New Releases

Designed from the ground up for the Wii and DS platforms, Need for Speed: Nitro is an arcade-style racing game offering an assortment of customization features. Over 30 licensed cars are included, from classic models to exotics, with a choice of multiple color schemes and skins. Assigning a graphic style to your car allows you the opportunity to literally change the world around you by hitting specific triggers strewn about the road. Each vehicle comes equipped with nitro boosts, which can be used to blast ahead of the competition or to escape police in hot pursuit. You can also perform movie-like stunts such as jumping over cars or two-wheeled driving to elude rivals and stay ahead of the pack. Among the ten different game types are a six-city "World Tour Campaign," a graffiti-inspired "Tag the World" mode, and a collision-filled "Smack'm'all" option. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Pep-filled gamers can use their Wii Remotes as pom-poms and treat their Balance Board like a dance floor in Dream Dance & Cheer. Players guide Hanna, a young cheerleader with dreams of becoming a professional dancer, as she dances and cheers through 20 different events spread throughout a variety of stadiums and arenas. As gamers progress through the story and begin to achieve a measure of success, they will receive medals and unlock a variety of new outfits, pom-poms, shoes, stadiums, and accessories. Players can go through the main campaign alone in "Story" mode, or they can compete with a friend in "Cheer Battle" mode. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The Cartoon Network's Ben 10 series returns to Wii as the lead protagonist ventures into outer space for the first time to defend exotic worlds. The storyline follows archenemy Vilgax, who has created a formidable team of young Ben Tennyson's rivals in his bid to take over the universe. To succeed, you'll need to master each of Ben's ten alien forms to solve puzzles and to battle hordes of enemies. Gameplay features a mixture of platform-style exploration, fast-paced combat, and puzzles built around each of Ben's distinct forms. Use each alien's special powers to undermine Vilgax's diabolical plans while saving multiple planets in the process. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The third entry in the TouchMaster series of stylus-based mini-games once again finds players flicking their way through a variety of touch-screen activities. There are 20 different mini-games spread across five categories, and players earn trophies, badges, and medals for completing the five achievements associated with each mini-game. New goal-oriented gameplay means there are no more time constraints, and gamers looking for multiplayer fun can wirelessly share Touchmaster 3 with a friend using the single-cart Download Play option. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The Cartoon Network's Ben 10 series returns to PSP as the lead protagonist ventures into outer space for the first time to defend exotic worlds. The storyline follows archenemy Vilgax, who has created a formidable team of young Ben Tennyson's rivals in his bid to take over the universe. To succeed, you'll need to master each of Ben's ten alien forms to solve puzzles and to battle hordes of enemies. Gameplay features a mixture of platform-style exploration, fast-paced combat, and puzzles built around each of Ben's distinct forms. Use each alien's special powers to undermine Vilgax's diabolical plans while saving multiple planets in the process. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The second in a series designed to promote social gaming, Hasbro Family Game Night Vol. 2 offers players five classic Hasbro board games. New to the series are digitized versions of "Operation," "Jenga," "Bop-It," and "Pictureka," while "Connect Four" makes something of return appearance with the four-player friendly "Connect 4x4." All of the games let up to four people compete at the same time, and the new "Hasbro Family Game Show" party mode lets all four participants guide their "Mii" characters around a circular stage in a faux game show, complete with a studio audience and celebrity host -- Mr. Potato Head. Players can earn trophies and unlock new outfits and accessories for Mr. Potato Head and his better half, Mrs. Potato Head. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The Cartoon Network's Ben 10 series returns to PlayStation 2 as the lead protagonist ventures into outer space for the first time to defend exotic worlds. The storyline follows archenemy Vilgax, who has created a formidable team of young Ben Tennyson's rivals in his bid to take over the universe. To succeed, you'll need to master each of Ben's ten alien forms to solve puzzles and to battle hordes of enemies. Gameplay features a mixture of platform-style exploration, fast-paced combat, and puzzles built around each of Ben's distinct forms. Use each alien's special powers to undermine Vilgax's diabolical plans while saving multiple planets in the process. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Ubisoft's series of life development sims brings man's best friend to the PSP for the first time in Petz: Dogz Family, letting players raise and care for an entire family of canines. Gamers look over the various available breeds, adopt the puppy they like the most, then customize their pooch with a variety of outfits and accessories. Players can watch as their pet grows from a baby to an adult, taking time to breed and crossbreed to create litters of new puppy hybrids. Each pup's personality is influenced by the way it is reared, so gamers who nurture their canine friends -- taking them on walks, getting them new toys and accessories, and letting them interact with fellow dogs -- are bound to have the most well-behaved buddy on the block. Players can also use the PSP's wireless connectivity to swap dogs with friends or set up puppy play dates. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Microsoft's premiere driving simulation series revs up with its second high-definition release for Xbox 360, Forza Motorsport 3. The third in the series enhances or improves upon nearly all the key features of earlier games, while adding new driver-assisting functions to make play more accessible to a wider audience. Central to Forza 3 are detailed, virtual re-creations of more than 400 models of automobile, from 50 different manufacturers. Races may be run on more than 100 tracks, including old favorites and some new to the series, based on actual locations around the world. Graphically, the cars are built from over ten times the number of polygons used to create the cars in Forza 2. The game's physics model refines the systems used in the previous game, and developers worked with other driving-game experts as well as with representatives of several auto manufacturers, in their efforts to build-in authentic cause-and-effect elements in minute detail.

For more casual drivers, Forza 3 offers features such as auto-braking and computer-assisted tuning, allowing for a freer driving experience without the constant danger of a crash around each tight corner, or concerns about inefficient settings for the current road conditions. When accidents do happen, the game's new "rewind" feature allows the player to stop, roll back time, and try again. Meanwhile, the hardest-core of driving aficionados can eschew the computer assistance for realistically demanding experience, just as gearhead gamers are free to do their own custom tuning, with the ability to make essentially any adjustment to their virtual auto that could be made to its real-life counterpart, for realistic performance tweaks. Xbox Live-connected Forza 3 players can race against others online in a selection of events, and show off their favorite tunings and custom paint jobs. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Gamers vie for "big bucks" and "no whammies" in Press Your Luck: 2010 Edition, an updated home video game version of the cult-classic 1980s television game show. Players begin by creating custom avatars to represent them in the game. As on TV, three contestants compete to be the first to correctly answer trivia questions, which are often based on pop culture or current events. Any player can be the first to buzz in with an answer as the question is being revealed. Correct answers are awarded spins, which are used to earn money and win the game. Spins are taken on a large, rectangular board with squares around its border. Flashing lights move from square to square, revealing different prizes and pitfalls, and players press a button to stop the moving lights and claim the item currently displayed on the lit square. If the lit square contains money or merchandise, the value us added to the point total. However if the lit square contains a "whammy" -- the show's greedy little cartoon character mascot -- the player loses all money and must begin again from zero. The game features 3,000 original questions for 2010, and 50 comical whammy animations, as seen on the television show. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

All Star Cheer Squad 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, with new aerial stunts, tumbling, and formation changes designed to give gamers a more authentic competitive cheerleading experience. Routines have once again been designed by chief Bring It On choreographer Tony G, and All Star Cheer Squad 2 lets players use two Wii Remotes, a Nunchuk, and the Wii Balance Board to achieve more realistic cheers. The upgraded Routine Designer features a new music mixer and choreography editor so creative gamers can set their original routines to music, and players can design a unique look for their squad by customizing each cheerleader's body type, facial features, hair, and outfit. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Nintendo's exclusive Sims spin-off moves out of the forest and into the jungles, deserts, and river beds of Africa for another adventure in taming, training, and playing with wild animals. SimAnimals Africa features a new, more playful art style and a wide selection of new creatures, but the gameplay once again involves picking up and placing animals in stimulating environments where they can thrive and be happy. Players can interact with a variety of different animals, such as lions, zebras, gazelles, and gorillas, and every species has a unique skill that can be used to maintain the serenity of an environment, unlock new landscapes, and discover special items. DS gamers get the added bonus of special platform-specific creatures, such as aardvarks, parrots, and cheetahs, and players can use the stylus and microphone to interact with the animals. Gamers earn special reward badges for collecting rare items, and two friends can team up to reach their goals faster in co-op mode. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Petz: Dolphinz Encounter finds gamers travelling to eight different seas and oceans around the world in an attempt to rescue imperiled dolphins from polluted and dangerous environments. Players treat dolphins that have been injured by propellers, nets, and floating debris, and then they can go for virtual swims with the friendly creatures, photographing them, petting them, and learning about the various species. Petz: Dolphinz Encounter includes information about more than 50 sea creatures, from cetaceans to sea turtles, and gamers can use sophisticated equipment to take photos of the underwater wildlife. DSi owners can also snap photos of themselves and watch as their likenesses joins the Ocean Rescue Team. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide