New PAL Releases Roundup

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 November, 2009

Assassin's Creed II! L4D2! LBP PSP! Saw.

Bye bye then 2009. Thanks for all the games. Some of them were very good, actually, and you are at least going out with a bang - perhaps even a series of bangs.

Assassin's Creed II has ended up one of the best openworld games of the year, despite the silly futuristic Scooby Doo soap opera Ezio's adventures are used to justify. If you like collecting things and being motivated to do so by pretty graphics and fun mysteries, look no further.

But do look further anyway, because otherwise you might miss out on the equally super-excellent Left 4 Dead 2. We're still a bit bewildered by some of the routing in the mall and the swamp, but otherwise it's fantastic, literally sticking two fingers up to those who thought it would be a bit of half-baked DLC in a box.

The wholesome Mario, of course, is also known for doing two fingers, but in a nice way, and Nintendo has done New Super Mario Bros. Wii in a nice way too. It's not exactly Super Mario World, design wise, but Nintendo level design on a bad day is still better than everyone else's, and Miyamoto was right: Mario Bros. is superb fun with four people.

Meanwhile, LittleBigPlanet on PSP is a sort of reverse NSMB Wii - having begun life as a four-player 2D platformer, it acquits itself surprisingly well on the Sony handheld anyway.

There's lots of other stuff to consider, too, but a final friendly word for Gyromancer on PC and XBLA. PopCap and Square Enix may sound like an unlikely duo, but the result is a game that's part Puzzle Quest, part Bejeweled Twist, and part loads of other things, but all lovely. Get in. Bye 2009! Thanks again.

This week in shops:

  • Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders (DS)
  • Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)
  • Assassin's Creed II (PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (DS)
  • Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)
  • F1 2009 (Wii, PSP)
  • Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
  • Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, Xbox 360)
  • LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360)
  • LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
  • PES 2010: Pro Evolution Soccer (Wii)
  • Saw (PS3, Xbox 360)
  • The Sims 3: World Adventures (PC)

This week online:

  • A Little Bit of... All-Time Classics: Strategy Games (DSiWare)
  • Army Defender (DSiWare)
  • Diner Dash (Xbox Live Arcade)
  • Echoes (PSP minis)
  • Gravity Crash (PSN - out on Tuesday 24th November)
  • Gyromancer (PC, Xbox Live Arcade)
  • Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao (PSN)
  • Metal Gear Solid (PSN - PSone)
  • myNotebook: Blue (DSiWare)
  • Peggle (PSN)
  • Peggle Nights (PSN, Xbox Live Arcade)
  • Pinball Dreams (PSP minis)
  • Pokemon Rumble (WiiWare)
  • Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem (WiiWare)
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Quint2020 #1 2 years ago

    *cough* Divinity II is out on PC and 360 as well.

    Another RPG doomed to failure it seems..

  • bad09 #2 2 years ago

    Hmm maybe L4d2, got a bag full of trade in stuff to \o/

    Ironically one one game I desperately want there I can't get 'til Feb, Damn you Ubisoft! :(

    / knifes Ubi suit in the back darts up a ladder, slips away into the night looking for another Ubi suit...

  • TruSmiles #3 2 years ago

    Wow, another great day for gaming!

    What a pity I have to spend the next two weeks avoiding all of these great games because of Uni assignments :(

    Oh well, I guess that's why you can buy ProPlus.

  • andywilkie35 #4 2 years ago

    Fookin' fantastic day - already played shitloads of Assassin's Creed 2 (which is all kinds of brilliant), will also pick up New Super Mario Bros and download Metal Gear Solid, wahey!

    edit: just noticed all three games are on three different platforms (I bought Creed on 360), a great day for gaming!
    Edited by 1 at 20/11/09 @ 09:58

  • mode7 #5 2 years ago

    @Quint2020

    I've heard nothing of Divinity II, is it released on the 360 today, or just the PC?

    I want another fantasy RPG after I bought and was disappointed by Dragons Age.
    Edited by 1 at 20/11/09 @ 10:03

  • cianchristopher #6 2 years ago

    I got Metal Gear Solid last night on PSN, and Assassin's Creed II this morning on 360! Oh, and Left 4 Dead 2 on PC on Tuesday! What a week!

    Is there anything else coming out this year? The Saboteur looks excruciatingly bad from what I've seen, I think EA were right to shut down Pandemic!

  • menage #7 2 years ago

    The absence of Critter Crunch in this list is criminal.

    GREAT GAME!

  • spookyzombie #8 2 years ago

    Uno is also out in the DSi Shop.

  • gjgjg #9 2 years ago

    anybody loan me e150? tough year to be releasing all these !

  • markymark22 #10 2 years ago

    Yeah goodbye 2009, may you always be remembered as the year thierry henry became a cheating fuck and robbed ireland.

  • Hypercube #11 2 years ago

    Bugger, I'm still playing DA:origins but I really want ACII... Hmmm, I wonder which one is more fun?

  • Doctor_What #12 2 years ago

    Ooo... Peggle's finally on PSN :D

  • jonfon #13 2 years ago

    "Yeah goodbye 2009, may you always be remembered as the year thierry henry became a cheating fuck and robbed ireland."

    On a more positive note at least this summer the Irish radios will be free of a stupid, horrible football song being played to death which makes me happy about the whole thing.

    Hoo-ray, hooray-hooray-hooray
    No songs, no songs
    (repeat ad nauseum)

  • TeaFiend #14 2 years ago

    Peggle Nights and Gyromancer? Damn, there goes my life.

  • makeamazing #15 2 years ago

    errm perhaps its a joke i dont understand, but theres still games coming out in the following weeks in 2009!!!!!

  • bad09 #16 2 years ago

    / comes back from trading in

    Woo hoo \o/

    L4D2, GTA: EFLC (& Family Guy: Blue Harvest), add to that Steam Dead Space & GTA pack my mrs got for me the other day I'm sorted well into the new year! Modern Warfare what?

  • makeamazing #17 2 years ago

    I'm probably going to trade in MW2 this weekend.... before the trade in price drops too much. Just need to finish the final SP bits (not a big MP fan)... probably for Dragon Age.... decisions decisions. I would trade it in for AC2, but the wife is getting me that for Xmas anway... shame i have to wait, perhaps i should try and finish it (Damn Ubi for not adding trophies to the PS3 version).

  • makeamazing #18 2 years ago

    Oh on Saw, its funny at the beginning that you can get about 8 trophies in about 10 minutes, you seem to get them for doing anything :) Game is ok, but probably worth a rental first, even if you like the movies.

  • MKorkia #19 2 years ago

    Call of Duty: Classic seems to have disappeared from PSN Store... :(

  • Bazfrag #20 2 years ago

    "The absence of Critter Crunch in this list is criminal.

    GREAT GAME!"

    Needed saying twice. Demo out too for fence sitters.

  • Alien1375 #21 2 years ago

    'Muramasa' and 'Tales of Symphonia 2' for the Wii are also both out this week.

    Do your homework guys.....

  • TONYgr #22 2 years ago

    what about critter crunch????fantastic puzzle game!