New Releases: May 9th – 15th

After almost a year away, this week sees the return of our New Releases feature, detailing all the major games you’ll be able to get hold of throughout this week in the shops or at your online retailer of choice. This week sees the release of a new take on the FPS genre, an arcade racer, a sim racer, an adventuring puzzler and a family quiz game – so, something for pretty much everyone. What catches your eye this week?


Brink

Platforms: PC, PS3, 360
Publisher: Bethesda
Developer:  Splash Damage

Synopsis: Brink takes place on the Ark, a man-made floating city that is on the brink of all-out civil war. Originally built as an experimental utopia, the reported rapid rise of the Earth’s oceans has forced the Ark to become home to not only the original founders and their descendants but also to thousands of refugees. With tensions between the two groups growing, Security and Resistance forces are locked in a heated battle for control of the Ark.

Brink seamlessly blends single-player, co-op and multiplayer gameplay into an immersive FPS experience, featuring a wealth of customisation options and class based action meaning you can play it however you like, especially if you like shooting people in the face. In our hands-on preview, Lee said “one day, all shooters will be like this” and this week we’ll all have the chance to find out why.

LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean

Platforms: 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, 360, Wii
Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer:  Traveller’s Tales

Synopsis: Pirates Of The Caribbean is the latest movie franchise to receive the LEGO treatment in a title that will span all three movies, as well as include levels from the upcoming film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’. Featuring drop-in/drop-out co-op action, players do battle in a variety of locations familiar to fans of the movies. Swordplay has been added to the familiar puzzling LEGO gameplay and of course it wouldn’t be a proper LEGO game if cut-scenes from the movies weren’t re-enacted by the mini-figures in the humourous style we’re been accustomed to.

MX Vs ATV Alive

Platforms: PS3, 360
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Rainbow Studios

Synopsis: Own the competition as you wrestle for position with tightly contested racing in the fifth iteration of the MX vs. ATV franchise. Feel the realism of the revolutionary real-world physics engine which has defined the racing genre. Live the sport as Alive captures the spectacle of motocross and the essence of competitive racing while providing the best riders and gear from the latest manufacturers.

Alive represents something of an experiment for THQ, who have opted for a cheap RRP of £24.99 but have backed up the fully functioning on-disc content with a comprehensive digital distribution strategy allowing gamers to pay for exactly the bits they want. Content deals with brands such as KTM and Yamaha have already been announced.

National Geographic Challenge

Platforms: PC, PS3, Wii
Publisher: Black Bean
Developer: Gusto Games

Synopsis: Featuring PlayStation Move support, National Geographic Challenge is an interactive multiplayer quiz game for all the family with a RISK inspired game-play dynamic that makes full use of National Geographic’s vast resources of puzzles, photos and video.

SBK World Championship 2011

Platforms: PC, PS3, 360
Publisher: Black Bean
Developer: Milestone Studios

Synopsis: SBK 2011 represents a new art direction for the franchise, with completely updated menus, environments, 3D objects, lighting effects. The changes aren’t just cosmetic as the career mode has also been expanded, a whole new story mode and of course you can expect all the classes; featuring 9 bike manufacturers, 70 riders and 16 tracks from the 2011 season.

Please note: while every attempt is made to get both the dates accurate and every applicable game included, we are not infallible and mistakes will be made. Feel free to mention any omissions or corrections in the comments below. We’ll endeavour to correct the above and even thank you personally. We’re good like that. Finally, all dates and platforms are the official from our sources. Actual release dates in your country may vary to the dates shown above.

21 Comments

  1. Personally, I’ve always found Lego to be far better as a physical thing than a game. I have tons of the stuff, I don’t think I’d have got the same experience from playing Lego games instead, perhaps I’m missing the point though.

  2. I need to look in to Brink a bit more. It’s flown completely under my interest-radar.

  3. Just Lego for me. Just get enough of them. Hoping for some Disney themed Lego games next.

  4. All cross platformer. To be honest, I would expect any PS3 exclusives with online multiplayer to hold off release until the PSN is back now.

    • Wonder how PS3 versions of Brink with its integrated co-op & multiplayer will do in next weeks charts?

      If the PSN isn’t back up, will a chunk of customers just leave it until it is & then maybe miss out thanks to other games coming out.

      Shame they couldn’t bring next week’s LA Noire forward 3 weeks or so, a lot of people wouldn’t even notice the lack of PSN then.

      • I expect the Xbox version will sell more than it might otherwise have done. That is probably true of a lot of cross platform games this month.
        Sales are bound to be down though. I know I’ve held off a few purchases waiting until PSN is back up at which point I might be able to get the games cheaper or pre-owned anyway

      • reckon brink will be another blur/split second style of release. well reviewed, competent, and with no major faults, yet will struggle to sell brilliantly on either platform. don’t think psn will affect that any more than it has affected most normal everyday folk…
        it also smells inevitably like there’ll be a minor graphical difference to the ps3 build’s detriment and the flames from the foundry will sway the usual 6 people into getting it on 360.

  5. Great feature. I was going to pick up Brink. With not knowing when the PSN will be back on I think I will wait.
    I will eventually pick up Lego POTC once I have gotten through Lego Harry Potter.
    I hope you guys will be reviewing MX vs ATV Alive.

  6. Hmm, no purchases though general interest would have me rent Brink, Lego PotC and MX Vs ATV. Instead however, I think I’ll carry on with the games I’ve got, specifically GTAIV and MLB 11: The Show and wait for L.A. Noire next week.

    Glad to see this feature back. :)

  7. I haven’t paid any attention to Brink whatsoever but I’ve just watched the launch trailer as well as reading a bit about it on TSA over the past week and I’m quite intrigued. I do love me a lot of customisation and this one seems to have buckets of it.

  8. Lego Harry PotC for me I guess. Didn’t know it’s out this soo but then again, the movie will hit the big screen soon.
    I’m still not entirely convinced by Brink. I hope TSA does a full review of the game.
    Good to see this weekly feature back. This way I won’t miss any new releases anymore!

  9. A Nat Geo game? I’d buy that. The rest seem a bit fussed, my feelings towards Brink can succinctly summarised with but a single ‘meh’. ;)

    • I’d be interested in seeing if the questions are biased towards a particular region.

      For example if it’s US-centric it would be no good for me/my family, but if its tailored for each region, or genuine proper international questions I could be up for it… The RISK-style game sounds like it adds an extra twist to the normal highscore scenario.

  10. Brink for me :) Looking forward to the barage of reviews tomorrow but it will be a buy for me regardless. I know a couple of people who are buying it and I think the last game we all played online was Left4Dead when it first came out! lol.

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