Sept 20th - 26th (HUGE!)

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Find your gamer buddy, do not enter your local game shop this week without someone to keep you honest, give them a bat if you have to. The release list is staggering this week, itÂ's so big it took me two quarters of football to type it all out. ThereÂ's something for everyone here but thereÂ's only one game for me. Rome: Total War ships on the 23rd for $49.99 on the PC. E3Â's presentation stunned me, watching Decisive Battles gave me constant reminders that it was coming and now weÂ'll finally get a chance to see if it truly shines.

On DVD this week we have the Star Wars Trilogy, Mean Girls, the 4th season of Mr.Show and more!
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Platform: PC, Xbox, GC, PS2
Ships: September 20
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Xbox Live support, custom swings, custom courses and more. I wonder if the PC version will continue to be more of a simulation than its console counter-part. I hope so!

Star Wars Battlefront
Platform: PC, PS2, Xbox
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Iffy. Any BF1942 clone is going to have to be huge to go anywhere these days. The reviews havenÂ't been overwhelming so far, IÂ'm calling it a flash in the pan but IÂ'd be happy to be wrong.

Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War
Platform: PC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Last I checked, the multiplayer mode was a huge rushing game, not much fun. Single player is shaping up nicely though.

Def Jam Fight for NY
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: Punching rappers in the face sounds like a great time to me!

NHL 2005
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GC
Ships: September 20th
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: All signs point to ESPN NHL 2K5Â"… unless you own a Gamecube and need a hockey fix.

Hidden & Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron Expansion
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $9.99

The Buzz: At $10 bucks, why not just give it away?

Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia
Platform: PS2, PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $29.99

The Buzz: Where did this come from? For $30 bucks it better be a good expansion!

Full Spectrum Warrior
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The PC demo shows this isnÂ't just a sloppy Xbox port, look into it if you have any interest in a very solid PC tactical strategy game. Coop included!

Headhunter: Redemption
Platform: PS2, Xbox
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: The original was a Dreamcast game ported to every platform under the sun. Not much buzz on the sequel.

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Thank god, I was afraid we were done with extreme versions of games!

Mega Man X Command Mission
Platform: PS2, GC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: A Mega Man RPG thatÂ's scored middling reviews so far, IÂ'd pass.

Kohan II: Kings of War
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Shipping for real this time, really. Beta buzz is all over the place, wait and see.

Second Sight
Platform: PS2, GC, Xbox
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: A psychological thriller told with cinematic camera angles and 3rd person gameplay. 80 – 90% reviews across the board.

Blood Will Tell
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: No reviews on this games based on a popular manga. Wait for them.

Crusader Kings
Platform: PC
Ships: September 21st
Price: $39.99

The Buzz: Based on the Europa Universalis engine, this strategy game features a medieval setting and so far, good reviews.

X-Men Legends
Platform: GC, Xbox, PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: It looked like fun at E3 and the previews have been mostly positive so far. BaldurÂ's Gate: Dark Alliance style gameplay, this time with the X-Men.

Monster Hunter
Platform: PS2
Ships: September 21st
Price: $49.99

The Buzz: An online multilayer action title that has you hunting bigger and bigger monsters. Could be a surprise hit!

Saga of Ryzom
Platform: PC
Ships: September 23rd
Price: $44.99

The Buzz: This MMORPG has its following but with so many games out and WoW/EQ2 on the way does it have a shot?

- Certis

Comments

Any word on the next R:TW demo?

Kohan II will be mine...oh yes...it will be...

i was looking forward to xmen....then i found out that the previews lied when it said it would be xbox live coop....

damn. oh well.

I'm thinking of getting X-Men Legends. I'm now a University student so it looks good for me. I wish the PS2 had more than 2 controller slots.

By the way, GoGamer.com has DoW for $38 and Kohan 2 for $35 (2-day shipping being $6-7 or something), but they don't have stock yet

Turns out the publishing deal for Kohan 2 sucks-the-balls.

I'm so ticked about buying Fable....