Now that we've made it to the second week of May, E3 2011 is less than one month away. The lead up to E3 isn't always the best of times for new releases, given that publishers don't want their games overshadowed by announcements from the show. Nevertheless, there are some potentially solid choices headed to retail this week.

For the first time in a number of weeks, a couple of big, mainstream titles dominate the release list, as both LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game and Virtua Tennis 4 will be available on a wide variety of platforms. At the same time, Brink will be on hand to cater to the older crowd, and MX vs. ATV Alive should take care of the racing fans. Finally, Nintendo adds a genuinely intriguing title to its WiiWare service -- Bioware's Dreamcast classic, MDK2.

Despite the wide variety of titles already mentioned, still more choices are available. Take a look at the new releases for May 8 through 14, 2011, broken out by platform and date.

Microsoft Xbox 360

Nintendo DS

Nintendo 3DS

  • Dream Trigger 3D 5/10

Nintendo Wii

PC

Sony PlayStation 3

Sony PSP

It may not be the most hardcore game on the list, but it's tough to imagine LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game being anything but a huge success. Releasing just ahead of the anticipated new movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, LEGO Pirates follows the excellent LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Trailers for the game show that the trademark LEGO humor is intact, and the Pirates moves seem like rich sources of material to mine. This just might end up being the best movie tie-in game of the summer. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game releases May 10, 2011, for the Xbox 360, DS, Wii, PS3, and PSP.

Publisher Bethesda and developer Splash Damage have been keen to sing the praises of the SMART (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) system since Brink was first announced. This week, players will finally get to try it out for themselves. We've followed Brink closely ever since our interview with Paul Wedgwood. How will it stack up to other 2011 shooters such as Killzone 3, Homefront, Crysis 2, and SOCOM 4? Stay tuned to Game Rant for the final word. Brink releases May 10, 2011, for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3.

Nintendo's WiiWare service is often not the first thing players think of when looking for a new downloadable game. This week, maybe it should be, thanks to the release of MDK2. Originally produced for Sega's Dreamcast, MDK2 was Bioware's first console game, and the follow-up to the Shiny developed MDK. Upon release, the game was heralded for its excellent mechanics and significant difficulty. All these years later, will MDK 2 still hold up? And is its port to the Wii successful? You can find out right now. MDK 2 is available today for the Nintendo Wii.

As always, we want to hear from you. What games will you be picking up this week? What games on the horizon are you looking forward to?