Here we are, Ranters, just one week away from the start  of E3 2010. You might well expect this to be the veritable calm before the storm, and judging from the new games releasing this week, you'd be right.

Fans of fantasy settings, hack and slash adventuring, and co-op should set thier sights on Bethesda's Hunted: The Demon's Forge, shipping for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Every one else should be looking forward to... uh, did I already mention E3 is next week? Perhaps after Tueday's scheduled maintenance, we'll find out more about when we can expect the return of the PlayStation Store.

Of course, there are other games on the way to retail this week. Check out the new releases for May 29 through June 4, 2011, broken out by platform and date.

Mac

  • The Next Big Thing 6/2

Microsoft Xbox 360

Nintendo DS

  • B Team - Episode 1: Dust & Steel 5/30
  • House M.D. - Episode 1: Globetrotting 5/30
  • Valet Parking 1989 5/30
  • Duke Nukem: Critical Mass 5/31

Nintendo 3DS

  • BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II 5/31

Nintendo Wii

  • FAST - Racing League 5/30
  • Get Up Family Game Sports 5/31

PC

Sony PlayStation 3

Sony PSP

  • Ducati Challenge 5/31
  • BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II 5/31

Though many fans are eagerly awaiting Skyrim, Bethesda's other big fantasy game, Hunted: The Demons Forge, releases this week. A third person co-op hack and slash dungeon crawler, Hunted looks to have taken as much inspiration from Gears of War as from Diablo. Hunted is part of a mini-resurgence of action RPGs, which includes PSN's Dungeon Hunter: Alliance and XBLA's Dungeons and Dragons: DaggerDale, not to mention upcoming retail releases such as Dungeon Siege 3 and Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Could this be the start of a new golden age for the genre, or is everyone really waiting for Blizzard to deliver Diablo III? Hunted: The Demon's Forge releases May 31, 2011, for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

PC players looking to revisit some favorite titles have good reason to do so this week thanks to the (belated) release of the BioShock 2: Minerva's Den DLC and the Call of Duty: Black Ops - Escalation map pack. Minerva's Den, which will be available May 31, was originally released last August as the final piece of DLC for BioShock 2. The Escalation map pack, due June 2, hit Xbox 360 last month. If you've somehow managed to avoid coverage, this trailer will get you up to speed quickly. Otherwise, Black Ops PC players should prepare to part with $15 bucks on the 2nd.

As always, we want to hear from you. Will you be buying any games this week? What games are you looking to learn more about during E3?