Shippin' Out June 26-30: Over G, Titan Quest, Pirates of the Caribbean

Look, up on the big screen! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the latest summer blockbuster comic book movie hitting theaters with no game tie-in to be seen! Superman Returns may be hitting theaters nationwide this Wednesday, but the big, blue boy scout's return to gaming has been delayed a few months by Electronic Arts.

Film aficionados looking to play out their most anticipated movies aren't entirely out of luck this week, however. The latest Pirates of the Caribbean games are scheduled to hit shelves this week, slightly ahead of the July 7 opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. PC and PlayStation 2 gamers can relive The Legend of Jack Sparrow, playing through some of the pirate captain's most infamous adventures, including a few only alluded to in the films. Portable gamers will get a more faithful adaptation of the new film, as Dead Man's Chest arrives for the PSP, DS, and Game Boy Advance.

Those aren't the only movie adaptations hitting shelves this week, as Nival Interactive's tactical role-playing take on the Russian horror film Night Watch hits shelves for the PC. Nonconsole gamers have a few new options this week, as THQ's Titan Quest will see release, along with the platinum edition of Empire Earth II, and Hard Truck: Apocalypse. Or for the less combative PC gamer, there's always Kitty LUV, which allows players to train, feed, raise, and dress their own kittens. Because if there's one thing history has shown time and again, it's that cats just love wearing things for humans' amusement.

The Xbox 360 welcomes a new addition to its catalog this week with Over G Fighters, developed by Taito and published by Ubisoft. The French publisher has already released one combat flight sim for the system in Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, but Over G Fighters brings the action into the era of jet fighters with more than 30 planes to choose from.

The rest of the console scene is fairly quiet this week. The PS2 is getting a new Naruto game courtesy of Namco Bandai and the next installment of Micro Machines, which is also set to race onto the PSP. Joining it on Sony's portable are World Tour Soccer '06 (just in time to capitalize on any remaining World Cup soccer fever that wasn't stamped out by Team USA's hasty departure), street-racing game Juiced: Eliminator, and Activision's MTX: Mototrax. Rounding out the notable releases are Climax's twisted take on extreme sports, Crusty Demons for the Xbox, and a pair of Sudoku games for the Nintendo DS, one of which (Sudoku Gridmaster) is actually published by Nintendo. Curiously enough, it doesn't use the existing handwriting recognition interface of the Sudoku game in Nintendo's other recent Touch Generations title, Brain Age.

Monday, June 26
Empire Earth II: Platinum (PC)
Sudoku Gridmaster (DS)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (PS2)
Night Watch (PC)
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie & the Amp (DS)
Hard Truck: Apocalypse (PC)
Kitty LUV (PC)

Tuesday, June 27
Over G Fighters (Xbox 360)
Titan Quest (PC)
Micro Machines V4 (PS2, PSP)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (PS2, PC)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PSP, DS, GBA)
Ruff Trigger: Vanocore Conspiracy (PS2)
MTX Mototrax (PSP)
World Tour Soccer '06 (PSP)
Crusty Demons (Xbox)

Wednesday, June 28
Juiced: Eliminator (PSP)
AMF Xtreme Bowling (Xbox)
IHRA Drag Racing: Sportsman Edition (Xbox)

Friday, June 30
Sudoku Mania (DS)