Shippin' Out August 15-21: Kane & Lynch 2

In the coming months, Halo: Reach, Fable III, and Call of Duty: Black Ops will all hit retail. Until then, gamers can enjoy the light dog days of summer.

Leading the pack this week is Square Enix's grisly crime shooter sequel, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. A sequel to the 2007 original Dead Men, the game adds a new story, updated visuals, and a smorgasbord of disturbed criminals to the fray.

Also hitting this week is the PSP action role-playing game, Ys Seven. The seventh iteration in the Ys series, the game released in Japan last year and the localized version hits this week. From Japanese developer Nihon Falcom, the game casts players as Adol Christin, a brave adventurer. Using melee and elemental powers, players will fight monsters and battle bosses, ultimately attempting to thwart nefarious powers and save the day.

Also hitting this week is an expansion for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game City of Heroes. Dubbed City of Heroes: Going Rogue, the expansion lets players shift allegiances from good to evil, thus allowing them to enjoy the game's two metropolises: Paragon City and Rogue Isles.

Additionally, Sony Online Entertainment will unleash a free version of the popular MMORPG Everquest II titled Everquest II: Extended. The free version will give players access to all the paid game's zones, including those added with the Shadow Odyssey expansion. However, it will operate on servers that are separate from its paid cousin.

On the download front, Microsoft caps off its Summer of Arcade promotion this Wednesday with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on Xbox Live Arcade. The top-down adventure game from Crystal Dynamics is the first in the series to be offered as a download and tasks players with solving puzzles, conquering magical beasts, and traversing lush forests.

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.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 15
Battle vs. Chess--PC--Topware Interactive
House M.D.--PC, Mac--Legacy Interactive

TUESDAY, AUGUST 17
City of Heroes: Going Rogue--PC--NCsoft
Deer Drive--DS--Mastiff
Everquest II: Extended--PC--Sony Online Entertainment
Gold's Gym Dance Workout--Wii--Ubisoft
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days--X360, PS3, PC--Square Enix
Top Gun--PS3--Paramount Digital Entertainment
Ys Seven--PSP--Xseed Games

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light--X360--Square Enix
More Great Games for Girls--PC--Viva Media

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21
Star Ruler--PC--Blind Melon Studios