New PAL Releases Roundup

Blue Toad! Braid! Alien Breed!

News by Tom Bramwell Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 18 Dec 2009

There's no point going to the shops today. You will not only be killed, but there aren't any new games to buy there. Only old ones.

Actually, that's much how it seems online too, with most of this week's downloads either Virtual Console updates, retro revamps or late ports.

The one exception, of course, is Blue Toad Murder Files from our near neighbours Relentless, which picked up a healthy 7/10 in yesterday's review. It's a big-hearted mystery adventure with engaging multiplayer puzzles ideal for playing with other people.

Otherwise there's the first episode of Alien Breed Evolution on Xbox Live Arcade, another recipient of a solid 7/10, and PS3 owners are finally able to play Jonathan Blow's excellent Braid, which so charmed us on XBLA and remains a wonderful puzzle game even if it doesn't inspire you to write a dissertation about it.

Really though, you should probably reserve this weekend for catching up on the year's best games, not least because voting for the Eurogamer Readers' Top 50 closes on Monday, and a number of positions still hang in the balance. Make a difference. And don't worry about the snow.

This week in shops: