New Releases

Animal Paradise Wild takes gamers through savannah, forest, and jungle as they play with and care for a variety of baby creatures. There are 18 different wild animals to unlock, including elephants, cheetahs, pandas, and gorillas, and players can participate in a number of mini-games with their new pets, such as a round of rock-paper-scissors with a monkey, or a game of meerkat whack-a-mole. Gamers can also unlock unique habitats for their animals or use the stylus-based controls to snap pictures of their furry friends for a photo album. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Created by the development team behind such critically acclaimed role-playing games as Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins is an original fantasy RPG featuring real-time combat and content spanning an estimated 80 hours in length. Your custom-created hero is one of the few remaining members of the elite Grey Wardens, an ancient order that has sworn to protect the land and its citizens. The news is dire: a corrupted dragon is leading a powerful army of darkspawn to conquer the surrounding territories. In your quest to slay the dragon and cleanse the tainted lands, you'll battle numerous creatures, make critical decisions, and explore dozens of locales.

Shape your hero's personality by initially choosing one of six origin stories, which influences your character's background and starting area. Recruit others to fight alongside you, engage in branching conversations, and deal with such issues as murder, jealousy, love, politics, and even genocide. While the third-person combat occurs in real time, you can pause the action at any point to issue commands and plan your strategy. You can also switch between all four party members to take advantage of special skills and talents, as the computer carries out actions for heroes not directly under your control. A minimum of two years worth of downloadable content is planned to expand Dragon Age's universe with new quests, campaigns, and characters. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Rabids Go Home finds Ubisoft's raving mascots growing tired of Earth and ready to return to their lunar home, but rather than take a spaceship, they decide to collect a massive pile of human junk and simply climb to the moon. To accomplish their task, the lunatic lagomorphs commandeer a shopping cart and speed through 15 different environments in a Katamari-like effort to collect as much stuff as possible. The materialistic humans won't let go of their precious junk without a fight, however, so they deploy hordes of "Verminators" who are intent on wiping out as many Rabbids as possible. Gamers can use a variety of high-powered upgrades to turn their shopping cart into a runaway wrecking ball, racing through more than 40 missions in a fast-paced symphony of havoc and destruction. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Star Wars: Battlefront -- Elite Squadron is a third-person shooter that allows players to take part in famous battles from throughout the Star Wars story. As in previous Battlefront games on consoles and home computers, players take the role of a soldier from the sci-fi fantasy series and engage in frontline combat with infantry weapons, light artillery, and vehicles. In Elite Squadron, players can customize their character by choosing weapons, armor, gender, and combat attributes, and by earning and using their choice of hundreds of unlockable weapons, items, and bonuses. In addition to the custom character they develop, in some modes, gamers can also play as central characters from the Star Wars saga, including Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kit Fisto, Count Dooku, and Boba Fett, as well as some main characters originally featured in earlier Star Wars games. Players may commandeer equipment and vehicles in the heat of combat, including AT-RTs and troop transports, as well as TIE and X-Wing fighters. Following the Battlefront design, the main campaign is composed of decisive battles from the six Star Wars feature films, including the firefights on Endor, Yavin 4, and the icy planet Hoth. PSP gamers can also connect online, for multiplayer matches with up to 16 human-controlled soldiers. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Academy of Champions: Soccer brings an arcade feel and story-driven gameplay to the world's most popular sport as gamers guide a young student through the prestigious Brightfield Academy. Soccer legend Pelé serves as the academy's headmaster, helping players improve their fundamental skills, and keeping them away from the underhanded Von Trappe and his evil Scythemore Academy. Gamers are also joined by U.S. soccer star Mia Hamm, who serves and both a mentor and a teammate as users hit the pitch for five-on-five competitions. Game action helps players upgrade their skills and equipment, and gamers can also work on their skills in more than a dozen mini-games, including goalkeeping, shooting, and tackling activities, as well as the Wii Balance Board-friendly Brazilian freestyle juggling drill. There are a variety of spectacular moves for players to unlock and 18 different teams to challenge, including a squad of Rabbids, and a team comprising adolescent versions of such Ubisoft luminaries as Rayman, Altaïr, and Sam Fisher. Those who grow tired of taking on AI competition also have the option to join a friend for head-to-head matches. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Jurassic: The Hunted is a fast-paced first-person shooter that sends players back through time, to pit them against the monstrous creatures that ruled the title era. Survival itself is the greatest measure of success, as the player is challenged to outgun and outsmart aggressive oversized enemies such as raptors, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus. Various game modes have players scavenging the prehistoric environment for useful weapons and equipment, defending makeshift fortifications under siege, and in all-out boss battles and arena fights against giant, ferocious opponents. A bullet-time styled "adrenaline burst" feature allows players to slow the action down during key sequences, for a one-time chance to take careful aim at a dinosaur enemy's most vulnerable points. The budget-friendly game puts players in the role of expert survivalist Craig Dylan, who has been hired to help protect a team of researchers investigating a temporal distortion on a heretofore-unknown island. When Dylan is mysteriously pulled backward through time to the era of the dinosaurs, he has only his wits and his weapon skills to keep him from becoming some terrible lizard's lunch. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Jurassic: The Hunted is a fast-paced first-person shooter that sends players back through time, to pit them against the monstrous creatures that ruled the title era. Survival itself is the greatest measure of success, as the player is challenged to outgun and outsmart aggressive oversized enemies such as raptors, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus. Various game modes have players scavenging the prehistoric environment for useful weapons and equipment, defending makeshift fortifications under siege, and in all-out boss battles and arena fights against giant, ferocious opponents. A bullet-time styled "adrenaline burst" feature allows players to slow the action down during key sequences, for a one-time chance to take careful aim at a dinosaur enemy's most vulnerable points. The budget-friendly game puts players in the role of expert survivalist Craig Dylan, who has been hired to help protect a team of researchers investigating a temporal distortion on a heretofore-unknown island. When Dylan is mysteriously pulled backward through time to the era of the dinosaurs, he has only his wits and his weapon skills to keep him from becoming some terrible lizard's lunch. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Aspiring culinary artists can turn their Wii Remote into a kitchen knife as they slice and dive their way through more than 30 real recipes in Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked! Players can learn how to prepare a wide range of meals, from simple breakfasts to elaborate feasts, and Food Network personalities Susie Fogelson and Mory Thomas offer up tips, instructions, and critiques of each dish. Food-loving gamers can try the challenges alone, or they can take on a friend in head-to-head cook-offs. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The movie series may be over, but the saga lives on with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The storyline takes place between films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, with the Galactic Empire nearing the peak of its far-reaching power. You are none other than Darth Vader's secret apprentice, engaging in covert missions to defeat those with designs on dismantling the Imperial regime. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature custom designed technologies that let players interact with the environment in diverse ways. Mastery of the Force allows the protagonist to lift writhing bodies into the air, letting them dangle powerlessly, before pushing them at high speeds into the background. Objects of varying sizes and strengths can also be manipulated, acting as mere toys for the evil Jedi to use in his nefarious deeds. Lightning crackles from fingertips, lightsabers twirl in the air, and entire spaceships move with the mind. It's all part of being a Jedi.

The protagonist will travel to various worlds in his relentless search for the few remaining Jedi who escaped Order 66. Featured locales include a TIE Fighter construction facility, the Wookiee home of Kashyyyk, a junkyard-like realm known as Raxus Prime, and a fungus-infested planet called Felucia. Each features groups of enemies that must be eliminated in stylish fashion, with Force power combos earning players experience points to customize their character. The action is viewed from a third-person perspective with the apprentice holding his red lightsaber pointed upward behind his back. Accompanying the lead character at various points is a prototype "holodroid" called Proxy as well as a blond Imperial pilot named Juno Eclipse. The Sith Lord's apprentice faces several deadly foes throughout his mission, including Maris Brood, a Zabrak warrior bent on revenge, and the primary target: grizzled General Rahm Kota, who learned the ways of the Force under the tutelage of Mace Windu and Yoda.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed -- Ultimate Sith Edition includes three new levels detailing an alternate storyline in which the apprentice kill Darth Vader and takes his place during several key moments from the films. Players visit Coruscant for another mission, head to Tatooine to square off against Obi-Wan Kenobi, and face Luke Skywalker himself in a final confrontation on Hoth. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Created in conjunction with the direct-to-video computer animated movie, the interactive edition of Barbie and the Three Musketeers follows the story of the teen-aged country girl Corinne, who realizes her dreams of following her father's life of swashbuckling adventure, through side-scrolling action, adventure, and puzzle-solving gameplay. As in the movie, Corinne is joined by her friends Viveca, Renee, or Aramina, the three new musketeers, each with different strengths and a unique special ability. Players can take the roles of any of these main characters, who can defeat onscreen opponents with moves such as ribbon whips, Chinese fans, and grapples, as the young women make their way across the countryside to the grand city of Paris. Sword-fighting skills will come in handy, but diplomacy and dancing are equally important, especially as the story comes to a head at the grand ball. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Assemble a band, brick by colorful brick, in this family friendly version of Harmonix Music's popular rhythm series. Featuring the same level of customization and whimsical humor found in previous LEGO video games, LEGO Rock Band lets you create your own band members, roadies, and even managers from a variety of individual parts. Completing songs and rock power challenges earn you studs that can be used to unlock additional venues, characters, instruments, vehicles, and items for your personal "rock den." Challenges involve achieving such offbeat feats as summoning storms, demolishing skyscrapers, and defeating a giant octopus with the power of music.

As with Rock Band on PSP, the DS version does not require any additional peripherals to play the drum, singer, guitar, or bass parts, and you can either focus on mastering one instrument or switch between all four parts during a song. Twenty-five tracks are included on the cartridge, all performed by the original artists. Songs include "Let's Dance", "Ghostbusters", "Suddenly I See", "So What", "I Want You Back", "Free Fallin", and more. Up to four players can perform with or against each other via local wireless connection in a choice of two game modes: Quickplay and Rock Power Challengers. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Assemble a band, brick by colorful brick, in this family friendly version of Harmonix Music's popular rhythm series. Featuring the same level of customization and whimsical humor found in previous LEGO video games, LEGO Rock Band lets you create your own band members, roadies, and even managers from a variety of individual parts. Completing songs and rock power challenges earn you studs that can be used to unlock additional venues, characters, instruments, vehicles, and items for your personal "rock den." Challenges involve achieving such offbeat feats as summoning storms, demolishing skyscrapers, and defeating a giant octopus with the power of music.

As with earlier entries in the Rock Band series, gameplay involves using supported guitar, microphone, and/or drum peripherals to rhythmically follow a series of cascading, color-coordinated notes. A total of 45 songs are included on the disc, all performed by the original artists. Tracks include "Crocodile Rock", "Ghostbusters", "Summer of 69", "So What", "I Want You Back", "Free Fallin", and more. Owners can also download other songs designed for the Rock Band series as well as export the LEGO Rock Band track list to Rock Band 2 for use in all game modes. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Namco's pep-filled cheerleading series returns with new dance moves, new characters, and an all-new soundtrack full of licensed hit songs in We Cheer 2. Players once again treat their Wii Remotes as pom-poms, waving their arms and kicking their feet as they mimic color-coded on-screen prompts. Gamers can customize the physical attributes and appearances of more than 40 male and female characters, and as the avatars compete they help players earn points to unlock new stages, songs, and outfits. The "Training" mode helps players master new routines, "Exercise" mode is designed to help gamers burn calories, and "Championship" mode finds players guiding their squad through a series of competitions in hopes of winning a cheerleading title. Those looking for multiplayer action can join up to three friends for head-to-head competition. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide