name features the film's animal characters participating in a number of minigame challenges. For those seeking a portable game of knock-'em-sock-'em robots, Atlus Co.'s Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament may be the answer. This PSP-exclusive features customizable battle mechs in arena-style combat. The game has an open-world mission structure and sports a four-player ad hoc multiplayer mode.

Zen Studios' The Punisher: No Mercy allows players to take the law into their own hands as Marvel's infamous super-vigilante, Frank Castle. Exclusively for the PlayStation Network, this first-person shooter features a single-player story mode along with arena-style multiplayer. As for Xbox Live, Team 17 has Worms 2: Armageddon prepped for release this Wednesday. The game features new weapons like the Buffalo of Lies and offers five new landscape scenarios built in the style of its PC inspiration, 1999's Worms Armageddon.

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 the Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

JUNE 28, 2009
No new releases scheduled.

JUNE 29, 2009
No new releases scheduled.

JUNE 30, 2009
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood--PC, PS3, X360--Ubisoft
Grand Theft Auto PC Trilogy--PC--Take-Two Interactive
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince--DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360--EA Games
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming--DS--Natsume
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs --DS, PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360--Activision
Infernal: Hell's Vengeance--X360--Playlogic
Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace--DS--Capcom
Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker--DS--Capcom
My Dress-Up--DS--Oxygen Interactive
My Make-Up--DS--Oxygen Interactive
Roogoo: Twisted Towers--Wii--SouthPeak Games
Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament--PSP--Atlus Co.
Treasure World--DS--Aspyr

JULY 1, 2009
Worms 2: Armageddon--X360--Team 17

JULY 2, 2009
ARMA II--PC--505 Games
The Punisher: No Mercy--PS3--Zen Studios

JULY 3, 2009
No new releases scheduled.

JULY 4, 2009
No new releases scheduled.