New Releases July 25 Through 31, 2010

Welcome back, you seekers of new releases. No point in beating around the bush this week. Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty is about to wage an all out assault on your wallet and your free time.

Easily the biggest game of the summer, and probably the most important PC game in years, Starcraft 2 is a guaranteed blockbuster. If you need to brush up on the game before you dive in, be sure to read our beta impressions, check out the game’s system requirements, and have a look at the latest trailer.

Starcraft 2 aside, there is some good stuff hitting the shelves this week. Take a look at the new releases of July 25 through 31, 2010, broken out by platform and date.

Mac

• Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty 7/27

Microsoft Xbox 360

• Alan Wake: The Signal 7/27
• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 7/27
• Clash of the Titans 7/27
• Hydro Thunder Hurricane 7/28

Nintendo DS

• Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera! 7/26
• Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena 7/26
• Farm Frenzy: Animal Country 7/27
• Galaxy Racers 7/27

Nintendo Wii

• Dive: The Medes Islands Secret 7/26
• Heavy Fire: Special Operations 7/26
• Arc Rise Fantasia 7/27
• Chuck E. Cheese’s Party Games 7/27
• TrackMania Wii 7/27
• Soccer Bashi 7/31

PC

• Napoleon: Total War – The Peninsular Campaign 7/25
• Need for Speed World 7/27
• Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty 7/27
• Commander: Conquest of the Americas 7/30

Sony PlayStation 3

• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 7/27
• Clash of the Titans 7/27

Sony PSP

• Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling 7/30
• Soccer Bashi 7/31

The Summer of Arcade continues with Hydro Thunder Hurricane. I’m a huge fan of the original Hydro Thunder, and Hurricane looks like a worthy update. Can’t wait for this one.

Clash of the Titans is an interesting case. Yes, it’s a licensed game based on the recent movie. But the game was developed by Game Repbulic, which is headed up by Yoshiki Okamoto. Okamoto’s resume includes Street Fighter 2 and Resident Evil. Game Republic is also developing the intriguing Maijin and the Forsaken Kingdom. Clash of the Titans, which looks highly influenced by God of War, may not actually be that good, but we don’t see a lot of licensed games coming from respected Japanese development houses. Possibly worth a look.

Arc Rise Fantasia brings old-school Japanese RPG design to the Wii this week. Developed by Marvelous Entertainment Inc. (Harvest Moon, Rune Factory), this game has all the turn-based battles and anime character designs players could hope for. It’s also a huge, deep, original game for the Wii, and we don’t get many of those – interested parties should definitely check it out.

In the “hey, we thought these games were coming out last week” category, we’ve got Need for Speed World and Trackmania Wii. Need for Speed World really is going to be available this week. Trackmania? I’m not so sure.

As always, we want to hear from you – what games are you planning on picking up this week? What games are on the horizon that you’re looking forward to?

Source: Gamespot