New Releases

Based on former U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Marcinko's book series, Rogue Warrior is a first-person shooter with an emphasis on tactical warfare and real-world combat scenarios. Players take control of Marcinko himself in a series of covert missions set behind enemy lines in North Korea. The object is to lead a SEAL team safely across North Korea's shipyards, prison camps, submarine pens, and other locales to return back to South Korea. Designed using Unreal 3 technology, Rogue Warrior offers multiple ways to complete objectives by featuring wide-open environments and dynamically changing events. Ten multiplayer modes are included with a choice of more than 200 day and night maps, while the main campaign can be completed alone or cooperatively with a group of up to four players. The latter option lets friends drop out or join in at any time without requiring the rest of the group to pause the game or to save progress. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

One of the biggest names in ice cream comes to the world of Diner Dash-style "time management" games as players serve cones and sundaes to customers around the world in Cold Stone Creamery: Scoop It Up. In the single-player campaign, gamers unlock 25 ice cream flavors and a variety of toppings as they dish out different combinations to an endless stream of customers in five countries around the world. Those looking for more action can compete in solo or multiplayer mini-games that turn the Wii Remote into an ice-cream scoop. ~ All Game Guide

The world famous cartoon kitten returns to DS gamers with 25 different mini-games in Hello Kitty Party. Players join Hello Kitty and her Sanrio friends Keroppi, Badtz-Maru, and My Melody as they go shopping, make dresses, and cook meals in preparation for a big party. Activities include dancing, playing with memory puzzles, or taking on a game of "spot the difference," and gamers can outfit the gang with a variety of dresses, hats, and accessories, and then snap photos to capture the memories. ~ All Game Guide

Aspiring chefs can grab use their Wii Remote to slice, dice, and skewer the competition through more than 30 food-centric mini-games in Cook Wars. Players learn a variety of ways to grill, bake, and fry traditional Mexican, American, French, Italian, and Asian dishes, and gamers progress they can unlock new ingredients and recipes. Cook Wars encourages multiplayer action, featuring head-to-head duels, two-on-two team battles, and three-on-one competitions. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Part of Majesco's adventurous occupational series for younger audiences, My Hero: Doctor has players racing to the scene of various emergencies by driving an ambulance through busy city streets during the day and at night. Complete ten missions while honing your stylus-wielding skills in the areas of fracture dressing, resuscitation, extraction, injections, and use of the defibrillator. Supplies such as bandages, syringes, pliers, and gauze can be manipulated with the touch-screen interface. Complete objectives quickly and efficiently to earn gold medals and recognition for a job well done. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Ubisoft's ever-expanding series of animal-themed life development sims spreads to the world of canine competitions in Petz: Dogz Talent Show. Players choose from a variety of dog breeds and then engage their pups in a number of different activities, including riding a skateboard, running through obstacle courses, and playing classic games of fetch, with each event helping puppies unlock new tricks. Gamers can share photos of their talented dogs with friends via wireless connection or on the Petz website, and Petz: Dogz Talent Show is compatible with Petz Nursery, meaning players can rear a newborn pup and, once it gets big enough, teach it new tricks and enter it in competitions. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Taking its story and setting from the concurrently released TriStar Pictures feature film, Planet 51: The Game is a mission-based driving adventure, set on an alien planet that is oddly familiar. In something of a role-reversal, players take control of Captain Chuck Baker, an astronaut explorer who lands on the strange planet, believing it to be uninhabited. Instead, he finds himself in the midst of picket-fenced suburbs, reminiscent of 1950s America -- except for the "little green men"-like inhabitants, who treat Chuck exactly like the alien invader that he is. The play of the game involves exploring the 3D suburban world from a behind-the-back, third-person perspective, sometimes on foot but usually in a vehicle, and accomplishing tasks such as reaching a distant location or escaping from pursuers. As in the computer-animated movie, the ultimate goal, ostensibly, is to recover Chuck's lost spaceship.

Chuck can commandeer essentially any vehicle he comes across in this travels, including family sedans and motorcycles, taxi cabs and cop cars, and even heavy-duty trucks or zippy riding lawn-mowers. Different cars and trucks have different power and handling, and although the vehicles on Planet 51 hover instead of roll on wheels, most rules of the road still apply. Rules are made to be broken, however, especially when you're a giant alien on the run from a frenzied mob. Chuck can also break from the main story, to interact with various characters from the film in side-quests and various mini-games. In some sequences, players can take control of Lem, the young alien boy who befriends Chuck, and his pet robot Rover, making use of their special skills and abilities to overcome game-world obstacles or beat special challenges. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Activision's top-selling Tony Hawk franchise returns with a completely revamped control scheme designed around a motion-sensing, contoured peripheral resembling, appropriately enough, a skateboard. Individual sensors positioned on the sides, front, and back of the wireless peripheral will track individual gestures as you tilt, lean, kick back, and hold out your arms to initiate various actions. You'll guide your onscreen alter ego solely with the peripheral while competing in various scenarios built around the sport's speed, trick, and vertical challenges. Alternate turns with nearby friends and family members with the "hot seat" option, or test your skills online against skaters from around the world. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery extends the saga of Ezio Auditore da Firenze to the DS as gamers take the cloaked protagonist to the Iberian Peninsula where he must rescue his fellow assassins from the Spanish Inquisition. Assassin's Creed II: Discovery is set 15 years after the initial events of Assassin's Creed II, and it eschews 3D action in favor of fast-paced side-scrolling combat. The series' signature use of stealth is not completely abandoned, however, as Ezio's best course of action is often to avoid attention by sneaking up on enemies. If players are detected, they must engage in hand-to-hand combat featuring the same sort of rhythmic parries and ripostes as the console versions. As the action unfolds, gamers can unlock faster health regeneration, new outfits, and better climbing skills, and at the end of each level the game displays a player's stealth numbers, damage taken, and notoriety stats. DSi gamers have the option of putting their own face on wanted posters strewn throughout each level, but ripping the posters down makes it easier for Ezio to operate undetected. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

EA's NCAA Basketball series returns with both CBS and ESPN licenses in an attempt to create an authentic, television-style presentation that incorporates broadcasters Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery, Brad Nessler, Dick Vitale, and Erin Andrews. Revamped shot controls, more diverse animations, and improved positional AI are just a few of the changes to the gameplay over previous versions. Each school also features distinct motion offenses, from the dribble drive to the flex, and the home stadiums for 20 of the toughest teams to play against will make life difficult for visiting athletes. Playing in such venues as Clemson, Xavier, and North Carolina will cause the camera to shake during play, influence free throws, and more due to the raucous crowds. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Players return to a virtual playroom re-creation of the iconic movie series in LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues. As in LEGO Indy's Original Adventures, gamers play through famous scenes from the films, with 3D characters and settings created completely from colorful LEGO building blocks. The 2009 sequel game features scenes from all four feature films, including the most recent Indiana Jones movie, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Some characters have new moves since the first game, and new vehicles are available to re-create well-known movie scenes on boats, motorcycles, and mine carts. In a feature new to the LEGO movie game series, players can also create their own levels, using an almost unlimited supply of blocks. Custom levels can be built completely from scratch, or created by altering and adding to the pre-designed levels included in the game. As in the Indiana Jones original and other LEGO movie games (LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Batman), players can collect objects hidden throughout the game world to unlock playable characters. More than 60 hidden artifacts in The Adventure Continues can be collected and used to unlock Crystal Skull characters such as Marion Ravenwood and Mutt Williams, as well as supporting characters and villains from throughout the film series, such as Short Round and Indy's father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Players return to a virtual playroom re-creation of the iconic movie series in LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues. As in LEGO Indy's Original Adventures, gamers play through famous scenes from the films, with 3D characters and settings created completely from colorful LEGO building blocks. The 2009 sequel game features scenes from all four feature films, including the most recent Indiana Jones movie, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Some characters have new moves since the first game, and new vehicles are available to re-create well-known movie scenes on boats, motorcycles, and mine carts. In a feature new to the LEGO movie game series, players can also create their own levels, using an almost unlimited supply of blocks. Custom levels can be built completely from scratch, or created by altering and adding to the pre-designed levels included in the game. As in the Indiana Jones original and other LEGO movie games (LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Batman), players can collect objects hidden throughout the game world to unlock playable characters. More than 60 hidden artifacts in The Adventure Continues can be collected and used to unlock Crystal Skull characters such as Marion Ravenwood and Mutt Williams, as well as supporting characters and villains from throughout the film series, such as Short Round and Indy's father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Single-handedly take out well-guarded targets through a combination of stealth and acrobatic maneuvers in this anticipated sequel to 2007's Assassin's Creed. Featuring a new protagonist in a different era, you'll control a young nobleman named Ezio Auditore da Firenze in 15th century Italy, at the height of the Renaissance. After a tragic event befalls his family, Ezio trains to become a master assassin, looking to exact his revenge on those responsible. Ezio will explore three sprawling cities, countryside, and various small villages while completing objectives during the day or at night. Assassin's Creed II offers three times the mission types found in its predecessor, with more things to see and do within each setting.

Money is now an important part of the game, allowing Ezio to purchase weapons, clothing, armor, repairs, and decorative items for his Italian villa. Ezio can pickpocket people, search for hidden chests, and complete side missions to fill his coffers. Other key changes include Ezio's ability to swim and even soar through the sky thanks to friend Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine. The open-ended world also allows for more free-running, climbing, and leaping from great heights. Among the new weapons at Ezio's disposal are pikes, maces, war hammers, scimitars, axes, and twin wrist-mounted blades that can be used to kill two people at once. Updated combat techniques include the ability to grab, kick, head-butt, drown, disarm, or pounce on enemies. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide