If last week's boatload of game releases knocked your socks off, this week's batch won't give you a chance to put them back on. We're approaching the big holiday rush as we enter November, and the quantity of game launches is continually picking up.

This week's sizable On Shelves cast features a diverse class of wallet-busters. Heading them is the anticipated debut of NC Soft's MMORPG Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa.

Other heavy hitters such as Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, NIS America's Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Sierra Entertainment's TimeShift are also in the house. There's plenty more in store, so dig right in and try not to go crazy deciding which ones to buy first!

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The long-awaited showdown between you and the brightest icons of rock history has finally arrived, and you better bring your A-game because Slash, Bret Michaels, John Frusciante are all looking to shred you to bits. Re-live classic tracks with your meanest riffs and bring the house down on the biggest venues.

• Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii- October 28
• US$ 99.99 (Xbox 360, PS3), US$ 89.99 (Wii)
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Activision

Manhunt 2. With revisions made, Rockstar Games finally releases their latest offering. An experiment at a secret facility has gone terribly wrong and you're the product of that demented effort. The Pickman Project's forces are now after you to cover up the truth and bury your secrets. Using a mix of stealth and brutality, you'll have to take back what science has robbed you of.

• Sony PlayStation Portable- October 29, Nintendo Wii- October 31
• US$ 29.99 (PSP), US$ 39.99 (Wii)
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Rockstar Games

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. NC Soft unleashes its latest high-profile massively-multiplayer online (MMO) RPG this week. Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa features a wide array of races and career paths to choose from, martial arts-inspired combat moves, customizable weapons, and a horde of diverse monsters to slaughter. Solo or team-based player versus player combat is available to accommodate those who want to fight as lone wolves or stick with the brood. Prepare to be lost for a long, long time in the world of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa.

• PC- October 30
• US$ 69.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• NC Soft

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP)]
Buy: [Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa]

*Article originally posted Oct 29, 2007 at 01:14AM

The whole list behind the Full Article link below!

(Editor's Note: We're cooking up something specially hot for you guys with our weekly QuickJump QuickPeek! Some of you may have already noticed that this current issue - the 13th issue, no less! - has rolled out early! Why? It's because we're gearing up for a QuickJump QuickPeek TGS 2007 Special Edition once the festivities are done! So while we wait for that, we're giving you this Early Edition that focuses on other news that have cropped up during the week!)

It's Tokyo Game Show week! And even though it's the 13th issue of QuickJump QuickPeek, it's anything but riddled with bad luck! This "Early Edition" will be focusing on the non-TGS updates that have surfaced through the week, because really, the TGS might be one heck of a show stopper on its own (that's why it's getting its own QuickPeek Edition all to itself), but the days building up to the trade show saw a couple of astounding news as well. Almost every gaming platform has had some rather leaky business to deal with, and we're not letting the taps run dry.

Grab your pirate accent and sing your favorite shanty; there are more reasons to celebrate than just Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yaaarrr!

Click the Full Article link below for to read this week's Issue!

*Article originally posted Sep 21, 2007 at 02:28PM

The European division of D3Publisher has polished up its titles for maximum exposure at the vast Leipzig Business and Convention Center, Germany. And in the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) fast approaching in less than a month, gamers are assured that the presence of Dark Sector, Ben 10: Protector of Earth, Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century, and Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire will be felt throughout the four-day European-centric event.

 

The Leipzig Convention will be the first event to feature playable, early versions of Dark Sector (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), a third-person horror, action adventure combining bio-weapons and morphing to truly recreate a plague-ravaged Eastern Europe.

And right off from the Cartoon Network, Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Wii, DS, PSP, PS2) will have players wielding the Omnitrix as Ben Tennyson, fending off the evil Kevin 11 and arch-enemy Vilgax. The game is planned to extend the cartoon adventures straight to accessible consoles, including popular handhelds.

Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century (DS) will pit the triple misbehaving E's against their own neighborhood, after Captain Melonhead gains possession of their book of schemes and distributes it to everyone. The adventure game will have gamers scouring for the book through puzzles and the trio's collection of skills, before each of their schemes can be used against them.

Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire (Wii) will also be featured at Leipzig. This "massive" RPG was designed especially for the Nintendo Wii and its pair of trusty controllers, allowing players to control movement and attacks through the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The plot and storyline was penned by none other than "DragonLance" creator Richard A. Knack himself, and the game will be available for hands-on demonstration at the event.

Check out the D3Publisher Europe stand, labeled K37, at the first Hall of the Business Center starting August 22-28, 2007.

 

UK gaming magazine NGamer managed to review the highly controversial game Manhunt 2, and determined why it got hammered with a ban. But contrary to what you may think, they gave Manhunt 2 a very positive review: a crisp rating of 92%. They even referred to Manhunt 2 as "one of the best games on Wii".

And yes, it turned out to be the best in what it was meant to do: submerge players in what could be the most realistic splatterfest out to shock most weak-stomached people. The game is out to offend many people with its gratuitous violence and some sex scenes, and children finding themselves within a 500 mile radius of a copy of Manhunt 2 will be better off running away for dear life.

It's that awesome.

What made the Wii version so deliciously gruesome was its motion-controlled interface, which probably what made it stand out compared to other Manhunt 2 platforms. Reports NGamer: "An icon appears in the corner of the screen, showing a simple Nunchuk or remote motion, which you must copy to initiate the killing."

The immersive motion controls will also make players feel as if they're committing the murder with their own hands. Initiating a killing starts simple enough, by pressing the A button. Then it gets graphic.

Each execution has several stages, activated by a chopping motion, or a prod, or a slam to the floor, or a sawing movement...executions are much more physical with the Wii controls, and we found we felt more immersed in the game world in general thanks to them.

Manhunt 2 certainly delivers in the macabre atmosphere department. NGamer noted that players will eventually find themselves engaged in a bloodfest while a pornographic movie plays in the background, or wandering inside a torture chamber located just under a fetish-themed nightclub. The nicest place to do an execution while doing a sawing motion on your Wiimote, yes?

NGamer mentioned that what they have reported was just the tip of the iceberg. It's better to experience Manhunt 2 than to read about it, they said. Well UK gamers, there are lots of ways to know what they're talking about.

Ah. Right on time! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End just docked its merry butt onto retail shelves today - that's all platforms of the game released: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, and NDS. Gawsh, what a mouthful. Aside from the fact that it's being released across all major consoles and handhelds, you won't have any problems finding a copy of the game. The press release from Disney Interactive states that they've shipped over 2.8 million copies worldwide. Sheeesh.

But maybe you're wondering what's the difference between the different versions. Let's take a walk down the plank, shall we? We'll keep it simple: the PS3 gets SIXAXIS support, Achievements abound in the 360 version, the Wii makes use of the Wiimote and Nunchuk, the PSP allows you to use a different set of moves and combos, and the DS makes the most out of touchpad and stylus interaction.

Now of course, this are just the bare minimal of differences - hell, you can transplant those to other multiplatform game releases. It's natural for a publisher to make the most use out of the different platforms, and make sure to add some exclusive content and features in their games various releases.

 

Buy: [PotC: At World's End (PS3)]
Buy: [PotC: At World's End (360)]
Buy: [PotC: At World's End (Wii)]

Spider-Man 3 for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 have been given a lot of publicity lately, but what about the Wii and PSP versions of the game? IGN caught up with Vicarious Visions' CEO Karthik Bala and controls designer Jonathan Mintz to ask them what web-slinging would be like with the Nunchuk and the Wiimote.

Because of the limitations of hardware, the two claim that Spider-Man 3 for the PSP and the Wii will be different. The PSP version will offer a free roaming city gameplay on a handheld while with the Wii, the Wiimote and the Nunchuk become the players' webslingers.

The PSP and PS2 versions also have some storylines that don't appear on the PS3/X360 versions, because the makers didn't want the versions to be exactly the same.

The Spider-Man 3 team originally toyed with the idea of making a first-person shooter of the game, but didn't pursue it because the web-slinging hero moves too quickly and fluidly. But they did make camera control interesting in the Wii game. To look around freely, players can hold the C button and tilt the nunchuk horizontally or vertically.

Mintz says that the Nunchuk and Wiimote become Spidey's left and right hands in the game. Web lines are cast out by holding the B button and flicking the controllers. Swinging the Wiimote left or right does melee attacks, holding down the B button fires web splats, and moving the Wiimote in a circle does a classic web rodeo.

The developers say that because of the closer interaction in the Wii game, playing as Spider-Man will make gamers feel more powerful, and vicious, especially when playing in the Black Suit. There are also unlockables on the Wii version that won't be obtained on the PS3/X360 versions so fans, watch out. Spider-Man 3 for the Wii comes out early in May.

Bargain hunters may very well have a field day with this new offer from EB Games, though we're not sure what to make of it. It seems that EB Games has access to some special freebies which you can only get by buying Spider-Man 3 from them.

According to their site, the freebies include a movie poster and exclusive access to the special portions of the game's site. There's the typo in their advert which makes it seem like a rush job, but it seems like quite a minor thing compared to the possible payoff of free swag and a cool game:

Purchase Spider-Man 3 and receive a Spider-Man 3 Movie Poster plus get exclusive access to www.SM3THEGAME.COM, including first look access to behind the scenes videos, bonus developer blogs and more! Supplies are limited. Offer also good in stores. Poster and access code to website will be sent with game.

Sure, it's a small thing, but spiders are small too. In the meantime, here are some little tweaks across the board for the PSP, DS, and Wii versions of the game. Enjoy!

• PSP: The PSP system game is a fully streaming, complete conversion of the PlayStation 2 system game, not a port.
• Wii: The Wii version delivers the sensation of swinging through the city via the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuk.Its like nothing you've ever experienced before on the Wii. Two bonus Marvel villains: Morbius and Shriek
• DS: Has a revolutionary battle system featuring full NDS Touch Screen combat. Huge, never-before-seen 3D world and large revolving storyline on the NDS platform.

Codemasters' cross-platformer flight simulator Heatseeker seems to be getting more in shape as its North American March release draws closer. And we have here the latest details on the game, both for its PSP and Wii version.

You ought to know by now that the game takes you to a modern-day combat adventure fighting off terrorists with more than 20 different planes to choose from, including some of the latest fifth-generation fighters. And if you weren't aware of that then, well, at least now you know.

Now, it's been said that dogfighting actually plays a big part in the game, but that is not to say that that's all it has to offer. In fact, there are other missions for you to get busy with such as escorting friendly craft, protecting structures, and of course, blasting off the enemies and other targets.

Now, as to the intricacies of the game for each platform, the PSP will feature wireless competitive gameplay modes that can accommodate up to four players. The Wii, on the other hand, will only support solo play.

Interestingly enough, the Wii version will also feature the same conventional control setup used on the PS2, but of course maintaining its compatibility with the Wiimote's unique control system. In fact, there are two options for you to choose from as to which part of the two-piece Wiimote you'll use to fly your plane.

Basically, the Nunchuk controller lets you steer the plane, while the analog stick provides for the control of the throttle, brake, and roll. The d-pad is for switching weapons, while the A button is for switching between active targets. To fire missiles and machine guns, use the trigger buttons on the Wiimote and the Nunchuk, respectively.

Sounds fun, eh? Well, there's more for you guys. Check out the burnin' screens we have for you over behind the "Full Article" link! And keep your eyes peeled out for more info on Heatseeker right here at QJ.