Sonic the Hedgehog™ 3 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 800 Wii Points): Sonic and Tails are back for another adventure as they again battle the evil Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik), who is desperately trying to collect all the Chaos Emeralds to rebuild his Death Egg. Our heroes must again find the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman does, but winning the race won’t be easy this time – a new adversary, Knuckles the Echidna, has arrived on the scene and will do whatever he can to keep Sonic and Tails from reaching their goal. Grab all the golden rings, find various bonus zones and overcome Knuckles and Dr. Eggman as you rocket through the third chapter in Sonic’s adventures.

Neutopia II (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points): Experience improved graphics and controls in this exciting sequel to the action role-playing game Neutopia. Take on the role of the main hero’s son and watch as the story begins with the apparent revival of Dirth, the evil demon. Once again you’ll need to rely on your magic compass and the information you’ve gathered to find entrances to labyrinths and defeat the bosses in them. Make your way through the field, which can be tricky at times, to search for and find hidden information and items, or move blocks and destroy walls to uncover secret rooms. Like the original, this game has a save function, a finely tuned difficulty level and a fast-paced story, making it truly an RPG that everyone can enjoy.

Not a bad lineup of games this week.  Which one would you buy?

Starting this Friday Obscure II will go on sale in most European territories, the remaining territories will follow during the course of September. Stefan Layer, CMSO/VP of Playlogic International N.V: “I am really looking forward to seeing Obscure II available in stores. This game deserves to be a success and the enthusiastic feedback from the press only strengthens me in that opinion. For all territories we are working with experienced distribution partners to secure adequate shelf space.”

All who want to know more about the Horror Game with a twist can also log on to www.obscure2.com. The website contains all information on the storyline, characters and features of Obscure II. Two trailers, a variety of screenshots, artwork and downloadable tracks from the game’s stunning soundtrack are also available.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS:
Obscure II is the sequel to the acclaimed survival horror game Obscure. Two years ago at Leafmore High, a group of young teenagers was trapped inside their school and hunted by monsters that had been released by the maniac headmaster. Some of them survived that terrible night, while others perished.
Now, the survivors have picked up their lives and joined college. But all is not right on Fallcreek University; strange black flowers have suddenly sprung up everywhere on campus. While experimenting with these flowers in class, a dangerous
substance is discovered that induces strange but vivid dreams.
A handful of students finds out that there is more to the flowers than anyone could have expected; when the seeds finally germinate, a bad trip suddenly turns into a horrible reality…

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

* Adventure and action in a teen horror movie scenario
* - 6 charismatic characters with unique skills
* Unique coop mode: second player can join in at any time
* Highly detailed and rich 3D environment
* Find clues and solve various riddles and mysteries
* Vast variety of weapons and horrifying monsters
* Stunning soundtrack performed by the Boston String Quartet and the Paris Opera children’s choir

This month has been coined by NOA(Nintendo of America) as “The Month of Metroid”. And they have delivered. First was the release of first classic title on the NES early this month. Followed by “Super Metroid” on SNES through the virtual console.

There has been a lot of people gankin on the game, saying “it was a GameCube game, not a Wii game”. My answer to that is….so what, it’s Metroid. One of the best Nintendo franchises.

Now I can’t help but mention that tomorrow there will be some stiff competition for Samus. Out on the DS tomorrow is the sequel to the hit brain trainer “Brain Age”, which will be called, you guessed it, “Brain Age 2″, but not only that, Nintendo will be bundling it with their new colored DS Lite, which is crimson(dark red) on the top half, and onyx(black) on the bottom half.

Another HUGE release, which I have played and have a review up at Liveforxbox.com is “BioShock”. This game has been gaining and gaining more and more steam. This is going to be a trifecta of competition, so if you have the coin i recommend all three.

• Manhunt (June)
• Mario Striker Charged (July)
• Metroid Prime 3 (August)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’08 (Let’s hope they make a better showing this time in August)
• Brunswick Pro Bowling (August, for the Wii Sports Bowling fan in us)
• Dave Mirra BMX Challenge (Aug. Dave has been absent for awhile, is this a good comeback?)
• Brothers in Arms (September, has potential)

Looks pretty solid as far as game lineups go. A nice healthy dose of summer titles that should keep us moving indoors.

What titles have got you pumped up?

*Dates are based on U.S. Release dates provided by Nintendo of America