New PAL Releases Roundup - 20/02/09

Disgaea 3! Fiddy! SFIV! Dawn of War II!

News by Tom Bramwell Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 20 Feb 2009

As a sleepy dreadnought might have it, even in virtual unconsciousness, I serve. Albeit a day after we usually put up the new releases roundup. I'm tired, but no one cares about that, and especially not a suddenly spry and active games industry, which pumped out all sorts of exciting new games this week.

It's hard to know where to start. Perhaps with Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, the most hyped downloadable content ever released? Most of the DLC we've reviewed to date has been a bit crap, but The Lost and Damned ran up an 8/10 for its impressive story, exciting motorbikes and attention to detail. Any thoughts on what should be in Episode II?

Alternatively, we could start with another downloadable, the exquisite, 9/10-scoring Noby Noby Boy from Katamari Damacy's Keita Takahashi, who also gives a lovely interview (and doodles). A game with no aim, and no less lovely for it.

Doing that though would mean we couldn't start with Street Fighter IV, which picked up a massive 10/10 for its beautiful, in-depth repackaging of the SFII concept. 2D beat-'em-ups were once all the rage, and probably won't ever be again, but if there's to be a last word, this deserves to be it (at least until Street Fighter IV Turbo).

Other highlights include Dragon Quest V: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride, RACE Pro, and of course Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. As Ensemble bows out next week with Halo Wars, delivering the best of the old world to Xbox 360, Relic shows us how it might be in the future.

This week: