Retail Radar: Assassin's Creed DS, CSI for Wii and 360, Manhunt 2 plot

When it rains it pours, and online retailers have been particularly "leaky" of late when it comes to jumping the gun on game announcements. The last month has seen the US edition of Project Sylpheed and Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition prematurely revealed by online retailers, with a number of other listings like Time Crisis 4 and Rock Band peripherals awaiting confirmation.

Another handful of unconfirmed titles has appeared on retail Web sites today, with a trio of Ubisoft ports leading the way. First up is a DS edition of the upcoming Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 stealth action game Assassin's Creed. GameStop is taking preorders for the game with a $29.99 price tag and an expected September 25 release date, while online rental service GameFly has the game down for a September 27 release.

GameStop is also suggesting that Ubisoft's upcoming PC adventure game C.S.I.: Hard Evidence will be ported to the Xbox 360 and the Wii. The retailer expects the games to arrive alongside the PC edition on September 18, but it pegs a $39.99 price point for them, instead of the PC game's $29.99.

While it's not surprising that GameStop has listings for the previously announced Manhunt 2 on the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable, it is surprising that the retailer includes a plot description of the game. Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games have been tight-lipped about their upcoming action sequel, but the retailer's product page features new box art (pictured above) and the following text:

An experiment at a secret research facility has gone catastrophically wrong. Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper are the only surviving subjects. The Pickman Project will stop at nothing to hunt them down and stop the truth from getting out.

Demented screams echo around the dank asylum that has caged you for the last six years. You open your eyes. A white-coated body slumps to the floor through your shaking hands. A bloody syringe slips from your arm. Waves of confusion and paranoia crash over you. You have no idea who you are or how you got here.

The door to your cell is open. One choice. One chance. They took your life. Time to take it back.

Finally, a listing for Art of Fighting Anthology on the PlayStation 2 has also surfaced on GameFly with a May 31 release date. Last month a forum for the collection of the Neo Geo fighting franchise was spotted on the official SNK message boards.

Please note, while retailer listings frequently jump the gun on publishers' product announcements, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's existence; nor should the absence of a listing be considered as proof that a game isn't coming to a given platform.